15 Indie Movie Soundtracks to listen on and on

Before Buster Keaton got muted with the appearance of sound to movies, music was already an essential part of what is considered the seventh art. Music has done so much for movies that it's impossible to disconnect one and another. Before playlists became a mainstream phenomena and a very powerful tool for music marketing, from time to time there were movies coming out whose soundtrack surprised us like a real mixtape gem. There are many examples out there, but I have selected 15 good films that includes great and interesting soundtracks (especially if you are into indie music!).

Submarine

Submarine´s soundtrack is entirely written by Alex Turner, what else can we say. The fabulous frontman of Arctic Monkeys had in this great soundtrack his first experience as a solo artist delivering several acoustic songs, far from his habitual rock style back then.

Into the wild

Like it happened with Submarine, Into The Wild was the debut solo by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder, who did an amazing job by the way. Great soundtrack for a great movie.

The Boat That Rocked

Is it possible to miss anything that we have never lived? Because The Boat That Rocked is an endearing film with a soundtrack for those nostalgic for British culture and the 60s, even if we were born decades later. Good soundtrack that includes songs by the Box Tops, the Beach Boys, the Who, Jeff Beck, the Kinks and a long list of artists.

Velvet Goldmine

Pure glam! This movie by Todd Haynes takes us back to Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s and the soundtrack is gold. Inspired by David Bowie (Bowie himself disliked the script), the movie includes music by Lou Reed, Pulp, Placebo, The Venus In Furs, Teenage Fanclub, T rex and many others.

Little Miss Sunshine

This soundtrack is a great mix of indie rock and folk music where the amazing quartet DeVotchKa is responsible for almost the entire music on it, although there is also room for Sufjan Stevens, Rick James and Tony Tisdale. The trailers included songs "Coming Home" by The 88 and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)" by The Flaming Lips.

(500) Days of Summer

A movie in which music plays such an important role in the story line, the soundtrack could not be bad. It includes songs by Regina Spektor, The Smiths, Black Lips, Simon & Garfunkel, Doves, Temper Trap, Carla Bruni, Feist and many others including obviously She & Him (musical duo where Zooey Deschanel, main actress in the movie, is the 50%).

Juno

Initially planned to be more glam rock, Juno ended up having another great indie soundtrack. The music includes songs by The Velvet Underground, Belle & Sebastian, Buddy Holly, Sonic Youth, Moldy Peaches (this last one as a suggestion by actress Ellen Page after she was asked by the director, “What do you think Juno listens to?”) and also a duo by Michael Cera and Ellen Page.

Lost in Translation

As it happens in all the movies by Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation includes a very interesting soundtrack.It contains five songs by Kevin Shields, including one from his group My Bloody Valentine and other songs by Air, Death in Vegas, Squarepusher, Phoenix and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Trainspotting

The huge fanbase for both the film and the soundtrack, prompted the release of not one but two soundtrack albums. Music includes songs by Iggy Pop, New Order, Blur, Elastica, Pulp, Primal Scream and many others. Simply Britain in the 90s.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Wes Anderson is a universe itself. And the music in his movies has a huge impact on his work. Showing no fidelity to any genre or era, his soundtracks form the emotional landscapes of his films. In The LIfe Aquatic we can find names such as Devo, David Bowie, The Stooges and even the guitar legend Paco de Lucia.

Drive

I once read that Drive wasn't just a movie to be watched, but also to be listened to. Impossible to think about this movie without its music. The soundtrack includes the gem "Nightcall" by Kavinsky.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Michel Gondry, privileged mind responsible for so many wonderful video clips (Björk, Daft Punk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, The Vines, Steriogram, Radiohead, Beck, ...), directed this movie that included a great soundtrack (with a depressive atmosphere though) with songs from artists such as E.L.O., The Polyphonic Spree, The Willowz and Beck among others.

Garden State

Hand-picked by Zach Braff (who even won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Visual Media). Garden State´s soundtrack includes many indie-rock artists such as The Shins, Cary Brothers, Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.

Only Lovers Left Alive

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, someone who's supposed to write the scripts already with the music in his head, the soundtrack had to be special. And this cool movie could not be less and included a soundtrack where Jarmusch's band SQÜRL is primarily responsible for almost all of it.

Boyhood

Boyhood, the epic drama directed by Richard Linklater that, whether you like it or even if you do not, you can't deny it has a great soundtrack. It includes the super famous song “Hero” by Family Of The Year, but also songs by Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Wilco, Cat Power or Yo La Tengo.