The O.C. Effect

Like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Dawson's Creek before it, Fox's hit prime-time soap The O.C. has captivated an entire generation with its beautiful, neurotic cast. But teenage angst and dysfunctional love triangles aren't its only draw. The O.C. relentlessly showcases indie (and semi-indie) rockers, whose melancholy takes on modern life and broken hearts serve as a fitting—and often compelling—soundtrack.

Speaking of soundtracks, it bears mentioning that once upon a time, they were mostly the province of movies. But TV and record company execs have now recognized the marketing synergy of including new music on popular shows. Not only do teens (and teens at heart) tune in to see what will happen next, they listen for the next "it" band, often unknowns catapulted into mainstream visibility. Death Cab for Cutie, for instance, enjoyed a 200,000 unit bounce of its album Transatlanticism after two O.C. characters discussed the band. One music columnist dubbed this phenomena "The O.C. effect"

Enter Music From The O.C.: Mix 4. This newly released moody mélange of acoustic and electronic exploration offers the perfect backdrop to the show's depiction of love and loss. For the most part, the bands on Mix 4 are artists you've never heard of (Flunk, anyone?) or bands just beginning to generate buzz in the alt rock scene (Modest Mouse). The biggest exception is Beck, whose song "Scarecrow" was one of five off his new album, Guero, first heard during the March 10 episode.

Something for the Pain
Lyrically, a few songs pay tribute to the innocence of young love. Imogen Heap croons, "Why'd you have to be so cute/It's impossible to ignore you/Must you make me laugh so much?" Bjork sound-alike Flunk sings, "Everybody knows that life can be wonderful."

But such happy moments are rare. Most of the album's emotional timbre is as bleak as a rainy Seattle winter as artist after artist give voice to brooding sentiments about life's meaninglessness. On "Eve, the Apple of My Eye," Bell X1 agonizes over a failed relationship, using double entendres to ponder whether a former lover enjoyed sex: "You left, I died/I went, and you cried/You came, I think/But I'll never really know ... These empty metaphors, they're all vain." Modest Mouse mopes, "As life gets longer, awful feels softer/Well it feels pretty soft to me/And if it takes s--- to make bliss, then I feel pretty blissfully" ("The View"). And Reindeer Section struggles under the weight of disappointment. Their response? Urinating on someone else's property.

Beck sings about smoking and alludes to intravenous drug use. Aqueduct threatens to shoot anyone who asks where they're from. And on a cover of Oasis' hit "Champagne Supernova," Matt Pond PA asks, "Where were you while we were getting high?"

Obviously, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore have left the building.

No Way Out
The picture of the world these songs paint is not pretty. In the absence of anything worth living for, these artists grope for pleasure wherever they can find it. And that's how the characters on The O.C. live, too. Last season, Marissa (played by Mischa Barton) overdosed on drugs. This year, she's explored a lesbian relationship that's included lingering kisses and caresses.

So it's not a stretch to say that the world of The O.C. is one in which everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes—paying no heed to potential consequences. The music of Mix 4 reflects that distorted—and dangerous—point of view.