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Mean Girls Mood Music Released Solely For iTunes
Written by: Carolina Taylor
Survival of The Fittest takes on new meaning with today's teens.
I am writing this feature, while listening to a rendition of Linda Perry's Beautiful, the one originally vocalized by Christina Aguilera. This version of the song, found on the"Mean Girls" soundtrack, is slightly less polished, but still full of the fun that fills the entire soundtrack.
"Beautiful" is just track 1 of 10 off the official soundtrack to Mean Girls; which is being released exclusively as a digital download for only a limited timethrough Apple's iTunes.
Over the next six months, Mac and PC users can purchase the ten proffered tracks at the popular online store. They can also acquire additional songs from the movie that are not on the soundtrack through iTunes as well.
It's a new branch out idea from iTunes and Paramount Films. The idea originated and was brought to fruition by Los Angeles marketing firm Buzztone, Inc. and made available through independent digital distributor Artists Without a Label (AWAL).
If you haven't heard of this movie you are obviously lucky enough not to be housing a young teenage girl under your roof. "Mean Girls" is the underdog's dream movie. It's directed by Mark Waters ("Freaky Friday") and adapted from a screenplay by Emmy winner Tina Fey ("Saturday Night Live"). "Mean Girls" is a fictional comedy based loosely on Rosalind Wiseman's New York Times bestseller "Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence". We all knew those girls in high school, that underscore the premise and theme to this latest teen girl flick and jump out all through the soundtrack as well; the girls that seemed so popular and acted so on top of the heap, but underneath were insecure and lashed out at anyone they felt threatened by.
The girls of "Mean Girls" that share the nemesis billing will gladly "Rip Her To Shreds" (that's track 3 featuring the Boom Kats), with how they "Operate" (that's track 5, featuring the electro-punk band Peaches). Of course not all teen girls are "Built This Way" (track 4 by Samantha Ronson, with a funky beat that adds some spunk to the mix), and eventually, the heroine of Mean Girls fights back.
"One Way or Another" (that's track 7 featuring Blondie, adding just a touch of age to this soundtrack) the young girl heroine/underdog finds her way through the maw of backbiting, and finds a way to get back at her aggressors, sending the social cliché into "Overdrive" (track 2 featuring teen rocker Katy Rose), and eventually dissolving the click into a "Hated" (track 8 by Nikki Cleary) hormonal mess. As I went through the soundtrack, memorable lines like "strip-mall whore" interspersed with colorful euphemisms for female dogs were a wonderful flashback to the beloved days of old. These digital downloads stand out, in that they made me laugh, and helped me want to dance through the laundry and dinner with my own Mean Girl.
The brainstorm for this mode of release came simply to Buzztone, Inc. They were assuming that the demographic for this movie, and consequently the soundtrack to "Mean Girls," would be largely, if not wholly of the teenage variety. Assuming that, they figured that this audience would be of the cyber-laden variety.
If their target audience would rather instant message and click their way to the final product, why not cut out the middle man, and release it online first? With spirited bouncy tracks like Mathlette Rap (track 6 performed by Rajiv Surendra with a fun young vibe), Misty Canyon (track 9 which gives the soundtrack just a touch of depth as sung by Anjali), and a splice from the movie's talent show "Jingle Bell Rock" (track 10 which is performed by Joe Beale and Jim Boothe) all conjoin to give this soundtrack that magic that is in a word: youth.
These downloads are not serious for even a moment, and it won't change world view or social injustice, but its got youth.
As for this soundtrack, for me at least, it is a voice of recognition for young girls, and it helps the adults who must endure whatever those teens listen to, to go back in time to their own years of rebellion rancor and youth. This soundtrack drips angst and hard-edged teen communication that all parents love and simultaneously hate, but recognize in an instant. And in a way it sends a message: we've all got some Mean Girl in us. Nobody's perfect, so log in, download, and take a moment to revisit your own imperfect years, the ones you would never want to relive, but might want to joyfully sing to for just a moment.
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