VA - 10 Things I Hate About You - Music From The Motion Picture (1999)

One of the best modern rock soundtracks of the spring 1999 season is filled with great tracks by hip new artists, and some unexpected covers. The story of two sisters trying to get a date for the high school prom, 10 Things I Hate About You is an updated version of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. The sisters' father is way too overprotective and won't let the younger sibling date unless the eldest gets a date first. Featuring teen stars such as Larisa Oleynik, Julia Stiles, Andrew Keegan, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the movie was pretty good and was considered a box office success. Letters to Cleo is featured in the movie and on this soundtrack collection as one of the character's favorite bands. They do a great job covering Cheap Trick's 1979 hit "I Want You to Want Me" and Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind," keying off of the original artist's style and throwing in a little bit of their own. Other tracks featured in the film include Semisonic's "FNT," Save Ferris' "I Know," Sister Hazel's "Your Winter," Jessica Riddle's "Even Angels Fall," Leroy's "New World," Ta-Gana's "Saturday Night," Brick's "Dazz," Joan Armatrading's "The Weakness in Me," the Cardigans' "War," and Madness' "Wings of a Dove." As good as they are, the best track is George Clinton's immortal "Atomic Dog," heard during one of the film's funniest scenes. A '70s funk-lovin' lead character, stopped at a red light, wins a car-stereo volume duel with a carload of '90s Valley girls blasting Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" in the next lane. The album closes with the instrumental theme "One More Thing," composed by Richard Gibbs in a pop-classical style; it does a nice job working the same groove as the rest of the soundtrack.~10 Things I Hate About You [Original Soundtrack] Review by S. Peeples