The Doom Generation

Soundtrack (American)
by Mark Phinney

I had a dream that I wandered into the art of nightlife, Manray, and they were handing out free copies of The Doom Generation soundtrack (American) in chain link press packs along with special collector’s edition handcuffs used in the actual film. I awoke in a pool of my own frustration only to see that I was only on the second track of my CD review. I know that the teens of the L.A. nightlife, and the ones across the country who yearn to be like them, listen to endless hours of industrial ambiance. That is why I’m going to turn the other cheek in this coverage because it’s for the kids, man.

The track that I could listen to twice was Jesus and Mary Chain‘s offering, an ever-blooming teen opera, “Penetration.’ Another band I hold a soft spot for in my record library is Lush. They tend to get a lot of that ruffian state going on this disc, however I know, in my heart of hearts, that they are still the cutest girls I’ve come to adore in past albums. This soundtrack takes the same route the Natural Born Killers soundtrack took – threading the songs along in the order of events of the film, with bits of dialogue thrown in for good measure. The bands I didn’t care to hear from again were Love and Rockets and the Cocteau Twins who have taken up too much time on these subjects; they could stand to find another genre soundtrack, maybe Home Alone 3. For depressed indusheads (hey a new counter-culture term), this soundtrack is the frosting on the cake to the film.