Search - Various Artists :: Reality Bites

Renae Z.
Reviewed on 4/8/2007...

The version I have posted is the original 1994 BMG version - this version only has the first 14 songs on the 10th Anniversary Edition as this version is the original.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Carolyn J. from EDMONDS, WA
Reviewed on 3/7/2007...

This is the Original Soundtrack version--not the 10the Anniversary one. It has 14 tracks ending with Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Melissa K. (Melly) from CANTON, MI
Reviewed on 12/30/2006...

This is the original, not the 10th anniversity edition. This site didn't list the original to post.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Lisa B. from WINTER PARK, FL
Reviewed on 8/14/2006...

Not the 10th anniversary edition, but there wasn't an option listed for the original release.

1 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

The Soundtrack to my Generation

Cabir Davis | 05/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all I am 30 years old, and if you're my age, you were probably 16-17 years old when this soundtrack first released. I can't count the number of times I put this cassette on my player and went to sleep to the killer tunes. I had one of these players that played both sides without you having to manually turn the cassette over, so I could just let it do its' thing and lay back and enjoy.



I would say that for most of us born in the late 1970s, this 1994 soundtrack was pretty much the soundtrack to our lives - and for good reason. This is one of those rare albums where every track is a winner, there is no filler, and it also introduced (at the time) some pretty groundbreaking new artists.



The best things on this CD are :



1. Lisa Loeb : Her original "Stay" (a masterpiece after all these years) is still here, alongwith a new track called "Fools Like Me".



2. The Juliana Hatfield 3 : "Spin the Bottle" was my favorite song off this album for over a year, and it holds up well even today. I love this group.



3. Lenny Kravitz : Which boy would not relate to the glory that was "Spinnin' Around Over You"? This was a seminal track on the CD.



4. Squeeze : As I grew older, the track I most wanted to play from this was "Tempted" by Squeeze. Its very memorable with a killer chorus. It made this CD.



Ethan Hawke's interludes are fine, and "Bed of Roses" still rocks all these years later. You know, for a film thats close to fifteen years old, this soundtrack pretty much nails present day sentiments and angst as well. I remember the classic line that Winona gets to say - "I thought I would BE something at 23!", to which Hawke responds "The only thing you have to be at 23 - is yourself". It resonated quite well when I was 16, but I suppose young people watching the movie and listening to the soundtrack would gain some wisdom from that too.



Always interesting and never boring, this new edition of the CD deserves a place in your collection. Get it now!"

Still cool

foggybreeze | 01/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"lost this CD and finally got around to repurchasing it, still good 14 years later. good songs from start to finish."

Reality Bites. This CD doesn't!

Steven Haarala | Mandeville, LA USA | 12/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This soundtrack brings back vivid memories of the 90's for me. I guess mainly because of Lisa Loeb's "Stay", which I remember being on the radio and on MTV/VH1 incessantly. But in truth, some the the songs that I remember strongly come from other, earlier, periods. "Disco Inferno" is one of the best songs from the peak disco era. "My Sharona" is rock from post-peak disco, and "All I Want Is You" is primo late 80's U-2. However, when I heard some of the tracks that I wasn't so familiar with, I could hear the 90's loud and clear, which means I was hearing a hybrid of different styles rather tnan one dominant voice, because that's how 90's music was.



In "Spin the Bottle", by The Juliana Hatfield 3, we hear the neo-folky sound that was successfully popularized by Jewel. Grunge was big: in "Going, Going, Gone" by The Posies we get musical grunge and properly introspective lyrics. Likewise, Lenny Kravitz's "Spinning Around Over You" has a grungy and bluesy feel. "Give a Man a Fish" by Arrested Development embodies the more idealistic old-school rap that preceded "gangsta" rap, while Me Phi Me's "Revival" is an early precursor to the rap/hip-hop synthesis that would later come to dominate pop music. In yet another manifestation of the 90's, New Order's "Confusion" is a club/dance number, a genre that was also in the process of becoming prominent.



The real surprise on this collection is Ethan Hawke. Actor, novelist, director - now he's a rock star too? "I'm Nuthin" continues the folk revivalist sound, with confused and despairing lyrics and talking-folk delivery, sounding like a 90's Bob Dylan; and "Add It Up" is dripping with frustrated macho sexuality. It seems that Ethan could have had a new career had he chosen to pursue it.



So overall, I recommend this CD. I recommend the film too, but you don't need to see it to enjoy this music. There are maybe 2 or 3 tracks that I don't like, but out of 20 you're bound to find a couple of clunkers."