(Director) Jason Reitman and I were meeting... and he simply said, "Well, what do you think Juno would listen to?" ...I hopped on his computer and I played the Moldy Peaches for him. The next thing I knew he'd fallen in love... and was in contact with Kimya Dawson, who is the female in the band, and he added the song ("Anyone Else But You") at the end of the film, which is a Moldy Peaches song. That song's been in my life for years, actually; there's a lot of sentimental value there. And the next thing we know Kimya Dawson is doing the music for the film. It was really incredible how that all worked out because it just feels perfect.
--Ellen Page, interview in Pitchfork, 11-21-07
Even Sonic Youth gets pulled into this precious sphere with their smart cover of The Carpenters' "Superstar," taken from the tribute album If I Were A Carpenter. Mark (Jason Bateman) the prospective adoptive father, tries to use this song to connect with Juno. This is the point where he turns from cool to slightly creepy. It's an interesting parallel having Mark identified with Sonic Youth, and Juno with The Moldy Peaches, as both bands were leaders of NY art-based reactionary movements some 20 years apart, No Wave and Anti-Folk, respectfully.
Besides the artists already mentioned there are The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian and Mott the Hoople to please the ears, but it's what's missing that is surprising. Juno, when asked to name her favorite band, says "a three-way tie between The Stooges, Patti Smith and The Runaways," and none of these appear in the soundtrack -- they're instead accompanied by a flash of black and white photos. It's just as well, because it's a construct of her character that seems too fantastical to believe, even buried under the spitfire of Cody's witty dialogue.
Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.
