Listen to the alternate universe of The O.C. collapse on itself via the show's sixth (!) soundtrack disc, Covering Our Tracks (Warner Bros.), on which young bands cover relatively young bands—mostly just diluting recent songs for no apparent purpose. Results include: Goldspot's limp take on Modest Mouse's "Float On," Lady Sovereign's disappointingly cheery "Pretty Vacant," and Rock Kills Kid's completely unnecessary shot at Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On." Downloadable bright spots are few: Tally Hall sweetens The Killers' "Smile Like You Mean It," and Band Of Horses make The New Year's "The End's Not Near" their own. But for the most part, the disc feels about as essential as another season of the show… C-
Borat overkill reached peak levels as soon as every dude in America started saying "Niiice!" but the movie's soundtrack—with the swell title Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin In Moving Film Borat (Atlantic)—could bring back fond, funny memories once the hype dies down. Though it mostly consists of skippable, questionably Kazakh songs, it includes some dialogue from the film, plus "In My Country There Is Problem (Throw The Jew Down The Well)," the hilarious, bizarre moment from Da Ali G Show… B-
A just-disbanded group that somehow already seems like a relic, Dead Moon has inhabited its own underground (based in Clackamas, Oregon) for 20 years. Most releases by husband-wife duo Fred and Toody Cole haven't reached beyond a small, rabid fan base, but Echoes Of The Past (Sub Pop) could find a few more willing homes for the band's elemental garage rock. The double disc collects a whopping 49 tracks, many originally released—unsurprisingly—on limited-edition singles and EPs… B
Clint Mansell made his name as part of Pop Will Eat Itself, but a working relationship with director Darren Aronofsky has brought his compositions to far more ears than his British goof-pop group ever did. Mansell scored The Fountain (Nonesuch), Aronofsky's bizarre multi-dimensional love story, and the pair found a pair of solid names to perform it: Po-mo classical group The Kronos Quartet and Scottish post-rock outfit Mogwai. The music is as overwrought as the film, for better and worse, swelling and droning in all the right places. Visualize Hugh Jackman in an outer-space bubble, and you're halfway there. B