Ben Stiller's directorial debut Reality Bites is unmistakably a product of the early '90s, but its soundtrack is mainly comprised of holdovers from the '80s. Along with iconic hits by Squeeze, The Knack and U2, the set includes cuts from World Party, the Posies, Crowded House, and Dinosaur Jr., giving the impression that the record is in fact a mixtape made by a college radio DJ circa 1989.

This is hardly a bad thing — the curation is well above average, particularly in the often slapdash realm of '90s film soundtracks, and there is a consistent goofy yet glossy romanticism to the disc that nicely matches the tone of the movie. No track captures that feeling better than Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories 'delightful "Stay (I Missed You)," a major pop hit that launched Loeb's career and propelled the soundtrack to the top of the charts. Even after years of radio play and untold thousands of terrible karaoke performances, Loeb's original recording still sounds effortlessly lovely, demure, and incredibly sincere for a tune from an era marked mainly by irony and cynicism.

Just as audiences expecting some kind of definitive, true-to-life take on "slacker" culture… read more »