Ranking All The Songs from The Juno Soundtrack

Velvet Underground

Starring Elliot Page as Juno and Michael Cera as Paulie, Juno’s quirky coming-of-age tale about a teenager’s unplanned pregnancy become one of the biggest success stories of the 2000s, picking up four Oscar nominations (including one win) and grossing $231 million worldwide against a budget of $6.5 million. The soundtrack also became a smash, becoming the first soundtrack to top the charts since Dreamgirls. Here’s how we rank all the songs from the Juno soundtrack.

19. Antsy Pants – Vampire

 

Depending on your perspective, Vampire is either deeply annoying or gorgeously cute. Either way, the Juno soundtrack wouldn’t be the same without this song from Kimya Dawson’s group, Antsy Pants.

18. Michael Cera and Elliot Page – Anyone Else But You

 

Michael Cera and Elliot Page’s charmingly sweet cover of Kimya Dawson’s Anyone Else But You closed out both the movie and soundtrack in style. The single version even became a bit of a hit in the US, reaching number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.

17. Mateo Messina – Up the Spout

 

There’s an argument to be made that the Juno soundtrack would be even better with a few more samples from Mateo Messina’s score, but at least we get a minute of it thanks to Up the Spout.

16. Kimya Dawson – My Rollercoaster

 

Anti-folk singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson contributed several tracks to the Juno movie, both as a solo performer and through her bands, The Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants. The short but sweet My Rollercoaster features as the second track to the soundtrack.

15. Belle & Sebastian – Piazza, New York Catcher

 

Piazza, New York Catcher was written by Belle and Sebastian’s lead singer Stuart Murdoch about the early days of his relationship with his future wife. After initially featuring as one of the highlights of the band’s 2003 album Dear Catastrophe Waitress, it eventually made its way onto the Juno soundtrack four years later.

14. Kimya Dawson – Sleep

 

It might be less than a minute long, but this lovely ditty about a worn-out mom pleading with her child to go to bed is one of Juno’s sweetest moments. Like several of Kimya Dawson’s other contributions, the song was recorded specifically for the Juno soundtrack.

13. Kimya Dawson – Loose Lips

 

Another Kimya Dawson contribution next, this time Loose Lips, a hypnotically catchy rant against the Iraq war and George Bush administration that features as one of the highlights of the singer’s fifth solo album, Remember That I Love You.

12. Kimya Dawson – So Nice So Smart

 

Michael Cera and Elliot Page may have been the stars of the movie, but Kimya Dawson is the star of the soundtrack. Here, she dishes up another serving of sweet, acoustic melancholy with the gorgeous So Nice So Smart.

11. Belle & Sebastian – Expectations

 

Belle & Sebastian contributed two songs to the Juno soundtrack, Piazza, New York Catcher and Expectations, the latter of which was originally included on their 1996 debut album, Tigermilk.

10. Kimya Dawson – Tire Swing

 

Next up is the amazingly catchy Tire Swing from Kimya Dawson. As geeksofdoom.com says, the singer’s guitar-heavy offerings were perfect for Juno, not only because her voice sounds like Page’s Juno, but a lot of the lyrics can easily be interpreted as coming from Juno.

9. Sonic Youth – Superstar

 

Inspired by the Carpenter’s version of the Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell penned hit, Superstar, alt-rockers Sonic Youth put their own spin on the classic for the 1994 Carpenters tribute album, If I Were a Carpenter. In addition to featuring on the Juno soundtrack, the song has also been used in the movies The Frighteners and High Tension.

8. Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants – Tree Hugger

 

On this next track, Kimya Dawson teams up with the rest of Antsy Pants to deliver what Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice describes as “a primal, primitive ode to tire swings.”

7. Cat Power – Sea of Love

 

Director Jason Reitman was initially reluctant to use Cat Power’s cover of Sea of Love in Juno, as Tom Waits’ version had already played a big part in the 1989 movie of the same name. Eventually, Elliot Page managed to get him to agree. Considering the loveliness of Power’s interpretation, it was a wise call.

6. Barry Louis Polisar – All I Want Is You

 

Children’s music artist Barry Louis Polisar kicks off the Juno soundtrack with the harmonica-laden All I Want Is You, a quirky little ditty that couldn’t be more fitting to an indie movie if it tried. Voted one of the best ever songs on a teen movie soundtrack by Screen Rant, it’s one of the album’s most memorable moments.

5. The Moldy Peaches – Anyone Else But You

 

Of all Kimya Dawson’s contributions to the Juno soundtrack, Anyone Else But You is perhaps the most memorable. Performed alongside Adam Green as part of The Moldy Peaches, she delivers a phenomenal performance that very rightly features heavily in the film, both in its original form and in the heartwarming cover performed by Page and Cera in the film’s climax.

4. Buddy Holly – Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest

 

He may have had bigger hits, but Buddy Holly’s version of Mickey Baker and Ellas McDaniel’s (Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest suits the charming quirkiness of Juno to perfection.

3. The Velvet Underground – I’m Sticking with You

 

The wonderfully goofy I’m Sticking with You was one of the 14 tracks recorded by the Velvet Underground for an album before they got unceremoniously dumped by MGM for not being commercial enough. it eventually found the audience it deserved when it was included on the 1985 compilation album, VU.

2. Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes

 

Mott the Hoople’s lack of commercial success bought the band close to breaking up in 1972, but fortunately, long-time fan David Bowie came to the rescue by gifting them All the Young Dudes. The song became their commercial breakthrough, taking them to number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and breaking into the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It’s since been named as one of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” by Rolling Stone and as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”

1. The Kinks – A Well Respected Man

 

Director Jason Reitman had originally wanted to use The Kinks’ A Well Respected Man for another one of his screenplays, but in the end, he decided it would be a better fit for Paulie’s introduction instead. Widely considered as one of the group’s most popular songs, it’s won multiple accolades over the years, including a place on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”

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