Grey’s Anatomy TV

It’s always a pleasant surprise when a soundtrack contains an interesting collection of under-heard or under-appreciated tunes, but it’s to be expected from Grey’s Anatomy–a TV show that is packed with sharp dialogue, honest characters, and wall-to-wall good music. The head-bobbing starts immediately when the Postal Service opens things up “Such Great Heights,” a crafty track that will provide indie rock fans who still love the Pet Shop Boys their guilty fix. A few songs in, the cleverness continues with the dysfunctional-woman anthem “Portions for Foxes” by L.A.’s Rilo Kiley, a tune that will have you quoting sharp lyrics to Desperate girlfirends for days. Other must-have music includes Mike Doughty (former lead singer of Soul Coughing) with “Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well,” and the gorgeous Bjork-meets-Cat-Power stylings of Inara George on the lucious “Fools In Love.” The disc highlight (from a talented vocalist named Roisin Murphy) is the sassy “Ruby Blue”–the kind of Macy Gray-funk that makes you want to see her live, immediately. As an added bonus, the liner notes have a wonderful mini-essay by two of the executive producers, providing an enjoyable description of the show’s attention to detail, and the cast and crew’s deep love of music. –Denise Sheppard

The “Grey’s Anatomy” soundtrack features an eclectic mix of indie pop and rock artists whose music was heard during the first season of Grey’s Anatomy–a wildly popular ABC drama about surgical interns in Seattle.
The soundtrack features electrifying music from such beloved indie artists as Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Ben Lee, and Medeski, Martin & Wood, as well as undiscovered talent such as London-based electropop duo Psapp, who supply the show’s main title song “Cosy in the Rocket.”
The album’s tracks, many of which can be heard during key emotional scenes in various episodes, were chosen by the show’s creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers, from a large pool of artists introduced to them by music supervisor Alex Patsavas, who is also the music supervisor of Fox’s The O.C.. “We fall in love with the songs,” says Rhimes. “We ride around listening to them in our cars. We call each other to talk about them on the phone. We get them into our heads and into our souls. And then we weave them into the show because we can’t live without them.”