With the Grammys and the Oscars out of the way, I say it’s time for some appreciation  of the very neglected and utterly fantastic movie soundtracks throughout the years. However, I’m not going to go all Broadway or instrumental. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good musical, but I’ve decided to keep everything extremely indie and/or cheesy. Why? Because if you don’t enjoy a good indie movie about a lonely teen with lulling guitar music you are straight up lying to yourself.

“Submarine” – “Piledriver Waltz,” Alex Turner

If you don’t already know Alex Turner, he has one of the most sultry voices I’ve ever heard. The entire Submarine soundtrack is gorgeous, and to be frank, I had an extraordinarily hard time picking just one song off of it. “Piledriver Waltz” perfectly embodies the feeling of love and the complications that come with it. Somehow he manages to do this without turning the song into something cheesy, or fashioning it into an empty pop song. Maybe it has to do with the simplicity of an acoustic song. The quiet drums, and a mid-paced piano will cause any listener’s intrigue in the song to intensify. Because of all of this, Piledriver Waltz grabbed my attention immediately.

“Juno” – “Sea of Love” (Remastered), Cat Power

Before I saw “Juno,” I had a feeling I would fall in love with the soundtrack. And, much as I had anticipated, I am very much in love with every song. Despite my deep love for the entire soundtrack, something about “Sea of Love” has really managed to affect me. Cat Power has a voice that somehow evokes a deeper meaning in one of the more simple songs I know. The song itself is only about a minute long, nevertheless, I can still call it one of my favorites.

“Hunger Games Pt.1” – “Yellow Flicker Beat,” Lorde

I know many of these songs are so underground they could very well be the catacombs, but “Yellow Flicker Beat” is catchy, all right? And not to mention, Lorde is an extremely talented singer/songwriter. This song’s intrepid pop melody and predictability put me off initially. However, I fell into the pit of catchy-ness. To be fair, there is something about “Yellow Flicker Beat” that led me to love it. It could very well be Lorde’s sad, deep, and unique voice, or the way the chorus almost catches you by surprise. But overall, it’s got a beat and you can dance to it!

“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” – “Little Motel,” Modest Mouse

Although this movie may be about one loud, crazy night, this song always reminds me of a quiet Sunday morning drowned in coffee. Modest Mouse always has vocals that are slightly submerged in the melody. You know, when a song’s vocals are hazy and a bit indistinguishable from the rest of the parts of the song? I find that I’m not usually a huge fan of this. However, I feel like it works extremely well in “Little Motel.” The gradual buildup throughout with the guitars, sets the song up for success. After the many times I have listened to this song, it has still not grown old.

“Twilight” – “Let Me Sign,” Robert Pattinson

First of all, let’s get something out of the way. “Twilight” was not a good movie. Nonetheless, it had a satisfactory soundtrack. Like many other people, before this song I had no idea Robert Pattinson could sing. But oh man was I wrong. His gravely and enticing voice was a complete surprise. You can barely understand what he is saying throughout the song but that doesn’t detract from the complete passion and feeling of selflessness that the song reflects. And despite the fact it has a bad connotation due to being “Twilight,” I will always have a love for this song.

“(500) Days of Summer” – “Quelqu’un M’a Dit,” Carla Bruni

French singer Carla Bruni croons this sad, heartfelt melody (it translates to “Someone Said To Me”). It was originally brought to my attention through a friend quite a while ago. But when I recently watched “(500) Days of Summer,” I caught this song in the midst. I couldn’t have been more pleased. This is one of the more beautiful songs I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. I love listening to songs in other languages. I always feel like the message and intent of the singer is more obvious or apparent if you do not understand what they are saying. It forces you to listen to inflections instead of lyrics. And, I suppose I’m just a sucker for an acoustic melody.

“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” – “Last Words,” The Real Tuesday Weld

What can I say? I felt like this movie had too many good songs, and I couldn’t pick just one. So, naturally I went with two. “Last Words” is so beautifully done. You can tell that The Real Tuesday Weld has carefully planned out every piano trill and unexpected trumpet riff. This song is particularly unique, especially in comparison to the other songs on this list. That probably has something to do with its odd rhythm and little quirks throughout. If anything, these little oddities make the song even more lovable. If I’m going to leave you with any song, this would be the one. And I’d like to thank Nick and Norah for having an impeccable playlist.