Film + TV

9 reasons the 'Reality Bites' soundtrack is still the best

by Anne T. Donahue

Reality Bites is a a movie and soundtrack that defines nostalgia, beloved ’90s fashion, poor life choices (by the end of the movie both Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke’s characters are unemployed—and maybe homeless?), and 7-11 Big Gulps.

19 years after being released, the soundtrack still holds up, and here are nine points to prove it.

1. It brought new meaning to convenience stores

So don’t you dare say your visits to the 7-11 have ever been boring.

2. It made U2 socially acceptable

Bono fan or not, you wept at this scene — maybe you’re even weeping now, and you will probably also weep later. This is what soundtracks are for: to cry because Ethan Hawke’s character, who is awful, is having a hard time, and Winona’s character, who is also having a hard time, is suffering because of that.

3. It …LISA LOEB!

I mean, there’s not much to say other than YOU SAID THAT I WAS NAIVE AND I THOUGHT THAT I WAS STRONG OH I THOUGHT I COULD LEAVE I COULD LEAVE BUT I WAS WRONG ‘CUZ WE MISS YOU, LISA LOEB, YEAAAAHHHH WE MISS YOU. (Be my friend.)

4. It embodied ’90s angst

Ugh, Ethan Hawke, YOU JAG. Thank you, The Indians, for a song that not only symbolically describes his character, but what it was probably like for most 20-somethings in the mid-1990s. (Though obviously, it’s far, far more dramatic today.)

5. It breathed life into adult contemporary hits

Or at least that’s the realization you made if you were too young to watch Reality Bites when Reality Bites came out. Now, Squeeze’s “Tempted” is no longer merely the backbone of dentist office soundtracks — it’s the soundtrack of eventually hitting Ben Stiller’s car with your own.

6. It turned any song into appropriate hook-up material

I may not have been able to find a clip of Winona Ryder and Ben Stiller making out, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, or that this song wasn’t what was playing as it did. Now you can throw this song on when things are about to get real; confident you’re paying correct amounts of homage to this romantic kind-of reggae gem.

7. It was a testament to the importance of a soundtrack

YES WE HAVE SOUNDTRACKS STILL, I KNOW, STOP YELLING. But remember when you had to buy it? Or, well, die? None of this streaming or downloading nonsense: you had to save up your allowance, and you had to pay $20 to feel cool when you finally memorized the words to “Spin the Bottle.” (I of course, wasn’t that cool. But the older kids who lived next door to me were! I still don’t actually know all the words.)

Also, shout-out to that VJ’s hair sweet hair.

8. It is proof that Ethan Hawke sang

Now, I’m not saying Ethan Hawke singing helps the soundtrack (especially since “I’m Nuthin'” is what made it only to the actual record — not this Violent Femmes cover), but I am saying that it helps us understand why many of us fell victim to his character’s “mystery.” At least we can say he had more promise than Matt Dillon’s band in Singles.

9. It’s flawless

True, World Party only sampled David Bowie’s iconic “Young Americans,” but it works! It works because Reality Bites is magic, and its soundtrack reflects that magic, as well as our penchant for trying to match music to our not-even-close-to-being-as-romantic 20-something lives. Face it: you’ve even listened to the Lenny Kravitz song. And you didn’t mind it.