The soundtrack to the 1993 cult fave (and cable programming staple) So I Married an Axe Murderer is an easygoing collection bringing back memories of MTV's 120 Minutes as it existed in 1993. Second-tier Alternative Nation acts like
Ned's Atomic Dustbin kick it next to the goat-bearded wanderlust of
the Spin Doctors and their era-defining single "Two Princes." Alongside
the La's shimmering original version is a rollicking
Boo Radleys cover of "There She Goes." Elsewhere,
Suede and
Sun-60 turn in tracks in a quest for mainstream stardom that never materialized. Just as Murderer itself marked the emergence of Mike Myers as a leading man (and one of only a few successful Saturday Night Live escapees), the film's soundtrack marks a point in alternative music after the genre's popular acceptance via
Nirvana, but before its economic codification and subdivision. It was a time when talented roots songwriter
Chris Whitley could appear on a soundtrack with Welsh indie poppers
the Darling Buds, and neither Benny nor Joon would bat an eye. While
So I Married an Axe Murder does feature one of Myers' character Charlie Mackenzie's (off) beat poems, it neglects to include the funny man's performance of "Do You Think I'm Sexy" as Charlie's drunk Scotsman father Stuart. Piper down, piper down. ~ Johnny Loftus