popwreckoning

It’s only appropriate that a show as hip as Showtime‘s “Weeds” would feature some of today’s hippest artists on its soundtrack. Boasting talent such as Beirut, the Dresden Dolls, Ween, Illinois and Oh No! Oh My has Weeds: Music from the Series Vol. 3 acting as any indie kid’s dream.

It’s even got the perfect amount of kitsch factor for the hipper than thou, featuring Randy Newman‘s rendition of theme song “Little Boxes,” originally by Malvina Reynolds, and a song performed by the hysterically funny Kevin Nealon, who plays hilarious and egocentric CPA Doug Wilson.

Part of “Weeds” underground music tastes have to do with its limited budget: the show can’t necessarily afford hit songs, and are therefore forced to seek out the relatively unknown and obscure. Regardless, “Weeds” music supervisor Christoper Noxon has proven that he’s got his finger on the independent music pulse with an ear for up and coming talent. The show’s writers are constantly swapping mix CD as they plot each season’s story arc and one writer is known for building an entire plotline around a single lyric. The actors on “Weeds” also get into the music mania by playing their favorite songs on set.

Limited resources and the constant search for that perfect song that’s still unknown has lead to many of the cast and crew discovering new favorite music on a constant basis. “Weeds” favorites include Man Man (a favorite of ours, too!), Sufjan Stevens and Page France. These are the only three acts that the show has licensed more than once.

A great deal of thought goes into the placement of each song in every episode and Noxon and crew always manage to hit the nail on the head. The best example of spot on music occurs with Ween’s “You F**cked Up,” appearing in season three’s premiere episode, “Doing the Backstroke.” The song’s ripping riff intro begins as Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) walks into her backyard to find neighbor Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins). Hodes tells Botwin, “I did this for your own good,” and the camera pans out to show thousands of dollars of weed floating in the pool as Ween front man Mickey Melchiondo screams, “YOU FUCKED UP!” The camera immediately closes in on Botwin’s horrified expression as Melchiondo continues, “You bitch! / You really fucked up!” Absolutely spot on.

Definitely a soundtrack to get your hands on. You can score a copy of this digital-only indie gem on June 3rd, same day as the third season DVD set lands in stores.

Tracklisting:
01. Little Boxes (Randy Newman)
02. Chariot (Page France)
03. Buttmachine (That 1 Guy)
04. Scenic World (Beirut)
05. Girl Anachronism (The Dresden Dolls)
06. You F**cked Up (Ween)
07. Walk In The Park (Oh No! Oh My!)
08. Nosebleed (Illinois)
09. Your Rocky Spine (Great Lake Swimmers)
10. The Earth Keeps Turning On (Mr. Smolin)
11. Just Like The Superdome (Kevin Nealon)
12. Keep Sake (State Radio)
13. Let’s Drive Away (Eleni Mandell)

“Weeds”: website | Music from the Series, vol. 3 | order the soundtrack, season 3 on DVD

It’s definitely not a surprise that Rolling Stone has called Showtime’s Emmy award winning “Weeds” “one of the best and most daring shows on television,” because we at PopWreckoning agree 100%. We haven’t made it much of a secret that we love the harrowing adventures of Nancy Botwin and company, and we’re totally stoked for the 3rd season to come out on DVD on June 3rd, the same release date for the third season’s soundtrack.

The soundtrack features great artists such as Beirut, Ween, Oh No! Oh My!, and “Weeds’” own cast member Kevin Nealon. Not to be outdone, the DVD box set is available both regularly (3 discs) and in Blu-Ray (2 discs), with great bonus features including a gag reel, trivia tracks, biography on season guest star Mary-Kate Olsen, soundtrack sampler, “Little Boxes” montage and more!

Mary-Louise Parker plays Nancy Botwin, a single mom in the community of Agrestic who begins selling pot to maintain her family’s lifestyle when her husband suddenly passes away. Season three of “Weeds” picks up right where the season two nail biter of a finale ends, with guns pointed at Nancy by other drug dealers just as she learns that her corrupt DEA agent husband has been murdered. Romany Malco, Tonye Patano, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon and Andy Milder round out the comedic cast. The exciting third season is being released on June 3rd to coincide with the premiere of season 4 on June 16th (enough time to catch up on whatever you may have missed!)

“Weeds” is going green with this season’s release. The DVD packaging is made from 100% recycled paper and plastic water bottles (pictured). Should you feel the need to justify your purchase of “Weeds” season 3, you’re helping the global effort to go green! Great TV and saving the planet, win-win I’d say. Pre-order begins Wednesday, May 7th and season 3 of “Weeds” will be available in-stores on June 3rd, $39.98 for the 3-disc DVD set and $39.99 for the 2-disc Blu-Ray set.

Weeds: website | facebook fanpage
Showtime: website
Lionsgate: website