'High Fidelity' is The Greatest Movie Soundtrack of All Time

"The making of a compilation tape is a very subtle art. Lots of do's and don'ts. First of all you are using someone else's poetry to express how you feel." Rob - High Fidelity.

The folks who turned author Nick Hornby's soulful, heartfelt; paean to a record store owner and the near end of his most significant relationship took those words deeply to heart as they crafted my favorite movie soundtrack of all time for the movie High Fidelity.

Breaking up with the help of Roky Erickson

John Cusack, co-writer and star of High Fidelity, is Rob, a morose Chicago record store owner who, as we join the story, is breaking up with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hkelje). As he does so the angry strains of Roky Erickson and The Thirteenth Floor Elevators aptly titled tune "You're Gonna Miss Me" pop onto the soundtrack.

That kind of pseudo Greek chorus effect, with the movie and the pop soundtrack reflecting each other, repeats throughout High Fidelity, enhancing the experience of the movie. Soon after Laura has left the apartment Rob begins lamenting his lost loves, the significant women he feels have abandoned him over the years, and Laura, he claims, doesn't make the top 5, desert island break up list.

John Cusack and John Wesley Harding are 'wrong about everything'

Later, at his record store, Rob relates the story of number 3 on the break up list, Charlie Nicholson (Catherine Zeta Jones). As his flashback winds down the song "I'm Wrong about Everything" can be heard playing in the store. The chorus kicks in just as Rob is telling us how amazing Charlie was; later in the film, when we meet Charlie, we find that Rob indeed was 'wrong about everything,' Charlie is horrible.

'Love' saves Rob from his misery

"Always See Your Face" by the long forgotten band Love opens with the mood perfect lyric "Won't somebody please help me with my misery." The song plays not long after Rob has learned that Laura is living with his former neighbor Ian (Tim Robbins). But what begins as melancholy builds to a determined end as the title chorus transforms from "I will Always See Your Face" to "You will always see my face," implying ever so subtly that Rob hasn't given up yet.

The Kinks promise a 'happy' ending

When The Kinks frothy "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" kicks in the lyrics don't comment exactly on action in the scene. But rather the chorus arrives just as the third act of High Fidelity is transitioning toward what will be a happy ending for everybody. Like an old friend clapping you on the shoulder, The Kinks tune offers reassurance to the audience just as Rob is about to take the biggest risk of his life, starting his own record label.

Dylan, Costello, The Beta Band and Jack Black as Marvin Gaye

Aside from the songs that directly appear to mirror moments in the film, the High Fidelity soundtrack also contains sublime music choices from Bob Dylan ("Most of the Time"), Elvis Costello ("Shipbuilding"), Sheila Nicholls, Stereolab, The Beta Band, co-star Jack Black, who croons, rather tunefully, Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On," and two tracks from the Velvet Underground ("Oh Sweet Nuthin" and "Who Loves the Sun").

Stevie takes us home 'forever'

But the reason that High Fidelity is my favorite soundtrack of all time is because of the subtle ways in which the soundtrack, these pop classics and forgotten B-Sides, are woven deep into the soul of the film. That continues to the end as Stevie Wonder sings "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)," over the film's closing credits; a celebration and confirmation of Rob and Laura's happily ever after.

Whether woven into the narrative of the film or standing alone on a CD, the High Fidelity soundtrack is moving, esoteric, popular and obscure. It is the ultimate mixtape and, for me, the greatest movie soundtrack of all time.