Cinema Sounds: Clerks
Here we are, back at 1994 when the punk was punk and the grunge was grungy. The mid ’90s was a hell of a time for film soundtracks to be perfectly honest. Every musical genre was retrofitted to movies, seamlessly holding them together, sometimes by a thin stream of consciousness (Lost Highway), or other times when the film enhanced the sounds of a depicted era (Singles, The Crow). Somewhere in the shuffle of this decade between hair bands and nu-metal, a movie came around that not so much defined a generation but instead became both the vulgar parody and direct reflection of it. The low-budget, oft quoted and bewilderingly dialogue-heavy Clerks.
This movie is regularly hailed as an icon of independent cinema. Shot entirely in black and white and utilizing a stockpile of complete unknowns, director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier broke credit card limits and filmed at Smith’s place of work — Quick Stop/RST Video @ Leonardo, NJ — to create what us ’90s film nerds consider a masterpiece. Before the cult fame of Mallrats, the star-studded religious satire of Dogma, or the household names of Jay & Silent Bob, many purists still hearken back to “lucky number 37″ Dante Hicks of Quick Stop and his foul-mouthed counterpart Randal Graves of RST Video.
While the film is loaded with clever retorts and obscene commentary on pop culture, most people seem to neglect Clerks as a musical entity. The soundtrack alone is chock full of staple acts like Alice In Chains, The Jesus Lizard, and Corrosion Of Conformity while also tucking plenty of film quotes in between — a feat rather awe inspiring if you remember that this was an independent production. It’s a known fact that Smith and Mosier spent $28,000 on acquiring the rights to use the music they picked (the film alone only cost them $27,575); a music video produced in tandem was for “Can’t Even Tell” by Soul Asylum (I think Smith definitely had a fan moment during the shoot).
The video for “Can’t Even Tell” was filmed on location at Quick Stop and includes references to the infamous rooftop hockey scene from the movie, one of many memorable Clerks moments.
The Clerks OST was definitive in that it literally sums up everything about ’90s young adult derision and its impact on society, complementing attitude with amplitude and allowing room for both witty quotations and suitable background audio. There are obvious moments where a song makes the scene, such as the quintessential opening credits featuring “Clerks” by New Jersey alt rock outfit Love Among Freaks. The band was local to Smith and he approached them to do music for his film; the movie unwittingly became a vehicle for Love Among Freaks as they also performed the soundtrack inclusion “Berserker” and reappeared on the soundtrack to Chasing Amy, but unfortunately the group only released one full studio album before dissipating into nostalgic bliss.
Other pivotal moments that are boosted by their musical companions include: the introduction of Jay & Silent Bob receiving the Girls Against Boys treatment with “Kill The Sex Player” — a stoner rock tune (how appropriate) with plenty of fuzz and bass along for the ride; Jay attempting a white boy break dance routine to the sound of Stabbing Westward’s “Violent Mood Swings [Thread Mix]“; the Randal and Dante discussion of contractors killed on an exploding Death Star (one of two primary Star Wars conversations) is enhanced by Bash & Pop’s “Making Me Sick”; the entrance of Randal Graves is accented by Alice In Chains’ bluesy “Got Me Wrong” before he exits at the end credits to Soul Asylum’s “Can’t Even Tell”.
Depending on how one perceives it, Clerks as a whole had brilliant use of accenting key scenes with proper music. The Jesus Lizard’s “Panic In Cicero” is played during the fight scene between Randal and Dante after Dante finally grows balls and strikes back (yes, we quote Star Wars too) for Randal’s hilarious but chaos-inducing behavior. This song could not be more appropriate for the biggest action scene in the film, besides Love Among Freaks’ “Berserker” or Corrosion Of Conformity’s “Big Problems”. Add to this the more obvious move of selecting bands and songs that represent slackers and twenty-somethings of the ’90s, bands of the ’90s covering classic rock tunes (Seaweed’s “Go Your Own Way”, Golden Smog’s “Shooting Star”), and what you end up with is a soundtrack to rival archetypal examples like Empire Records, Singles, and Reality Bites.
People cite Clerks nowadays as a classic film while unintentionally making me feel old, and this writer would go as far as to say its audiophile equal makes for one hell of a ’90s mix tape. If one were to remove any association to Clerks, the CD would essentially round out to just that — or rather a stellar example of that, one even High Fidelity author Nick Hornby could never hope to dissect. Alone the Clerks OST is a testament to ’90s culture represented by killer songs; as a soundtrack, it compliments the satire of said culture without even trying, graced with not-so-subtle nuances of Graves/Hicks banter and the ever popular “Jay’s Chant” (extended rendition found in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back).
To quote Randal Graves, “People say crazy shit during sex…one time I called this girl ‘Mom’”. It probably has nothing at all to do with concluding this article, but if you were finally given an excuse to use it, would you not? I worked at a convenience store for three years and set off fireworks in the parking lot on July 4th while blasting Bad Religion out of my van’s factory speakers, so needless to say this soundtrack and film bring back memories. Draw your own conclusions, then go listen to the Clerks OST and remind yourself why harassing the customers is fun no matter what you do for a living in your twenties.
Clerks Original Motion Picture Soundtrack playlist:
01. Dante’s Lament
02. “Clerks” - Love Among Freaks
03. “Kill the Sex Player” - Girls Against Boys
04. No Time For Love, Dr. Jones
05. “Got Me Wrong” - Alice In Chains
06. Randal & Dante on Sex
07. “Making Me Sick” - Bash & Pop
08. Bunch of Muppets, A
09. “Chewbacca” - Supernova
10. “Panic in Cicero” - The Jesus Lizard
11. “Shooting Star” - Golden Smog
12. “Leaders and Followers” - Bad Religion
13. I Like to Expand My Horizons
14. “Violent Mood Swings” - Stabbing Westward (Thread mix)
15. “Berserker” - Love Among Freaks
16. “Big Problems” - Corrosion of Conformity
17. “Go Your Own Way” - Seaweed
18. Social Event of the Season
19. “Can’t Even Tell” - Soul Asylum
20. Jay’s Chant
Ahhhhhhh… Chewbacca!
Nice write-up, David! This is also a soundtrack I’ve had since it was released and continue to own to this day.
The heavily underrated Seaweed have their best cover song on this record and I continue to listen to it at least once a month.
Soul Asylum’s “Can’t Even Tell” and AiC’s “Got Me Wrong” are classics from great 90’s bands. CoC’s “Big Problems” is another highlight on a record full of them.
I still quote “No time for love, Dr. Jones!” all the time.
This is probably my second or third favorite soundtrack ever created. (Sorry, Singles is still the best! Airheads is right up there, too.)
I’ve had this soundtrack ever since the movie came out. It’s definitely one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Thanks for the great article.
i myself have also set off a lot of fireworks in the parking lot of the place i worked. so many in fact that the fire department was called because the smoke filled the street and no one could see where they were driving. so we have 2 things in common here in reckless behavior and enjoying the soundtrack.