Scrubs and Me.

I'm not really sure how I got into the music business or furthermore, how I ended up starting a music supervision (soundtracks) company. It could've been the countless times my mom played Paul Simon and Manfred Mann while doing yardwork. It could've been that I had nothing better to do. It may have been the high school spanish films we made for classes and how excited I got when I edited in my favorite songs to back-up any dialog and action. Or...maybe even Dawson's Creek, Scrubs, Top Gun and various other movies that so perfectly enhanced their theatrics with the perfect soundtrack.

I've been on a Scrubs kick lately, as I usually am during such times - re-watching the best they offered during Seasons 1-3, which also happens to be a great example of tv using songs to further their impact.

Did it start with 90210 or did Juno and Grey's Anatomy make you think about music with film? Most my age probably relate to how amazing the Garden State soundtrack turned out because it ditched norms of using headlining acts like Shawn Colvin or U2 and focused on the indie/emerging scene. No offense to the soundtrack, but making that mix is SIMPLE. Saying that, I do applaud Braff for using his role/power in the industry to share his love of emerging and blanketed artists like Imogen Heap, Alexi Murdoch, Schuyler Fisk, Iron & Wine and even re-introducing deep Simon and Garfunkel gems to my generation. let's be honest, Braff knows his shit (music) and moreso, how to use it (music, of course) effectively.

But to me, Scrubs was where it was at. It surpassed Dawson's Creek and 90210 in the depth at how it used music. It was the prequel to what Grey's Anatomy, The OC, Chuck, and maybe what The Hills are emerging into. Sure it's a comedy, but you'd be surprised at the transition into the serious roles it develops into and how the music expedites this. The depth of artists and frequency of incorporating them into the theme was not seen, in my opinion, until Braff and Co. at Scrubs took the plunge. Who is responsible for the music at Scrubs? I know Braff did help quite a bit in convincing the director and music supervisor on the use of certain songs. Braff himself also ended up directing numerous episodes through the seasons. And...Braff specifically helped launch the career of his college friend, Joshua Radin, and re-launch the career of ex-Men At Work singer, Colin Hay. Through Scrubs, Braff either continually exposed or introduced me to some of my now-favorite artists/songs and moments in television. He even included several artists performing their songs on camera, such as Colin Hay and The Polyphonic Spree. Here's a slight recap of moments and some songs that have been doing their number on me lately:

Nil Lara - Fighting For My Love


Erasure - A Little Respect


Finger Eleven - One Thing


Joshua Radin - Closer
(2:15 in)


Eels - Fresh Feeling


Appreaing: Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day/Reach For the Sun


Colin Hay - Waiting For My Real Life To Begin
Appearing: Colin Hay - Overkill

Nil Lara

Aside from Paul Simon's Graceland, I'd have to say that Nil Lara's self titled album has been on my Top 5 since it's debut in 1996 from Metro Blue Records. I initially saw him open up for Rusted Root at the Paramount Theater in Denver the year his album was released and I bought it, fingers crossed, that the album might be half as great as his performance. Since then, his songs have been placed on too many mix CDs to count (tapes back then) and I've seen dozens and dozens of my friends scour and ransack music stores in search of the album.

What has Nil Lara been up to since that sterling album in 1996 aside from having one of his songs featured in the Scrubs tv soundtrack? Coincidentally, my wonderful friend at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends recently found out that he is still performing quite often in the Miami area, which made me excited that he still may be releasing new songs. According to his blog, Nil Lara is also headed up to New York City for those lucky enough to catch a performance. I wrote him the other day and he provided me with this absolutely gorgeous song that has been playing on my speakers non-stop. Supposedly, I'll be receiving a few more Nil Lara albums in the next week...again, fingers crossed.

Nil Lara - Amor En Ti

Although Nil Lara has released a small handful of albums since 1991, you can still find his self titled release on amazon and hear more of his "newer" songs at his MySpace pages here and here. Although I would have LOVED to post his entire album on here to share his talent, my favorite will have to do until you can track down your own copy. I promise it will be well worth your time.

Nil Lara - Crawl