Bryan Lee O'Malley rocks

"Michael Cera is in. Now what about the rock 'n' roll?

Inspired equally by music and video games, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” series is a “High Fidelity” for those weaned equally on Nintendo and record stores. The six-part comic series -- Parts 1-4 are out now, and O’Malley hopes to have Book 5 in stores by the end of 2008 -- is being turned into a film by Universal Pictures, with shooting pegged to begin later this year.The books may not come with a soundtrack, but music has a starring role. For instance, the title in Book 3, “Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness,” is a nod to a certain Smashing Pumpkins album, and the main character himself is named after a song from little-known defunct indie rock band Plumtree.

“Juno’s” Cera has been cast as the young Scott Pilgrim, a character who tempers his self-proclaimed awesomeness with a bevy of neurotic ticks.
So how much, if any, of Pilgrim’s mystique comes from being in a rock band?

“None”, said O’Malley. “Zero percent. The girl doesn’t care about the band. I had one girlfriend who was obsessed with the fact that I wrote and recorded songs, which, of course, is great for the ego. But to the woman who became my wife, my musicality is just little bonus on the side, if that, which is probably better in the long run.”"I thought of early Uncle Tupelo, when they were really smushing punk and country into one weird arrhythmic monstrosity," O'Malley continued.The band's Jeff Tweedy went on to form adventurous pop act Wilco, while Jay Farrar, who voiced most of Uncle Tupelo's songs, started Son Volt.One of Uncle Tupelo's early songs, "I Got Drunk," is below, but it probably doesn't provide a full picture of the sound of Sex Bob-omb. O'Malley is quick to add that Bob-omb is "not nearly as good, and 10 years too late, and with Scott and [drummer] Kim singing along and adding ba-ba-bas to everything."

[...] Here's the track list, which O'Malley describes as kind of an "intersection between '70s rock, Canadian Pilgrim_basslineindie stuff and a laid-back country feel."

1. Plumtree, "Scott Pilgrim"
2. Joel Plaskett, "When I Have My Vision"
3. The Flying Burrito Brothers, "To Ramona"
4. Thrush Hermit, "Oh Man! (What to Do?)
5. Wilco, "Someday Soon"
6. Big Star, "O My Soul"
7. Sloan, "Can't Face Up"
8. Guster, "Ramona"
9. Old 97s, "Stoned"
10. Super Friendz, "10 lbs"
11. Beachwood Sparks, "By Your Side"
12. Cuff the Duke, "Long Winter"
13. David Bowie, "Let's Spend the Night Together"
14. Mamas and the Papas, "Dedicated to the One I Love"

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com