Reality Bites (soundtrack)

Reality Bites (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedFebruary 8, 1994
Genres
Length58:03 (standard)
80:22 (deluxe)
LabelRCA
ProducerRon Fair
Singles from Reality Bites (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  1. "Stay (I Missed You)"
    Released: 1994

Reality Bites (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 1994 film Reality Bites directed by Ben Stiller, who also starred in the film alongside Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder in the lead roles. The soundtrack was released through RCA Records on February 8, 1994, featuring 14 tracks, and also included a hit single "Stay (I Missed You)" which became a chart-topping success and a breakthrough for its singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. The album, too achieved significant commercial success for its variety of music appealing to the younger demographic and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 2 million units. A 10th anniversary edition soundtrack featuring six additional songs were released in February 2004.

Background

RCA Records met with the film's music supervisor Karyn Rachtman and Ben Stiller three weeks into filming, to discuss the soundtrack album.[1] They finalized a deal and the label opened its roster to the director, who picked only one band: Me Phi Me. Lisa Loeb, a mutual friend of Ethan Hawke, had performed one song "Stay (I Missed You)" with her band Nine Stories, which marked the start of her career.[2] Loeb initially recorded the song in the early 1990s to sell it to Daryl Hall for a project he was seeking music for. However, she decided to use the song herself.[3] Eventually, she gave the tape to Hawke, who in turn gave it to Stiller and had agreed to use the song.[4] Though the song was initially titled "Stay", it later included the title "I Miss You" in the soundtrack to avoid confusion with other rock songs under the same title.[5][6]

The film's soundtrack includes songs by World Party, Squeeze, the Knack (a remixed version of "My Sharona" featured prominently in one scene from the film), Juliana Hatfield, Social Distortion, Big Mountain ("Baby, I Love Your Way") and two contributions from Crowded House ("Locked Out" and "Something So Strong"). It also includes "Conjunction Junction" from Schoolhouse Rock!, another song brought into the foreground of a film full of pop culture references. Besides acting, Ethan Hawke also performed two songs in the film.[7][8]

Marketing and release

Reality Bites soundtrack was released on February 8, 1994, featuring 15 tracks.[9] RCA Records aggressively marketed the album and had five tracks on rotation on radio and MTV.[1] The video for Crowded House's "Locked Out" was updated to include footage from the film. In addition, the video for "Spin the Bottle" by the Juliana Hatfield Three was directed by Stiller and featured clips from the film as well.[1] Ethan Hawke directed the music video for "Stay" in a rare one-take video on film, a continuous Steadicam shot operated by Robin Buerki.[10] As a part of the film's 10th anniversary, RCA released another soundtrack featuring six additional tracks that were not included in the original release.[11]

Commercial performance

The soundtrack sold 1.2 million units upon initial release and reached #13 on the Billboard 200.[12] The album also earned a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with Lisa Loeb's "Stay (I Missed You)"; Loeb thereby became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 charts even before she was signed by major record labels.[13] The soundtrack peaked at number 2 in Australia and was certified platinum.[14]

Reception

Reality Bites has been ranked at number 80 on one of the greatest soundtracks of all time by Rolling Stone.[15] It has been regarded as one of the best soundtracks that came during the 1990s.[16] Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "the soundtrack to Reality Bites presents the finest of the decade's mainstream alternative pop artists".[17]

Track listing

Reality Bites — standard edition
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."My Sharona"The Knack4:57
2."Spin the Bottle"Juliana Hatfield Three2:23
3."Bed of Roses"The Indians3:51
4."When You Come Back to Me"World Party3:09
5."Going, Going, Gone"The Posies3:34
6."Stay (I Missed You)"Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories3:03
7."All I Want Is You"U26:32
8."Locked Out"Crowded House3:18
9."Spinning Around Over You"Lenny Kravitz3:36
10."I'm Nuthin'"Ethan Hawke3:37
11."Turnip Farm"Dinosaur Jr.5:48
12."Revival!"Me Phi Me5:44
13."Tempted"Squeeze4:07
14."Baby, I Love Your Way"Big Mountain4:24
Total length:58:03
Reality Bites — 10th anniversary deluxe edition
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
15."Stay (I Missed You) (Living Room mix)"Lisa Loeb2:55
16."Add It Up"Ethan Hawke3:08
17."Confusion"New Order4:42
18."Disco Inferno"The Trammps3:35
19."Give a Man a Fish"Arrested Development4:24
20."Fools Like Me"Lisa Loeb3:35
Total length:80:22

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Reality Bites
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Boehlert, Eric (February 5, 1994). "RCA Faces Reality as it Re-Enters Soundtrack Fray". Billboard.
  2. ↑ Wloszczyna, Susan (July 26, 1994). "After fast chart climb, Loeb settles in to 'Stay'". USA Today.
  3. ↑ Patridge, Kenneth (August 19, 2014). "With 'Stay', Lisa Loeb Taught a Generation How Screwed-Up Love Really Is". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Lisa Loeb in depth". Star Local News. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  5. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (September 9, 2013). "Lisa Loeb, "Stay (I Missed You)"". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Samadder, Rhik (May 15, 2012). "Old music: Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories – Stay (I Missed You)". The Guardian. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  7. ↑ Locker, Melissa (February 18, 2014). "The Reality Bites Soundtrack Turns 20: 9 Songs Still Worth Loving". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  8. ↑ Smith, Nathan (February 21, 2014). "The Reality Bites Soundtrack at 20: The Good, the Bad and the Totally '90s". Houston Press. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Reality Bites (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). February 8, 1994. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2026 – via Apple Music.
  10. ↑ Levy, Joe. "A dress for success: Lisa Loeb, 'Stay'". Video of the Year. Spin magazine. Vol. 10, no. 9. p. 90. ISSN 0886-3032.
  11. ↑ Reality Bites 10th Anniversary Edition. February 18, 2004. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved April 24, 2026 – via Apple Music.
  12. ↑ Miller, Trudi (September 3, 1994). "Reality Bites Fuels Spate of Soundtracks for RCA". Billboard.
  13. ↑ Bush, John. "Lisa Loeb". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  14. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 310.
  15. ↑ "The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 24, 2024. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  16. ↑ Donahue, Anne T. (October 19, 2014). "The Score: Mapping the Music and Style of 'Reality Bites'". Vice. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  17. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Reality Bites Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Reality Bites". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 2597". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Reality Bites" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Reality Bites". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Reality Bites". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Compilations Chart on 10/7/1994 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts Top-100 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 14/2026" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on April 15, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  26. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1994". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  27. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1994". RPM. Vol. 60, no. 21. December 12, 1994. p. 19. ISSN 0033-7064. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ↑ "The Year in Music 1994 – Top Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-22. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Google Books.
  29. ↑ "The Year in Music 1994 – Top Soundtrack Albums". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-68. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2022 – via Google Books.
  30. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Reality Bites - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Music Canada. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  32. ↑ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Reality Bites". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
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