Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale, Music from the TV Series CD BtVS Music
Executive producers: Joss Whedon and Christopher Buchanan. Soundtrack producer: John King.
US Version
Released 30 September 2003 on Virgin Records.
Buffy Main Title Theme - The Breeders
Stop Thinking About It - Joey Ramone
Season Seven: "Beneath You"
Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
Season Five: "Triangle"
Everybody Got Their Something - Nikka Costa
Season Six: "All the Way"
Key – Devics
Season Five: "Crush"
Sound of the Revolution – Lunatic Calm
Season Six: "As You Were"
Ballad For Dead Friends – Dashboard Prophets
Season One: "The Harvest"
Blue – Angie Hart
(Written by Joss Whedon & Angie Hart)
Season Seven: "Conversations With Dead People"
Pavlov’s Bell – Aimee Mann
Season Seven: "Sleeper"
There's No Other Way - Blur
Season Five: "Triangle"
. Prayer of Saint Francis - Sarah McLachlan
Season Six: "Grave"
The Final Fight (original score) - Rob Duncan
Season Seven: "Chosen"
An extended version of "The Final Fight" is available from Rob Duncan’s website as a zipped mp3 file. Curiously the US CD booklet credits a cue from the Nerf Herder Buffy theme that does not actually feature in the cut included.
Kim Deal of The Breeders contacted John King to ask to appear on the show as she and the band were huge fans and performed the Buffy theme live at their concerts. The band appeared in the Season Seven episode "Him" playing "Little Fury" and "Son of Three".
UK Version
Released on 20 October 2003 on Virgin TV in conjunction with BBC Music. Contains nine of the tracks from the US release (excluding Joey Ramone, Blur and Sarah McLachlan) plus another twelve.
Buffy Main Title Theme – The Breeders
Bohemian Like You – The Dandy Warhols
Season Five: "Triangle"
Everybody Got Their Something – Nikka Costa
Season Six: "All the Way"
Dead Guys With Bombs – Christophe Beck
Season Three: "The Zeppo"
Key – Devics
Season Five: "Crush"
Sound of the Revolution – Lunatic Calm
Season Six: "As You Were"
Ballad For Dead Friends – Dashboard Prophets
Season One: "The Harvest"
Blue – Angie Hart
(Written by Joss Whedon & Angie Hart)
Season Seven: "Conversations With Dead People"
Pavlov’s Bell – Aimee Mann
Season Seven: "Sleeper"
That Kind of Love – Alison Krauss
Season Six: "Entropy"
Sink or Float – Aberdeen
Season Seven: "The Killer in Me"
Still Life – Patty Medina
Season Seven: "First Date"
Black Cat Bone – Laika
Season Six: "Wrecked"
Just as Nice – Man of the Year
Season Six: "All the Way"
I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Melanie Doane
Season Five: "Family"
Sun Keeps Shining On Me – Fonda
Season Six: "All the Way"
Run Away – Halo Friendlies
Season Six: "Smashed"
Summerbreeze – Emiliana Torrini
Season Five: "Into the Woods"
Sugar Water – Cibo Matto
Season Two: "When She Was Bad"
The Final Fight (original Score) – Rob Duncan
Season Seven: "Chosen"
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Theme – Nerf Herder
The artwork on the CDs is quite distinctive with the US version preferring grey graveyard tones as opposed to the sunshine yellows and reds of the UK version. As suggested on the bluntinstrument Beck website this is perhaps a nod to the brighter lighting of the latter seasons of Buffy. The US version features shots of graveyards and plant roots (by Dennis Keeley) whilst the UK version features Sunnydale’s cinema complete with posters of Spike and Buffy. Both include headshots of Willow, Buffy, Xander, Spike, Anya, Giles, Dawn and Tara, a pentagram design on the actual CD (silver in the US version, red in the UK), a brief introduction by Joss Whedon and liner notes by John King (slightly more extensive in the UK version as it has more tracks).
King runs through the tracks/performers noting the use of "independent and/or unsigned artists" as a key feature of the show, whilst Whedon acknowledges the fundamental importance of music to the heart of the show:
"It’s a cycle. The way music and the show work together, the way scenes cry out for a particular song, or hearing a song makes a scene or story just click into place. They feed each other."