CBGB: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Omnivore

Any half-wit with Spotify could compile a best-of-CBGB-bands playlist. But this soundtrack to the film about the New York rock club features wild cards from punk forefathers (New York Dolls, MC5, the Stooges) and scene B-teamers (Tuff Darts, Dead Boys), while other picks are informed more by spirit than timeline precision (Television’s “Careful,” Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”). Sure, licensing fees may have influenced choices too. But the result is illuminating, and its best moment may be its worst: late club owner Hilly Kristal singing his own “Birds and the Bees” – proof that great music scenes are about more than great musicians.