Then Natalie Portmans quirky character, Sam, arrives to break him out of his funk.
In one scene, she places headphones on him and says, You gotta hear this one song.
Itll change your life, I swear.
Garden StateFox Searchlight
The thing just caught fire.
The Shins frontman, James Mercer, credits the soundtrack with transforming his career.
His folky interpretation of the Postal Services Such Great Heights played during a romantic scene in the movie.
We went from playing little shoebox-sized places to rooms twice the size.
Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. PT on Friday viaTicketmaster.
About six months ago, Brothers suggested celebrating the movie with an anniversary concert.
Braffs first reaction was, That sounds really hard.
But then the actor realized the concert could raise money for the Midnight Mission.
I didnt know any of the other artists personally when I made the movie.
Braffs friends turned him onto a lot of the songs he used.
But this one went platinum and won the Grammy.
So it actually was meaningful to a lot of these bands.
And most importantly, it gave them exposure.
The soundtrack didnt just help the artists it featured; it helped a whole genre and generation of musicians.
I thought it was cool.
It was a really intimate moment and … not like Im bragging, but its a very intimate-sounding song.
It works in that kind of a moment.
Even Paul Simon started performing The Only Living Boy in New York live for the first time afterGarden State.
Unfortunately, the artist who has performed sparingly since concluding afarewell tourin 2018 wont be at the benefit concert.
And the other song like that is Nick Drakes One of These Things First.
It was one of the first-ever licensing opportunities we ever had, Mercer says.
We were all dirt poor.
Its like a free music video, basically.
It was really, really cool.
At the time, the Shins had just finished a small tour.
After the movie came out, they received offers to play college campuses.
We got we gotta check them out.
It was a big change.
I highly recommend Natalie Portman doing a commercial for you to any band.
For Braff, the song to feature in that scene was an easy choice.
The trick with that scene was to find a song that universally made people smile, he says.
I love that song, and every time I played it for people, they loved the song.
Braff believes the soundtracks success lies in the way the movie and the music played off each other.
And that doesnt really happen anymore.
People just buy songs, and they dont usually buy full soundtrack albums anymore.
Im not sure why that is, Braff says.
That might have happened because of some language in the contracts.
But everyone should buy Colin Hays albums, because theyre incredible.
WHEN BRAFF RECENTLY rewatchedGarden Stateat an outdoor screening in Los Angeles, he had a full-circle moment.
When I watch it now, I see myself, he says.
I see someone whos really terrified of all thats in front of him.
I see someone whos suffering.
Mercer, too, recently rewatched the film with his wife and kids.
He was also grateful to see the Shins scene again or at least for his kids to see it.
Its a little hard to nail anyone down six months out, he says.
I think I just wanted to act locally and give the money locally.
It came down to me wanting to give back to my community where I currently live.
The scene backstage is going to be as special as what happens on the stage.
I think its going to be a lot of fun, Beam adds.
