Independents’ Day

Behind every droll, talky movie, there’s an equally droll, talky soundtrack, lovingly handpicked by some studied music geek — or a committee of ’em. This is good, because if we were given the job of soundtrack master (or whatever it’s called), we’d probably fill the album with whatever song we were currently obsessing over, like, 12 times. The resulting movie would resemble nothing so much as a terrible, endless music video.

The beloved/maligned/beloved-again indie charm film Juno falls into the lovingly handpicked category, mostly on account of one of the soundtrack’s featured artists, Kimya Dawson, who uses a super-articulate sense of humor and a tendency to mix hipster pop/culture speak in and around bouts of guileless sincerity. Formerly one-half of the Moldy Peaches, the Olympia, Washington, native has spent the past few years touring in support of a string of solo albums, all of which feature songs that are witty and genuine in their idiosyncrasy. Her lyrics are an impressive mouthful, too, which only makes her lo-fi, off-the-cuff delivery all the more striking. It’s one of those things where you suspect an ease of performance that only springs from years of hard work and a shitload of ingrained talent.

Sat., March 8, 7 p.m., 2008