Zach Attack

Scrubs star Zach Braff's directorial debut, Garden State, was more than just an art-house hit about twenty-something depression. When it was released in 2004, its melancholic soundtrack was like a nursery for up-and-coming dream-pop bands and acoustic-minded artists. Braff, the album's executive producer, won a Grammy for his efforts. Acts such as Frou Frou, Iron & Wine, Colin Hay and the Shins mingled freely with Nick Drake and Simon and Garfunkel and saw their record sales skyrocket thanks to his nurturing.

Jay Bevenour

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• Zach Braff
• Tony Goldwyn
• Patrick Swayze
• Nick Drake
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Braff's latest film, The Last Kiss, isn't his baby (it was directed by Tony Goldwyn, the guy who killed Patrick Swayze in Ghost), but the powers-that-be were smart enough to enlist him as soundtrack supervisor and let him try to re-create Garden State's magic. As production commenced on the sixth season of Scrubs, he spoke with us about his new status in the music biz and making pimp-ass mixes.

Westword:Would you call yourself a tastemaker?

Zach Braff: I don't know, man. I know less about music than the average person. There are plenty of bands you'd be shocked I've never listened to. I just have music that I like, and I think if I'm decent at anything, it's being able to pick the right songs to put to a picture. I've got a bunch of friends who are musicians, and they're always sharing music and talking music, and now I have this blog on my own site and MySpace where people recommend music to me all the time. So it sort of snowballs and feeds itself. But I don't know if I'm a tastemaker. I'm maybe a catalyst for people discovering new music.

Do you enjoy being expected to know what's musically hip?

I don't know what's hip; I just know what I like. There's no real science to what I do, other than making a decent mix CD of music I really like. The cool thing with Garden State was that it was essentially a mix CD of music I really liked. Then I found out, "Wow, I guess I have similar tastes to a lot of people out there, because a lot of people liked the compilation."

What are the differences between a mix CD and a soundtrack for you?

I think the main difference is you want to find music that will bring out the emotion of a scene without upstaging the dialogue or what the actors are doing. I think you can have a song that you love, that's one of your favorite songs, but it's not right for the movie because it's either lyrically or melodically competing with what the scene's about. When I did Garden State and Tony [Goldwyn] directed The Last Kiss, very rarely did we use music under dialogue. It's usually used as a transition or under a montage.

Does your mailbox get swamped with promotional CDs nowadays?

Yeah, tons of stuff. I get boxes and boxes of CDs. I give most of it away, though. I can't listen to it all.

Is there a mix CD no-no that everyone should follow?

There are no rules. Just good music.