Epic Soundtracks: Longtime Athenian mainstay (and current Los Angeles resident) Heather McIntosh composed the original score for the new film Compliance. The film, written and directed by Craig Zobel (Great World of Sound, "Homestar Runner"), is a harrowing true-events tale bearing the tagline “When a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, no one is left unharmed.” Contributing players on McIntosh's compositions included Derek Almstead, Kris Deason, Andy Gonzales, Jeremy Thal, Eric Harris, Jeremy Wheatley, Pete Erchick and John Lindaman. For more information on the score and to check out some samples, see milanrecords.com. For film info, head over to magpictures.com/compliance. I really don't think I can wait to see this.

Heather McIntosh

Ancient Soundtracks: The soundtrack to the 1987 film Athens, Ga: Inside/Out has just been re-released for what feels like the billionth time. It's got music from R.E.M., The Squalls, Time Toy, Pylon, Dreams So Real, Bar-B-Q Killers and more. Significantly, though, there are some bonus tracks on the CD that didn't appear the first time around, even though they were featured in the film. These include Love Tractor's versions of Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up," The Stooges' "Search and Destroy" and The Rolling Stones' "Shattered," with Pete Buck (R.E.M.) on guitar. So, that's a thing right there, isn't it? The full DVD release of the film is packaged with the soundtrack, and the pair will run you about 25 bucks. All things considered, it's a pretty nice release, the perfect gift for that ancient former scenester who hasn't bought any new records since 1990 and never lets you forget how great “the old days” were. This set will be released Oct. 9 through Omnivore Recordings, and you can pre-order via omnivorerecordings.com.

New Views: There's a new video out from the Emergent Heart project, an ongoing collaboration between musicians with a focus on suicide prevention and awareness. The track is called “Burning the Books,” and the video, shot by philosopher and photographer Joey Carter, features footage from the wedding of Fulbright scholar and visual artist Marie Porterfield Barry. The scenes were culled from Carter's film Specters of Appalachia. Learn more about the project via emergentheart.com or follow them at facebook.com/emergentheart.

Shine It Up: Rat Babies have made their first ever official music video for the track “Thunder Swamp” from the record Bad Men. It's a creepy, doom-y, 10-minute-plus thing with a whole bunch of swamp footage and a dead body. I won't spoil it for you—just go watch it at youtube.com/user/ratbabiesband. If you want to check out the new album, head over to ratbabies.bandcamp.com, where you can actually spend a good part of your day digging through seven of the band's releases. Although Bad Men has been out for well over a year, this video emerged only a couple of weeks ago. Ergo, everything old is new again, and the big wheel keeps on turning.

Wrap It Up: I talk a lot about bands in this column, obviously, but it's important to remember that Athens has a veritable treasure trove of supporting industries in town. I've been meaning to mention Pretty Road Cases for months, but haven't gotten around to it until now. These guys build custom instrument and equipment road cases right here in town and have built for Drive-by Truckers, R.E.M., Alabama Shakes, Silent Events and more. I've never owned anything nice enough to bother with a road case, but you might; they even make cases to carry vinyl. If you're curious, go give 'em a look at prettyroadcases.com or see them in person at Wuxtry Records.

Keepin' On: Modern Skirts continue to ply their trade. Most recently, the band recorded a session for popular website Daytrotter, and there are six tracks available over there. In other news, the band just launched a new website at modernskirts.com. I never really looked at their old website, so I can't tell you what's different about this one. I can say it looks good, though, and has lots of big photos and important-looking stuff. The group next plays locally at the Georgia Theatre on Aug. 31, where they'll be joined by Grass Giraffes and The Darnell Boys.

Apologies: I'd like to apologize to former Manray member Gene Woolfolk for misspelling his name in a column that ran a couple of weeks back. It was really stupid of me, especially considering I've written it about a million times. I know this isn't really news, but I like to correct things when I can.