CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CBS's surprise-hit science drama, C.S.I., now has a soundtrack that squares well with the show's cyber labs and street scenes rippled with dusky moods and dark colors. The music mix veers from some dinosaur classics to alt rock's neo-trends. Big rock opens the show, in the form of an unnecessarily edited version of the Who's "Who Are You" and the Wallflowers' single for 2002, "Everybody Out of the Water." But then things start for lesser charted waters with New Order's "Crystal" and a host of aptly eerie soundscapes. Clinic's freaked, thump-pop "Come into Our Room" steers the set toward a dazzling mix of electro-beats, guitar grit, and groove. The dance beats multiply behind a galaxy of Grand Theft Audio and Curve's guitars. The Chambers Brothers and Robbie Robertson circle the focus back to rock's base, but the soundtrack, like the show, is about a new thing: the emergence of smart, sly music that's ideal for smart, sly science types solving mind-boggling crimes. --Andrew Bartlett  more