While it may not be the "generational touchstone" that its back cover claims it to be, the soundtrack to Reality Bites does indeed reflect the peak of mainstream pop culture's interest in the trappings of Generation X. The turning point for alternative pop/rock came in 1994: the popularity of the previously underground artists the movement put into the mainstream had reached such a height that it had nowhere to go but down, and the less challenging acts the major labels signed in response to the initial success of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins began to dilute the overall sound of alternative rock. Ten years on, with "classic alternative rock" radio stations reflecting the nostalgia of the now thirty-something Gen Xers for the music of their college years, Reality Bites: 10th Anniversary Edition arrives. To the soundtrack's credit, its track listing holds up fairly well after a decade; even though it doesn't include too many songs by Nirvana-level bands (U2, whose "All I Want Is You" is included here, had already had plenty of success by the time the Generation X phenomenon rolled around), it's also refreshingly free of the pseudo-alternative rock bands that populated soundtracks in the mid-'90s. Along with the soundtrack's hits "Stay," which launched the career of Lisa Loeb, and Big Mountain's cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way," it features more than its fair share of solid to strong tracks, including World Party's "Young Americans" rewrite "When You Come Back to Me," the Posies' "Going, Going, Gone," Crowded House's "Locked Out," and Dinosaur Jr.'s "Turnip Farm." On the other hand, the album's lowlights, such as Squeeze's ill-advised "Tempted (94)" and the Indians' nondescript "Bed of Roses," seem that much worse for wear. Reality Bites: 10th Anniversary Edition also includes six bonus tracks, including some of the other songs that appeared in the movie, such as New Order's "Confusion," Ethan Hawke's "Add It Up," and Arrested Development's "Give a Man a Fish." A demo version of "Stay" and a new single, "Fools Like Me," underscore just how much of Loeb's career originated with this soundtrack. It's questionable just how necessary Reality Bites: 10th Anniversary Edition actually is; the soundtrack is still better than average (though not as definitive as the Singles soundtrack), but it hasn't really grown richer as the years have passed. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide