Jason Collett

It's fitting that the Murmurs' "Genius" leads off the soundtrack to The L Word. The alt-pop duo was cofounded by Leisha Hailey, who not only stars as Alice on the Sapphic soap but was the original cast's only out member. Even more appropriately, the soft-lit "Genius" is about loving someone who's complicated but worth it. In short, it's a relationship song, as is almost everything on this compilation. And like Ella's inimitable "Let's Do It," The L Word might appear to be about getting hot and horizontal, but it's really about the work and wonder, the math and science of relationships.