The spirit of punk rock thrives in the most unlikely of places -- Salt Lake City, Utah -- in writer/director James Merendino's new film, SLC Punk. Naturally, music is crucial to the film's allure, and the brazen SLC Punk original soundtrack, available March 2 on Hollywood Records, features an array of great bands old and new.

Raw classics by the Ramones, the Dead Kennedys, the Velvet Underground, Fear, the Adolescents, and the Stooges are among the compilation's 14 tracks.

Of special interest is Hollywood Records' own Suicide Machines, the Detroit punk outfit that has sold over a quarter million copies of their first two albums, which weighs in with a cover version of "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." Written by Joe South and made popular by country artist Lynn Anderson, the Suicide Machines' version of the song melds lush classical orchestration and explosive punk, and is available on the compilation for the first time anywhere.

The soundtrack provides a brash aural backdrop to Merendino's independent film. A subversive comedy about youthful rebellion, SLC Punk stars Matthew Lillard and Michael Goojian as a pair of punk rockers living in straitlaced Salt Lake City during the Reaganized early 1980s. The film will premiere January 22 in a prestigious opening-night slot at the Sundance Film Festival. SLC Punk opens in Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City on April 2 before expanding nationally on April 16.

Showcasing music from pre-punk pioneers alongside that of modern insurgents, the full track listing for SLC Punk follows:

1. The Suicide Machines / "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden"
2. The Exploited / "Sex & Violence"
3. Fear / "I Love Livin' in the City"
4. The Stooges / "1969"
5. The Specials / "Too Hot"
6. The Ramones / "Cretin Hop"
7. Blondie / "Dreaming"
8. Generation X / "Kiss Me Deadly"
9. The Velvet Underground / "Rock and Roll"
10. Moondog / "Gasoline Rain"
11. Fifi / "Mirror"
12. Adolescents / "Amoeba"
13. Dead Kennedys / "Kill the Poor"