Pineapple Express: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 08.21.2008
Get ready to smoke up and listen to Huey Lewis…
My Story Pineapple Express is part of the Summer 2008 Holy Trinity of Comedies, which also includes Step Brothers and Tropic Thunder. Step Brothers had no official soundtrack, though it featured a few quirky tracks that included Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” and LCD Soundsystem’s amazing “North American Scum” (and don’t forget “Boats ‘n’ Hoes”). Tropic Thunder does have a soundtrack, which combines typical Vietnam War movie fare (Creedence, Steppenwolf, Edwin Starr) and a remix of The Crystal Method’s “Name Of The Game”. Pineapple Express has seemingly followed Thunder’s thematic route, assembling stoner anthems and gems from the 80’s and 90’s. However, it may leave a sour taste in your mouth that M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”, which was used quite effectively in all of Pineapple Express’s advertising is literally M.I.A. on the soundtrack. Will that track’s absence make a difference?
Its Story Pineapple Express stars Seth Rogen as Dale Denton a 20-something processor who spends his days working out of his car, smoking pot and calling in to radio talk shows. He also finds time to visit his teenage girlfriend at her high school. Dale’s drug dealer Saul hooks him up with some of the rarest weed in the world – Pineapple Express. While on the job and enjoying the new green, Dale witnesses upon a drug-related murder. The movie unfolds as a drug lord (Gary Cole), crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and Saul’s connection Red (Danny McBride) chase Dale and Saul, who spend half the adventure stoned on the Pineapple Express. The movie was written and produced by the team of Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Judd Apatow, who have been a comedy juggernaut over the past few years with hits like Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin.
The film made its debut at the Just For Laughs Film Festival in Montreal on July 19th and premiered in theaters on August 6th. The movie made $23.2 million in its first weekend (nearly its entire $25 mil budget) and has currently grossed over $60 million in the US alone. It debuted at #2 at the box office, behind The Dark Knight in its fourth weekend.
A soundtrack, featuring several classic stoner anthems, some score by composer Graeme Revell and a brand new track by Huey Lewis & The News, was released a few days before the film opened. The entire album was available for streaming on AOL for its first week.
The Album
On August 5, 2008, Lakeshore Records released Pineapple Express, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album features a new track by Huey Lewis & The News, songs from the movie and score composed by Graeme Revell.
The Bands/The Songs
I got this album in the mail just as I was going on vacation, so I grabbed it and popped it in for the long road trip back. Since all of the passengers had seen Pineapple Express, I thought we could all enjoy it. Was I right?
Huey Lewis & The News – “Pineapple Express”
Word is that Huey Lewis was approached personally by star/producer/writer Seth Rogen to write a new song for the movie and the result is this, which plays over the closing credits. There’s been a Huey Lewis resurgence over the past few months – he appeared on a Garth Brooks cover of “Working For A Livin’” and has been showing up on TV playing this new tune. That’s a good thing, because even though he and The News will forever be associated with the 80’s, they’re still a really talented group of blues/jazz-informed rock musicians. This tribute to the rarest of weed is a little silly, but has a good sax part and, trust me, it will crawl into your brain. My wife was getting ready for work the other day and kept saying, “Pineapple express…something something mess”. It’s catchy. But I do miss theme songs that tell the whole story of a movie. Bring those back!
Eddy Grant – “Electric Avenue”
A great way to keep the energy up, and this track really captures the retro spirit of those M.I.A. “Paper Planes” trailers. “Electric Avenue” opens the movie, and Rogen shares a funny moment at a red light with a group of Mexicans who are listening to the same song on the radio. “Electric Avenue” is, of course, Eddy Grant’s biggest hit and it’s still used in ads today. Despite it’s dancey vibe, the lyrics are quite political. Grant has been putting out albums since 1977, but only had real success with this track in 1983, when it reached #2 and took his album Killer On The Rampage Top 10 in both the US and UK. Another single, “I Wanna Dance”, was also a #1 hit in the UK. Unfortunately, aside from its follow-up, Going For Broke, reaching #64, Grant hasn’t had a hit in the States since. “Avenue” was remixed in 2001 and reached #5 on the UK charts, though.
Cypress Hill – “Dr. Geenthumb”
Some songs are a little about weed, like “Puff The Magic Dragon”. Some songs have their allusions, like “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. However, Cypress Hill’s “Dr. Greenthumb” is not about subtlety. While the “Paging Dr. Greenthumb” bit gets a little annoying, you can’t deny this song’s fun beat. “Dr.” is from Cypress Hill’s IV, which came near the end of their successful period. IV reached #11 in 1998, though the good doctor didn’t make many waves as a single.
Public Enemy – “Lost At Birth”
“Lost At Birth” leads off Public Enemy’s #4 1991 hit album Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back. An interesting non-single thrown in here, most likely chosen for its almost intolerable alarm sound that plays over the entire track. A good tough track that really captures the spirit of the film.
Bell Biv DeVoe – “Posion”
Historically, “Poison” is the second biggest hit on the soundtrack, as it reached #3 back in 1990. The track is the first single by New Jack Swing notables Bell Biv DeVoe, who really don’t get enough credit for rocking those junior high dances back in the day. The album of the same name went triple platinum. I love how fucking smooth this song is and “Poison” alone takes the album from just a deep catalog set to accomplishing a comprehensive retro vibe.
Peter Tosh – “Wanted Dread And Alive”
As a stoner movie soundtrack, you HAD to have a reggae cut here, and kudos to the producers for selecting this gem from Peter Tosh. Even more points for not copping out with a predictable Bob Marley cut. Peter Tosh was, of course, part of Bob Marley’s original Wailers group, though he struck out solo (in a blaze of sour grapes) in the mid-70’s. “Wanted Dread And Alive” is the title track to Tosh’s fifth solo album, released in 1981. A great track that’s very mellow and thematically fits the film.
Mountain – “Don’t Look Around”
With all the other tracks owing some debt to R&B, the 70’s hard rock of Mountain is kind of jarring. “Don’t Look Around” is the lead track to Mountain’s second album, Nantucket Sleighride. The band recorded the set following the success of their debut single, “Mississippi Queen”, which remains their biggest song. By the end of 1971, Mountain would break up, though a reunion occurred only two years later. With its searing guitar and 70’s production, “Don’t Look Around” is the first misstep of this soundtrack, jarring you loose from the mellow vibe. Not a bad song, but terrible placement.
Graeme Revell – “Pineapple Chase (a.k.a. The Reprise Of The Phoenix)”
The first of two score selections by Graeme Revell, “Pineapple Chase” captures the camp of the film pretty well, with its orchestra mixed with electric guitars and gaudy electronic samples. Graeme Revell is a near 20-year veteran when it comes to scoring films and his body of work includes The Crow, From Dusk Till Dawn, Red Planet and several others.
Moondog & The London Symphony Orchestra – “Bird’s Lament”
Moondog is a bizarre composer whose music is favored by quirky film industry vets like the Coen Brothers. This instrumental piece fits that bill pretty well, and you realize that Revell’s score has led us into an absolutely bizarre segment of the album, saved only by the awesomeness of…
Brother Noland – “Coconut Girl”
I don’t know where the fuck this song came from, but it’s worth the price of the CD. Brother Noland is a guy who’s very big in Hawaii, so I guess he fits the “Pineapple” criteria. But wherever its origins, “Coconut Girl” scores. Imagine if Stranger-era Billy Joel went reggae and it was totally awesome.
Arthur Lyman – “Hilawe”
This is a minute-long guitar piece that could just as easily found a home on the Juno soundtrack. Short and dreamy, it continues the instrumental and “Pineapple” themes of the album’s latest turn. Lyman was an innovator in Polynesian music in the 50’s and 60’s.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – “Tha Crossroads”
The inclusion of this Eazy-E tribute desperately tries to bring us back to the cool vibe of the first half of the album, but what should be a great nostalgic trip just doesn’t fit in this second half. Bone Thugs took this ballad to #1 in 1996. A great track and its too bad they got the album order off on it, because it’s nice to hear it again.
Graeme Revell – “Pineapple Fight (a.k.a. The Nemesis Proclaimed”
More score, but this lacks the intensity of the first piece. Even more disappointing that it’s for the closing fight. It’s like it’s building to something that, when it comes, hits you a little too soft. A fitting close to the strange turn that the first piece of score signifies.
Spiritualized – “I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You”
The soundtrack tries to put a good coda on after a disappointing second half with this 2001 track by Spiritualized. Spititualized, a space rock outfit, formed out of the ashes of the Spacemen 3. Taken from their fourth album, Let It Come Down, the only way to describe “I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You” is fucking epic. The song repeats the same verse over and over as the music builds around it in layers, until the vocals are nearly drowned out. Definitely a strong way to start the close the album.
Robert Palmer – “Woke Up Laughing”
A great feel good number to end the album. “Woke Up Laughing” was released on Palmer’s 1980 album Clues, just before he ventured into synth-pop powerhouse territory. The audio equivalent of waking up from a good dream.
The 411: Pineapple Express starts out very strong, nearly loses you in the middle and then ends as satisfyingly as it can. The stoner songs are cleverly chosen through well known material and deep cuts, and mandatory reggae and hip-hop inclusions by Peter Tosh and Cypress Hill are bolstered by some great lesser-known material by legends like Robert Palmer and nostalgic trips by the likes of Bell Biv DeVoe and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The album gets a little too trippy with instrumentals in its second half, which causes a major lag from Mountain until the last two tracks. While the heavily promoted Huey Lewis track is fun and mindless, the best song is hands down Brother Noland’s amazing “Coconut Girl”. In the end, this is good vibe music with a sweet, retro feel.
