Rating:
Genre:
Soundtrack
Release Date: 08/15/2006
As ridiculous as the horror-comedy
Snakes on a Plane appeared to be, one had to wonder what on earth the accompanying
soundtrack would sound like. Well, apparently, mass airborne hysteria due to an overabundance of slithering friends equals hefty amounts of
dance-remixed
emo/
pop-
punk songs with just a dash of
rap for good measure. Aside from occasional reptilian references and intermittent dialogue from the movie -- including, of course,
Samuel L. Jackson's now infamous "That's it! I have had it with these muthaf*ckin' snakes on this muthaf*ckin' plane!" -- this collection of songs is more like a
Decaydance club mix to be played between live band sets than a
soundtrack. What do any of these songs even have to do with the movie?
Midtown's
Gabe Saporta leads the way with
Cobra Starship and the ridiculously catchy
dance-pop/
rock-rap ditty
"Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," which proves to be one of the most memorable (and fitting), if only for its truly infectious and random nature. From here, many of the tracks fall into that "let's add a Casio beat or drum machine and call it a day" style of remixing; several songs also don't really sound that remarkably different than their original versions. But everything is enjoyable enough if you're already into these bands -- namely cuts from
the Sounds,
the Bronx, and
Jack's Mannequin -- but everyone else will likely be unimpressed. And just so you don't think
Snakes on a Plane is an
emo-only party, totally random tracks also pop up and, though strong, seem completely out of place in the
Warped-heavy crowd.
Cee-Lo throws in the funky
dance beats of
"Ophidiophobia" (fear of snakes, how clever),
Donavon Frankenreiter brings his
Jack Johnson-esque styling to
"Lovely Day," and
Michael Franti sidesteps his oft-political agenda to bring the carefree
reggae-lite
rap of
"Hey Now Now." A perfectly enjoyable and disposable album that only enthusiasts of the
Pete Wentz faction of
emo need pick up.
~Corey Apar, All Music Guide