antiMusic.com: Bug Soundtrack Review

Bug Soundtrack Review
by Dan MacIntosh

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I have no idea what the movie Bug is about although I'm sure it isn't anything like that Pixar flick (A Bug's Life) with the similar name. But if I were forced to close my eyes while this film played in a multiplex, I'd likely still have a good time. That's because its soundtrack is filled with prime musical cuts and enough variety to keep the CD listening experience consistently suspenseful.

Opening song, "Learning To Drive", is a solo venture from Scott Weiland that recalls his introverted Stone Temple Pilot past, rather than his extroverted Velvet Revolver present. Over a circus-y, big top, lurching groove, Weiland sings it like an evil county fair carny. It's as if he's saying between the lines: enter this world at your own risk.

These various tracks do not fit together like loving relatives in one big happy family or the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. "Cowboy Boots" by Backsliders, for instance, is rowdy country. "Where the hell are my cowboy boots?" the group asks with over-the-top Southern accents. Susan Tedeschi's "I Feel In Love" leaves the rural route for the slick city streets of rolling piano and guitar, for an homage to old time rock & roll. Speaking of that old time rock & roll, the tracks "Shake 'Em Up And Let 'Em Roll" by Jerry Lieber & The Coasters and "Searchin'" by Alvin Robinson are just that, legitimate old time rock & roll.

But it gets even more eclectic, oh yes. "Viva Mi Sinaloa" by Los Tigres Del Norte is Mexican border music at its best and Leon Russell's "This Masquerade" is, well, whatever Russell does. The soundtrack CD ends with three instrumental pieces, including "Bug Theme" by System Of A Down's Serj Tankian.

Listening to this soundtrack may be a little like speed-listening through pop music history. But don't let that bug you. It's a fun, buzzing time travel.

CD Info and Links

Bug Soundtrack
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