REVIEW: Soundtrack, Office Space (Interscope)
- Jason Cahill
If you blinked, you missed it. That about describes the box office life of "Office Space," the first feature film written and directed by Mike Judge (creator of "Beavis and Butthead"). The film, a humorous look at the hell that is the corporate world -- copy machines, office politics and all -- didn't get what it deserved at the box office, but it did manage to spawn a soundtrack filled with choice cuts from some of the most interesting voices rap music has to offer. The fact that all of the movie's music is of the gangsta variety is funny in and of itself when one considers that the film is about four white office workers who conspire against "the man," in this case a faceless and uncaring corporation, by using all the techniques of a wanna-be gangster.
The soundtrack kicks off with the Canibus track "Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee." The song is noteworthy for two reasons: first, it amusingly samples Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job And Shove It," and second, and more importantly, it is flavored with the vocal stylings of rap's crown prince Biz Markie, who would be interesting rapping the alphabet. The album's second cut and first single, "Get Dis Money," is a smooth jam by Detroit's Slum Village, a new and exciting voice in hip-hop who should manage to rise to the genre's forefront with the release of this soundtrack.
The soundtrack's best moments come from rap veterans Ice Cube and the Geto Boys, who emerge from a recent quiet period to grace the album with two exceptional cuts. "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta," an old track from The Geto Boys, sounds as fresh as ever. Ice Cube's "Down For Whatever," a single from the early '90s, is easily one of his finest moments, reminiscent of the great sounds he created while with N.W.A. Was gangsta rap always this much fun to listen to?
A few missteps come in the form of Lisa Stone's unoriginal cover of "9 to 5," which left me thinking that Dolly Parton's version might not have been so bad; Kool Keith's "Get Off My Elevator" is amusing, but in the end nothing more than a pale homage to Slick Rick.
Aside from those wack tracks, the Office Space soundtrack works on two levels: both as a quality compilation of the best that gangsta rap has and had to offer, and as a companion to a movie that was prematurely dissed and dismissed. In terms of this year's soundtrack releases, the Office Space soundtrack is one of the best. Disagree and I'll bust a cap in your ass.
