As serious-minded cinephiles who couldn’t be persuaded to sit through an episode of “Glee” if the lives of their loved ones were at stake, there is absolutely no way that we kind of secretly want to see “Pitch Perfect.” No, sir. Not us. We certainly weren’t pleasantly surprised by a trailer that seems to have a little more spark and wit than the average teen movie, and featured what seems to be a killer comic performance by “Bridesmaids” star Rebel Wilson. And there’s definitely no way that we’d pay to see the ludicrously talented Anna Kendrick read from the lengthy instruction booklet for a Blu-ray player (although, curiously we did draw the line at “What To Expect When You’re Expecting.”
You might have seen through us at this point — we are looking forward to the film a little, at least this far out. It doesn’t look like high art or anything, but like last year’s surprisingly decent “Footloose” remake, it seems like it could be musical teen fare that’s a cut above most, and we’d probably rather sit through one of those than a new “Resident Evil” movie. Anyway, we’re about a month away from finding out if our optimism is misplaced, but ahead of time, the details of the soundtrack have been revealed, via Film Music Reporter.
And as you might expect, the majority of it is made up of the a capella performances of popular hits by both the all-female Barden Bedellas (who include Kendrick, Wilson and Brittany Snow among their number), and their smarmy all-male rivals The Treblemakers. And it seems to be, one extract from the score by Christophe Beck aside, mostly covers, with tracks from the likes of Madonna, Salt N’ Pepa, The Bangles and Blackstreet featuring, alongside more contemporary hits by Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Jessie J and Cee-Lo Green. It’s pretty much the same kind of stuff you’d see on “Glee,” which is a bit disheartening (although it’s not like we were expecting covers of Sonic Youth or The Fall or anything), but there’s plenty of great songs in there.
You can check out the full tracklisting below (spoilers, we guess?). It’ll hit digital music emporioums on September 25th, get a physical release on October 2nd, and the film hits theaters on October 5th. We definitely won’t see you there opening night…
1. “Don’t Stop the Music” – The Treblemakers
2. “Let It Whip” – The Treblemakers
3. “Since U Been Gone” – Ester Dean and Skylar Astin
4. “Cups” – Anna Kendrick
5. Riff-Off – The Barden Bellas, The Treblemakers and The BU Harmonics
– Ladies of the 80s (includes “Mickey,” “Like A Virgin,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”)
– Songs About Sex (includes “S&M,” “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “I’ll Make Love To You,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “No Diggity”)
6.Bellas Regionals – The Barden Bellas
(includes “The Sign,” “Eternal Flame,” “Turn the Beat Around”)
7. Right Round – The Barden Bellas (feat. My Name Is Kay)
8. Pool Mashup – The Barden Bellas
(includes “Just the Way You Are (Amazing),” “Just A Dream”)
9. “Party in the U.S.A.” – The Barden Bellas
10. Trebles Finals – The Treblemakers
(includes “Bright Lights Bigger City,” “Magic”)
11. Bellas Finals – The Barden Bellas
(includes “Price Tag,” “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” “Give Me Everything,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Party in the U.S.A.”, “Turn the Beat Around”)
12. “Toner (Instrumental Suite)” – Christophe Beck and Mark Kilian
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