Rancid have likely found the only way to sound more like the Clash -- recruit Joe Strummer to record with them. According to sources, the master will meet his minions some time this month to record a song for the inscrutable South Park soundtrack, the contents of which have changed more than Puff Daddy at an awards ceremony.
The former Clash singer/guitarist, who will be releasing a record on Epic this fall, is only one of several wildcards expected to appear on the album, due out in September. New Jack Swing architect Teddy Riley will make himself the answer to a Spice Girls trivia question (isn't that redundant?) when he teams with the female quartet on a track Riley has written, but the girls have yet to hear. The session, which will take place during the Spice Girls' current U.S. tour, will mark the first time the gals have recorded without the recently-departed Ginger.
Paula Cole and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott recorded a hip-hop version of Cole's "Feelin' Love" expressly for the soundtrack, but when it came time to mix the song, the Lilith chicks apparently weren't feelin' love over the way Rick Rubin, the soundtrack's executive producer, wanted it to sound. The song was subsequently yanked (one would think the song has exhausted its appeal anyway -- with or without Misdemeanor -- having already appeared on Cole's This Fire and the City of Angels soundtrack). Another alliance still in the works involves D'Angelo with either Chef (a k a Isaac Hayes) or Me'Shell NdegeOcello.
Other additions to the soundtrack, according to the powers that be, are in limbo, but likely candidates include: Primus providing the show's theme song plus one other track; Green Day offering a song recorded during the Nimrod sessions; Blur contributing a new song previewed at June's Glastonbury Festival in England; and Lenny Kravitz covering Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" as "Kenny's Dead." That said, South Park soundtrack organizers chose to remain mum on the official lineup.
Hayes as Chef will not remain mum, but will not appear on *every* song, as South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone originally intended. In fact, as of last week, Hayes had yet to record a single note for the soundtrack, according to a spokesperson at his management company. Artists still in contention for the soundtrack include the Chemical Brothers, Elton John, Wyclef Jean, Marilyn Manson and Sugar Ray. Other acts originally contacted by South Park soundtrack supervisors that now have slim to no chance for inclusion on the record include Oasis, Prodigy, Ice Cube, Maxwell, the Foo Fighters and LL Cool J.
BLAIR R. FISCHER
