Nobody Wanted To Dance When I Had A Lot Of Time On My Hands

Outkast “PJ & Rooster” – Four reasons why it is totally baffling to me that “PJ & Rooster” was not the lead single for the Idlewild soundtrack, or released as a single at all:

1) It’s the only song on the album that comes close to the crossover appeal of “Hey Ya” or “Roses.” It’s a jaunty pastiche, sure, but similar to Prince’s “Jack U Off,” its fluorescent electronic funk keeps it tied to poppy kitsch rather than crusty old-timey reverence. It’s a beautifully constructed song, and Andre 3000 sings it well as he swings from hook to hook with his familiar tossed-off grace. He soft sells the chorus, but only because that element is there to provide a sound structure — you may be humming that part tomorrow morning, but the most exciting bits only pop up once in the composition.

2) It’s one of the few songs to feature both Andre 3000 and Big Boi. This is no small thing since no matter how much you may love either of them separately, their chemistry as a duo is magical and profound. It’s almost sort of amazing that they found each other to begin with — you could search the world over to audition partners for either man, and you’d never find a better compliment to the other’s style. Andre may dominate this track, but Big Boi’s verse on the bridge is a brilliant and lively detour on the way to the climax and outro, which seems energized by his very presence. It’s tragic to see the two of them drift apart as they have over the past four years as they are stuck in a loveless marriage mandated by record contracts and the commercial reality that they both need the Outkast brand name to sell their music, but it would be worse if they never collaborated again.

3) “PJ & Rooster” is the best part of the movie. Idlewild isn’t awful, but its storyline is weak and little more than a loose framework for the grand cinematic ambitions of Outkast and their frequent collaborator Bryan Barber, who directed most of their best-known videos. Even though the three spend the majority of Idlewild stretching beyond their capabilities, they do find time to play to their strengths as Andre 3000’s character performs “PJ & Rooster” in a sequence over the end credits which boasts some rather brilliant choreography, art direction, and cinematography. If only the rest of the movie had been so exciting!

4) “PJ & Rooster” is a better version of the movie. Even if its lyrics are slightly cryptic to those who are not familiar with the film, “PJ & Rooster” conveys the major plot points and themes of Idlewild in a far more compelling and succinct manner than the overlong, meandering screenplay. In the same way that too many trailers are more satisfying than the movies they are promoting, “PJ & Rooster” boils Idlewild down to its essence and replaces the film’s awkward pace with an urgency and economy of language that would be nearly impossible to replicate in cinema. Andre 3000 and Big Boi are musicians and not filmmakers, and so it’s only logical that they would find a better way to express the same set of ideas in their native artform. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: Kicking K tells us all about that new LCD Soundsystem album.