Clockstoppers

The soundtrack to Nickelodeon's teen action/comedy Clockstoppers features songs from three of the most licensing-friendly bands around: Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, and the Dandy Warhols, whose "Bohemian Like You" makes yet another appearance here. Fortunately, though, Smash Mouth's "Holiday in My Head" arrives in place of their omnipresent "All Star," and Sugar Ray's contribution -- a surprisingly faithful cover of Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" -- sounds downright refreshing. Blink-182's "All the Small Things" is the best example of the earnest punk-pop that makes up most of the soundtrack, while Lil' J's "It's the Weekend" sounds even more distinctive in this setting. But Clockstoppers' best, and weirdest, moment comes from Kool Keith's "Know My Name" -- even though it's a relatively subdued track, hearing Kool Keith on the soundtrack for a Nickelodeon movie is almost worth the price of admission. The album's only ringer is the Cranberries' "Time Is Ticking Out"; despite the song's thematically appropriate title, Dolores O'Riordan's eco-political pontificating ("What about Chernobyl? What about radiation?") is wildly out of place here. Overall, the Clockstoppers soundtrack is middle of the road, but with a few twists that give it some extra appeal.