In Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme, the phrase “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts” is a confident, quippy aside. Not so in the newly released Fall Out Boy cover of the song off the soundtrack for the upcoming reboot, which subs in sprightly horns for thrashing guitars. Pete Wentz has turned “I ain’t afraid” into “I’m not afraid” and made the refrain a pop-punk rallying cry. What was once a sassy wink of a phrase now sounds like something that might have emanated from the bedroom of a moody teen in the early-to-mid ’00s. (Basically, it would have been perfect for the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack if it were about Spider-Man rather than Ghostbusters.)
So will this song help the beleaguered movie curry favor with the angry legions who have been protesting its very existence? Probably not. It’s also not likely to win over anyone except Fall Out Boy diehards.
The new theme also features a welcome Missy Elliott verse, which just makes us wonder why didn’t she get the whole track to herself in the first place. Or how about a “Lady Marmalade”-esque super group performing the song? We have a female-led Ghostbusters movie, so we very well should have a female-fronted theme.