Bangkok has it. It’s that smell of street food mixed with exhaust and something else you can’t quite name. When the Wolfpack landed in Thailand for the 2011 sequel, the music had to carry that same chaotic, sweaty energy. Honestly, the soundtrack to The Hangover 2 is a weirdly perfect time capsule. It’s not just a collection of radio hits; it’s a deliberate sonic mess that mirrors the absolute disaster happening on screen. You've got Ed Helms singing Billy Joel, Mike Tyson doing Murray Head, and Kanye West kicking things off with a literal power trip.
It works.
Most sequels fail because they try too hard to be bigger. Director Todd Phillips and music supervisor George Drakoulias didn’t just go bigger; they went weirder. They leaned into the contrast between the pristine luxury of a Thai wedding and the grime of a tattoo parlor in the middle of nowhere.
The Kanye Factor and That Opening Hook
The movie opens with "Power." It was the perfect choice. In 2011, Kanye West was at the peak of his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy era, and that song felt like an anthem for bad decisions made by people who think they’re invincible. It sets a tone. You’re not just watching a comedy; you’re watching a high-stakes train wreck. The heavy drums and the King Crimson sample give the transition from the US to Thailand a sense of momentum that the rest of the film tries—and often fails—to keep up with.
Then you hit the local flavor. The inclusion of "Allah Ke Bande" by Kailash Kher is a deep cut that most American audiences didn't recognize, but it grounded the film in a global space. It wasn’t just "Vegas but with pad thai." The music actually tried to reflect the setting, even if the characters were busy losing a finger or a monk.
Danzig and the Darker Tones
One thing people forget about the soundtrack to The Hangover 2 is how heavy it gets. "Black Hell" by Danzig isn't exactly "fun" music. It’s brooding. It’s dark. It plays when the gravity of their situation finally starts to sink in.
- "Black Hell" - Danzig
- "Pusher Man" - Curtis Mayfield
- "Imma Be" - The Black Eyed Peas
Compare those three. It’s a jarring mix. But that’s the point of a hangover, isn't it? One minute you’re at a club feeling like a god (Black Eyed Peas), and the next you’re staring at a reflection you don't recognize while a heavy metal icon growls in your ear.
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Why the Covers Matter More Than the Originals
The soul of this movie—if you can call a movie about a drug-dealing monkey having "soul"—is in the performances by the cast. Ed Helms' "Allentown" parody is the standout. Taking Billy Joel’s working-class anthem and turning it into a lament about waking up in Thailand with a Mike Tyson tattoo is peak comedy writing. It’s short. It’s frantic. It’s desperate.
And then there's Mike Tyson.
Watching Tyson attempt to sing "One Night in Bangkok" is painful. It’s supposed to be. It’s a meta-joke on the original song by Murray Head. In the first film, Tyson was a terrifying force of nature. In the sequel, he’s the wedding entertainment. The song choice is incredibly on the nose—a song about a chess tournament used for a movie about a bachelor party—but Tyson’s off-key delivery makes it iconic in a "I can't look away" sort of way.
The Ska Revival You Didn't Ask For
Does anyone remember The Specials? "Ska Shot" and "Ghost Town" bring this weird, British 2-tone vibe to the streets of Bangkok. It’s an inspired choice by Drakoulias. Ska is inherently frantic. It’s music for people who are running, which is basically all Phil, Stu, and Alan do for 100 minutes.
The soundtrack to The Hangover 2 uses these rhythms to keep the pacing up when the plot starts to drag. When you’ve got a monkey on a moped, you need a beat that matches the wheels. "Monster" by Kanye West shows up too, featuring Nicki Minaj’s legendary verse, further cementing the film's 2011 "Alpha" energy. It’s aggressive music for an aggressive comedy.
The Full Tracklist Breakdown
If you look at the official release, it's a bit of a rollercoaster. You have:
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- "Black Hell" – Danzig
- "Stronger" – Kanye West (Technically a remix/shorter version used in promos)
- "The Beast in Me" – Mark Lanegan
- "Sofi Needs a Ladder" – Deadmau5
- "Play It Loud" – Chris-A-Tone
- "Pusherman" – Curtis Mayfield
- "Love Train" – Wolfmother
- "I Get Around" – The Beach Boys
Notice the jump from Deadmau5 to The Beach Boys. It’s whiplash. It mirrors the transition from a drugged-out haze to the bright, punishing sun of the morning after. Mark Lanegan’s cover of "The Beast in Me" (originally by Johnny Cash, written by Nick Lowe) provides the emotional (if you can call it that) anchor. It’s a song about the monster inside all of us. For the Wolfpack, that monster is usually fueled by roofies and bad intentions.
The Cultural Impact of the Music
We don't talk enough about how Todd Phillips uses music to bridge the gap between "frat humor" and "cinema." He treats these songs with more respect than the characters treat each other. The licensing budget for this film must have been astronomical. You don't just "get" Kanye and Billy Joel and The Beach Boys for a raunchy comedy without a massive check and a clear vision.
Critics at the time, like those at Rolling Stone or Pitchfork, were lukewarm on the movie but generally praised the curation. It’s a "vibe" soundtrack. It’s meant to be played loud in a car with the windows down, probably while you're on the way to do something you'll regret.
Interestingly, the soundtrack also featured "I’m Into You" by Jennifer Lopez and Lil Wayne. It’s the kind of song that felt ubiquitous in 2011 but feels like a relic now. That’s the beauty of this specific collection of music—it captures the exact moment when EDM was starting to swallow pop music whole, but rock and roll was still trying to kick its way out of the bag.
Realism and the Thai Influence
One thing the soundtrack to The Hangover 2 got right was the inclusion of Thai pop and rock. You hear "Fever" by the Thai artist Ska Rangers. Using local covers of Western hits or original Thai tracks prevented the movie from feeling like a total tourist trap. It added a layer of authenticity to the backdrop, even if the plot was absurd.
A lot of people think the music is just background noise. It isn't. In the scene where they are traversing the city, the music acts as the heartbeat of Bangkok itself. It’s loud, it’s percussive, and it’s slightly overwhelming.
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The Missing Songs
There are always songs in the movie that don't make the official album. For example, "Badman's Song" by Tears for Fears plays in a key scene but is often overlooked in favor of the bigger hits. These omissions are usually due to licensing rights, which are a nightmare for films of this scale.
Also, we have to talk about "One Night in Bangkok." The version on the soundtrack is the Mike Tyson version. While hilarious, many fans were looking for the original Murray Head version or a more polished cover. But the producers knew their audience. People wanted the memory of the joke, not a clean radio edit.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Fans
If you're looking to recreate the energy of the film or just want to explore the era better, here is how to handle this soundtrack:
- Don't just stream the OST. The official soundtrack album is missing about 30% of the music actually heard in the film. Search for "The Hangover Part II Complete Score and Song List" on sites like Tunefind to get the full experience.
- Listen to Mark Lanegan’s solo work. If you liked "The Beast in Me," Lanegan (formerly of Screaming Trees) has a massive catalog of dark, brooding blues-rock that is far superior to his one-off cover here.
- Explore 2-Tone Ska. The Specials are legends. If "Ska Shot" caught your ear, go back to their self-titled 1979 album. It’s the DNA of the frantic energy used in the film.
- Watch the credits. The "photos" sequence at the end is fueled by "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" by Billy Joel. It’s a weirdly somber song for a hilarious photo montage, and that irony is exactly why it works.
The soundtrack to The Hangover 2 isn't a masterpiece of high art. It’s a masterpiece of mood. It’s dirty, it’s expensive, and it’s unapologetically loud. It perfectly encapsulates a specific era of 2010s culture where everything felt a little bit too much. Whether you're a fan of the "Wolfpack" or just a fan of well-placed needle drops, this collection of songs remains a masterclass in how to score a disaster.
To get the most out of this music today, try listening to it in the order of the film's timeline rather than the album's tracklist. It tells a much more coherent story of a night gone wrong, starting with the ego-boost of "Power" and ending with the exhausted, sun-drenched irony of Billy Joel. It’s a journey worth taking—minus the facial tattoo.