SOUNDTRACKS Train rolls along with new single

The band won a Grammy with its hit song 'Drops of Jupiter.'
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Two summers ago, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and Saliva's Josey Scott crawled up the charts with the anthemlike single "Hero" from the blockbuster silver screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' "Spider-Man." California-based rock band Train is hoping to spin the same type of superhero magic.
Train contributed the new song "Ordinary" to the upcoming "Spider-Man 2" flick, and the tune has been chosen as the first single from the accompanying soundtrack.
"[Frontman] Pat [Monahan] was invited to watch an advance screening of the movie to gear his mind toward the lyrics," said Train guitarist Jimmy Stafford, in a phone conversation last week from Birmingham, Ala.
"Ordinary" is inspired directly by the masked wall-crawler, but don't expect snippets of the kitschy "Spider-man/Spider-man/does whatever a spider can" theme from the web-head's 1960s animated series to be incorporated.
There are some web-slinging allusions in the lyrics, Stafford said, as Monahan tried to capture the emotional conflict of young Peter Parker, who struggles to balance his normal life with the awesome responsibility of being a superhero.
"It's about a kid who is too young to be put in his position," Stafford said. "He wishes he was ordinary."
On a roll
Since breaking out of the San Francisco coffee house scene, Train has steadily built up steam with a string of hit singles, including "Meet Virginia," the Grammy-winning "Drops of Jupiter" and "Calling All Angels," which has spent 48 weeks on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary chart.
Stafford said he has stopped paying attention to chart positions and album sales, instead focusing his energy on live performances, Train's real strength, he said.
The band is recording a live album set for an autumn release, Stafford said. "It seems like we've been known as a live band, and we've built our reputation on touring," he said.
Along the road to success, a couple of Train members, original guitarist Rob Hotchkiss and most recently bassist Charlie Colin, disembarked.
In their places are keyboard player Brendan Bush and former Black Crowes bassist Johnny Colt, both of whom will be extended official membership soon, Stafford said.
"Pat, [drummer] Scott [Underwood] and myself have a lot invested in this band," Stafford said. "But we'll have something resolved by the end of summer."