The song "E-Pro" from Beck's Guero (2005) wasn't a bad opening track. The "na-na" chant in the chorus was fairly catchy. The crunchy riff was pretty good. But the rhythm sample from The Beastie Boys' "So Whatcha Want?" (itself a sample) felt like a lazy cop out. It was a rare occasion of The Dust Brothers phoning it in.
Then about a year after Guero dropped, I was watching something online, and I heard a different version of the song in the background of the video. "Venom Confection," as I discovered the remixed track was called, had the same lyrics and same catchy "na-na" nursery rhyme chorus, only with this fresh new melody and "groovy" feel--like the theme song for some long-forgotten ABC serial drama from the early 70s. (Premise: an ex-KGB agent defects to the States and joins the LAPD to help fight organized crime with his new partner: a hot-headed, un-hip ginger with a heart of gold. Red Square - Thursdays at 9pm, following the Mod Squad.)
The remix didn't just alter the beat or loop one portion of the song, over and over, ad nauseam. It completely transformed it into a new song, stripping away the original sampled beat and distorted guitar and replacing them with new piano, synths, chimes, and funky bass and drums. Even Beck's vocal takes on a layered, Beach Boys-like feel that is completely lacking in the original.
Lyrically, I'm still not sure what it's about. I'm thinking maybe it's about environmental protection and the politicians/corporations who talk a lot but do nothing to change the status quo. Or, maybe it's just a bunch of words that he thought sounded badass. This is Beck, after all. The man who once rapped, Get crazy with the cheez whiz.
So... y'know.
[There was a video for this song, but it was removed from YouTube.]
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