Where It's At (Beck song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Where It's At.
"Where It's At"
Where It's At.jpg
Single by Beck
from the album Odelay
ReleasedJuly 11, 1996
Recorded1995–1996
Genre
Length
  • 3:42 (radio edit)
  • 5:30 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Beck
  • The Dust Brothers
Beck singles chronology
"It's All in Your Mind"
(1995) 		"Where It's At"
(1996) 		"Devils Haircut"
(1996)
Music video
"Where It's At" on YouTube

"Where It's At" is a song by American alternative rock musician Beck. It was released as the first single from his 1996 album Odelay. Beck wrote the song in 1995. He premiered it at Lollapalooza 1995, in a version very similar to its incarnation on Odelay. He has played the song very often since 1995, although he regularly experiments with the music and lyrics.

Production[]

"Where It's At" has a number of spoken samples that Beck and the Dust Brothers incorporated into it. Many of these come from an obscure sex education album titled Sex for Teens: (Where It's At), a subtitle Beck borrowed (see link below). Other vocal samples incorporated into "Where It's At" come from "Needle to the Groove" by old-school hip hop group Mantronix ("we've got two turntables and a microphone..."), as well as The Frogs ("that was a good drum break"). The song also references Gary Wilson, one of Beck's influences. In addition, just before the Frogs sample begins, the song incorporates a musical sample from the intro of noted go-go band E.U.'s song "Knock Him Out Sugar Ray".

Beck also pays homage to Captain Beefheart by dressing as Captain Beefheart was dressed in the Trout Mask Replica album photo sessions at 1:27 in the video.[1] The video features a parody of William Shatner's video of "Rocket Man" or perhaps a reference to Chris Elliott's parody of same. An adaptation of the song in Futurama was also used with Bender playing the 'washboard' in various parts, the same episode in which Beck makes an appearance throughout the show.

Beck earned the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 76 on its list of 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years.[2]

Music video[]

The music video, directed by Steve Hanft, features Beck doing a variety of things, such as cleaning up a highway for community service as a convict, singing at a car dealership, dressed as the Candyman, and line dancing. In one moment, Beck pays homage to William Shatner's performance of "Rocket Man" at the 1977 Saturn Awards ceremony. "Where It's At" was the first music video to be broadcast on MTV2 on August 1, 1996. The video was awarded a MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video. The shorter version was used for this video instead of the album version.

Track listings[]

USA (12)

  1. Where It's At (Edit)
  2. Make Out City
  3. Where It's At (remix by Mario C and Mickey P)
  4. Where It's At (remix by John King)
  5. Bonus Beats

UK #1

  1. Where It's At (Edit)
  2. Where It's At (remix by Mario C and Mickey P)
  3. Bonus Beats
  4. Where It's At (remix by U.N.K.L.E.)

UK #2/Australia

  1. Where It's At (Edit)
  2. Where It's At (remix by Mario C and Mickey P)
  3. Bonus Beats

Japan

  1. Where It's At (Edit)
  2. Where It's At (remix by John King)
  3. Lloyd Price Express (remix by John King)
  4. Dark and Lovely (remix by the Dust Brothers)
  5. American Wasteland
  6. Clock

Personnel[]

  • Beck Hansen – vocals, electric piano, guitar, bass, organ
  • The Dust Brothers – turntables
  • Mike Boito – trumpet, organ
  • Money Mark – organ
  • David Brown – saxophone
  • Eddie Lopez – outro talking

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Beck Dressed as Captain Beefheart in the Where It's At Video". Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  2. ^ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  3. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Aug 1996". ARIA. Retrieved April 16, 2020 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The HP column indicates the single's highest position.
  4. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9529." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3046." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 27. July 6, 1996. p. 12. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 184 Vikuna 24.8. – 30.8. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). August 24, 1996. p. 42. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "Charts.nz – Beck – Where It's At". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  9. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  10. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Beck – Where It's At". Singles Top 100. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Beck Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "RPM Year End Alternative Top 50". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  14. ^ "Árslistinn 1996". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1997. p. 25. Retrieved June 14, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""