The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo. They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on the albums Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Odelay, Midnite Vultures and Guero by Beck, the soundtrack to the film Fight Club, and "MMMBop" by Hanson. They are based in Los Angeles, California.
Odelay is the fifth studio album by American musician Beck, released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records. The album featured several successful singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution", and peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard 200. As of July 2008, the album had sold 2.3 million copies in the United States, making Odelay Beck's most successful album to date. Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest of the 1990s and of all time.
Guero is the ninth studio album by American musician Beck, released on March 29, 2005, by Interscope Records. It was produced with John King and Mike Simpson of the Dust Brothers, who had worked with Beck on his 1996 album Odelay, as well as Tony Hoffer.
"Strange Currencies" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. It was included on their ninth studio album, Monster (1994), and was released as the album's fourth single on April 18, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. The song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 47 in the United States. Like "Everybody Hurts" on R.E.M.'s previous album, it has a time signature of 6
8. The song's music video was directed by Mark Romanek.
"Thieves in the Temple" is a song by American musician Prince from the 1990 soundtrack album Graffiti Bridge. Added at the last minute, it was the final song recorded for the album. "Thieves in the Temple" topped the US R&B chart and became a number six hit in the US, and a number seven hit in the UK. The single also peaked at number nine on the dance chart.
"Where It's At" is a song by American alternative rock musician Beck, released in May 1996 by DGC and Bong Load as the first single from his fifth album, Odelay (1996). Beck wrote the song in 1995 with its co-producers John King and Michael Simpson, and premiered it at Lollapalooza the same year, in a version very similar to its incarnation on Odelay. He has performed the song often since 1995, frequently experimenting with the music and lyrics. Its music video was directed by Steve Hanft.
"Black Tie White Noise" is the title track from British singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie's 18th album of the same name (1993). Featuring guest vocals by Al B. Sure!, it was written by Bowie, produced by Nile Rodgers and released as the second single from the album in June 1993 by Arista, BMG and Savage. It peaked at number 36 in the UK. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Mark Romanek.
"Breathe" is a song by English electronic dance music band the Prodigy, released in November 1996 by XL Recordings as the second single from their third album, The Fat of the Land (1997). It was written by band members Liam Howlett, Keith Flint and Maxim Reality, featuring a drum break from the song "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed" by Thin Lizzy. The whiplashing sword sound effect is a sample of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin" by Wu-Tang Clan. As with "Firestarter", Jim Davies played the guitar in the song. "Breathe" became the group's second consecutive number-one in the United Kingdom and also topped the charts in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. Its music video was directed by Walter Stern, depicting the band in an abandoned, decrepit apartment building. Melody Maker ranked "Breathe" number 29 in their list of the best singles of 1996, and Q Magazine featured it in their "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.
"Mixed Bizness" is a song by American musician Beck. It was released as the second single from his 1999 album Midnite Vultures. Released in 2000, the CD single included five non-album tracks/remixes. It peaked at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was featured in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle and American Dad. The primary drum beat heard throughout the track is a sample from “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones.
"The New Pollution" is a song by American musician Beck, released in February 1997 by DGC Records as the third single from his fifth album, Odelay (1996). It was written by Beck with John King and Michael Simpson, and produced by Beck with Dust Brothers. The song samples "Venus" by Joe Thomas. In the US, "The New Pollution" peaked at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. In Europe, it was a top-10 hit in Iceland, peaking at number nine. The music video for the song was directed by Beck himself.
The discography of Beck, an American rock musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, consists of 14 studio albums, one compilation album, one remix album, four extended plays (EPs) and 52 singles. With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
"Jack-Ass" is a single by Beck, taken from the album Odelay. The song is based on a sample of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", performed by Them, from their 1966 album Them Again.
"Sissyneck" is a song by American musician Beck, released as the fourth single from his fifth album, Odelay (1996). For the bass line of the song, the Dust Brothers sampled "A Part of Me" by the band Country Funk. The whistling in the introduction comes from "The Moog and Me" by Dick Hyman. The organ line is from "Life" by Sly & the Family Stone. The song peaked at No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Deadweight" is a single by American musician Beck, released as a single from the soundtrack to the 1997 romantic black comedy film A Life Less Ordinary. The song was nominated for Best Song from a Movie at the 1998 MTV Movie Awards but lost to Will Smith's "Men in Black". The song can also be found on the deluxe version of Beck's fifth studio album, Odelay (1996).
"Avenue" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in October 1992 as the first single from their second album, So Tough (1992). It was originally titled "Lovely Heart" or "Young Heart". The album version is a 7-minute version with lengthy instrumental sequences; it was edited down to around 4 minutes for radio play, though the commercial single contained the full-length version, with the radio edit only released on promotional material. The edit wasn't released commercially until 2005's Travel Edition 1990-2005.
"Life Is Sweet" is a song by the English big beat duo the Chemical Brothers, released in August 1995 by Virgin as the second and final single from their first album, Exit Planet Dust (1995). It features Tim Burgess from English rock band the Charlatans on vocals. "Life Is Sweet" reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Into the Blue" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on June 19, 1995 by Mute Records, as the fourth single from his third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). American musician Mimi Goese co-wrote the lyrics with Moby and provided the vocals. The song is slow and melancholy, a stark contrast to the first four singles from the album.
"Feeling So Real" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on October 1994 by Mute and Elektra, as the second single from the musician's third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). The song, both written and produced by Moby, features the phrases "sound system rocking my....." and "set it up DJ!" spoken by Kochie Banton, who also appears in Moby's following single, "Everytime You Touch Me". The guest vocalist for the song is Rozz Morehead. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, number nine on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and number one on the Finnish Singles Chart. Julie Hermelin directed the song's accompanying music video. Spin ranked "Feeling So Real"/"Everytime You Touch Me" number one in their list of the 20 best singles of 1995.
"Back in the U.K." is a song by German group Scooter. It was released in November 1995 by Club Tools and Scorpio Music as the lead single from their second album, Our Happy Hardcore (1996). In the United Kingdom it became their biggest hit ever up to that point, entering at number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1996. It would remain their highest charting single until the release of "The Logical Song" in 2002, which reached number two. The song was re-recorded as "Back in Ireland" for the Irish market.
