As a side note; I read an interview with Beck during the Mellow Gold era, and the interviewer asked what his favorite album was. His answer was the first album by the Bullet Boys. I don't know if you know who the hell the Bullet Boys are, but they were one of the very last hair metal bands to get signed, a bit like Jackal and Enuff Z Nuff. In other words, they were the dregs of the movement. But they had a very wild and over the top style, plus by 1994, they had the stench of yesterday's trend all over them. Flash in the pan and trashy as all hell. Beck has always had an affinity with things that were no longer in style but hadn't yet come back around as retro revival. He's always loved the thing that isn't cool anymore, seen as tacky, dated and slightly embarrassing. That's what Gold Chains is about. This song is a perfect example of how his mind works and why he's a genius.
As a side note; I read an interview with Beck during the Mellow Gold era, and the interviewer asked what his favorite album was. His answer was the first album by the Bullet Boys. I don't know if you know who the hell the Bullet Boys are, but they were one of the very last hair metal bands to get signed, a bit like Jackal and Enuff Z Nuff. In other words, they were the dregs of the movement. But they had a very wild and over the top style, plus by 1994, they had the stench of yesterday's trend all over them. Flash in the pan and trashy as all hell. Beck has always had an affinity with things that were no longer in style but hadn't yet come back around as retro revival. He's always loved the thing that isn't cool anymore, seen as tacky, dated and slightly embarrassing. That's what Gold Chains is about. This song is a perfect example of how his mind works and why he's a genius.