
Beck“Dark Star (Remix by David Andrew Sitek)”
[2006]



As mentioned in our recent interview with him, TV on the Radio's David Sitek went kinda "free jazz" on this one. Only the jazz here isn't so much free as it is less smooth. Where Beck's original is a spotless, buttoned-up groove, with his deadpan rapping in the verses barely surfacing above the bassline, Sitek's remix is fussy and ragged, leaving Beck slightly more exposed. Producer Nigel Godrich's muted drums are replaced by sleigh bells and a digital thud; swooning strings are translated into droning woodwinds; a sqeaky clean harmonica solo becomes a darting flute tirade. The results make Beck sound less like a jaded boho prophet, more an undead crazy hobo. This is a good thing.
"Dark Star" doesn't leave Sitek too much to work with, but the best part of the song, The Word of Beck, remains, so if you're happy there, you'll be happy here. The irony being that the only way to legally obtain "For the People" Sitek's remix of Beck's dropout anthem is on downloado-fascist iTunes, but I'm sure you'll buck the system.
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