Written by: Beck Hansen
Versions:
- This Is My Crew (3:53)
Available on Midnite Vultures and 1 other release.
CreditsRecorded at: NRG Studios
Justin Meldal-Johnsen: Bass (Electric)
Tony Hoffer: Engineer, Mix, Producer, Programming
Mickey Petralia: Mix
Beck Hansen: Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals
DJ Swamp: Scratching
Roger Joseph Manning Jr.: Synthesizer
Lyrics:
This Is My Crew [Version (a)]:
Ah, you know it's on. It's on.
Let the funky music gauge your eyes out.
Do you want to jam? Take me home now.
I can feel the bass. Your brother's a waitress.
Your whole crew is whack.
Weather's gettin' cold down at the bistro.
Yeah, this is a motherfuckin' jam.
Yeah, this is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
Saw you at the jam, throw me a lifevest.
This is how we jam. I'm on the payroll.
The doctor's on the phone wearin' a gas mask.
Shivers up my spine down at the bistro.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Jam! It's on, motherfucker! Jam!
Your whole crew is whack.
This party is for real!
Ah, you know it's on. It's on.
Let the funky music gauge your eyes out.
Do you want to jam? Take me home now.
I can feel the bass. Your brother's a waitress.
Your whole crew is whack.
Weather's gettin' cold down at the bistro.
Yeah, this is a motherfuckin' jam.
Yeah, this is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
Saw you at the jam, throw me a lifevest.
This is how we jam. I'm on the payroll.
The doctor's on the phone wearin' a gas mask.
Shivers up my spine down at the bistro.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
This is my crew. Take ten steps back.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Yellow turns to black.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Now you're in the danger zone.
Jam! It's on, motherfucker! Jam!
Your whole crew is whack.
This party is for real!
The Song:
"This Is My Crew" is a 1980s end-of-the-millennium jam, a b-side for "Sexx Laws." It is the Beck song for DJ Swamp fans. The scratching is some of the best he's ever put on a Beck track. Listening to the song also reminds me of Timbaland's quote, "Beck has a lot of sound, and his sound library is just ridiculous." Beck totally tapped into his ridiculous library on this one.
The lyrics are filled with all sorts of odd lines like "Your brother's a waitress" and "I'm on the payroll." But put them all together, and you get Beck's odd take on hiphop showmanship.
CMJ Music Monthly (November, 1999) happened to interview Beck on the day he and the band were working on "This Is My Crew." Here's the description of the song from it:
"This Is My Crew" is a 1980s end-of-the-millennium jam, a b-side for "Sexx Laws." It is the Beck song for DJ Swamp fans. The scratching is some of the best he's ever put on a Beck track. Listening to the song also reminds me of Timbaland's quote, "Beck has a lot of sound, and his sound library is just ridiculous." Beck totally tapped into his ridiculous library on this one.
The lyrics are filled with all sorts of odd lines like "Your brother's a waitress" and "I'm on the payroll." But put them all together, and you get Beck's odd take on hiphop showmanship.
CMJ Music Monthly (November, 1999) happened to interview Beck on the day he and the band were working on "This Is My Crew." Here's the description of the song from it:
"No, no, no" groans Beck Hansen, his fingertips braced against his forehead, "It's too much. I thought we got rid of that stuff already." In a mixdown room at North Hollywood's NRG Studios, Beck, his engineers and co-producers are listening to a playback of "This is My Crew," an '80s-style electro-funk slated for the Japanese version of Beck's long awaited new album. The song's basic groove is tight and funky, but there are too many percussive effects cluttering up the mix, and Beck knows it. "We need to get the bass up front, man," he tells engineer Michael Patterson with a hint of exasperation, as a table-lamp flickers on and off inexplicably.
Notes:
- What does "yellow turns to black" mean? Is this a hiphop phrase I'm unaware of?
Thanks to Daniel T for the reminder that it might be a reference to police caution tape, which I guess fits with the "take ten staps back" / "danger zone" vibe. :-)