Feel Good Time
By: Beck Hansen, Jay Ferguson, William Orbit
Written by: Beck Hansen, Jay Ferguson, William Orbit

Alternate Titles:

a.k.a. Real Good

Versions:
  1. Feel Good Time (5:10)
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Electric), Vocals
    William Orbit: Producer
  2. Feel Good Time (Superchunk Version) (4:16)
    Credits
    William Orbit: Remix
    Beck Hansen: Vocals
    Pink: Vocals
  3. Feel Good Time (Summer Holidays mix) (7:32)
    Credits
    William Orbit: Producer
    Beck Hansen: Vocals
    Pink: Vocals
  4.  
  5. Feel Good Time (Orbitmixer Default)
  6. Feel Good Time (Orbitmixer Preset 1)
  7. Feel Good Time (Orbitmixer Preset 2)
 
Lyrics:
Feel Good Time [Version (a)]:

Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo

We go where we like
We got overtime
We get paid to rattle our chains

We go in the back
Paint our money black
Spend it on the enemy

Sleepin' in the church
Riding in the dirt
Put a banner over my grave

Make a body work
Make a beggar hurt
Sell me something big and untamed (untamed untamed)

Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Baby you're mine

We know how to pray
Party every day
Make our desolation look plain

Riding in a rut
Till the power is cut
We don't even have a good name

Sleepin' in a church
Ridin' in the dirt
Put a banner over my grave

Make a body work
Make a beggar hurt
Sell me something big and untamed (untamed untamed)

Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Baby you're mine

Oh ho oooooh doo da do

Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo
Baby
Ooooh

Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Baby you're mine

Ohhh
Whoooo
Ohhh
Feel good
Feel good
It's the same old scene
Real good
Feel good
Don't got no more brains
Feel good
Feel good
It's the same old same
Real good
Feel good
Don't got no more brains
Feel Good Time (Superchunk Version) [Version (b)]:

Doo doo doo doo doo

We go where we like
We got overtime
We get paid to rattle our chains

We go in the back
Paint our money black
Spend it on the enemy

Sleepin' in the church
Riding in the dirt
Put a banner over my grave

Make a body work
Make a beggar hurt
Sell me something big and untamed
Untamed untamed

Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Said now our time
It's a really good time!
Baby you're mine
Oh oh

We know how to pray
Party every day
Make our desolation a play

Riding in a rut
Till the power is cut
We don't even have a good name

Sleepin' in the church
Ridin' in the dirt
Put a banner over my grave

Make a body work
Make a beggar hurt
Sell me something big and untamed
Untamed untamed

Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Now our time
A real good time
Said now our time
It's a really good time!
Baby you're mine
 
 
The Song:

Sometime in 2001 or early 2002, William Orbit travelled to Los Angeles to work with Beck on a track for Orbit's upcoming album. MTV.com, in an article promoting Sea Change, revealed the song is called "Real Good" and contains "Latin fuzz guitar over percolating dance beats."

In one interview, Beck explained his collaboration with Orbit, "[Orbit] sent over a bunch of ideas he had, I picked one I liked, he came over and I wrote some lyrics, put some guitar on it. We had a couple of nice chats and his process is fairly similar to the way we recorded Odelay, using computers and I was able to improvise for an hour or two and then from that we took from that what the song was. So he's a builder, an arranger, a composer."

The song was originally intended for Orbit's solo album, which was moving at a slow pace. Then the Charlie's Angels people asked to use the song as a big single for the soundtrack. Coming after Sea Change, this would've been a somewhat awkward move, and Beck doesn't usually do big Hollywood soundtracks like that, so he declined. Orbit then went to work with Pink for the movie. She heard the song, and wanted to cover it. In the end, Beck said OK and now "Feel Good Time" as sung by Pink is the main single for the movie. (It is also on Pink's 2003 album, Try This.)

It's the exact same track, just with Pink singing. Beck's vocals and wild guitar were removed. The main riff of "Feel Good Time" is from the cool, old Spirit song "Fresh Garbage."

It's kind of too bad Beck didn't give his version to Hollywood. It would've been a cool way to be subversive, confuse people, as in "why the hell is Beck singing the Charlie's Angels song?" It also seems somewhat unique to Beck's own catalogue, as most of his "dance" songs are weird and crazy, not so straightforward. (Update: not true anymore, as of 2015.) But alas, I can't imagine it's likely we'll hear the original now.

UPDATE: It's still probably not gonna be on any Beck album anytime soon, but we do have Beck's version to listen to now! William Orbit was on a radio show on August 17 2003. While there, he played a number of songs in one 40 minute block, which he called "Superchunk." It included two "new" versions of "Feel Good Time." This had Beck's original vocals, and some of his fucked-up guitar and effects seem to have been put back. Pink's vocals are still there in the background, so it's not exactly the original, more a combo remix. There's also a new bassline in there. This version was credited to William Orbit featuring Beck.

(The other version on there was also "reworked," but is just credited to Pink, and I don't think has Beck.) The track was made available via mp3 on William Orbit's website.

UPDATE UPDATE: And somewhere along the way, Beck's original version hit the web too. This original is pretty crazy, Beck really sings it with abandon. It's a great vocal performance, that fits the upbeat and crazy music. Seriously, this is a rad song.

There were also a mess of tracks from the song, shared on William Orbit's website so anyone could remix it. Also I have something called a "Summer Holidays mix" which also combines both their vocals, but doesn't use the same Spirit riff as a beat. It also came from William Orbit's website, so it's somewhat official.
 
Live:

None by Beck, anyway.
 
Notes: