It reminds me of somethin' you'd hear in a cartoon, somethin' ill," says hip-hop honcho Timbaland of his collaboration with Beck, an interstellar freakout version of David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs." Recorded for the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, the cut promises to be the first of several genre-toppling projects from the duo, who first crossed paths in April, at a taping for Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub.com. "He was there with Jay-Z," Beck remembers. "I was telling him that his records were a huge influence on my last record, and he was saying the same thing to me. We knew we had to hook it up!" The "Diamond" sessions also resulted in a Beck guest appearance on Timbaland and Magoo's upcoming Indecent Proposal CD. "I keep telling Beck he could be as good a rapper as Eminem," says Timbaland, who listens only to alternative rock in his spare time. "I wanna do a Beck album next. I wanna do an album with me, Beck, Gwen from No Doubt and James from Metallica!" Beck laughs and says, "He'll play me some sick new track and tell me how it was inspired by the Cranberries."

This story is from the October 26th, 2000 issue of Rolling Stone.

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