Beck Reminisces About Spandex Jumpsuits With Will Ferrell

Beck has updated the Irrelevant Topics section of his awesome new official Website with part one of an interview he conducted with actor Will Ferrell. The two natives of Southern California discuss a whole range of hilarious topics, from the proper use of the word "solid" to old-school local Cali commercials to an instance where, at a tsunami relief benefit at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre in January 2005, Ferrell donned a full-body red spandex suit and danced during Beck's performance of Sea Change's morose "Lonesome Tears." (Photographic evidence above.)

"Our little exchange might be one of the highlights of my career right there," Ferrell told Beck, "But your delivery was perfect as to how, kind of, slightly annoyed you were with me but yet you still committed to the song." Beck jokes that he retired the tune after the performance, but after Ferrell apologizes for forever ruining the song, Beck insists that "Lonesome Tears" was just "missing something" without Ferrell's gyrating. (Note to Ferrell: According to Beck fansite Whiskeyclone, Beck has performed the song over a dozen times since the Wiltern show, so don't feel bad.) Part two of the interview will be posted next week.

Ferrell is the second subject interviewed by Beck for his Irrelevant Topics section, following a two-part conversation with "living god" Tom Waits. Recently, in addition to adding weekly covers of Velvet Underground & Nico as part of his Record Club, Beck has also been posting videos of acoustic versions of his latest album Modern Guilt, allowing fans to hear the album in more of a stripped-down, Mutations-esque form far removed from the original LP with its bombastic Danger Mouse production. An acoustic performance of "Youthless" is up now in the Videotheque section.

Meanwhile, Beck's Record Club is two songs away from completing Velvet Underground & Nico, with albums like Sonic Youth's Evol and Skip Spence's Oar (with Wilco in tow) rumored to the Record Club's next focus.

Related Stories:
• Beck Celebrates "Modern Guilt" Birthday With Acoustic Version
• Beck Launches "Irrelevant Topics" Interview Series With Tom Waits
• Beck Announces Plans to Redo Classic Albums for Record Club

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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