"Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" is a song by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

, taken from his first major label album ''

Mellow Gold ''Mellow Gold'' is the third studio album by American musician Beck, released on March 1, 1994 by DGC Records. Critics noted the album's hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, blues, psychedelia, and country, as well as iron ...

'' and released as its second single.

Conception and recording

Said to be one of the oldest songs on ''Mellow Gold'', Beck has claimed that he wrote it as a struggling musician, at the age of 18 or 19. Beck claimed that the song originally had ten verses, which were cut down for commercial release. On a limited number of ''

'' 12" vinyl albums, one can hear a version with an added stanza, which is inserted between the first and second verses of the standard ''Mellow Gold'' version. "Got No Mind," a re-recorded, electric full-band arrangement of "Pay No Mind,", features three of the seven verses of "Pay No Mind" that were cut on ''Mellow Gold'' and is included on the single for " Beercan."

Composition and lyrics

"Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" is a simple

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

song with an understated

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

solo. According to an interpretation by Whiskeyclone.net, the song's lyrical content explores Beck's attitudes towards the music industry. The first verse describes a city, which, despite being decrepit and dirty, is filled with shopping malls. In the second verse, Beck expresses resentment towards what he sees as the commercialism of major record labels focused on record sales and money, rather than artistic creativity. In the third verse, he concludes that, despite his negative stance, he is looking for a change, which getting signed would provide. Also to be noted is that the songs "Special People", "Trouble All My Days", and "Super Golden Black Sunchild" are from Beck's 1993 "Golden Feelings." On the release, "Special People" is listed as track 2; "Trouble All My Days" is listed as track 5; and "Super Golden Black Sunchild" is listed as track 9.

Reception

First known to be played live in 1993, "Pay No Mind" is still a fan-favorite and a staple of Beck's live shows. Beck is known for radically re-working the lyrics of the song while on stage to include commentary on things as diverse as

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

and

99 cent store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...

s. A music video, directed by Beck's friend Steve Hanft, was released for the song which featured Beck playing the acoustic guitar while wearing a shirt with the words "Rock Me" written onto the fabric; interspersed throughout the video are people enjoying cocktails, professional skateboarder Mark Gonzales performing random tricks, lava eruptions, diamonds, and other random stuff. Footage of the lava erupting and the final scene of a policeman running into a police station comes from episodes of the TV series ''In Search of... with Leonard Nimoy''. The video later appeared on an episode of ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

''.

Track listing

# "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"

P Version P, or p, is the sixteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''pee'' (pronounced ), plural ''pees''. History The ...

- 3:17 # "Special People" - 1:43 # "Trouble All My Days" - 2:24 # "Super Golden Black Sunchild" - 2:26

Charts

Cover version

American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

has recorded the song for Japanese and Brazilian version of their 2009 album '' The Eternal''.

References

Song Information on Whiskeyclone

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Beck songs 1994 singles Songs written by Beck Song recordings produced by Tom Rothrock 1993 songs Geffen Records singles