Nothing wrong with a weird slice of vinyl now and then. You can safely leave that to Apop Records, “Columbia’s importer of obscuro music, aberrant publications, tracts, self-deluded manifestos, and all else on the fringe of pop/unpop culture”. Their latest manifestation is a 7″ by the Strangulated Beatoffs, who were inspired by a certain controversial king of pop for their single “Jackin Off With Jacko”, which comes in a sleeve with colourful watercolor artwork.
The A-side is really entertaining. It’s actually a cool cover of ‘Beat It’, with a monotonous lo-fi distorted sound based on the famous guitar riff originally done by Eddie Van Halen. The strangily sounding, somewhat indifferent vocals enhance the gritty sound.
Of course they are not the first to treat a classic Michael Jackson disco hit, think of the parody by Weird Al Yankovic (“Eat it”) or the brilliant “Kaw-Liga” by the Residents (based on the bass line of “Billy Jean”). Still this short and simple song by the Strangulated Beatoffs is addictive and makes me want to play it five times in a row.
The B-side is harder to digest. ‘Jackin Off With Jacko’, though called an ‘Instant Club Hit’ by the label, is an over-the top annoying creation with irritating jazzy loops which go on and on, combined with a strange voice calling even stranger sentences. I don’t think that this will be the theme song of the next Jackson fan club meeting…
