For all their dour pronouncements about being the future of music, too many techno and dance artists come off with the high-mindedness of '70s-style progressive rockers with a better sense of rhythm. Titles like "Let There Be Flutes" (Bentley Rhythm Ace) and "Angels Go Bald: Too" (Howie B) bring to mind the heyday of Yes and Jethro Tull -- only without the hobbits. And that's only because the little guys have been replaced by aliens.
\\Not Fatboy Slim, a k a Norman Cook, former bassist for the English pop band the Housemartins. "I spent the last 15 years hanging out in nightclubs, laughing and falling over a lot," he says, "[and] the music has to reflect that." Hence, Slim has no use for what he calls the "clever dance music" of acts like Future Sound of London. After all, "when people start to think, they stop dancing."
\\And for Slim, the only reason to make records is to get people on the dance floor. Originally a club DJ, Slim recorded "Better Living Through Chemistry" -- his first album as Fatboy Slim -- so he'd have enough music he liked to fill a whole set.
\\The song that's garnered the most attention is "Going Out of My Head" a sledgehammer groove propelled by the guitar riff from the Who's "I Can't Explain." While Slim acknowledges that his labels -- Skint in the U.K. and Astralwerks in the U.S. -- are hoping for crossover success, the prospect of what he calls "those horrible, midwestern Bon Jovi fans," listening to his music worries him. "It's not that they're not allowed," he admits, "but if they hear that song and like it, when they hear the other songs, it's like 'where's the fuckin' guitars man?'" Even though one of rock's more memorable riffs gives "Going Out of My Head" an instant recognizability and appeal, Slim warns, "I still do dance music."
\\Ironically, the inspiration for the song wasn't the Who but a sample Slim heard on a Big Audio Dynamite B-side. "It was only two minutes long and really badly mixed, so I tried to make a more finished version," he explains. "I nicked their idea and took it one stage further." With a certain amount of pride, he adds that the song, like the rest of "Better Living" is "just me making songs that I wanted to play as a DJ."
\\Lynn Hasty, co-owner of Green Galatic Promotions, a publicity and management company specializing in dance music, says that attitude separates Slim from most other dance artists. "So many of the young kids making music from their bedrooms take themselves very seriously," she says. "Slim has been at it for some 15 years, and has some perspective."
\\For his part, Slim just doesn't want people thinking too hard about his music. "It's all about booze and women and football," he insists.