So What'cha Want Explained

So What'cha Want
Cover:SoWhatchaWant.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Beastie Boys
Album:Check Your Head
B-Side:
  • "The Skills to Pay the Bills"
  • "Groove Holmes"
Released:June 2, 1992
Studio:G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, CA
Length:3:36
Label:Capitol
Producer:
Prev Title:Pass the Mic
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Jimmy James
Next Year:1992

"So What'cha Want" is the second single from the album Check Your Head, the third studio album by American rap rock group the Beastie Boys, released on June 2, 1992. The song appears in the video game Rock Band 2.[1]

Music video

The music video, directed by Nathaniel Hörnblowér, simply has the Beastie Boys recite the song in a woodland, addressing the viewer by looking down at the camera which is at ground level, with clips of DJ Hurricane and Money Mark interspersed throughout. It was one of the first music videos to feature slow motion action while the artists' lips remained in sync with the sound track, an effect that would later become a mainstay of music videos.[2] The sky has a photo negative effect which was created by visualist Ash Beck, a direct allusion to the werewolf point-of-view in 1981 horror film Wolfen. Similarly, the infrared style incorporated during the band cutaways are a homage to the hunter vision in Predator.

The video was featured on the 1993 "No Laughing" episode of Beavis and Butt-Head.

Track listing

  1. "So What'cha Want" (Single version) – 3:37
  2. "The Skills to Pay the Bills" (Original version) – 3:14
  3. "So What'cha Want" (Soul Assassin Remix version) (feat. B-Real of Cypress Hill) – 4:06
  4. "Groove Holmes" (LP version) – 2:34
  5. "So What'cha Want" (Butt Naked version) – 3:25
  6. "Groove Holmes" (Live vs. the Biz) – 6:10
  7. "So What'cha Want" (All the Way Live Freestyle version) – 3:37

Charts

Chart (1992/1993)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 64
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 93
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs21
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[5] 26
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks18
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[6] 22
US Cashbox Top 100[7] 87

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Snow . Jean . The Complete Rock Band 2 Track List . Wired . December 4, 2018 . July 14, 2008.
  2. Web site: How the Beastie Boys Revolutionized Music Videos. The Hollywood Reporter. 30 December 2016.
  3. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.
  4. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beastie boys|chart=Hot 100}} Beastie Boys Album & Song Chart History]. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 2011-05-10.
  5. Web site: Check Your Head – Beastie Boys – Billboard Singles. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. 2011-05-10.
  6. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beastie boys|chart=Alternative Songs}} Beastie Boys Album & Song Chart History]. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 2011-05-10.
  7. Web site: USA Cashbox Charts Summaries. popmusichistory. December 16, 2022.