Attack of the Killer Track! is a series that explores tracks from artists from a variety of genres. Some of the tracks were singles, some of them were obscure b-sides or long forgotten album tracks. One thing is certain – all of them are killer tracks.
When you think of Moby, you probably think of radio friendly electronic music. Or perhaps Eminem dissing him in his 2002 hit single Without Me (side note, part of the diss related to Moby’s age at the time which was 36. Em’s in his 40’s now. Time’s a bitch, eh Marshall?). You could think these things and you wouldn’t be wrong. If you came across Moby in the mid 90’s though, you’d be thrown into quite a bit of confusion. Fresh off 3 electronic albums released from 1992 to 1995 that were starting to make Moby a household name he decided to throw a curveball. Feeling disillusioned by the lack of positive press, Moby released a punk rock album in 1996. Animal Rights might be the most misunderstood album of the 90’s – confrontational punk / metal tunes mixed with soothing ambient instrumentals, it was confounding. It also almost destroyed Moby’s career (we all know he recovered beyond his wildest dreams). Personally, it is my favorite record that Moby has ever released. The 1st single was a cover of Mission of Burma’s That’s When I Reach For My Revolver which received a bit of radio play. The 2nd single was Come On Baby – a slab of electronic punk metal. You’ve never really heard Moby like this before – and probably never will again. Guitars rage, sound f/x overwhelm and Moby shouts lines like “Love myself with a broken-hearted love / What I never saw what do I care? / You don’t want a sick celebration love / Think about a broken time was soulless”. The single was released in late 1996 and was backed by a death metal version of Devo’s Whip It (yes, I’m serious). By 1997 Moby was back to making electronic music almost exclusively (save for the odd Joy Division cover here and there) and would hit mainstream success in 1999. Some might look back on the Animal Rights punk rock experiment as a failure – I look on it as a glorious experiment that is still exhilarating 19 years later.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vea9WhI_oNM]