Songfacts®:

• This song is about Beck's frustration with the record industry, which focuses on money and sales rather than creativity and talent.
• According to Beck, this was originally a 10-verse song, that he cut down to three when he recorded it. He wrote the song in 1989 when he was still a teenager, and he spent years developing it live, often changing the lyrics. It was finally released on Mellow Gold, his first for Geffen Records.
  
  Is Beck a hypocrite for releasing a song decrying the music industry and then signing to a major label? Not at all: As part of his deal, he was allowed to release songs on indie labels as well, which he did.
• Beck almost always plays this at live shows, but always improvises the lyrics, so the song is never the same twice. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bert - Pueblo, NM, for all above
• This was released as the follow-up single to Beck's hit "Loser." Unsurprisingly, it didn't chart, but Beck wasn't exactly striving for a hit. Throughout his career, Beck stayed in a sweet spot where he made wildly eclectic music, some of which was just popular enough to garner him a substantial audience.