Canceled Check

Canceled Check is the fourth track on Mutations.

Description
Canceled Check might be one of the oldest songs on Mutations, with Beck saying he wrote it in a hotel in Tokyo, in September 1994. He even played it live that month.

Before playing it on KRCW in 1995, he said this.

"I got the idea, you know, being on the road, being in a motel. And late at night sometimes you can't sleep, so you watch the TV. Mostly the only thing on late at night is these infomercial things. They got all kinds: salad spinners... all these older women making sweatshirts with sparkle butterflies on 'em.  There was this one that had this guy who had this, I don't remember his name, but he had this really square jaw. And he sort of, he talked really like he was slowed down, like they taped him and they slowed him down. And he just look liked a big skeleton, sorta. And he had this speech about positive thinking. And I'm all for being positive, but in a real way, not really in one of these "Do A, B, and C and you will have D" sort of thing. And he had this speech where he was talking about "Your goal is a pearl, and it may look like a grain of sand, but you can turn that grain of sand into a pearl. Just listen to my tape for $79.95, in twenty installments." And then he said this other thing, "The past is a canceled check! Your maximum point of power is now!" So I started to think about canceled checks, because that was something I could relate to, and so I wrote this about my life at that point. It's called "Canceled Check."

That infomercial personality was actually Tony Robbins, a well known life-coach and philanthropist. The fact that he, a life-coach inspired a song with such bitter undertones (albeit sarcastic) is pretty funny to me.

During his long rambles about the song on KRCW, Beck mentioned that he was writing about his life at this point. He wasn't just making fun of Tony Robbins types, but also relating it to his own experiences. In turn, you get lines relatable to a struggling young artist ("Reaching out for a rotten egg / I don't want to beg")

It was brought back for Mutations in 1998, turning it into a country stomp. Producer Nigel Godrich had a big hand in reworking Canceled Check. Apparently, he thought the musicians were too proficient, and reportedly had them play in the dark with bags over their heads, you know, to get the right atmosphere! Near the end, the song spontaneously breaks down. You can really imagine them playing this part with bags on their heads. A longer version of this song exists on a couple of promo Mutations copies, with the breakdown being a couple minutes longer.

Lyrics
I hate to do this, but you're a pain in the neck.

I thought you knew this, you're handing me a canceled check.

You're so helpless. Your girlfriends think you're a saint.

I'll give you a quarter. I'll keep my judgments to myself.

And I get caught up in the moonlight.

Reaching out for a rotten egg, I don't want to beg.

It's crystal clear, your time is nearly gone.

Count your blessings and do the things that you should.

All the has beens have never had it so good.

Stormy weather, the kids are making a racket.

In the wilderness, the wild lives are so mild.

And I get caught up in the moonlight.

Reaching out for a rotten egg, I don't want to beg.

It's crystal clear, your time is nearly gone.

And I get caught up in the moonlight.

Reaching out for a rotten egg, I don't want to beg.

It's crystal clear, your time is nearly gone.