Weapon Of Choice

by

Fatboy Slim

Album: From The Gutter To The Stars      Released: 2001

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Funk legend Bootsy Collins helped write this and played on it. Collins played bass for George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic, and has worked on many side projects, including The Bootzilla Orchestra and Deee-Lite.

In David Lynch's film adaptation of Dune, Paul Atreides says to his mother (82 minutes into the movie): "If we walk without rhythm, we won't attract the worm." This is the likely source of the lyrics, "Walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm." (thanks, Jason - Sydney, Australia)

The video was directed by Spike Jonze, who, among others, has worked with R.E.M., Weezer, and Soundgarden. He directed Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" video in 1999.

The video features Christopher Walken dancing. Walken is famous for playing an evil psycho in movies like True Romance, The Deer Hunter, Sleepy Hollow, and Pulp Fiction, which made for a very interesting video because it turns out Walken is a great dancer. He danced in musicals at the beginning of his career.

The video was shot over 2 days in the lobby of a Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles shortly before Christmas in 2000.

The video won 6 MTV Video Music awards: Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.

This won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. Collins accepted the award with Slim.

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Comments:

Jim I'd have to agree with, except some of the things about Paul and such which not having seen the movie myself but reading all the books I don't are true. He doesn't really know a special Martial Art, he's been combed to be the Kwizatch Haderach, the religious prophet of the people of Dune, the Fremen (Free Men). He does say the line about walking without women, but it can also explain the last line. I think it refers to when in Dune Messiah, Paul starts to break down mentally and goes off into these tangents about how the people will never learn and that is why he can't prevent the Jihad by the Fremen who follow him.
- Cary, Casa Grande, AZ

"if you walk without rhythym, it won't attract the worm" is from Dune, the sandworms sense the vibrations of footprints but of course it doesn't explain the lyric "if you walk without rhythym, you're never gonna earn" Not something most people are gonna get, but I like it.
- mike, carmel, IN

I completely agree with Long from Houston...this is probably the best video ever made. Christopher Walken is truly an amazing dancer and performer.
- Mary, Phoenix, AZ

When I first heard this song, I thought of Dune, because of the "attract the worm" phrase.
- Alden, Asheville, NC

Of course the girl from Venezuela would think it's about blow, that is all they do there. I don't recall in the video the scene where he does cocaine.
- Ryan, Seattle, WA

I don't know where the lyrics come from, but the video is quite obvious- executive businessmen who must work allnighters OFTEN snort coke to have the strength to do it, just like older high-rank army officials do EVERYWHERE in the world. This guy is obviously tired first, snorts, gets the short high, then comes back to sit down when the high is over. I saw it thousands of times as a child when that was my world, too. -Vanessa Di Domenico, Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Vanessa, Maracaibo, South America

Thank goodness someone figured it out. Go Aussie J! Yes indeedy it is about Dune where you walk without rhythm and it wont attract the worm but more importantly it is about the weapon of choice. A device which is attatched to your vocal box which acts as the weapon with vibrations to kill the worm. Hence the electronically altered voice. Also, the lyrics should state, halfway through the gutter and the stars, which depicts the grueling journey they make. Steve from PA, good inspiration but sorry mate, you are wrong!
- Muze, Australia, Australia

This is more about Christopher Walkin than Fat Boy Slim, but if you pay attention, Chris dances in every movie he is in. He puts it in his contracts that befor he signs a movie deal he must be aloud to dance "a jig" in the movie at least once. The best one by far has to be in Sleepy Hollow. Look for it and you will see.
- Jeff, Medford, OR

Christopher Walken wasn't an evil psycho in "Pulp Fiction" either. He was, yet again, a Vietnam veteran and was in the movie for like 7 minutes (the emotionally ruined part I don't know about).
- Elliott, Toronto, Canada

I think this the video for this song was the best music video ever made.
- Long, Houston, TX

This song is very much based on (at least peripherally) the David Lynch movie, Dune. Much of the heady subplot involves a secret weapon that one family has over all the others; the main character is, himself, a weapon; he knows a rare and closely-guarded martial art that no other men know; a subculture of witches called the Bene Gesserit utilize an ability called "The Voice" that allows them to bypass the victim's higher brain functions and give them an irresistable command, and the weird affect on Bootsy's voice during much of the song sounds a great deal like the weird affect used in the movie when The Voice is used; the line about Walking without rhythm and not attracting worms is lifted almost directly from the film (and the book); a major theme of the book and the movie is ascension to a higher form of life, as Paul is expected to transcend normal human existence (as in the lyric, "It's gone beyond being a man"), and the final stanza reflects this.
- Jim, Pittsburgh, PA

Christopher Walken also appeared in Madonna's video for "Bad Girl", he played a guardian angel
- Melissa, Green Bay, WI

For some reason, I've always assumed that lyric 'Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the worm" referred to the idea in the Bible Belt that dancing is the devils tool. No rhythm, no dancing, no devil (also known as the worm). It provides a better reason for using Christopher Walkin as the dancer as he does tend to play characters who are move evil than good in nature.
- Kraeg Minett, London, Canada

Alicia, I think the lyrics say "if you don't walk with rythem, you won't atrrack the women", which is always why i walk with rythem at the beach
- Steve, Wallingford, PA

Walken was not an evil psycho in "The Deer Hunter," he was an emotionally ruined Vietnam veteran.
- sarah, Salem, MA

The lyric "walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm" is likely inspired by the classic sci-fi novel "Dune" in which there are giant worms on a desert planet which will attack you unless you walk without a rhythm, so that they can't tell you are there.
- Alicia, Oxford, OH

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