The Beat Generation is back with a new track called"Take Care of Yourself (Final Mix)," released as something much more than just another rock song, but a timely reality check. White's isn't gunning to save the world, but he's gunning to save you. And perhaps, in that attempt, the world is less lonely for four minutes and change. Now it's not often you stumble upon something like this: a song that doesn't shy away from reality, or try to distract you from it, so much as lean into it, and then throw you a rope.
Centred on this new track and this blistering live video is the voice of Lawrence White, the originator of The Beat Generation, whose gritty, road-weathered vocals reveal a man who has lived a life. There's no artifice here, just raw honesty, uncut grit, and a message that lands with the subtle power of a train. "Take Care of Yourself (Final Mix)" may sound like generic advice on paper, but in White's hands, it functions as a response to the increasingly dysfunctional forces of a world that seems to grow less hospitable with each passing day.
The rock-propulsive beat of the track doesn't underpin the lyrics, but it propels them. The instrumentation is brazenly raucous, with an up-tempo that conveys an intensity to the track. It's as if the music is even telling you to keep marching, to stay on your feet, to breathe. There's a lovely lack of filter to it all: no overproduction, no polished pretenses, just authentic sound, real words, real feeling.
"Take Care of Yourself (Final Mix)" is a reminder everyone can use, particularly at present. "Tired of being told shit that you already are/ Tired of all the people that you love pretending you're not there standing alone on the floor where you were before," Renn sings here, and that's way more clever. He repeats, Tired like a rope-a-dope, punches you in the face with your attitude, suns you, mocks you, and tells you some day he loves you. So be it, turn it up, let it smack you in the head, and remember: Rock hard, but get used to the long haul.
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