OutKast: Mighty “O”

And so OutKast, clearly tired of waiting for the rest of the music industry to catch up with their nth-dimension brain-hop, have decided to become the next, um, Ben Elton by writing a musical. Entitled ‘Idlewild’, it sees Andre 3000 star as a young Roddy Woomble, struggling to get a gig at his local Tap’N’Turnip. His case isn’t helped by the vicious underhand tactics of the local music scene’s notorious drug-addled egotist, Billy Vomit, played with aplomb by Dominic Masters. At least, NME’s guessing that’s what it’s all about. Who knows, it might just be the story of a struggling piano-player in a 1930s speakeasy like it says on their website. Anyway, this is the lead single and it’s available on www.outkast.com to listen to for free. In other words it costs nothing, nada, zilch. Which automatically gives it a super head start, as does the fact that it sounds like nothing else around at the moment (for a change). A pinched intro from Cab Calloway’s druggy jazz classic ‘Minnie The Moocher’ kicks things off at the start, before scrunched-up strings and all manner of mashed-up psychedelic sounds and swirls combine together to form an understated, but clearly bonkers, backing track. Over-the-top OutKast deliver a lyric that manages to reference their Atlanta chums, The Da Vinci Code and the government selling crack to the pope. All of which makes this a welcome return for music’s most lysergically-inclined superbrains. Rumours that they’re now working on a Kooks-inspired ballet remain unconfirmed at time of going to press.