The Music of True Blood, Episode 8: Beck's "Timebomb" and Regenerative Hymens

Jef Rouner August 11, 2009 9:00AM

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Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Though we're picking up midway through Season 2, from here on out as each new episode airs, Rocks Off will bring you a short report on the featured music.

Episode 2.8, "Timebomb"

Usually we begin this column with a little bit about the artist whose song was featured in the episode, but Rocks Off assumes that our readership is fairly familiar with Beck and his work. Personally, the last time we checked in on Mr. Hansen was after his October 2006 appearance on Saturday Night Live that featured a stellar, puppet-filled rendition of "Clap Hands" that was easily the best performance on the show in years.

Since then, Beck has continued to do weird in a mainstream way. (Or vice versa). Currently, his passion is a project called Record Club, a group of musicians whose goal is to record covers of entire albums in one day. They've already completed The Velvet Underground & Nico, and some of the recordings can be heard on www.Beck.com.

Last year, Beck released a non-album single called "Timebomb," a meshing of alternative and electronica whose cover featured a man in a knit Aztec bird costume. It's an extremely dancy tune that plays like a more aggressive version of his earlier single "The New Pollution". The song was nominated for a Grammy, but didn't win, which can'tt be much of a tragedy. Beck has so many Grammys at this point that he probably has to decide which trophies go in the front part of the shelf and which ones go more towards the back.

But "Timebomb" is back in the spotlight now as the perfect exclamation point to the slow burn that was the most recent visit to Sookie Stackhouse's universe. After having been captured by the Fellowship of the Sun Church - a group of religious fanatics dedicated to the eradication of vampires - Sookie (Anna Paquin) is rescued by the vampires who proceed to humiliate the group's mad reverend (Michael McMillan) with the cruelest of all tortures: mercy. But it's always a bad idea to leave a wounded enemy at your back, and the episode ends with a suicide bomber infiltrating the vampire nest with a deadly combination of explosives and silver shrapnel strapped to his body.

Oh, and thought it has nothing to do with the music, it was also revealed that if you're a virgin when you become a vampire, your hymen will continue to grow back for eternity. Toodles.