The Backstreet Boys’ self-titled debut album turns 20 this year which means you’re probably going to hear “Everybody” and “I Want It That Way” ad nausea on your soft rock and pop radio stations. While everyone is riffing on nostalgia about the peak era boy band, BSB member AJ McLean recently took a moment to bring to light one of the true gems from their history: the time Max Martin sampled a fart for “The Call” off of Black & Blue.
Let McLean explain all of this via Billboard:
“So when we were in the studio with Max making the song ‘The Call,’ Howie [Dorough] was in the booth and we were doing that vocal break down, [sings] ‘dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun.’ Max gave Howie his harmony, and I think he was just putting so much air into the vocal that as he was singing, he went ‘dun, dun’ and he farted — but he farted not only on the beat, but in key. So Max tweaked it and made it sound like one of his patented bass sounds, and it stayed on the record.”
Wait, Howie farted in-key? That is actually amazing! When asked whether or not the story was true, Howie totally copped to his musically-gifted gas.
“I’m sure there were a lot of beverages consumed back in the day. It’s one of those kind of things… Everybody at that age — especially Nick [Carter] — was constantly passing gas, just being young 20-year-old guys doing guy locker room kind of stuff. And coincidentally, I got in the booth, was breathing in really heavily singing my part, and I guess some extra air kind of came out. It made everybody laugh, and Max decided to take that and sample it to turn it into the ‘dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun.'”
If anything, this is a testament to how talented Max Martin is as a producer and engineer. Pulling off a piece of flatulence is nothing to try and cushion. That’s hard work. Honestly, we may need adjust the Backstreet Boy talent power rankings now.
