FLASHBACK
performed: never
The recurring beat that closes "Coffin" leads into this brief ambient instrumental. To give it a distinct sound, Plaastik and John Cale sent it to mutual friend Brian Eno for remixing and treatments. The changes were massive; those who wish to hear the (lengthier) original are advised to seek out the b-side "Hat," which is the fully intact rough mix.
Many fans point to the title of this song and the album as evidence that a story is being told. The generally accepted version is that Ross Verdict is a Great Gatsby-type past-his-peak tycoon, a giving and caring person who has been abused by fair-weathered friends. He fears that someone is attempting to take his life, but within the last two songs, he does the deed himself.
In a 1997 interview, Nick Parker addressed the rumors. "The concept-album tomfoolery was a joke of ours. We made the album specifically in a fashion to see if people would attach it some sort of additional meaning. 'Flashback' has its name for that reason. The package is meant to mislead people. We wanted to see what they'd come up with. We were satisfied. I should mention, though, that the album title wasn't part of that. It came out of an attempt -- since we were now on a much bigger label -- to imagine what type of person the opposite of MR. EVIL BREAKFAST would be and we decided on a sort of snobby Yuppie type. That's the story. The songs are the usual random shit tossed together."
[instrumental]