“All Mixed Up” by 311

"All Mixed Up" comes from 311's self-titled 1995 album, and it grew into one of the band's signature singles. Nick Hexum and S.A. Martinez started piecing it together while 311 were on the road touring Grassroots. Once they got home, Martinez wrote words about feeling confused and straying from someone, and Hexum lifted the title from an early Elvis Presley interview in which Presley admitted that sudden fame had him all mixed up.

Musically it's a sunny, rubber-limbed blend of rock, reggae and hip-hop swagger. It rides the Stalag riddim, opens on a sample of Yellowman's "Mister Chin", and borrows instrumental pieces and interpolated vocals from Tenor Saw's 1985 dancehall cut "Ring the Alarm" all the way through. Hexum and Tim Mahoney trade guitar, P-Nut's bass bounces, Chad Sexton handles drums and percussion, and Martinez works the turntable and splits the vocals with Hexum. The band produced it with Ron Saint Germain, who recorded and mixed it with Scott Ralston.

Radio got a second helping when the single was sent out again in September 1996. On stage, the band often plays it in a reworked arrangement that shows up on their setlists as "All Re-Mixed Up."

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.