60 Minutes to Compress Beck's 13+ Discos Quebrados
Jul 26, 2016 14:36:45 GMT -5
MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin, Smacks, and 5 more like this
Post by ganews on Jul 26, 2016 14:36:45 GMT -5
"Power Hour creates one tight 60-minute set from a musician’s discography or a genre, picking both big hits and deeper cuts."
I never could bring myself to write that Primer or Gateway to Geekery article on Beck, because I couldn't find the time or couldn't bear the thought of narrowing his discography to the five most essential albums. Maybe I'll get there eventually. So I tried my hand at the AV Club's Power Hour, and that was hard enough. This is not just a list of personal favorites, fan favorites, singles, or deep cuts, but a hopefully fair and comprehensive representation of the total career of Beck. There was still so much I could have included! Tracks from even earlier disks, live performances, selections from the full-album covers that were published on Beck.com, or picks from the Song Reader (in which Beck notoriously released an album in the form of stylishly illustrated sheet music and only recorded one track himself on the later guest cover album). But here we are with representatives from1112 of Beck's 13 full-length albums (if you include the release coming in October, and I will).
“Cyanide Breath Mint”, One Foot in the Grave, 2:00
One of surprisingly many lo-fi gems before the "Loser" breakout, this track's sad scenes and hopeful tones speak to Beck's perceptions of the record industry. And that's before he sued Geffen over the Mutations contract.
"Beercan", Mellow Gold, 3:58
This has the biggest themes from Beck's early career, namely shitty jobs, having fun, and generally being a loser. Funky samples, mariachi horns, electric guitar noise, and a jangley backbeat abound.
“Hotwax”, Odelay, 3:50
Mixed up with bunches of samples and and funk, we've got a country rap, harmonica, Spanish lyrics (I'm a broken record, I've got bubblegum in my brain), a strange spoken-word sample, and fuzz. It gets down all the way. If I had to restrict this whole power hour to one song, "Hotwax" would be it. It most neatly averages Beck's pre-Sea Change output.
"The New Pollution", Odelay, 3:42
Oh that rich sax sample - and that drum sample for the beat. Yes, there are samples all over Odelay, and this track get a very dry delivery that sounds comparatively serious next to all the playful stuff going on elsewhere.
“Cancelled Check”, Mutations, 3:16
It's a countrified kiss-off with a freak-out noise ending, very 90s Beck. But this isn't Odelay; there are so samples on this album, just pieced-in elements. This isn't a mashed-up country influence either. It's an example of the sort of thing that had Beck performing with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
"Mixed Bizness", Midnite Vultures, 3:48
This has a little robot voice familiar to fans of "Where It's At", funk to spare, falsetto that rang throughout the album, and a horn section appropriate for strutting onto the stage in a white suit (yes, I've seen that image.)
"Lost Cause", Sea Change, 3:54
Everyone who knows a little about Beck knows that this album is all about his major breakup. This is the least metaphorical and most bitter Beck gets. Like many tracks on Sea Change, this one is fairly straight-forward, but little flourishes make it stand apart from so many songs about breakups. What he would often do with sweeping background vocals is done here with strings.
"Sunday Sun", Sea Change, 4:51
The lyrics are simple and have a tone of acceptance in the back half of the album. The music swells and the background vocals rise up, but you can still hear Joey Waronker smashing the drums.
"Girl", Guero, 3:29
Dark, dark lyrics coupled with sunny guitar licks and claps. This is the first song in the discography to feature the soaring Beck background vocal that first became common on Sea Change and then never really left.
"Scarecrow", Guero, 4:19
We've got some harmonica bits in there hiding among stripped acoustics to call back to when Beck was a folk weirdo on stage by himself, but there's also a lot of eerie sound throughout. This is actually one of the less dark tracks on an album surprisingly full of bleakness, more existential than sad. And this was the "party" album after Sea Change!
"Strange Apparition", The Information, 3:55
A half upbeat, half quiet piano and acoustic guitar-driven number with subdued lyrics that would seem to pave the way for the next few years.
"We Dance Alone", The Information, 3:57
Quiet, nearly whispered rap verses, a sung chorus. a chip tune backbeat, and curious sounds and samples in the mix
"Volcano", Modern Guilt, 4:28
The most identifiably Beck track on an album that sounds through-and-through like its producer Danger Mouse. Hey, it's not easy to hold onto your own identity when you work with that guy! Subdued all over, and with lyrics as regretful as the rest of Modern Guilt. Some strings play the song out at the end, as found throughout the rest of far-off next album.
“Heart is a Drum”, Morning Phase, 4:37
Beck starts to channel Nick Drake on an album of ballads, but his backgrounds and washes make it his own. It sounds like the sort of thing from late in a career, but on the next track Beck reasserts some mojo.
"Dreams", single from upcoming album, 5:14
It's upbeat, with lyrics that seem neither particularly symbolic, dark, or word salad. This is poppier Beck, which isn't a bad thing, reminiscent of the big beat of "E-Pro" from Guero. It's still got the high vocal soar, a little mid-song breakdown, and the oddly explicit (and repeated) line "stop fuckin' with my dreams" that's a bit curious for what sounds like Beck's most commercial radio-friendly song in years.
...
42 seconds? What can I do with that? Include one of the weird in-betweener tracks from Stereopathic Soulmanure, that's what!
"8.6.82", Stereopathic Soulmanure, 0:40
The guy was heavily influenced by outsider music and had all sorts of things on those old demos. Beck bein' weird: never forget.
I never could bring myself to write that Primer or Gateway to Geekery article on Beck, because I couldn't find the time or couldn't bear the thought of narrowing his discography to the five most essential albums. Maybe I'll get there eventually. So I tried my hand at the AV Club's Power Hour, and that was hard enough. This is not just a list of personal favorites, fan favorites, singles, or deep cuts, but a hopefully fair and comprehensive representation of the total career of Beck. There was still so much I could have included! Tracks from even earlier disks, live performances, selections from the full-album covers that were published on Beck.com, or picks from the Song Reader (in which Beck notoriously released an album in the form of stylishly illustrated sheet music and only recorded one track himself on the later guest cover album). But here we are with representatives from
“Cyanide Breath Mint”, One Foot in the Grave, 2:00
One of surprisingly many lo-fi gems before the "Loser" breakout, this track's sad scenes and hopeful tones speak to Beck's perceptions of the record industry. And that's before he sued Geffen over the Mutations contract.
"Beercan", Mellow Gold, 3:58
This has the biggest themes from Beck's early career, namely shitty jobs, having fun, and generally being a loser. Funky samples, mariachi horns, electric guitar noise, and a jangley backbeat abound.
“Hotwax”, Odelay, 3:50
Mixed up with bunches of samples and and funk, we've got a country rap, harmonica, Spanish lyrics (I'm a broken record, I've got bubblegum in my brain), a strange spoken-word sample, and fuzz. It gets down all the way. If I had to restrict this whole power hour to one song, "Hotwax" would be it. It most neatly averages Beck's pre-Sea Change output.
"The New Pollution", Odelay, 3:42
Oh that rich sax sample - and that drum sample for the beat. Yes, there are samples all over Odelay, and this track get a very dry delivery that sounds comparatively serious next to all the playful stuff going on elsewhere.
“Cancelled Check”, Mutations, 3:16
It's a countrified kiss-off with a freak-out noise ending, very 90s Beck. But this isn't Odelay; there are so samples on this album, just pieced-in elements. This isn't a mashed-up country influence either. It's an example of the sort of thing that had Beck performing with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
"Mixed Bizness", Midnite Vultures, 3:48
This has a little robot voice familiar to fans of "Where It's At", funk to spare, falsetto that rang throughout the album, and a horn section appropriate for strutting onto the stage in a white suit (yes, I've seen that image.)
"Lost Cause", Sea Change, 3:54
Everyone who knows a little about Beck knows that this album is all about his major breakup. This is the least metaphorical and most bitter Beck gets. Like many tracks on Sea Change, this one is fairly straight-forward, but little flourishes make it stand apart from so many songs about breakups. What he would often do with sweeping background vocals is done here with strings.
"Sunday Sun", Sea Change, 4:51
The lyrics are simple and have a tone of acceptance in the back half of the album. The music swells and the background vocals rise up, but you can still hear Joey Waronker smashing the drums.
"Girl", Guero, 3:29
Dark, dark lyrics coupled with sunny guitar licks and claps. This is the first song in the discography to feature the soaring Beck background vocal that first became common on Sea Change and then never really left.
"Scarecrow", Guero, 4:19
We've got some harmonica bits in there hiding among stripped acoustics to call back to when Beck was a folk weirdo on stage by himself, but there's also a lot of eerie sound throughout. This is actually one of the less dark tracks on an album surprisingly full of bleakness, more existential than sad. And this was the "party" album after Sea Change!
"Strange Apparition", The Information, 3:55
A half upbeat, half quiet piano and acoustic guitar-driven number with subdued lyrics that would seem to pave the way for the next few years.
"We Dance Alone", The Information, 3:57
Quiet, nearly whispered rap verses, a sung chorus. a chip tune backbeat, and curious sounds and samples in the mix
"Volcano", Modern Guilt, 4:28
The most identifiably Beck track on an album that sounds through-and-through like its producer Danger Mouse. Hey, it's not easy to hold onto your own identity when you work with that guy! Subdued all over, and with lyrics as regretful as the rest of Modern Guilt. Some strings play the song out at the end, as found throughout the rest of far-off next album.
“Heart is a Drum”, Morning Phase, 4:37
Beck starts to channel Nick Drake on an album of ballads, but his backgrounds and washes make it his own. It sounds like the sort of thing from late in a career, but on the next track Beck reasserts some mojo.
"Dreams", single from upcoming album, 5:14
It's upbeat, with lyrics that seem neither particularly symbolic, dark, or word salad. This is poppier Beck, which isn't a bad thing, reminiscent of the big beat of "E-Pro" from Guero. It's still got the high vocal soar, a little mid-song breakdown, and the oddly explicit (and repeated) line "stop fuckin' with my dreams" that's a bit curious for what sounds like Beck's most commercial radio-friendly song in years.
...
42 seconds? What can I do with that? Include one of the weird in-betweener tracks from Stereopathic Soulmanure, that's what!
"8.6.82", Stereopathic Soulmanure, 0:40
The guy was heavily influenced by outsider music and had all sorts of things on those old demos. Beck bein' weird: never forget.
