Beck
Encyclopedia
Beck Hansen is an American
musician
, singer-songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist
, known by the stage name
Beck. With a pop art
collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic
lyrics, and postmodern
arrangements incorporating samples
, drum machine
s, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock
.
The four-time platinum artist rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" and "Deep Fried Love") with musical and lyrical experimentation. He first earned wider public attention for his breakthrough single
"Loser", a 1994 hit.
Two of Beck's most popular and acclaimed recordings are Odelay
(1996) and Sea Change (2002). Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by the American magazine Rolling Stone
and by UK publications NME
and Mojo
. Odelay also received a Grammy
nomination for Album of the Year
. Both Odelay and Sea Change appeared on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
, to David Campbell, a Canadian musician, and Bibbe Hansen
, a visual artist and former Warhol "star". His father is of Scottish
heritage and his mother is half Norwegian, a quarter Jewish and a quarter Swedish. His maternal grandfather is Al Hansen
, a visual collage artist of the Fluxus
school of art. Beck's paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian
minister. When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip hop
to Latin music
and his mother's art scene—all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
, he spent time with his grandfather Al Hansen. The late 1980s found him in New York City
, involved in the punk
-influenced anti-folk
music movement.
In 1988, Beck recorded a cassette entitled Banjo Story, which has since become available in bootleg
form. He returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade. He lived in a shed and took a variety of low-paying, dead-end jobs (at one point working as a leaf blower
operator), all the while continuing to develop his music. Beck also sought out (or sneaked onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops and playing on the streets. During this time, he met Chris Ballew
(founder of The Presidents of the United States of America
). They performed on the streets as a duo for a while. Some of his earliest recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of WIN Records.
In 1993 Beck released his first studio album, Golden Feelings
, on Peter Hughes's Sonic Enemy
label. It was initially released only on cassette (though later on CD in limited quantities). It has been estimated that only between 500 and 750 copies were made, making it a rare artifact. AllMusic.com would later describe the album as "an extremely interesting, entertaining, and humorous document that proves that from the start, Beck had his heart set on making experimentation his only gimmick".
(owned by Tom Rothrock
, Rob Schnapf
, and Bradshaw Lambert) sign Beck to their fledgling label. His first release for Bong Load was "Loser", a collaboration between hip hop nuance producer Carl Stephenson
and Beck. The song created a sensation when radio host Chris Douridas
played the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic
, the flagship music program from Santa Monica College radio station KCRW
. That exposure and a subsequent live performance on the show July 23, 1993, led to a bidding war among labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records
, who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract. Of all the record labels to offer Beck a contract, Geffen offered him the least amount of money, but the greatest amount of creative freedom.
On February 22, 1994, Flipside
Records released Stereopathetic Soulmanure
. A sprawling 25-track album, it contained the fan favorites "Satan Gave Me a Taco", "Rowboat", and "Thunderpeel", as well nonsensical spoken tracks, noise (such as leafblowers), and live recordings. Johnny Cash
would later record "Rowboat" and include it on his 1996 album Unchained. Cash later said that the song "sounded like something I might have written or might have done in the [1960s, when] I was kinda going through some weird times." "Satan Gave Me a Taco" was acknowledged by Allen Ginsberg to be one of his favorite contemporary works of pop poetry.
In March 1994, Geffen released Beck's major label debut, Mellow Gold
. The album, created with Bong Load's Rothrock and Schnapf, as well as Carl Stephenson, turned Beck into a mainstream success. The record received the best ratings possible from Spin, Robert Christgau
, Rolling Stone's Album Guide and AllMusic. The album included the aforementioned single "Loser".
On June 27, Olympia, Washington
–based independent label K Records
released Beck's third album of 1994, One Foot in the Grave
. The recording featured a number of notable musicians from the independent music scene, including Beat Happening
's Calvin Johnson, The Presidents of the United States of America's Chris Ballew, and Built to Spill
members Scott Plouf and James Bertram
. Sam Jayne, who played in the Olympia band Lync with James Bertram, also appears on the album.
Beck took his act on the road in 1994 with a worldwide tour, followed by a spot on the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza
tour.
, producers of the Beastie Boys' album Paul's Boutique
, whose cut-and-paste, sample-heavy production suited Beck's vision of a more fun, accessible album.
The result, 1996's Odelay, would put the "one-hit wonder" criticisms to rest. The lead single, "Where It's At
", received much airplay, and its video was in heavy rotation on MTV. Within the year Odelay received praise from Rolling Stone magazine, appeared on countless "Best of" lists (it topped the Pazz & Jop
Critics Poll for "Album of the Year"), and earned a number of industry awards, including two Grammys. Besides "Where It's At", three other singles were released from the album: "Devils Haircut", "Jack-Ass
" and "The New Pollution
".
Beginning in 1993, Beck contributed to Forest for the Trees
, an experimental trip hop
project by collaborator Carl Stephenson. The project released a self-titled record in 1997, followed by an EP in 1999. Beck added spoken word, harmonica, and various other instruments.
(frequent producer and collaborator with Radiohead
) and is believed to have been intended as a stopgap measure before the proper next album. Recorded over two weeks, during which Beck recorded one song a day, the sessions produced fourteen songs. Mutations was a departure from the electronic density of Odelay and shows heavy folk
and blues
influences. Tracks on the album consisted of older songs, some dating back as early as 1994.
In 1999, Beck was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for Mutations at the 42nd Grammy Awards.
In November, Geffen released the much-anticipated Midnite Vultures
, which was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "Debra
", and the touring band was complemented by a brass section. Midnite Vultures was nominated for Best Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Beck released a number of B-sides
and soundtrack-only songs as well, including "Deadweight" from the A Life Less Ordinary
soundtrack, "Midnite Vultures" (curiously, not on the album of the same name), David Bowie
's "Diamond Dogs
" from Moulin Rouge!
, and a cover of The Korgis
' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime
", which appeared in two memory-alteration-themed productions: the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
and the last episode of the first season of Dollhouse
. He is also credited on the French band Air’s 2001 album 10 000 Hz Legend for vocals on the songs "Don't Be Light" and "The Vagabond" (as well as harmonica on the latter). He sang a duet with Emmylou Harris
on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
, performing "Sin City".
, which consists of B-sides from the Midnite Vultures era, was released. The EP was only available from Beck's website, and only 10,000 copies were printed.
In 2002, Beck released Sea Change, which, like Mutations, was produced by Nigel Godrich. It became Beck's first US Top 10 album, reaching #8. The album also received critical acclaim, earning five stars from Rolling Stone (the magazine's highest rating) and placing second in the Pazz & Jop
Critics Poll for 2002. Sea Change was conceptualized around one unifying theme: the end of a relationship. The album featured string arrangements by Beck's father, David Campbell, and a sonically dense mix reminiscent of Mutations. Although some radio singles were released, no commercial singles were made available to the public. In August 2002, prior to the release of Sea Change, Beck embarked on a solo acoustic tour of small theaters and halls, during which he played several songs from the forthcoming album. The post-release Sea Change tour featured The Flaming Lips
as Beck's opening and backing band.
A song Beck co-wrote with William Orbit
, "Feel Good Time
", was recorded by pop singer Pink
for inclusion on the soundtrack of the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
. Beck also covered the Bruce Haack
song titled "Funky Lil Song" for Dimension Mix
, a tribute album dedicated to the music of electronic music pioneer Haack and his Dimension 5 Records, which his long time friend and collaborator Ross Harris produced to benefit Cure Autism Now.
, was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer
and features a collaboration with Jack White
of The White Stripes
; it marked a return to Odelay-era sound. The album was released in March 2005 and enjoyed critical acclaim from most mainstream press, earning four of five stars from Rolling Stone, as well as a "Critic's Choice" recognition from The New York Times
. The album received a less enthusiastic response from Pitchfork Media
, which ran a lukewarm and disappointed 6.6 out of 10 review; it was also given poor reviews by Q
magazine, Dusted and Mojo. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard
charts, pushing 162,000 copies in the first week and giving Beck his best week ever in terms of commercial sales and chart position. Since the release of Guero, the album's first single, "E-Pro" (which samples the drum track from the Beastie Boys hit "So What'cha Want
"), has been well received by the mainstream rock community, receiving significant play time on mainstream radio. The second single, "Girl
", received decent play time on mainstream radio and heavy airplay on college and independent radio. The third and final single of the album was "Hell Yes." The deluxe edition DVD version of the album featured more than 100 videos. Viewers could use the two additional video streams and four subpicture streams to create their own visual remixes for each track. The DVD package was so advanced that a small percentage of DVD players were unable to access certain tracks, due to the complicated nature of the technology used by video artists D-Fuse.
On February 1, 2005, Beck released an EP featuring four remixes of songs from Guero by independent artists who use sounds from various early 8-bit video game devices like the Game Boy
. The EP, GameBoy Variations, featured "Ghettochip Malfunction" [Hell Yes] and "GameBoy/Homeboy" [Que' Onda Guero], both remixed by the band 8-Bit, and also had "Bad Cartridge" [E-Pro] and "Bit Rate Variation in B-Flat" [Girl], the last two being remixed by Paza {The X-Dump}. The EP cover art shows a long-haired person headbanging
to his Game Boy, which is plugged into an amplifier
like an electric guitar. This EP was featured in an issue of Nintendo Power
. A music video for "Gameboy/Homeboy" was made by Wyld File
. Also at this time, Beck released A Brief Overview, a promotional retrospective album
featuring tracks from Guero, Sea Change, Mutations, Midnite Vultures and Odelay. This compilation also features "Ghettochip Malfunction" and two versions of "E-Pro," the lead single from Guero.
Beck performed at the music and arts festival Bonnaroo
in Manchester, Tennessee
on June 17, 2006, with a set that featured many songs from Guero. In addition to his band, Beck was accompanied by a group of puppets, dressed as him and members of his band. Live video feed of the puppets' performance was broadcast on video screens to the audience. The puppet show was included throughout his 2006 world tour.
On December 6, 2005, the remix album Guerolito
was released, featuring the entire Guero album remixed by acclaimed musicians as well as cover art by Marcel Dzama.
Beck's seventh major-label studio album, The Information
, which again reunited him with Nigel Godrich, was released on October 3, 2006. The release marked the first time in seven years that Beck released studio albums in consecutive years. The album reportedly took more than three years to make and has been described as "quasi hip-hop". It came with a sheet of stickers
, which were to be used to "make your own album cover." Because of this, The Information was disqualified by the Official Chart Company from entering the UK Albums Chart
, but in the US it gave Beck his third straight Top 10 studio album peak on the Billboard 200
, reaching #7. The lead US single, "Nausea," officially went to radio on September 5, 2006. In the UK, the first single was "Cellphone's Dead".
A non-album single, "Timebomb
", was released on iTunes
on August 21, 2007, and the limited edition vinyl
12" was released on November 2, 2007, with an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. In December, 2007, it was announced that "Timebomb" had been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
. The new album Modern Guilt
was released on Interscope in North America and Australia, and on XL Records in the rest of the world. The single "Chemtrails
" was made available on Beck's MySpace and website. In early June, Beck performed several songs from the new album at The Echo
in Los Angeles. Modern Guilt was released in July 2008. A complete acoustic version of Modern Guilt, recorded in Japan, was featured as videos on Beck's website in 2009.
In an August 2010 interview with Pitchfork Media, Beck revealed that he wanted to release at least a song by the end of the summer. That culminated in Beck-written songs for fictionalized band Sex Bob-omb on the Scott Pilgrim movie soundtrack.
On December 13, 2010, RCRD LBL
premiered a Beck remix of Lykke Li
's "Get Some."
In July 2011 it was announced that Beck is working on an album with country
singer Dwight Yoakam
and that they've already recorded some songs.
, in which he and other musicians would record cover versions of entire albums in one day. The first album covered by Beck's Record Club was The Velvet Underground & Nico. Starting on June 18, the club began posting covers of songs from the album on Thursday evenings, each with its own video. On September 4, 2009, Beck announced the second Record Club album, Songs of Leonard Cohen
. Contributors included MGMT
, Devendra Banhart
, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy
. In the third Record Club venture, Wilco
, Feist, Jamie Lidell
and James Gadson
joined Beck to cover Skip Spence's
Oar
. The first song, "Little Hands", was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009. The Record Club has since covered albums by INXS
and Yanni
On June 19, 2009, Beck announced Planned Obsolescence, a weekly DJ set put together by Beck or guest DJs. Soon after, on July 7, Beck announced that his website would be featuring "extended informal conversations with musicians, artists, filmmakers, and other various persons" in a section called Irrelevant Topics. Then, on July 12, he added a section called Videotheque, which he said would contain "promotional videos from each album, as well as live clips, tv show appearances and other rarities".
Also in 2009, Beck collaborated with Charlotte Gainsbourg
on her album IRM
, which was released in January 2010. Beck wrote the music, co-wrote the lyrics, and produced and mixed the album. The lead single, "Heaven Can Wait
", is a duet by Beck and Gainsbourg.
In late February 2010, it was announced that electronic artist Tobacco
of Black Moth Super Rainbow
had collaborated with Beck on two songs, "Fresh Hex" and "Grape Aerosmith", on his upcoming album Maniac Meat. Tobacco revealed that in making the album, Beck sent the vocal parts to him, and that they had never actually met.
In March 2010, Beck revealed that he had produced songs for the new Jamie Lidell album, Compass
.
In the summer of 2010, Beck contributed songs to both The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
soundtrack, with "Let's Get Lost" (a duet with Bat for Lashes
), and True Blood
(HBO Original Series Soundtrack, Vol. 2), with "Bad Blood". He also contributed songs to soundtrack of the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
, which was released in August 2010. Two of the songs that Beck specifically wrote for the film appeared in its theatrical trailer.
In 2011, he collaborated with Seu Jorge
on a track entitled Tropicália (Mario C. 2011 Remix) for the Red Hot Organization's
most recent charitable album "Red Hot+Rio 2." The album is a follow-up to the 1996 "Red Hot + Rio
." Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. He also contributed on the song "Attracted to Us" on Turtleneck & Chain
, the newest album from The Lonely Island
.
Also in 2011, Beck produced a solo album by Thurston Moore
of Sonic Youth
called Demolished Thoughts
. An album he produced for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
, Mirror Traffic, was released in August 2011.
. Beck has been known to synthesize several musical elements together in his music, including folk
, Latin, hip hop
, funk
, many types of rock
and blues. He has also taken music from Los Angeles as a reference point in his songs.
Pitchfork Media applauded Midnite Vultures, saying, "Beck wonderfully blends Prince
, Talking Heads
, Paul's Boutique
, 'Shake Your Bon-Bon
', and Mathlete
on Midnite Vultures, his most consistent and playful album yet." The review continued to comment on Beck, saying that his mix of goofy piety and ambiguous intent helped the album.
A Beck song called "Harry Partch," a tribute to the composer and his "Corporeal" music, employs Partch
's 43-tone scale
.
, assemblage, drawing
and poetry works. The show toured from the Santa Monica Museum of Art
to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, in Canada. A catalog of the show was published by Plug In Editions/Smart Art Press.
, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi
, in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri. Ribisi gave birth to their daughter, Tuesday, in 2007.
for most of his life; his wife, Marissa, is also a second-generation Scientologist. Marissa and her twin brother, Giovanni, were delivered by Beck's mother, Bibbe.
Beck publicly acknowledged his affiliation with Scientology for the first time in an interview published in The New York Times Magazine
on March 6, 2005. Further confirmation came in an interview with the Irish Sunday Tribune's
i Magazine on June 11, 2005, where he was quoted as saying, "Yeah, I'm a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it." When questioned by the interviewer about Scientology's core beliefs, he replied:
features a young Beck in a small nonspeaking role alongside Tomata du Plenty
of The Screamers
. Beck also appeared in Southlander
(2001), an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.
Beck has performed on Saturday Night Live
six times; these shows were hosted by Kevin Spacey
, Bill Paxton
, Christina Ricci
, Jennifer Garner
, Tom Brady
and Hugh Laurie
. During his 2006 performance in the Hugh Laurie episode, Beck was accompanied by the puppets that had been used on-stage during his world tour. He has made two cameo appearances as himself on Saturday Night Live: one in a sketch about medicinal marijuana, and one in a VH1 Behind the Music
parody that featured "Fat Albert & the Junkyard Gang."
Beck performed a guest voice as himself in Matt Groening
's animated show Futurama
, in the episode "Bendin' in the Wind
". He performed in episode 10 of the fourth season of The Larry Sanders Show
, in which the producer character Artie (Rip Torn
) referred to him as a "hillbilly
from outer space". He also made a very brief voice appearance in 1998 cartoon feature film, The Rugrats Movie
, and guest-starred as himself in a 1997 episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast
entitled "Edelweiss."
Beck has also made appearances in the Adult Swim show Mission Hill
. Accepting an award, he comes up on stage wearing the new "Spicy pants" trend. In consequence the main character begins throwing all of his "Beck" albums out his upper-story window.
In an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch
, Beck was featured fighting Björk in a "battle to be the best monosyllabic musician of all time", which ended with both of them slain by Bach
, who appeared via a time machine.
On January 22, 2010, Beck appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
s last show as a backup guitarist for a Will Ferrell
–led rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd
's "Free Bird
" alongside ZZ Top
guitarist Billy Gibbons
, Ben Harper
, and O'Brien himself on guitar.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, known by the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Beck. With a pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
lyrics, and postmodern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
arrangements incorporating samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics throughout his musical career as being amongst the most creative and idiosyncratic musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
.
The four-time platinum artist rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" and "Deep Fried Love") with musical and lyrical experimentation. He first earned wider public attention for his breakthrough single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Loser", a 1994 hit.
Two of Beck's most popular and acclaimed recordings are Odelay
Odelay
Odelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution"...
(1996) and Sea Change (2002). Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by the American magazine Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and by UK publications NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
. Odelay also received a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
. Both Odelay and Sea Change appeared on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Early life
Beck was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, to David Campbell, a Canadian musician, and Bibbe Hansen
Bibbe Hansen
Bibbe Hansen is a performance artist, musician, and former actress best known as the mother of Grammy award winning musician Beck.-Family:...
, a visual artist and former Warhol "star". His father is of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
heritage and his mother is half Norwegian, a quarter Jewish and a quarter Swedish. His maternal grandfather is Al Hansen
Al Hansen
Alfred Earl "Al" Hansen was an American artist considered as one of the most important Fluxus figures. He was a Norwegian American....
, a visual collage artist of the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
school of art. Beck's paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
minister. When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
to Latin music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
and his mother's art scene—all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
Early performing and first releases (1985–1993)
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck traveled to Europe and developed his musical talent as a street musician. In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he spent time with his grandfather Al Hansen. The late 1980s found him in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, involved in the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-influenced anti-folk
Anti-folk
Anti-folk is a music genre that takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s folk music and subverts it. The defining characteristics of this anti-folk are difficult to identify, as they vary from one artist to the next...
music movement.
In 1988, Beck recorded a cassette entitled Banjo Story, which has since become available in bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
form. He returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade. He lived in a shed and took a variety of low-paying, dead-end jobs (at one point working as a leaf blower
Leaf blower
A leaf blower is a gardening tool that propels air out of a nozzle to move yard debris such as leaves. Leaf blowers are usually powered by two-stroke engine or an electric motor, but four-stroke engines were recently introduced to partially address air pollution concerns. Leaf blowers are...
operator), all the while continuing to develop his music. Beck also sought out (or sneaked onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops and playing on the streets. During this time, he met Chris Ballew
Chris Ballew
Christopher "Chris" Ballew is a member of the alternative rock group The Presidents of the United States of America and performs as a children's artist under the pseudonym Caspar Babypants....
(founder of The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
). They performed on the streets as a duo for a while. Some of his earliest recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of WIN Records.
In 1993 Beck released his first studio album, Golden Feelings
Golden Feelings
Golden Feelings was the debut studio album by American musical artist Beck, released in 1993 by Sonic Enemy. The album showcases his roots in the anti-folk scene....
, on Peter Hughes's Sonic Enemy
Sonic Enemy
Sonic Enemy is an independent record label, owned by Peter Hughes, best known for releasing Beck's first full length album on cassette, Golden Feelings . In 1999, they re-released Golden Feelings, pressing a total of 2,000 copies, before Beck had them cease production of the CD. The CD is now a...
label. It was initially released only on cassette (though later on CD in limited quantities). It has been estimated that only between 500 and 750 copies were made, making it a rare artifact. AllMusic.com would later describe the album as "an extremely interesting, entertaining, and humorous document that proves that from the start, Beck had his heart set on making experimentation his only gimmick".
"Loser", Mellow Gold, and independent albums (1993–1995)
1993 saw Bong Load Custom RecordsBong Load Custom Records
Bong Load Custom Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles which was founded by producers Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf and partner Bradshaw Lambert. One of their biggest signings was Beck in 1991. Other notable bands from the original Bong Load Custom Records include Fu Manchu, Wool,...
(owned by Tom Rothrock
Tom Rothrock
Tom Rothrock is an international record producer, composer and musician. Tom Rothrock has produced albums with James Blunt, Badly Drawn Boy, R. L. Burnside, Yonder Mountain String Band, Athlete, Sloan and Roman Carter....
, Rob Schnapf
Rob Schnapf
Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer of Elliott Smith's albums Either/Or, XO , Figure 8 and From a Basement on the Hill, for which he was recruited by Smith's family to complete after Smith's death.Schnapf, along with Rothrock and partner...
, and Bradshaw Lambert) sign Beck to their fledgling label. His first release for Bong Load was "Loser", a collaboration between hip hop nuance producer Carl Stephenson
Forest for the Trees
Forest for the Trees was a group started by Carl Stephenson in 1993. The project produced only a single full length album during its duration. Self-titled, the album was released in 1997 after being delayed by a nervous breakdown that kept Stephenson from working on it for several years. Forest for...
and Beck. The song created a sensation when radio host Chris Douridas
Christopher Douridas
Chris Douridas is a popular DJ and musical tastemaker at Santa Monica, California, radio station KCRW, where he hosts a two hour program showcasing progressive new music. He is also a filmmaker, actor, television presenter, and a three-time Grammy-nominated producer of soundtracks and music...
played the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic
Morning Becomes Eclectic
Morning Becomes Eclectic is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, Mourning Becomes Electra.The show is hosted by Jason Bentley,...
, the flagship music program from Santa Monica College radio station KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
. That exposure and a subsequent live performance on the show July 23, 1993, led to a bidding war among labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract. Of all the record labels to offer Beck a contract, Geffen offered him the least amount of money, but the greatest amount of creative freedom.
On February 22, 1994, Flipside
Flipside (fanzine)
Flipside was a punk rock fanzine published in Los Angeles, California from 1977 to 2000.As one of the first and longest running US punk rock fanzines, this publication extensively chronicled the world of independent and underground music during this era. Known for its highly opinionated cast of...
Records released Stereopathetic Soulmanure
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
Stereopathetic Soulmanure is the second studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, released on Flipside in 1994, a week before the appearance of his Geffen debut Mellow Gold. The album comprises mostly home demos, live performances, and abstract noise experiments...
. A sprawling 25-track album, it contained the fan favorites "Satan Gave Me a Taco", "Rowboat", and "Thunderpeel", as well nonsensical spoken tracks, noise (such as leafblowers), and live recordings. Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
would later record "Rowboat" and include it on his 1996 album Unchained. Cash later said that the song "sounded like something I might have written or might have done in the [1960s, when] I was kinda going through some weird times." "Satan Gave Me a Taco" was acknowledged by Allen Ginsberg to be one of his favorite contemporary works of pop poetry.
In March 1994, Geffen released Beck's major label debut, Mellow Gold
Mellow Gold
Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, as well as his major label debut. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994 on the strength of the surprise hit "Loser"...
. The album, created with Bong Load's Rothrock and Schnapf, as well as Carl Stephenson, turned Beck into a mainstream success. The record received the best ratings possible from Spin, Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, Rolling Stone's Album Guide and AllMusic. The album included the aforementioned single "Loser".
On June 27, Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
–based independent label K Records
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
released Beck's third album of 1994, One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave (album)
One Foot in the Grave is the fourth studio album by Beck, released in June 1994 on K Records, an independent label. Like predecessor Stereopathetic Soulmanure, the album never charted, however One Foot in the Grave strengthened Beck's critical reputation, arguably allowing him to break into the...
. The recording featured a number of notable musicians from the independent music scene, including Beat Happening
Beat Happening
Beat Happening is an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members...
's Calvin Johnson, The Presidents of the United States of America's Chris Ballew, and Built to Spill
Built to Spill
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho. The band has released seven full-length albums. Their most recent album, There Is No Enemy, was released on October 6, 2009.-History:...
members Scott Plouf and James Bertram
James Bertram
James Bertram may refer to:*James Munro Bertram, New Zealand writer and academic*James Bertram, American indie-rock musician*James Bertram , secretary to steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie...
. Sam Jayne, who played in the Olympia band Lync with James Bertram, also appears on the album.
Beck took his act on the road in 1994 with a worldwide tour, followed by a spot on the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tour.
Odelay (1996–1997)
When the time came to record his follow-up to Mellow Gold, Beck enlisted Rothrock and Schnapf as producers and began recording an album of moody, low-key acoustic numbers to showcase his songwriting. Eventually, Beck shelved the album and pursued a more upbeat approach. Beck was introduced to the Dust BrothersDust Brothers
The Dust Brothers are the Los Angeles, California based, Grammy Award winning producers, E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo , famous for their sample-based music in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on the albums Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Odelay by Beck, and the soundtrack to...
, producers of the Beastie Boys' album Paul's Boutique
Paul's Boutique
Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, the recording sessions for the album took place in Matt Dike's Apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles from 1988 to...
, whose cut-and-paste, sample-heavy production suited Beck's vision of a more fun, accessible album.
The result, 1996's Odelay, would put the "one-hit wonder" criticisms to rest. The lead single, "Where It's At
Where It's At
"Where It's At" is the first single from Beck's 1996 album, Odelay. Beck wrote the song in 1995. He premiered it at Lollapalooza 1995, in a version very similar to its incarnation on Odelay...
", received much airplay, and its video was in heavy rotation on MTV. Within the year Odelay received praise from Rolling Stone magazine, appeared on countless "Best of" lists (it topped the Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
Critics Poll for "Album of the Year"), and earned a number of industry awards, including two Grammys. Besides "Where It's At", three other singles were released from the album: "Devils Haircut", "Jack-Ass
Jack-Ass (song)
"Jack-Ass" is a single by Beck, taken from the album Odelay. The song is based on a sample of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", performed by Them, from their 1966 album Them Again....
" and "The New Pollution
The New Pollution
"The New Pollution" is a single by Beck, taken from his album Odelay.-Music video:The music video, directed by Beck himself, features 1960's-style dancing and background...
".
Beginning in 1993, Beck contributed to Forest for the Trees
Forest for the Trees
Forest for the Trees was a group started by Carl Stephenson in 1993. The project produced only a single full length album during its duration. Self-titled, the album was released in 1997 after being delayed by a nervous breakdown that kept Stephenson from working on it for several years. Forest for...
, an experimental trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
project by collaborator Carl Stephenson. The project released a self-titled record in 1997, followed by an EP in 1999. Beck added spoken word, harmonica, and various other instruments.
Mutations and Midnite Vultures (1998–2001)
Odelay was followed in 1998 by the release of Mutations. Though the album was originally slated for release by Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck's wishes. The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and it remains unclear to this day if it has ever been completely resolved. Mutations was produced by Beck and Nigel GodrichNigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich, , is a recording engineer, record producer and musician. He is best known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band...
(frequent producer and collaborator with Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
) and is believed to have been intended as a stopgap measure before the proper next album. Recorded over two weeks, during which Beck recorded one song a day, the sessions produced fourteen songs. Mutations was a departure from the electronic density of Odelay and shows heavy folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
influences. Tracks on the album consisted of older songs, some dating back as early as 1994.
In 1999, Beck was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for Mutations at the 42nd Grammy Awards.
In November, Geffen released the much-anticipated Midnite Vultures
Midnite Vultures
Midnite Vultures is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, released in November 1999 by Geffen Records...
, which was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "Debra
Debra (song)
"Debra" is the name of a song by Beck. He had originally attempted to record "Debra" with the Dust Brothers for Odelay, but he thought that it was too tongue-in-cheek. It was debuted main-stream in 1996, and, as Beck noted, "it became the centerpiece of the whole set. It was the song that people...
", and the touring band was complemented by a brass section. Midnite Vultures was nominated for Best Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Beck released a number of B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
and soundtrack-only songs as well, including "Deadweight" from the A Life Less Ordinary
A Life Less Ordinary
A Life Less Ordinary is a 1997 British black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge. It stars Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, and Delroy Lindo.-Plot:...
soundtrack, "Midnite Vultures" (curiously, not on the album of the same name), David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs (song)
"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by David Bowie, and the title track of the album of the same name.The lyric introduces the listener to Bowie’s latest persona and his environment; Halloween Jack dwells on top of tenement buildings in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan...
" from Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
, and a cover of The Korgis
The Korgis
The Korgis are a British pop band, originally composed of singer / bassist James Warren and singer / drummer Andy Davis , both former members of 1970s band Stackridge, along with unofficial members violinist Stuart Gordon and keyboardist Phil Harrison.-Career:The Korgis released their first single...
' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime
Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime
"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" is a hit single written by James Warren and first performed by the pop band The Korgis, of which Warren was lead singer....
", which appeared in two memory-alteration-themed productions: the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by the French director, Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological...
and the last episode of the first season of Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
. He is also credited on the French band Air’s 2001 album 10 000 Hz Legend for vocals on the songs "Don't Be Light" and "The Vagabond" (as well as harmonica on the latter). He sang a duet with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons is a 1999 tribute album to pioneering country-rock musician Gram Parsons, co-produced by his one-time singing partner, Emmylou Harris and featuring cover versions of songs written/co-written by or popularized by Parsons, performed by Harris,...
, performing "Sin City".
Sea Change (2002–2003)
In 2001, the Beck EPBeck (EP)
Beck is a self-titled EP by musician Beck which consists of b-sides from the Midnite Vultures era. The EP was only available on Beck's website, and only 10,000 copies were printed...
, which consists of B-sides from the Midnite Vultures era, was released. The EP was only available from Beck's website, and only 10,000 copies were printed.
In 2002, Beck released Sea Change, which, like Mutations, was produced by Nigel Godrich. It became Beck's first US Top 10 album, reaching #8. The album also received critical acclaim, earning five stars from Rolling Stone (the magazine's highest rating) and placing second in the Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
Critics Poll for 2002. Sea Change was conceptualized around one unifying theme: the end of a relationship. The album featured string arrangements by Beck's father, David Campbell, and a sonically dense mix reminiscent of Mutations. Although some radio singles were released, no commercial singles were made available to the public. In August 2002, prior to the release of Sea Change, Beck embarked on a solo acoustic tour of small theaters and halls, during which he played several songs from the forthcoming album. The post-release Sea Change tour featured The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
as Beck's opening and backing band.
A song Beck co-wrote with William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
, "Feel Good Time
Feel Good Time
"Feel Good Time" is a song by Pink featuring William Orbit. It was on the soundtrack of the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and was later included on the non-U.S. editions of Pink's third album, Try This. "Feel Good Time" samples "Fresh-Garbage" by the band Spirit, from their 1968 album...
", was recorded by pop singer Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
for inclusion on the soundtrack of the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American action comedy film. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels. It opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box office for that weekend and made a worldwide total of $259.2 million.The cast again includes Cameron...
. Beck also covered the Bruce Haack
Bruce Haack
Bruce Clinton Haack was a musician, composer, and pioneer of electronic music. He was born in Alberta, Canada.-From Alberta to New York :...
song titled "Funky Lil Song" for Dimension Mix
Dimension Mix
Dimension Mix is a compilation album from indie record label Eenie Meenie Records released on August 23, 2005. The CD is a tribute to Dimension 5 Records and the music of electronic sound pioneers Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson....
, a tribute album dedicated to the music of electronic music pioneer Haack and his Dimension 5 Records, which his long time friend and collaborator Ross Harris produced to benefit Cure Autism Now.
Guero and The Information (2004–2007)
In 2004, Beck returned to the studio to work on his sixth major-label studio album. The record, GueroGuero
Guero is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, first released in March 2005 on Interscope Records. It debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart at #2 , and in the UK at #15 . To date, this is Beck's highest charting CD...
, was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...
and features a collaboration with Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
; it marked a return to Odelay-era sound. The album was released in March 2005 and enjoyed critical acclaim from most mainstream press, earning four of five stars from Rolling Stone, as well as a "Critic's Choice" recognition from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The album received a less enthusiastic response from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, which ran a lukewarm and disappointed 6.6 out of 10 review; it was also given poor reviews by Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine, Dusted and Mojo. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, pushing 162,000 copies in the first week and giving Beck his best week ever in terms of commercial sales and chart position. Since the release of Guero, the album's first single, "E-Pro" (which samples the drum track from the Beastie Boys hit "So What'cha Want
So What'cha Want
"So What'cha Want" is the second single from the album Check Your Head by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released on June 2, 1992.Beck used the rhythm track of the song as a sample in "E-Pro", the opening track of his 2005 album Guero...
"), has been well received by the mainstream rock community, receiving significant play time on mainstream radio. The second single, "Girl
Girl (Beck song)
"Girl" is a Beck song from the 2005 album Guero. It was released as the second single from the album in July 2005. The video for the song, created by , was inspired by the MAD fold-ins by Al Jaffee.The song begins with a simple chiptune melody...
", received decent play time on mainstream radio and heavy airplay on college and independent radio. The third and final single of the album was "Hell Yes." The deluxe edition DVD version of the album featured more than 100 videos. Viewers could use the two additional video streams and four subpicture streams to create their own visual remixes for each track. The DVD package was so advanced that a small percentage of DVD players were unable to access certain tracks, due to the complicated nature of the technology used by video artists D-Fuse.
On February 1, 2005, Beck released an EP featuring four remixes of songs from Guero by independent artists who use sounds from various early 8-bit video game devices like the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. The EP, GameBoy Variations, featured "Ghettochip Malfunction" [Hell Yes] and "GameBoy/Homeboy" [Que' Onda Guero], both remixed by the band 8-Bit, and also had "Bad Cartridge" [E-Pro] and "Bit Rate Variation in B-Flat" [Girl], the last two being remixed by Paza {The X-Dump}. The EP cover art shows a long-haired person headbanging
Headbanging
Headbanging is a type of dance which involves violently shaking the head in time with the music, most commonly in the rock and heavy metal music genres.-Origin:The term "headbanger" was coined during Led Zeppelin's first US tour in 1969...
to his Game Boy, which is plugged into an amplifier
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
like an electric guitar. This EP was featured in an issue of Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
. A music video for "Gameboy/Homeboy" was made by Wyld File
Wyld File
Wyld File is a commercial music video production company formed in 2005 by the Paper Rad collective and Eric Mast . The company has produced music videos for the band The Gossip , Beck and Islands...
. Also at this time, Beck released A Brief Overview, a promotional retrospective album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
featuring tracks from Guero, Sea Change, Mutations, Midnite Vultures and Odelay. This compilation also features "Ghettochip Malfunction" and two versions of "E-Pro," the lead single from Guero.
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
in Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,102 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County...
on June 17, 2006, with a set that featured many songs from Guero. In addition to his band, Beck was accompanied by a group of puppets, dressed as him and members of his band. Live video feed of the puppets' performance was broadcast on video screens to the audience. The puppet show was included throughout his 2006 world tour.
On December 6, 2005, the remix album Guerolito
Guerolito
Guerolito is the first remix album by Beck, released in December 2005. It features all of the songs from regular edition of Guero in remixed forms by a variety of artists, with the addition of "Clap Hands", originally found on the special limited edition of Guero.Guerolito reached #191 on the...
was released, featuring the entire Guero album remixed by acclaimed musicians as well as cover art by Marcel Dzama.
Beck's seventh major-label studio album, The Information
The Information
The Information is the tenth studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, released in October 2006 on Interscope Records. It was produced and mixed by longtime Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich. Recording began in 2003 concurrently with Guero, but the album was not completed until 2006...
, which again reunited him with Nigel Godrich, was released on October 3, 2006. The release marked the first time in seven years that Beck released studio albums in consecutive years. The album reportedly took more than three years to make and has been described as "quasi hip-hop". It came with a sheet of stickers
Sticker art
Sticker art is a form of street art in which an image or message is publicly displayed using stickers...
, which were to be used to "make your own album cover." Because of this, The Information was disqualified by the Official Chart Company from entering the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, but in the US it gave Beck his third straight Top 10 studio album peak on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, reaching #7. The lead US single, "Nausea," officially went to radio on September 5, 2006. In the UK, the first single was "Cellphone's Dead".
A non-album single, "Timebomb
Timebomb (song)
"Timebomb" is a 2007 single by American musician Beck. On August 21, 2007, the single was made available on iTunes. It was released on 12" vinyl on November 2, 2007. A 1-track promo-only CD was also produced....
", was released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on August 21, 2007, and the limited edition vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
12" was released on November 2, 2007, with an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. In December, 2007, it was announced that "Timebomb" had been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
Modern Guilt and Scott Pilgrim soundtrack (2008–present)
In February 2008, Beck stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that he had been working on a new album "with an unnamed producer" and that he expected it to be released by the end of the year. In early March 2008, the unnamed producer was revealed to be Danger MouseDanger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
. The new album Modern Guilt
Modern Guilt
Modern Guilt is the eleventh studio album by American alternative musician Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008. The album fulfills Beck's recording contract with Interscope Records...
was released on Interscope in North America and Australia, and on XL Records in the rest of the world. The single "Chemtrails
Chemtrails (song)
"Chemtrails" is a 2008 single by American musician Beck. The song, taken from his eighth studio album Modern Guilt, was released digitally on June 22, 2008.The artwork for the single uses a design based on Houndstooth patterning....
" was made available on Beck's MySpace and website. In early June, Beck performed several songs from the new album at The Echo
The Echo (venue)
The Echo is a venue/nightclub located in Echo Park in Los Angeles, California. It also hosted Arthur Magazine's yearly ArthurFest.-Notable performers:*Thao with The Get Down Stay Down*Air Traffic*An Albatross*Autolux*Band Of Horses*Beck...
in Los Angeles. Modern Guilt was released in July 2008. A complete acoustic version of Modern Guilt, recorded in Japan, was featured as videos on Beck's website in 2009.
In an August 2010 interview with Pitchfork Media, Beck revealed that he wanted to release at least a song by the end of the summer. That culminated in Beck-written songs for fictionalized band Sex Bob-omb on the Scott Pilgrim movie soundtrack.
On December 13, 2010, RCRD LBL
RCRD LBL
RCRD LBL is the premier online destination for free, curated, legal MP3 downloads from the hottest marquee and emergent artists. RCRD LBL delivers free music downloads and more directly to readers with multiple personalized email properties, including the RCRD of the Day email newsletter, RCRD...
premiered a Beck remix of Lykke Li
Lykke Li
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...
's "Get Some."
In July 2011 it was announced that Beck is working on an album with country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
and that they've already recorded some songs.
Collaborations and contributions
On June 18, 2009, Beck announced that he was starting an experiment called Record ClubRecord Club
Record Club is a musical project initiated by Beck Hansen in June 2009.The purpose of the project is to cover an entire album by another artist in one day, using an informal and fluid collective of musicians...
, in which he and other musicians would record cover versions of entire albums in one day. The first album covered by Beck's Record Club was The Velvet Underground & Nico. Starting on June 18, the club began posting covers of songs from the album on Thursday evenings, each with its own video. On September 4, 2009, Beck announced the second Record Club album, Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen is the debut album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen. It foreshadowed the future path of his career, with less success in the United States and far better in Europe, reaching #83 on the Billboard chart but achieving gold status only in 1989, while it reached #13 in UK and...
. Contributors included MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
, Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy
Little Joy
Little Joy is a Brazilian/American rock band formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and Binki Shapiro. Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a...
. In the third Record Club venture, Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Feist, Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States...
and James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
joined Beck to cover Skip Spence's
Skip Spence
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...
Oar
Oar (Skip Spence album)
Oar is a 1969 album by the late Skip Spence. It is Spence's only solo album, recorded over seven days in Nashville, on which Spence plays all of the instruments.- History :...
. The first song, "Little Hands", was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009. The Record Club has since covered albums by INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
and Yanni
Yanni
Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...
On June 19, 2009, Beck announced Planned Obsolescence, a weekly DJ set put together by Beck or guest DJs. Soon after, on July 7, Beck announced that his website would be featuring "extended informal conversations with musicians, artists, filmmakers, and other various persons" in a section called Irrelevant Topics. Then, on July 12, he added a section called Videotheque, which he said would contain "promotional videos from each album, as well as live clips, tv show appearances and other rarities".
Also in 2009, Beck collaborated with Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
on her album IRM
IRM (album)
-Bonus tracks:-Reception:The album currently has a Metacritic score of 80/100 based on 21 professional reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".-Charts:-Release history:-Sunset Sound EP:...
, which was released in January 2010. Beck wrote the music, co-wrote the lyrics, and produced and mixed the album. The lead single, "Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (Charlotte Gainsbourg song)
"Heaven Can Wait" is the first single by Charlotte Gainsbourg featuring Beck from her album IRM. It was chosen as the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week on March 2, 2010.-Synopsis:The music video for "Heaven Can Wait" was directed by Keith Schofield...
", is a duet by Beck and Gainsbourg.
In late February 2010, it was announced that electronic artist Tobacco
Tobacco (musician)
Thomas Fec, better known by the alias Tobacco, is an American electronic musician. He is the frontman of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, in addition to working as a solo artist; in both settings he works most conspicuously with pre-digital electronic instruments such as analog synthesizers and...
of Black Moth Super Rainbow
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Black Moth Super Rainbow is an American experimental band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their music contains elements of psychedelia, folk, electronica, and pop...
had collaborated with Beck on two songs, "Fresh Hex" and "Grape Aerosmith", on his upcoming album Maniac Meat. Tobacco revealed that in making the album, Beck sent the vocal parts to him, and that they had never actually met.
In March 2010, Beck revealed that he had produced songs for the new Jamie Lidell album, Compass
Compass (album)
Compass is a 2010 album by Jamie Lidell, released May 18. It is produced by Lidell and features additional production by Beck, Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, Lindsey Rome and Robbie Lackritz.-Track listing:Written by Jamie Lidell...
.
In the summer of 2010, Beck contributed songs to both The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack)
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is the soundtrack album to the film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It is the third soundtrack in the film's chronology, and was released on June 8, 2010. The soundtrack was once again co-produced by Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor for the previous two films...
soundtrack, with "Let's Get Lost" (a duet with Bat for Lashes
Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan , also known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, is an English musician. She sings and plays the piano, bass, guitar, harpsichord and the autoharp....
), and True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
(HBO Original Series Soundtrack, Vol. 2), with "Bad Blood". He also contributed songs to soundtrack of the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
, which was released in August 2010. Two of the songs that Beck specifically wrote for the film appeared in its theatrical trailer.
In 2011, he collaborated with Seu Jorge
Seu Jorge
Seu Jorge is a Brazilian musician, singer/songwriter and actor. Born Jorge Mário da Silva, he was raised in a favela in the city of Belford Roxo in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. He is considered by his fans a renewer of Brazilian pop samba...
on a track entitled Tropicália (Mario C. 2011 Remix) for the Red Hot Organization's
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
most recent charitable album "Red Hot+Rio 2." The album is a follow-up to the 1996 "Red Hot + Rio
Red Hot + Rio
Red Hot + Rio is a compilation album produced by Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the Bossa nova sound, especially the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim...
." Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. He also contributed on the song "Attracted to Us" on Turtleneck & Chain
Turtleneck & Chain
Turtleneck & Chain is the second studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, whose members are Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. The album was released May 10, 2011, on Universal Republic Records. Many of the songs on the album debuted on Saturday Night Live as SNL...
, the newest album from The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy troupe composed of Akiva "Kiv" Schaffer, Jorma "Jorm" Taccone, and David Andrew "Andy" Samberg, best known for their comedic music. Originally from Berkeley, California, the group is currently based in New York City. The group broke out due to their...
.
Also in 2011, Beck produced a solo album by Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
called Demolished Thoughts
Demolished Thoughts
Demolished Thoughts is an acoustic rock album by American musician Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.-Background and recording:Demolished Thoughts was produced by Beck Hansen and recorded in 2010 in Massachusetts and Los Angeles...
. An album he produced for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is a rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus, Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme, and Jake Morris. Malkmus was the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement.-History:...
, Mirror Traffic, was released in August 2011.
Musical style
Beck's musical style has been considered alternative and indie. He has been known to play many of the instruments in his music himself. He has also done some remixes for fellow artists, notably David Bowie and BjörkBjörk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. Beck has been known to synthesize several musical elements together in his music, including folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, Latin, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, many types of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and blues. He has also taken music from Los Angeles as a reference point in his songs.
Pitchfork Media applauded Midnite Vultures, saying, "Beck wonderfully blends Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, Paul's Boutique
Paul's Boutique
Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, the recording sessions for the album took place in Matt Dike's Apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles from 1988 to...
, 'Shake Your Bon-Bon
Shake Your Bon-Bon
"Shake Your Bon-Bon" is the third single taken from the second self-titled album by Ricky Martin. It was released on October 12, 1999.The US maxi-single includes "Almost a Love Song", which is an English version of Martin's song "Casi un Bolero", taken from the Grammy-winning album Vuelve...
', and Mathlete
Mathlete
A mathlete is a person who competes in mathematics competitions at any level or any age. The term is a portmanteau of the words math and athlete.Top mathletes in the United States compete on the AIME, USAMO, and ARML...
on Midnite Vultures, his most consistent and playful album yet." The review continued to comment on Beck, saying that his mix of goofy piety and ambiguous intent helped the album.
A Beck song called "Harry Partch," a tribute to the composer and his "Corporeal" music, employs Partch
Harry Partch
Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument creator. He was one of the first twentieth-century composers to work extensively and systematically with microtonal scales, writing much of his music for custom-made instruments that he built himself, tuned in 11-limit just intonation.-Early...
's 43-tone scale
Harry Partch's 43-tone scale
The 43-tone scale is a just intonation scale with 43 pitches in each octave, invented and used by Harry Partch.The first of Partch's "four concepts" is "The scale of musical intervals begins with absolute consonance and gradually progresses into an infinitude of dissonance, the consonance of the...
.
Art career
During 1998, Beck's art collaborations with his grandfather Al Hansen were featured in an exhibition entitled "Beck & Al Hansen: Playing With Matches", which showcased solo and collaborative collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
, assemblage, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
and poetry works. The show toured from the Santa Monica Museum of Art
Santa Monica Museum of Art
The Santa Monica Museum of Art is an independent non-collecting art museum located in Santa Monica, California. It exhibits the work of local, national, and international contemporary artists....
to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, in Canada. A catalog of the show was published by Plug In Editions/Smart Art Press.
Personal life
From 1991 to 2000, Beck was in a relationship with designer Leigh Limon. Their breakup is said to have inspired his 2002 album, Sea Change. He wrote most of the songs for the album in one week after the breakup. Beck married actress Marissa RibisiMarissa Ribisi
Marissa Ribisi is an American actress. She has performed in the films Dazed and Confused, True Crime, The Brady Bunch Movie, Pleasantville, and Don's Plum and television shows such as Felicity, Friends, Grace Under Fire, Watching Ellie, and Tales of the City.-Early life:Ribisi was born Santina...
, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
, in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri. Ribisi gave birth to their daughter, Tuesday, in 2007.
Scientology
Beck has been involved in ScientologyScientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
for most of his life; his wife, Marissa, is also a second-generation Scientologist. Marissa and her twin brother, Giovanni, were delivered by Beck's mother, Bibbe.
Beck publicly acknowledged his affiliation with Scientology for the first time in an interview published in The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
on March 6, 2005. Further confirmation came in an interview with the Irish Sunday Tribune's
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
i Magazine on June 11, 2005, where he was quoted as saying, "Yeah, I'm a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it." When questioned by the interviewer about Scientology's core beliefs, he replied:
Appearances in media
The 1986 punk rock musical Population: 1Population: 1
Population: 1 is a 1986 punk rock musical film written and directed by Rene Daalder.The film stars Tomata du Plenty of the Screamers as a defense contractor who somehow becomes the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust. In his solitude, he traces the history of U.S...
features a young Beck in a small nonspeaking role alongside Tomata du Plenty
Tomata du Plenty
David Xavier Harrigan, aka Tomata du Plenty the singer of the late 1970s Los Angeles synthpunk band The Screamers. He was also founder of Seattle's counterculture troupe Ze Whiz Kidz...
of The Screamers
The Screamers
The Screamers were a punk rock group active in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1970s. The Screamers were pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk," and can also be classified as art punk....
. Beck also appeared in Southlander
Southlander
Southlander is an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.Originally titled Recycler after the Los Angeles magazine of the same name, the filmwriters changed the name of the movie—and a central plot device—to Southlander to avoid trademark issues.- Plot :Down-and-out...
(2001), an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.
Beck has performed on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
six times; these shows were hosted by Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
, Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci is an American actress. Ricci received initial recognition and praise as a child star for her performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values , and her role as Kat Harvey in Casper...
, Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
, Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
and Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
. During his 2006 performance in the Hugh Laurie episode, Beck was accompanied by the puppets that had been used on-stage during his world tour. He has made two cameo appearances as himself on Saturday Night Live: one in a sketch about medicinal marijuana, and one in a VH1 Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
parody that featured "Fat Albert & the Junkyard Gang."
Beck performed a guest voice as himself in Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
's animated show Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, in the episode "Bendin' in the Wind
Bendin' in the Wind
"Bendin' in the Wind" is the thirteenth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired April 22, 2001. The title comes from the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind". In South America, this episode was #1 in "Bender's Best" top ten Bender-related Futurama episodes.- Plot :Fry gets a free...
". He performed in episode 10 of the fourth season of The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
, in which the producer character Artie (Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
) referred to him as a "hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
from outer space". He also made a very brief voice appearance in 1998 cartoon feature film, The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....
, and guest-starred as himself in a 1997 episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
entitled "Edelweiss."
Beck has also made appearances in the Adult Swim show Mission Hill
Mission Hill
Mission Hill is an American animated television series that first aired on The WB in 1999. Although 18 episodes were planned, only 13 episodes were produced. The show was put on hiatus by the WB Network after two episodes due to poor ratings. It returned to the WB in the summer of 2000 but was...
. Accepting an award, he comes up on stage wearing the new "Spicy pants" trend. In consequence the main character begins throwing all of his "Beck" albums out his upper-story window.
In an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch
Celebrity Deathmatch
Celebrity Deathmatch is a claymation television show that depicts celebrities against each other in a wrestling ring, almost always ending in the loser's gruesome death. It was known for its excessive amount of blood used in every match and exaggerated physical injuries...
, Beck was featured fighting Björk in a "battle to be the best monosyllabic musician of all time", which ended with both of them slain by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, who appeared via a time machine.
On January 22, 2010, Beck appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
s last show as a backup guitarist for a Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
–led rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
's "Free Bird
Free Bird
"Free Bird" is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
" alongside ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
guitarist Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
, Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
, and O'Brien himself on guitar.
Discography
Studio albums- Golden FeelingsGolden FeelingsGolden Feelings was the debut studio album by American musical artist Beck, released in 1993 by Sonic Enemy. The album showcases his roots in the anti-folk scene....
(1993) - A Western Harvest Field by MoonlightA Western Harvest Field by MoonlightA Western Harvest Field by Moonlight is an EP of early Beck recordings released on 10" vinyl by Fingerpaint Records in 1994, consisting mostly of audio experiments that he had made prior to Mellow Gold, but there are also a few acoustic blues songs, the most well-known of which, "Totally Confused,"...
(1994) - Stereopathetic SoulmanureStereopathetic SoulmanureStereopathetic Soulmanure is the second studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, released on Flipside in 1994, a week before the appearance of his Geffen debut Mellow Gold. The album comprises mostly home demos, live performances, and abstract noise experiments...
(1994) - Mellow GoldMellow GoldMellow Gold is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, as well as his major label debut. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994 on the strength of the surprise hit "Loser"...
(1994) - One Foot in the GraveOne Foot in the Grave (album)One Foot in the Grave is the fourth studio album by Beck, released in June 1994 on K Records, an independent label. Like predecessor Stereopathetic Soulmanure, the album never charted, however One Foot in the Grave strengthened Beck's critical reputation, arguably allowing him to break into the...
(1994) - OdelayOdelayOdelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records.After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution"...
(1996) - Mutations (1998)
- Midnite VulturesMidnite VulturesMidnite Vultures is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, released in November 1999 by Geffen Records...
(1999) - Sea Change (2002)
- GueroGueroGuero is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, first released in March 2005 on Interscope Records. It debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart at #2 , and in the UK at #15 . To date, this is Beck's highest charting CD...
(2005) - The InformationThe InformationThe Information is the tenth studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, released in October 2006 on Interscope Records. It was produced and mixed by longtime Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich. Recording began in 2003 concurrently with Guero, but the album was not completed until 2006...
(2006) - Modern GuiltModern GuiltModern Guilt is the eleventh studio album by American alternative musician Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008. The album fulfills Beck's recording contract with Interscope Records...
(2008)
External links
- Whiskeyclone.net, large, informative Beck site
- Stewoo.net, the largest Beck fan forum
- Beck at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...