Strange Information
Still mulling over the new Beck album. It's solid throughout, though we don't hear a funky grand slam along the lines of "Devil's Haircut" or "Mixed Bizness." Curiously, The Information was hyped as a "hip-hop album." (It's not.) But Beck's embracing of his pre-Dust Bros instincts is welcome, especially the broken acoustic riff and trashcan percussion of "Nauseau." That said, "Exoskeleton" really harshes the mellow gold. What is up with that? Newsweek investigates.
NEWSWEEK: The song "Exoskeleton" is just a weird discussion between Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers. What the heck are they saying?Nice. This is gonna be one fucked up movie!
BECK: I had asked them what the ultimate record that could ever possibly be made would sound like.NEWSWEEK: All I understood was a bit about spaceships. How high would you say they were?
BECK: No, no, totally sober! But when you're in the studio at 3 in the morning, people get a bit loopy.
Posted at 3:21 PM
Tags: Beck
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GATEWAY TO EQUINOX = the best thing to happen to laughing since nitrous
get yer LOL on at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LoTGII7ruU
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I thought there were some funky highlights: "We Dance Alone" and "Elevator Music" are rockin'. Can't wait for the official release....
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Yeah, it's a solid disc, but I can't help feeling like Beck is just sort of treading water at this point.
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still cant get over odelay : )
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not a good record at all...FACT!
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way better than guero. that whole track 15 medley is a bit loopy, reminds me of when beck used to put silly noise bits as 'bouns tracks' on the end of his albums, only now its listed as an actual song.
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I think it's a one of the best records this year. Introduced it to a few friend who didn't know who Beck was and they all loved it.
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> Introduced it to a few friend who didn't know
> who Beck was...
Really?!
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Yes, most certainly the Beck with the resume chalk full of gems spanning over a decade (pre-record deal demos; the single incarnations of "Loser"; Mellow Gold & Mellow Gold-era b-sides; Stereopathetic Soulmanure; One Foot In The Grave; Odelay; Mutations; Midnite Vultures and Midnite Vultures-era b-sides; through finally, Sea Change) is quite the fucking preeminent track record. Guero and now The Information (worst Beck album title?) certainly have departed from that proud stretch of work, though may well qualify as "not bad." I can't help but wonder if some combination of A) suddenly having a wife and child to think of as dependents and/or B) increased involvement with or on the part of the CoS (???) have anything to do with this sad deterioration from being an Artist Boasting Mindblowing Music to that of an Artist Whose Creative Lifeline Is Decidedly Aimed Downward.
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check out "strange apparition" and tell me that isnt an update of the stones "torn and frayed" gospel boogie blues goodness.
scientology either turns you into a couch-hopping weirdo or puts you on a brilliant creative bender. becks going for the latter.
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i dig it.
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Yeah, this is pretty disappointing. From the lackluster artwork, to the totally un-creative album titles and song titles on down, seems like Beck is just not trying as hard. "Cell Phone's Dead" is nice, but even that's overproduced. And the following track, "Strange Apparition", is the most god-awful thing Beck has ever recorded. Major bummer. Dude is one of my fave artists ever, and one the last people I ever expected to go MOR and just plain boring. I miss the sense of humor and edge. Really, really hoping it's not just Guero retread from here on out. That would suck.
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I agree that it's not his best work, but I'm really enjoying listening to it, and I think if some random newcomer had released it, they'd get great praise for it.. It's a pity that he's not as unpredictable and mindblowing as he was a decade a go, but how many people can keep that up over half a dozen albums? If we're lucky he has another couple of twists and turns in him yet.. if not, he can still produce great pop music at least.
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scott, yes I know it sounds strange. But a few of them have yet to be liberated from the oppressive dictatorship of commercial-crap music the radio stations play. The only time we get to hear Beck on the radio is like at 23:00-24:00 if at all.
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With headphones on, it's a great Nigel Godrich record, otherwise, a decent Beck album. Guero was terrible. I remember when Odelay came out, i thought he was a sellout. Mellow Gold and Telepathetic Soulmanure are my all-time faves. You people seem so entitled. Let's hear your record, haters!!!
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and since when is stereogum the judge of 'what is hip-hop'? What the fuck are these beats? what is Beck rapping about? How is this not hip-hop? That's some narrow-minded shit.
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Do you have the trascript of conversation of Beck-Eggers-Jonze?
thanks
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