News No Loser: Beck’s Finest Moments

He might be on the brink of his biggest chart breakthrough yet, but Beck is no stranger to records that walk into the lives of millions. What’s most remarkable is the way he stays exciting, a big deal, simply by changing character whenever he so much feels like it. The guy has rapped, mumbled, chanted on top of anything from brash beats to the pillowed landing of new album ‘Morning Phase’. He’ll even release music that 90% of people can’t read or understand and it’ll be lapped up.

Some transformations get a divisive response. The current hazy California-stamped glow of his current state might be preferable to the instant gratification-comes-first playful pop of ‘Guero’. Or it’ll be the opposite. Songs can either hit like an avalanche or they’ll be drifting numbers that woo the conscience given time. Everyone has their favourite. So it seemed appropriate to honour his return by getting DIY writers to bicker, moan squabble over their personal Beck world beater. Each scribe involved got to pick their favourite, and funnily enough nobody ended up with the same choice. If Beck’s reading, he’ll probably be chuffed with that.

Threshold

The internet loves a list. Let’s keep this simple for those of you at the back.

1. Sex Bob-Omb are the greatest band in the world. The fact they’re fictional is irrelevant.

2. Beck wrote (and performed versions of) Sex Bob-Omb’s songs for the Scott Pilgrim movie.

3. Ergo, Beck’s Sex Bob-Omb tracks are the best he’s ever done.

With that firmly established, it’s just a matter of picking a winner. There’s the iconic (‘We Are Sex Bob-Omb’), the seasonal (‘Summertime’) and the, erm, romantic (‘Garbage Truck’), but the driving, shambolic, soon to fall apart ‘Threshold’ takes the prize. “Spilling out music into raw sewage,” it growls and thumps until it finally falls right off the tracks in one unholy mess.

Of course, if you want a fully Beck-tastic answer, ‘Ramona’ off said film’s soundtrack is pretty good too. [Stephen Ackroyd, DIY Editor]

Vampire Voltage No. 6

OK, OK, I was all ready to go for the wonderful, bass-led ‘Youthless’ from the almost criminally underrated (for Beck, this is) ‘Modern Guilt’, a record that’s got weird Beck, quiet Beck, rock Beck, pals-with Danger Mouse Beck, and a healthy smattering of political discourse, with the equally brilliant global warming-themed ‘Gamma Ray’. Then I rediscovered this – the B-side to ‘Chemtrails’, taking the melancholic acoustic vibe of the A-side and going batshit with it. Crazy punk Beck. [Emma Swann, DIY Reviews Editor]

Hotwax

Looking at his recent output, it’s kind of weird to think that Beck quite frequently rapped. ‘Odelay’ represented the best of his ability to combine his sleepy anti-folk roots, with monotone rapping, in a combination that very few can pull off. Owing itself to The Dust Brothers’ murky sample-based production, ‘Hotwax’ presents his eccentricities as their boldest and most accessible. Striking a middle-ground between his comfortless blues and his too fabulous for words prince-isms found on ‘Midnite Vultures’, it’s a difficult starting point, but perhaps the best to prepare you for the weird and wonderful world that is Beck. ‘Morning Phase’ is a pretty delightful return, but we’re still waiting Beck, for you to get down, get down all the way for old time’s sake. [Joe Price]

Paper Tiger

I first listened to ‘Sea Change’ a couple of weeks after ‘Guero’ was released, at an age where I’d listened to most of his records and thought I’d grasped that Beck was a real chameleon of music like Bowie or Prince. ‘Paper Tiger’ comes after the album opener ‘The Golden Age’, and as luxurious as the latter is, the breathtaking orchestral arrangements on ‘Paper Tiger’ demonstrate Beck’s delicate acoustics and aching vocals, propelling the album as one of his finest. ‘Paper Tiger’ and the fragility of the lyrics expose a directness and sincerity that I never imagined Beck possessed. [Sean Stanley]

Girl

Beck probably has a better sense of humour than this recent SNL skit suggests. A song like ‘Girl’ proves he’s a guy - for all his non-sensical, costume changing oddities - deals well in direct expressions. Simple out the outside, there’s still enough clever-as-hell chord changes here to make it almost impossible to replicate. Very few - if any - musicians sound like Beck. There’s a reason for that. [Jamie Milton - DIY Online Editor]

Sexx Laws

This song is cocky, quirky and just, well, catchy. Let’s be honest, the lyrics are the ultimate winner, probably some of the best of the ‘early-Beck’ phases. While today he hasn’t forgotten his hip-hop ‘Midnite Vultures’, he’s more steeped in the 70s than ever. No surprise, Beck’s music is saturated with allusions, but here it’s taken to the next level: ‘Sexx Laws’ is Beck’s official manifesto aiming to defy the logic of sex laws by having “bed and breakfast getaway weekends / with Sports Illustrated moms”. Beck, we like you when you get dirty. What’s not to love, really? [Fab Giovanetti]

Debra

Beck’s 1999-released ‘Midnite Vultures’ is his party album. Every party needs an end of the night slow jam and ‘Debra’ provides its exultant and gloriously sleazy climax. Indulging in all his Prince fantasies it sees Beck cooing, crying and wailing his love in a fabulous falsetto for the titular character: ”Ooh, I wanna care for you/ And your sister/ I think her name is Debra.’ The thing that makes this track so great is its sheer sense of bravura and chutzpah, the 70s exotica vibe accentuated by copious horns and a rippling sense of carnal desire. It’s perhaps the last real expression of his lover man persona before the broken hearts of ‘Sea Change’ and as such stands out as a glorious highlight of his career. [Martyn Young]



Beck’s new album ‘Morning Phase’ is out now.