Beck: Classic Or Dud

so lol i ended up watching a whole bunch of Beck music videos last night. i've always loved "The New Pollution" ever since i saw it as a kid so i did a lot of reading. Beck directed it himself and there is an animator credited (Andrew Doucette) so alot of things i thought were found footage were likely shot for this video. i wanted to play spot the reference.

we have the dancing girls
https://media.giphy.com/media/EbDtvBwtuE55S/giphy.gif

they are a direct reference to the 1968 Serge Gainsbourg video for "Monsieur William"
https://media.giphy.com/media/UfqyyEq4Tebo4/giphy.gif

we have the Kraftwerk shot
https://media.giphy.com/media/ExgjNz02a9Rvi/giphy.gif

this seems to be a less specific reference. i couldn't find that exact shot but they are wearing the outfits from the "Pocket Calculator" videos. this clip from "We Are the Robots" has that robotic movement. this specific shot is also referenced in "Beercan"
https://media.giphy.com/media/Qlb7uSOdy7nMY/giphy.gif

there are the cool trippy vector animations
https://media.giphy.com/media/47Ysjq2ejjiKY/giphy.gif

these probably refer to 60s computer animator John Whitney Sr.'s 1961 catalog
https://media.giphy.com/media/tOSszzwh1hDz2/giphy.gif

i always wondered what the reference was for the 60s band in the beginning? makes me think of Pink Floyd's "Scarecrow" video where they are just running around in a field. but there are the animal masks. is it the Beatles? Os Mutantes? i've always wondered...
https://media.giphy.com/media/qhyHTOQzLnVOE/giphy.gif

tbf its probably just "random 60s psych band" but it's possible it could be directly based on an earlier music video

HOT MILK

"Motherfucker" sounds like a proto Marilyn Manson

Time lapse footage of duct tape lies

i always wondered what the reference was for the 60s band in the beginning?

there might not be a direct shot-for-shot reference but it looks like elements from "magical mystery tour" & "head" kinda spliced together. i'm not sure what other bands were making these types of movies '67/'68.

i always wondered what the reference was for the 60s band in the beginning? makes me think of Pink Floyd's "Scarecrow" video where they are just running around in a field. but there are the animal masks. is it the Beatles? Os Mutantes? i've always wondered...

"i am the walrus" from the magical mystery tour film, no? they have the animal masks and are gamboling in a field.

yeah "I Am the Walrus" is probably it. i love the 16mm look, it is very MMT.

Fear has a glare
That traps you like searchlights
The puritans stare
Their souls are fluorescent

The skin of a robot
Vibrates with pleasure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc4shIwV5dM

i ended up at this live version of "Tropicalia" with the Flaming Lips as his backing band. what is this shit? this is so weak and pathetic, no wonder they split.

the "Mutations" promo with him being interviewed by the robot is classic tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX54mI6c1JA

the way this is packaged reminds me of what Cornelius was doing 10 years ago

I think Harry Partch was his apex

this guy seems lost

I haven't heard Colors yet, but it's been getting pretty meh reviews and, obviously, next to no discussion here.

dunno felt like up all night was that moment where beck finally channeled new radicals

Oh god. That sounds. . . awful.

I listened to it once. I think it might be his worst record. To me it’s the first time he sounded like he was chasing someone else’s trend.

I listened to it once. I think it might be his worst record. To me it’s the first time he sounded like he was chasing someone else’s trend.

Too bad the catchiest song is a Police pastiche (No Distraction).

feel like i may as well listen to Maroon Five as this new stuff

its like shitty earbud selling music

I haven't heard Colors yet, but it's been getting pretty meh reviews and, obviously, next to no discussion here.

― he doesn't need to be racist about it though. (Austin), Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Has it? Most of the critics on my FB wall are enthusiastic about it: best since Guero, etc.

(I don't care other than the first track)

Best since Guero is the new Best since Up.

Guero >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Up

None of his albums since Midnite Vultures are worth more than a courtesy listen tbh

hey sea change isn't bad

Cosign imago

guero is great

hey sea change isn't bad

Not bad, no, but every artist he was riffing on did it better first and with a lot less fuss.

Mutations is way better than Sea Change

Guero is where i jump off. it sounds like someone bored in a LA studio throwing stuff at the wall

Mutations is way better than Sea Change

Yup, somehow conjures a melancholic atmosphere much more affectingly and convincingly than Sea Change does even though the lyrics are more of the same stream-of-consciousness gibberish as all the other early albums

Mutations is way better than Sea Change

Yep. When Sea Change was released and was a crashing bore I had to remind myself that Beck had already done "slow" without sacrificing wit or rhythm.

about half of sea change is very good and the other half is beck playing four chords as slowly as possible hoping hat a song emerges

“little one” is one of my fav beck songs ever still

The sea change tour was weird too. Flaming lips opened and were their joyous selves, almost as if to make becks set even more of a bummer. The lips as his backing band didn't save the sea change material from feeling like a slog, beck seemed to not want to play to the crowd in his usual way; instead braying like a wounded soldier.

Sea Change is where I gave up, I find it unlistenable

I do like some stuff on Guero, that's about it for the last 15+ years

Really nice boards of canada remix of broken drum on guero lito

I'm not a massive Beck fan but I've always had time to check him out. As far as post-MV stuff goes, I like boring Beck - Sea Change and Morning Phase are both great. I liked Guero a lot too. I was a little meh on Information and Modern Guilt, but at least I could still see "Beck" in those albums. This new one... literally anyone could be doing these songs. Feels like mere coincidence that it's Beck on vocals.

Lips backing band seemed like a great idea that failed. suppose outside of Steven they aren't good enough musicians to play that material. they were trying to do his funky and Odelay stuff and it was pretty bad imo. you look at his Midnight Vulture tours and he had this awesome band of pros playing funk jams every night, now it was these stoner junkies who were used to playing along to their own backing tracks.

Sea Change is alright but i never go back to listen to it. and from time to time he still does interesting stuff (Modern Guilt is a later record i am sort of warming to).

the new stuff though, nah.

Sea Changes has some nice James Gadson drumming.

Yeah Adam that sums up the sea change tour well. Midnite Vultures show was amazing

feel like i may as well listen to Maroon Five as this new stuff

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, October 19, 2017 8:00 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

its like shitty earbud selling music

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, October 19, 2017 8:01 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

actually listened to this once and suddenly it occurred to me that Beck might have been doing the Paul Westerberg thing all along and writing songs for pop/indie acts under another publishing company, he's pro enough to do it at this point

I think the most recent thing of his I really enjoyed was the Oar cover record (helps that I don't even like the original probably lol)

after that it's snoozeville

MG v MV v MG v MP would be fun except it's really just MG v MV

MG v M v MV

\o/

and we all know which MG drops out and which one stays

obviously Mutations is better than Sea Change because it's his best album

MV b sides are even killer it could have been an amazing double album

2 PM LAZER BIZAGINAL REJUVINATION

"best since Guero" caught my attention so I decided to try this after being super, super underwhelmed by Modern Guilt

I've only heard "Colors" so far but that song is great