Is there a "Guero" thread yet?

I have just heard four (4) tracks from the upcoming Beck record

how stupid is the NME review of the new beck album?

does anyone have the final mix of the new beck album?

It'll sell a shitload. "E-Pro" is Beck's biggest hit since "Loser", by far.

Btw. "Devil's Haircut" was a decent hit, wasn't it?

Yeah, but moreso on MTV. Beck's never been much of a Billboard presence, his only #1 prior to "E-Pro" was "Loser" (which I believe went to #1 on the Hot 100 as well, which is pretty crazy)

And Guero is a perfectly fine record. I'd probably like it less if Sea Change didn't exist, but the minor moments (the Ernie Isley-type guitar in "Earthquake Weather"; the 30-Beck choir on "Girl"; the split-second hoe-down sample in "Hell Yes") are interesting enough.

You'd have to be pretty sheltered to find vision/genius/genes in this. He's a great performer when the muses align, but the back catalog on its own is backwash. Latin Playboys anyday. No elderly white rappers please. Gimme Paleface. Before the lines sink much more: isn't the pattern basically Hire Dust Brothers/Don't hire Dust Brothers/Hire Dust Brothers/Don't?

The guy's perpetually unobjectionable, but as a fence-sitter to modern rock I have to marvel that he appears on K-Tel comps with someone as genuinely strenuous as Björk.

I can say with utmost certainty that my record collection is better than yours.

Guero's more like a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" kind of deal, these are actual songs that really hold together well, the flip side of that being of course that not as much really jumps out at you, which is why I think alot of people are slow to get behind it, 'cause we're not used to that from Beck.

The more I listen to it though, there's isn't a single song that doesn't sound terrific to me, except ironically enough maybe "E-Pro."

not to say there aren't some standouts- grrl, for instance, makes me smile ,and despite the serial killer lyrics, still exudes a morbid happiness. and yesh, the 30+ beck chorus.

i dunno. it's beck. not breaking any new ground, just holdin steady.

i guess i think it's easy to place time by beck with his songs. i mean, you hear 'pay no mind' and immediately go to 'mellow gold' or 'forcefield' go to 'one foot in the grave'. 'stereopathetic' seemed to be the oddity, just a collection from his tapes. and so on.

but, this one seems to lack that quality. and that's still not a knock on it.

i wish i knew the titles, there's a real spacey one with some nice heavy gtr goin on in the back that i'm just in awe of. 'broken drum' maybe? i dunno.

maybe this album will inspire a whole new wave of 'beck backlash'...

wait, did it ever stop??

I know, I know, but after all this time I'll still waiting for the festival to kick in. Lots of cool intentionally thwarted production ideas, but I hate it when people credit him for that just because his face is on the disc.

Okay, never mind, I'm just going to go steal some child's Easter candy now -- enjoy the new Beck, everyone!

the sndtrk to the Y2K meltdown.
or mine at least.

For me, Beck is best at being melancholic in a highly melodic and downbeat way. But he is good at being fun as well? ;)

(or is that only on this import?):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007V5WUK/ref=ase_goldenfiddlec-20/104-1885227-1019915?v=glance&s=music

but the 8-bit remix EP -- OMG, best beck stuff in yeaaars.

I can't decide if I even want to hear this album (I never heard Sea Change and can't say I regret it)

actually, by this album and sea change's tone, he sounds genuinely, seriously depressed.

and yeah, the lack of rad singles doesn't help.

This album is fucking great and possibly his best realized piece of work.

i agree!! i thought i was the only one. it's the only beck i can deal with these days tbh.

whooooooooa this is much better than I remember

Pretty sure I'd like it if I remembered to replay it. "Scarecrow" always got me. I still hear that remix of "Girl" all over the place.

huh, this one struck me as the most skippable of beck's 21st century albums - maybe i'll revisit. kind of hated "girl".

was this Beck's New Jersey? or was it Sea Change.

having just gotten around to listening to it for the first time. sorta amazed it did very well. there's hooks scattered throughout but it's not anywhere as packed or busy as Odelay/Midnight Vultures

was this Beck's New Jersey?
kill me

this was great

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

the riff he's playing sounds like a modified versh of phil collins' another day in paradise

The last great Beck album, for mine.

With some editing (i.e. cut to ten tracks across a good LP length), I think The Information could have been a solid A album, and as-is I think it's still better than Guero. Regardless, Guero is still excellent, an A- album to me. I do wish they used the 8-Bit remix of "Hell Yes" ("Ghettochip Malfunction"), and it seemed strange that they didn't when that version was the lead single, complete with video.

i love the ghettochip malfunction remix

I thought E-Pro was the lead single? My second least favourite after Girl.

I was able to look it up, and this ancient Glorious Noise article cleared it up. "Hell Yes (Ghettochip Malfunction)" came out first as a video that was dropped on January 24, 2005. HOWEVER, they had to update/correct their report with the following: This is a special “online-only” video (i.e., not the first single).

https://gloriousnoise.com/2005/new_beck_video_hell_yes

"E-Pro" came out later in March (the album came out later the same month), but that was officially the lead single.

I like Guero. It's just a good pop record. Maybe too long, but overloading albums was definitely a thing in the early 2000s.

Much more interested in the confusion over what the actual lead single was. I love instances like that. It was very common in hiphop at the time too. Song would come out on a promo 12" single or something and then a month or so later, there would be an even bigger push for a newer song / video.

—(of course in hiphop the first, lesser promoted one was usually geared towards mixtapes and street buzz, while the bigger push was intended for the radio)—

I also really like the idea of a lead single being a remix that isn't even on the proper album. Frustrating for discography continuity maybe, but I love finding "wormholes" like that in catalogues. I remember "E-Pro" getting the big push at the time.

yes I remember "Hell Yes" as the first single.