Beck - Mellow Gold (A Poll)

i mean, he hasn't had that since Odelay, has he? i wouldn't hold my breath for it to come back.

or maybe Sea Change, i guess. i didn't like Mutations or Midnite Vultures.

I'm sad
And unhappy
*shlorp*

It's occurred to me lately that this and Exile in Guyville (and, I dunno, maybe one or two others that don't spring immediately to mind) form a rarified grouping of albums from my high school years that have lost exactly 0% of their luster, with songs that I never skip when they come up on shuffle and that I never get tired of at all and which even seem to reveal hidden depths to me so many years (or, y'know, decades...christ) later.

― My mother set great store by that microwave oven! (Old Lunch), Thursday, November 15, 2018 3:53 PM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Throw Live Through This in there too.

― I like queer. You like queer, senator? (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, November 15, 2018 4:16 PM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is extremely otm!

Hey Babe just occurred to me this morning as another of that elite group but YMMV.

(I always thought she was great but the last couple of years have been a real Julianaissance for me.)

"Loser" is the sound of this album and it had to be track 1. Era defining single for sure. But even so it seems like a cop out to choose "Loser" since Mellow Gold is very much a "Best of early Beck" showcase.

I'll have to go with "Sweet Sunshine" because it's the most recent song to become my favorite, and that was probably 6-7 years ago at this point.

It's been on my vinyl wishlist for a while. I wish it was less expensive and easier to find.

I've spent the day listening to the material recorded before MG and, while the perspective and lyrical conceits were already fairly well-formed and hints of depth and complexity were certainly to be found in that earlier work, I'm only just now realizing how much of a leap MG was in comparison. Like, there was very little to suggest he'd eventually be releasing an album that sounded like this.

Was One Foot In The Grave recorded before?

Recorded before but released after, iirc.

One Foot was a kind of “back to basics” move after he scored big time with MG and felt a little self-conscious around his indie peers. It’s a good record though

xpost And a very good album which I love, but the two are operating on wildly different levels imo.

an album this good I can usually only vote for the last track

I think it's equally solid with highlights that are just as good as on MG ("Asshole," "Outcome," "He's a might good leader"). It's tough to say which one I like better.

difference betweeen One Foot/Grave and Mellow Gold is the difference between a great record and an all-time classic

the guy who stalked me my first year of college left this album on my windshield
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, November 16, 2018 1:07 PM

Joke's on you, that was actually Beck.

pay no mind. such great chord changes. never could get into Beck though aside from a few songs here and there

Give the finger to the rock 'n' roll singer
As he's dancing upon your paycheck
The sales climb high through the garbage-pail sky
Like a giant dildo crushing the sun

This is a really good lyric!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

this is song 2 on the album

this is the album right here

BURN THE ALBUM

this fuckin record is all time, for real

the guy who stalked me my first year of college left this album on my windshield
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, November 16, 2018 1:07 PM

Joke's on you, that was actually Beck.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Wednesday, 21 November 2018 20:41 (one week ago) Permalink

joke's on you, you suck.

listened to this last night while we were making dinner, just a total tour de force, had forgotten how great "Sweet Sunshine", "Nightmare Hippie Girl" and "Blackhole" were.

she's cooking salad for breakfast

she's got tofu the size of Texas

wow, i didn't see that upthread but yeah -- it was not Beck unfortunately. At the time, I had genuinely hoped against hope that the person leaving music and notes on my car wouldn't be a disgusting creep but I was wrong (shocking, I know).

beercan

I kind of wish I had voted for Beercan now, love that organ solo at the end

Pay No Mind is the "best" song on this record, but Truckdrivin' Neighbors Downstairs is the best song on this record.

Give the finger to the rock 'n' roll singer
As he's dancing upon your paycheck
The sales climb high through the garbage-pail sky
Like a giant dildo crushing the sun

This is a really good lyric!

― fgti is for (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, November 21, 2018 5:11 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol, I love this lyric so much that I sent it to my favorite college english professor (a contrairian type who hated consumerism and pop culture, fwiw). He responded something like "Sounds like Beck is my kind of guy."

I almost died laughing the first time I heard those lines - they're even better with Beck's inflections and timing

Does he ever play any of these songs (besides Loser I guess)?

For all you "Mutherfuker" fans, here's a great era B-side in the same vein

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

What band sounds the most like "Mutherfuker"/"Spanking Room"? Brainbombs? Deluxx Folk Implosion?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

xxxpost last time i saw him (2012) he played Mutherfuker as part of the encore and it was very very great.

other than that, i've seen him 3 times since 2006 and the only other Mellow Gold track he played was Loser (all 3 times).

I hate whole-album shows but might make an exception for a Mellow Gold tour, although I think a. It will never happen and b. Maybe it won’t make much sense to see older Beck doing these songs.

i hear you on point b