Beck
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Wikipedia-Article "Beck"
- For other uses, see Beck (disambiguation).
Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
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Biography
Beck Hansen was born in Los Angeles, California to parents David Campbell (a musician and the son of a Presbyterian minister) and Bibbe Hansen (a visual artist of half Jewish descent). When his parents separated, he stayed with his mother and brother in LA, where he was influenced by that city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip-hop to Latin music—and his mother's art scene – all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
Beck's music is often considered to be typical of much popular alternative music of the 1990s with its disdain for genre conventions, obtuse and ironic lyrics, and the melding of samples with played instruments (in fact, due to his often completely individual creation of music, he has been described as a modern-day Prince, albeit to a lesser creative extent). However, his free-flowing, sometimes absurd lyrical style set him apart from rock groups such as Mr. Bungle and avant garde composers such as John Zorn, who experimented with similar genre raiding. Compared by critics to the more obscure moments of Bob Dylan and given an enthusiastic seal of approval by Allen Ginsberg, Beck was a link between the folk and beatnik past and the hip-hop present.
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck educated himself and traveled widely. In Germany, he spent time with his maternal grandfather, fluxus artist Al Hansen. New York City and the late '80s found himself part of the punk-influenced anti-folk music movement.
Beck returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade, destitute but motivated. To support himself, he took a variety of low-paying, dead-end jobs, and even lived in a shed, all the while continuing to develop his music. During this time, Beck sought out (or snuck onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops. In the spirit of an artist struggling to make a name for himself, his shows were memorable for their mix of humor and eccentricity. Some of his earliest and most thought provoking recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of WIN Records.
It was in this atmosphere of heady creativity that the founders of Bong Load Custom Records discovered Beck. Their 1993 12" vinyl "Loser," from an initial run of 500 copies, created a sensation on alternative radio that led to a furious bidding war between labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records, who offered him terms that included allowing for the release of independent albums while under contract.
In 1994, Geffen's official debut release of Mellow Gold made Beck a mainstream success—and led to his iconic status as the "slacker" representative of the alternative rock scene. Beck would comment often that like "Loser," the song that inspired it, the "slacker" label was very ironic.
At the same time, he released Stereopathetic Soul Manure on Flipside Records and One Foot in the Grave on independent K Records. Beck took his act on the road with the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. Still, some critics panned him as a one-hit wonder. It didn't help that a lot of audiences (especially at Lollapalooza) were only familiar with "Loser"' and would generally ignore his other work.
That one-hit wonder label was put to rest with the release of 1996's Odelay, a collaborative effort with the Dust Brothers, producers of the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. The lead single, "Where It's At," received heavy airplay and its video was in constant rotation on MTV. Within the year, Odelay had received perfect reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, been listed on countless "Best of" lists, had received double-platinum status, and earned an impressive number of industry awards, including two Grammies.
Odelay was followed in 1998 by Mutations. Produced by Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame, it was intended as a stopgap measure before the next album proper. Recorded over two weeks, during which Beck recorded one song a day, the sessions produced 14 songs. Mutations was a departure from the electronic density of Odelay, and was filled with folk and blues influences. Songs on the album consisted of older tracks, some even dating back as far as 1994. Track 10, "Sing It Again", was written for Johnny Cash, but Beck never submitted it, considering it "rubbish." Cash would go on to record "Rowboat," a song that originally appeared on Beck's Stereopathetic Soul Manure.
During 1998, Beck's art collaborations with his grandfather Al Hansen were featured in an exhibition entitled Beck & Al Hansen: Playing With Matches and showcased solo and collaborative collage, assemblage, drawing and poetry works. The show toured from the Santa Monica Museum of Art to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg, Canada. A catalogue of the show was published by Plug In Editions/Smart Art Press.
In 1999, Geffen released the much-anticipated Midnite Vultures, an orgy of sexual and culinary innuendo that was supported by a world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "Debra" and the touring band was supplemented by a brass section.
After Midnite Vultures came Sea Change in 2002, another airy and emotional album with producer Nigel Godrich, which became Beck's first U.S. Top 10 album, reaching # 8. Sea Change was conceptualized as an album with one unifying theme—the stages following the end of a relationship. The album also featured string arrangements by Beck's father David Campbell and a sonically dense mix recalling at times Mutations and elements of Midnite Vultures. Although some radio singles were released no commercial singles were made available to the public. The Sea Change tour featured The Flaming Lips as Beck's opening and backing band.
Beck has a number of b-sides and soundtrack-only songs as well, including "Midnite Vultures" (curiously, not on the album of the same name), a cover of The Korgis' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" which appeared in the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and David Bowie's Diamond Dogs from Moulin Rouge
In September 2003, Beck returned to the studio to work on his sixth major-label album. The record, Guero, was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer and features a collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes; it marked a return to Odelay-era sound. The album was released in March 2005 and enjoyed critical acclaim, earning four stars from Playboy and Rolling Stone as well as a "Critic's Choice" recognition from The New York Times. However, the album received a more lackluster response from Beck's indie-oriented fanbase, as shown by the low 6.6 (out of 10) score it was given by Pitchfork. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, pushing 162,000 copies in the first week and giving Beck his best week ever in terms of commercial sales and chart position. Since the release of Guero, the first single, E-Pro has been well received by the alternative rock community, and has seen a large amount of play time. The second single, titled simply "Girl", is a bright, upbeat song appearing at first to be about summer love. However a closer look at the lyrics reveals a darker side to the song. "Girl" received heavy airplay on various college radio stations. The third, and current single, is "Hell Yes".
Beck married Marissa Ribisi in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri Hansen.
Trivia
Beck has done a guest voice on Matt Groening's animated show Futurama, playing himself. In keeping with Beck's sense of humour, there is much self-deprecation ("Odelay is a word! Just look it up in the Becktionary"). See the episode here.
Many among Beck's friends and family are members of the Church of Scientology, and it has long been rumored that he is a member as well. In an interview with the Irish Sunday Tribune newspaper's i Magazine in June 2005 , Beck confirmed this rumor, stating "Yeah, I'm a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it." When questioned, he was vague on the religion's core beliefs, but expressed support for its charitable works. Beck commented a little further on his involvement in the Sunday New York Times Magazine around the time of the release of Guero. See the external links below for more information on his involvement as a Scientologist.
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Discography
Official albums
| Title | Release | Label | Chart Peaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mellow Gold | 1 March 1994 | DGC/Bong Load | 13 (US); 41 (UK) |
| Stereopathetic Soul Manure | April 1994 | Flipside | - |
| One Foot in the Grave | 14 June 1994 | K Records | - |
| Odelay | 18 June 1996 | DGC/Bong Load | 16 (US); 17 (UK) |
| Mutations | 3 November 1998 | DGC/Bong Load | 13 (US); 24 (UK) |
| Midnite Vultures | 23 November 1999 | DGC | 34 (US); 19 (UK) |
| Sea Change | 24 September 2002 | DGC/Interscope | 8 (US); 20 (UK) |
| Guero | 29 March 2005 | Interscope | 2 (US); 15 (UK) |
| Guerolito | 13 December 2005 | Interscope | 191 (US) |
Unofficial albums
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| The Banjo Story | 1988 | Unreleased |
| We Like Folk...Who Cares...Destroy Us | 1991 | Unreleased |
| Beck, Like the Beer | 1992 | Unreleased |
| Don't Get Bent Out of Shape | 1992 | Unreleased |
| 1992 Demo Tape (Buck Fuck Iowa) | 1992 | Unreleased |
| Fresh Meat and Old Slabs | Unknown | Unreleased |
| Golden Feelings | 1993 | Sonic Enemy Records |
| A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight | 1994 | Fingerpaint Records |
EPs
Stray Blues (B-Sides) - 2000 (Japan Only)
Beck (Beck.com B-Sides) - 20 February 2001
Gameboy Variations - 1 February 2005
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Main- stream Rock | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Loser" | 10 | 1 | 39 | 15 | Mellow Gold |
| 1994 | "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" | - | - | - | - | Mellow Gold |
| 1994 | "Beercan" | - | 27 | - | - | Mellow Gold |
| 1996 | "Where It's At" | 61 | 5 | - | 35 | Odelay |
| 1996 | "Devil's Haircut" | 94 | 23 | - | 22 | Odelay |
| 1997 | "The New Pollution" | 78 | 9 | - | 14 | Odelay |
| 1997 | "Sissyneck" | - | - | - | 30 | Odelay |
| 1997 | "Jack-Ass" | 73 | 15 | - | - | Odelay |
| 1997 | "Deadweight" | - | 16 | - | 23 | A Life Less Ordinary Soundtrack |
| 1998 | "Tropicalia" | - | 21 | - | 39 | Mutations |
| 1999 | "Cold Brains" | - | - | - | - | Mutations |
| 1999 | "Nobody's Fault But My Own" | - | - | - | - | Mutations |
| 1999 | "Sexx Laws" | - | 21 | - | 27 | Midnite Vultures |
| 2000 | "Mixed Bizness" | - | 36 | - | 34 | Midnite Vultures |
| 2000 | "Nicotine & Gravy" | - | - | - | - | Midnite Vultures |
| 2003 | "Lost Cause" | - | 36 | - | 13 | Sea Change |
| 2005 | "E-Pro" | 65 | 1 | 36 | 38 | Guero |
| 2005 | "Girl" | 100 | 8 | - | 45 | Guero |
| 2005 | "Hell Yes" | - | - | - | - | Guero |
Promotional Releases
A Brief Overview - Polydor - 2005
Indie singles
MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack - Gusto Productions/Flipside - April 1993
Steve Threw Up - Bong Load Custom Records - 1994
It's All in Your Mind - K Records - 1995
Filmography
See also
External links
- Beck's official web site
- All Music Guide entry for Beck
- Whiskeyclone.net (fansite with song info, news, lyrics, bootleg database, etc)
- The Secret Life of Beck Hansen - A Guide for the Professional Journalist regarding involvement with Scientology
- An article from Stylus Magazine detailing how the artwork on Beck's newest album demonstrates his Scientologist leanings
- Beck - NNDB
- TracksMusic.com Album Review - Guero
- beck! beck! beck! (fansite with news, photos, etc)
- Stewoo.net > Beck (fansite with active forum)
- BeckTabs.com (fansite with tabs database, mp3s, forum)
- BBC Collective: Watch exclusive live session recorded for Radio 1