Recording career

(1988-1993) Independent releases

In 1988, he recorded a cassette entitled "Banjo Story", which has since become available in bootleg form.^[1]

(1994-1997) Mellow Gold and Odelay

In 1994, Geffen's official debut release of Mellow Gold, culled from sessions with Rothrock, Schnapf, and Stephenson, made Beck a mainstream smash success; it also led to his iconic status as the "slacker" representative of the alternative rock scene.

(1998-2001) Mutations and Midnite Vultures

Odelay was followed in 1998 by Mutations. Though the album was originally supposed to be released on Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck's wishes.[1][2] The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and remains unclear to this day if it was ever completely resolved. [3] 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 Soulmanure.

(2002-2003) Sea Change

After Midnite Vultures, Beck released Sea Change (2002), another airy and emotional album with Godrich, which became Beck's first U.S. Top 10 album, reaching # 8. The album was also met with critical acclaim, earning five stars from Rolling Stone, the magazine's rarely awarded highest-rating and later placing second in the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 2002. 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 reminiscient of Mutations. Although some radio singles were released, no commercial singles were made available to the public. Beck embarked on a solo acoustic tour of small theaters and halls prior to the release of Sea Change, during which he played several songs from the forthcoming album. The post-album release Sea Change electric tour featured The Flaming Lips as Beck's opening and backing band. Since then Wayne Coyne, their lead singer, has criticized Beck for his behavior on the tour.[4]

(2004-present) Guero and The Information

In 2004, 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 from most mainstream press, 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 less enthusiastic response from Beck's indie-oriented fanbase and a relatively low 6.6 (out of 10) score given by Pitchfork. Nonetheless, 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 mainstream 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 final single, was "Hell Yes".

Personal life

Beck married Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi, in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri Hansen.

Beck and Scientology

Beck has been involved in Scientology for most of his life, but has only recently publicly acknowledged this fact. It is not clear what his involvement was during the 1990s, but he appears to have distanced himself from it to some degree.

Discography

Main article: Beck discography

Filmography

• The Rugrats Movie (1998)
• Southlander (Directed by Steven Hanft, 2003)
• Nacho Libre (2006)

Miscellanea

• Made a very brief voice-only appearance in 1998's The Rugrats Movie.
• Beck performed a guest voice in an episode of Matt Groening's animated show Futurama, playing himself. In keeping with Beck's sense of humor, there is much self-deprecation ("'Odelay' is a word! Just look it up in the Becktionary!"; "Like when I wrote Devils Haircut, I was feeling really... what's that song about?"). The Becktionary is subtitled "From Bzooty to Whiskeyclone", and a reference to a Rhyming Becktionary is also made.
• Has made cameo appearances in music videos for The White Stripes' "The Hardest Button to Button" and The Stone Roses' "Love Spreads".
• Contributed an infamous "phoned-in" rap to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion song "Flavor", and also appeared in the music video[6].
• Windows Media Player comes with a sample of Beck's song "Beautiful Way."
• Beck is featured as one of the artists performing in the North American Halloween Prevention, Inc. song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?".
• "Loser" is #200 on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of all Time" list.

See also

• List of alternative music artists
• List of one-word stage names
• List of popular music performers

References

1. ^ Beck biography at VH1.com Available online at VH1 bio, accessed on August 29, 2006
2. ^ "Beck Reveals More Information". "FMQB". Retrieved on 15 August, 2006.