Fax Machine Anthems

Remember when Beck's album Mellow Gold came out and it was a big freakin' deal? I'm not just talking about the singles or "Loser," but the whole record. I'm sure someone else had already tried, but no one else had so seamlessly blended folk and hip hop and rock elements in one album. At first it felt like a novelty to me, but the songs were actually really good. I haven't heard his first two records, A Western Harvest Field By Moonlight and Stereopathetic Soul Manure, so I don't know where he was at that point, but if I were to guess based on titles alone, I'd say the former was probably a folk record and the latter was more of the audio collage we're now so familiar with. Then came One Foot In the Grave on K Records. The 'cool' kids heard that one, but it existed in a galaxy far away from mainstream radio, so it didn't sell as well. It's a good album. All folk. Very simple. In 1996, Beck's first collaboration with the Dust Brothers (producers of Paul's Boutique) came out. Odelay was like a revolution. There were plenty of groups out there who were already blending hip hop and rock and electro, and some were doing it well, but they were all kind of gimmicky. Like Cibo Matto for an example. Odelay was a party album, every song could've been a hit single, and I'm not sure, but I think most of the songs appear elsewhere as remixes. So basically I'm just trying to say that this shit was good. Seriously good. A couple years later, in 1998, Mutations came out. Not quite a proper album, it was a collection of songs that had been recorded over a period of four years, and he decided to re-record some of them with his current touring band and release them. They were good songs, but the album as a whole wasn't all that strong. Midnight Vultures came out in 1999, and it had some big name guest stars like Beth Orton and Johnny Marr. It was a very cohesive record, but it just didn't move me. At that point I stopped paying attention. A few years later, he put out Sea Change (2002), but by then I had lost interest. Then, a few months ago, I was watching the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At the very end is a song from Beck, and I wasn't sure where it was from. I assumed it was on Sea Change because that was the record that I was least familiar with, and the song was too well recorded to have been from any of the earlier albums. Remember that Mellow Gold was recorded for only $200. So I got ahold of Sea Change and went through the whole album but couldn't find the song. Turns out it was only on the film's soundtrack, but this sparked an interest in Sea Change. It's an album about loss, and in this case lost love, I think, but later it helped me with the loss of a friend. All the songs are country folk/rock type things. Almost painfully depressing. It reminded me a lot of Nick Drake. Actually, I wrote a post about this album a couple months ago. Check the archives. So, anyway, I recently found out that Beck has a new album coming out. I got ahold of it last week (actual release date: 03/29/05), and I listened to a little bit of it, but I was pissed. He went back to the audio collage/pastiche sound. I didn't want that. I wanted more music like he made on Sea Change. But, I guess people do move on. I think this new album Guero is the best he's made in years, possibly since Odelay (not including Sea Change because that was a totally different sound). This makes me want to listen to him again. I think we take it for granted now, but he really made the hip hop/electronic/rock/lo-fi thing big in modern music. On Mutations and Midnight Vultures I was over it. I didn't care all that much. This is different. Much different. He's not necessarily innovative, but he's staying just ahead of the times. Right from the start "E-Pro" has a driving guitar line with hip hop beats. Suddenly memories of driving around getting high listening to Odelay fill my head. "Que Onda Guero" is only half in Spanish, and I have no idea what the fuck he's saying. 'Que' is that, 'onda' is wave, but I can't figure out what 'guero' means. Anyone know? This one has the hip hop thing going on, too, but with a Latin feel to it. In fact, I think Beck could be considered a modern Tropicalia artist. Tropicalia (or Tropicalisme) was a movement of politically-minded Brazilian musicians in the sixties who blended American psychedelic music with their native sounds of bossa nova and samba. Many of those artists are still making records, like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Back to the record. Track three is called "Girl." It starts out with a really cool electro intro that could've come right out of an early Nintendo game. It's pure pop, though, and the electro thing isn't all through the song. Great chorus, too. Musically, track five almost makes me think of Motown. "Black Tambourine" has a motown feel, but then this little guitar riff kicks in that makes me think of U2's live album Rattle and Hum for some reason. The next song, "Earthquake Weather" is a little downbeat. The actual beats make me think of "High Plains Drifter" from the Beastie Boys (without Kerry King's guitar), except wetter if that makes any sense. This one has a really good falsetto chorus in it. Then this acid guitar line comes in on it. Am I being too detailed? Who cares. Whatever. It's a really good record, and it's renewing my faith in Beck as a relevant, innovative, and talented artist. "Hell Yes" is the album's first single, and I highly, highly suggest you pick up the Hell Yes EP just for the remix. It has a robotic vocal in the chorus, and that's always a winner in my book. His flow in this one reminds me a lot of Grandmaster Flash. Stop gasping in horror, you elitist. I'm serious. There's also an Asian-sounding girl sampled saying "I like your bass" and "your beats are nice." It's fun. You also can't help but love a chorus that includes the line "...fax machine anthems, get yer damn hands in the air!" The next one, "Broken Drum" is almost industrial sounding in how heavy the drums sound. The vocal has an effect on it, too. Kinda reminiscent of Mellow Gold in that sense. Some good samples on the chorus with this one. "Scarecrow" is sort of a return to the more modern Beck of Midnight Vultures. A little loungey sounding. Twangy guitar. "Go It Alone" is almost a G. Love type of thing with a better beat. Okay, maybe that's what everything Beck does is about: G. Love but with a better beat. I think. No, I know. It is. "Farewell Ride" starts out a bit too much like "Devil's Haircut" from Odelay, but it's soon redeemed in the first verse. He reaches out vocally more on this one. Damn, this is a good record. "Rental Car" is pure pop. Actually reminds me a lot of the Rentals' second album. The last song, "Emergency Exit" is pretty slow. Very lo-fi like Mellow Gold. I guess you could say this album is like a good mix between Mellow Gold and Odelay with some modern electronic elements. I like it.