I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me
Hey guys, so today I'm going to give you a couple of recommendations on some records from the discography of Beck.
He's an alternative rock artist who exploded in the early 90s after releasing his first record Mellow gold. This was incidentally the first record I ever owned, so it has some sentimental value for me. His early work was influenced by the confused masses of generation x, but his music has evolved into a sound that mixes grunge sensibilities with ambient soundscapes
we'll start of with the record I mentioned earlier, "Mellow Gold".
It's his first full length studio record, with a very raw sound. Listening to this is like traveling in time to the start of the grunge movement. Tracks like "Nitemare hippy girl" and "Fuckin with my head" both describe very human emotions of frustration and loss. His track "Loser" and became an anthem for generation x with it's apathetic attitude. The track has a mix of hip hop, blues, folk, dark lyrical metaphors and psychedelic rock.
Loser
The second record I want to bring up is his 4th studio album, "Midnite Vultures"
"Midnite vultures" shows an evolution in a sound rooted in funk and comedy as opposed to the grimey blues sound of "Mellow Gold". It came out in 1999, so it has this sense of wonder a lot of the bands had at that time, making pseudo futuristic music for a new milennium. Some of the tracks are very electronic feel that almost makes it seem like everything has been produced by a psychedelic pop robot.
My favorite track on the record has to be the opener on the album, "Sexx Laws". It's got a great mishmash of genres, jumping between funk, alt-rock, hip hop beats,and gospel.
Sexx laws
The final album I have today is "Sea Change"
This album from 2002 really showed how much Beck has evolved his sound over the first decade of his work, he changed his garagerock sound for a more ambient floaty sound, which I personally really enjoyed. This album is a real juxtaposition to the more angst filled "mellow gold", here we find beck drifting down a lazy melancholic river. The production quality is also significantly higher than his previous record. This is to me something contemporary indie artists are still getting inspiration off of, vocals soaked in lush reverb, a thick simple drumbeat and some meandering guitars wandering around the background.
My favorite track on this record is difficult to decide on, but "lost cause" is one that never ceases to strike me. A fairly mellow guitar based track with a sense of hopeful melancholy.
Lost Cause
