• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Post here if you like the new Beck album.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Diablos

Member
Guero is awesome. Everyone says Dre and the Neptunes have the best beats. Pfft. They don't have anything on Beck.

"Hell Yes" is the best song ever.

Looking for my place
On assembly lines
Fake prizes
Risin out of the bombholes
Skeleton boys hyped up on purple
Smoke rings blow from across the disco
Bank notes burn like broken equipment
Lookin for shelter readjust your position
Thought control ghost written confessions
Two dimensions dumb your head down
Duck don't look now company missiles
Power is raunchy rent-a-cops are watching
Makin their dreams out of paper mache
Cliche wasted hate taste tested

Hell yes I'm movin this way I'm doin this thing
(please enjoy)
Hell yes I'm turnin it on
I'm workin my legs hell yes
I'm callin you out I'm switchin my plates
(please enjoy)
Hell yes
I'm cleanin the floor my beat is correct

Stretched to the limit attention spans
Snap back retract collapse into laugh tracks
Noise response applause and hand claps
Floodgates open to the sound of the rainbow
Breaking points on the verge of pointless
Fools anointed to the followers fanfare
Look for the common not superficial
Code red cola war conformity crisis
Perfunctory idols rewriting their bibles
With magic markers running out of their ink
Lives in white out
Turn the lights out
Fax machine anthems get your damn hands up

Hell yes I'm movin this way I'm doin this thing
(please enjoy)
Hell yes I'm turnin it on I'm workin my legs
Hell yes I'm callin you out I'm switchin my plates
(please enjoy)
Hell yes
I'm cleanin the floor
My beat is correct
 

scorcho

testicles on a cold fall morning
but they aren't Beck's beats, they're the Dust Brothers' beats.

album is okay, seems like a watered-down Odelay. was expecting a slight bit more though.
 

Diablos

Member
scorcho said:
but they aren't Beck's beats, they're the Dust Brothers' beats.

album is okay, seems like a watered-down Odelay. was expecting a slight bit more though.
Oh, the Dust Brothers eh?
Dust Brothers > all.
The insert says Beck and the Dust Brothers. I doubt they did all of the work for him.

The early version of "Hell Yes" called "Ghettochip Malfunction" is like NES rap. I love it.
 
Star Power said:
Guero is a piece of shit. The worst thing Beck has done.

I do believe you shouldn't be posting in this thread, then.

Anyone else think the background vocals on "Chain Reaction" sound like Isaac Brock?
 

Dilbert

Member
It's a strange album. It's enjoyable, but fairly uneven and uninspired in certain sections.

The sad part is that "Earthquake Weather" and "Missing" are among his best work. I can only hope that he goes more in that direction the next time around.
 

Meier

Member
I wasnt entirely sold initially but it's definitely grown on me quite a bit. Chalk me up as a big fan.
 

Dyne

Member
I like it. Sort of reminds me of the JSRF soundtrack.

I like Summer Girl and Missing the most. I usually put Missing on when I'm going to sleep. It's calming.
 

Diablos

Member
Star Power said:
Guero is a piece of shit. The worst thing Beck has done.
WHAT

-jinx- said:
It's a strange album. It's enjoyable, but fairly uneven and uninspired in certain sections.

The sad part is that "Earthquake Weather" and "Missing" are among his best work. I can only hope that he goes more in that direction the next time around.
I agree. Just be sure to add "Hell Yes" to that. :D Ghettochip Malfunction is awesome in its own right, too.

Guero is certainly better than Sea Change, in my opinion.
 

Talas

Member
I like the album, my favorite songs are Girl and Hell Yes!

And by the way, Beck seems to try to give "Guero" a Latin flavor to match the title, just like in "Odelay", that's a good thing in my opinion... even if both titles are misspelled.
 

Dilbert

Member
Diablos said:
I agree. Just be sure to add "Hell Yes" to that. :D Ghettochip Malfunction is awesome in its own right, too.

Guero is certainly better than Sea Change, in my opinion.
"Hell Yes" is a fine song, as is "Summer Girl." Even so, they are a tier lower than the two songs I mentioned.

As for the Guero versus Sea Change issue: The big difference between the two albums is that Beck RARELY sounds emotionally honest on Guero. It's slick and catchy...but with rare exceptions, it doesn't feel like his heart is in the lyrics or presentation. On the other hand, Sea Change feels like a punch in the chest most of the time.

Of course, neither of them are One Foot In The Grave, which is still my #2 favorite behind Odelay.
 
-jinx- said:
Dude, it's Star Power. Do I need to say any more?


Fuck you. I'm tired of your snide remarks. If I'm so "annoying" are "retarded" why don't you just put me on ignore and get it over with.


Diablos said:

Guero is nothing but a lazy, uninspired, Odelay retread with shades Mutations thrown in for good measure. Everything about it is just lazy.. lyrically, musically, sonically.. everything. And every song sounds like a watered down version of an earlier Beck song (or a song by another artist). It lacks that Beck charm.. those ironic, nonsensical non-sequiturs. Ugh.. it angers me really. Notice that ever since Beck got into Scientology again (.i.e. Sea Change) he started to SUCK TOTAL ASS? Cowinkydink? I think not.
 

Rorschach

Member
I am posting because I like the new Beck album.

New Foo Fighters single sounds good. The rest of the double album should be awesome and John Paul Jones?! Awesome-o.

2005 rox
 

Dilbert

Member
Star Power said:
Fuck you. I'm tired of your snide remarks. If I'm so "annoying" are "retarded" why don't you just put me on ignore and get it over with.
Hey, if you're going to make one line, exaggerated blanket statements about stuff, why can't I play that game too?

Notice that ever since Beck got into Scientology again (.i.e. Sea Change) he started to SUCK TOTAL ASS? Cowinkydink? I think not.
Source? My understanding is that both of his parents are Scientologists, he was raised as a Scientologist, and that he's always been active. The fact that he was part of that group wasn't well-publicized early in his career, but I believe he's been in the entire time.
 
-jinx- said:
Source? My understanding is that both of his parents are Scientologists, he was raised as a Scientologist, and that he's always been active. The fact that he was part of that group wasn't well-publicized early in his career, but I believe he's been in the entire time.


You're wrong. Beck left the Church of Scientology before he went to Europe as a teen. He didn't get back into it until around the time he broke up with his long time girlfriend (the break-up which spawned Sea Change).
 
I like the new album. It's not his best work, kinda like a watered down odelay at parts, but still is good overall. And I might add that Midnight Vultures is his worst album, some great songs on it, but they're spaced out between crappy ones. The work on the new album is nothing that is new to Beck, most of what is on there is nothing that hasn't been done before, but the songs are still unique and can be good despite the fact that their general sound has been used before. It could have been better, but is by no means bad.
 

Diablos

Member
-jinx- said:
"Hell Yes" is a fine song, as is "Summer Girl." Even so, they are a tier lower than the two songs I mentioned.

As for the Guero versus Sea Change issue: The big difference between the two albums is that Beck RARELY sounds emotionally honest on Guero. It's slick and catchy...but with rare exceptions, it doesn't feel like his heart is in the lyrics or presentation. On the other hand, Sea Change feels like a punch in the chest most of the time.

Of course, neither of them are One Foot In The Grave, which is still my #2 favorite behind Odelay.
Guero isn't about being emotionally honest, it's about being slick as you basically said - and rarely do you hear being so slick still be so acceptable as something done by an artist with real integrity. In fact, that's why I like the album so much.

Guero is nothing but a lazy, uninspired, Odelay retread with shades Mutations thrown in for good measure. Everything about it is just lazy.. lyrically, musically, sonically.. everything. And every song sounds like a watered down version of an earlier Beck song (or a song by another artist). It lacks that Beck charm.. those ironic, nonsensical non-sequiturs. Ugh.. it angers me really. Notice that ever since Beck got into Scientology again (.i.e. Sea Change) he started to SUCK TOTAL ASS? Cowinkydink? I think not.
I disagree 101%.
 

Macam

Banned
NYT has an article on Beck a while back noting that Christina Ricci did the vocal samples for Hell Yes. Amusing little tidbit.

I love the album; granted it's my first Beck album to own, but even being familiar with his past work, I still like it for what it is. The visual mix on the SE is great stuff to run in the background and the remixes on there are solid as well. Maybe it isn't his best stuff, but it's a good album anyway.

That said, I just got the new Ben Folds album, so Beck is on the backburner as I soft through all the discs.
 

Triumph

Banned
I wasn't sold initially(I mean I was in general, but not for a Beck album- Beck could release an album of nothing but him farting on a snare drum and it would be better than 90% of the crap that will come out this year), but once I got my hands on the limited edition I changed my tune. The core album is solid, but the original tracks on the bonus album are kick ass. Don't know why Send a Message to Her, Chain Reaction and Clap Hands weren't good enough to make the regular version of the album, but they're the balls.

People who don't like Beck and/or the album are in for some hard core genital socking.
 

Triumph

Banned
Whoa whoa whoa... lemme get this straight, Star Power... you think Sea Change sucks?

Man. You're dumber than a box of dirt with Olimario on top.
 

Ford Prefect

GAAAAAAAAY
I just downloaded Odelay a couple weeks ago, hearing that it was his best album from many sources, to see how I would like him. It's not bad. I think I'm going to go through the rest of his discography chronologically, like I do with most new artists I'm checking out (to see how they progress). I'll probably be a fan by the end.
 
Meh, whatever. Sea Change is way fucking overproduced... it's bloated, standard singer-songwriter fare that has been done much better by tons of people. It's a crappy Nick Drake album with STRINGS! Whoopee! And yes, I'm dumb, we've established that. Fucker.
 
Diablos said:
Sea Change is anything but overproduced, but I agree, it's far from Beck's best.



...


Do me a favor and listen to "Lonesome Tears." If that isn't over produced, I don't know what is.
 

Mifune

Mehmber
Sea Change is the definition of overproduced. Listen to Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left for an indication of what Beck's album would have sounded like if it were any good and didn't have Nigel "I Suck Without Radiohead" Godrich's pristine studio manipulation all over it.

Most overrated album of the last five years, easily.

Yeah, I'm resorting to hyperbole...
 

Mifune

Mehmber
Oh, and I think Guero will make a good summer album. So I'll buy it over the summer. I like what I've heard of it so far, and that video for E-Pro is FANTASTIC.
 
Guero is fucking awesome. I've been playing it since the earliest leaks and continue to play the deluxe version I put the day it came out.

Regardless of who actually produced or came up with the beats, but his sense of rhythm and groove is pretty much unparalled by his peers.

How anyone can think Clap Hands is better than most of the full album, I have absolutely no freaking idea. It's a good song, but come on.
 

Gruco

Banned
Missing and Earthquake Weather are the two best by far IMO. E-Pro, Girl and Hell Yes are also great.

I can understand how it's disappointing for some; I don't think there's anything here that rivals the variety he showed between Mutations, Midnight Vultures and Sea Change. But whatever, it still rocks.
 

kablooey

Member
I'm a Beck junkee, and yes, I'm a big fan of this album. I think the people who say it's just an Odelay retread are being unfair...I think this album is considerably darker than Odelay. And it's not as emotionally honest as Sea Change...well duh. I don't think that's really this album's intention anyhow, apart from a handful of revealing (and imo stunning) moments. It's kind of a middle ground between those two albums, which is why a lot of people don't seem to "get" it, imo...

Strangely enough, I think my favorite track is "Broken Drum" now, which I absolutely hated at first. I think it's kind of the centerpiece of the album, emotionally-speaking.

As for the influence of Scientology...I really don't know. I generally try to ignore it.
 
This is one of those albums I won't remember in six months. Wholly insignificant and adds nothing to Beck's career. Shame.

The four-track "Hell Yes" EP is infinitely more interesting and enjoyable.
 
Guero was the first Beck album I bought, with Sea Change being the second. Reason? They were both available as high-resolution surround-sound DVD-Audio. They are both great albums (slick production or not) and probably my two favorite musical purchases of 2005 so far. The 5.1 mix is just awesome, expecially on Guero. If you have a DVD player and like this album you need to get the DVD-Audio version which is currently only available in the Limited Edition version of the album but is suppossed to have a regular release next month. (though it seems to be missing from the release lists at this point)

I have a spare copy if anyone wants it.

beck.jpg
 
I really love it, but it is nowhere near as good as the Game Boy Variations remix EP. Look it up on iTunes. It's only available there and on vinyl. Four songs (E-Pro, Guero, Hell Yes, and Girl) are all remixed and sound like NES music. They are fucking awesome and are hands down my favorite Beck stuff ever.
 

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
-jinx- said:
It's a strange album. It's enjoyable, but fairly uneven and uninspired in certain sections.

The sad part is that "Earthquake Weather" and "Missing" are among his best work. I can only hope that he goes more in that direction the next time around.
I totally agree with this, though I think Girl and broken drum also stand out.

Its a fun album, and there is some stuff in top form and some things that just don't click (not that they are terrible).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom