Beck

[Semjaza]

I love Beck. I don't know about anyone else. The more I listen to his work, the higher he gets on my list of best musicians. He's probably forced him way into the top five at this point, which is quite an accomplishment.

I remember in the 90s he had a slew of successful radio singles. I don't know exactly how that translated into record sales, but it seems like a lot of people I know personally know [i]of[/i] him and can name a few songs... but no one really seems to have any albums or be is into him as I am. The internet is the only place I ever seem to find other Beck fans lol.

Anyway, his new album, Guero is set to be released very soon (the retail version has already leaked onto the internet). What I've played of it is really great. I feel it's even better than his last album, Sea Change, which is quite an accomplishment. Sea Change was incredibly depressing and melancholy... Guero still has some melancholy qualities, but it's far more upbeat overall. I just think it's far easier to listen to.

I was sending that Hell Yes EP around to people in hopes of getting them interested in his upcoming album. I know at least several people have heard it by this point and some of those people have sent it to even more people. Hell Yes isn't totally indicative of Guero's sound since they're all remixes... but the Nintendo sound effects do appear on the main album as well.

Anyway, hopefully people will want to pick that up or have something else to say in here.

[I, Colossus]

My Brother got me into Beck when Odelay came out, so right around the peak of his comercial sucess. But, yeah I got pretty into the CD and my Brother just gave it to me when he enlisted. Also, I late bought Midnite Vultures, I still haven't got around to buying his other stuff though.

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it, though I've only heard E-Pro (the video rocks). I don't know if I'll be able to buy it right away though, there are going to be a billion albums coming out from now till May. We'll see.

EDIT: Midnite not Midnight. Bleh.

[Manic Webb]

To me, Beck is that guy who releases a few songs I like every couple of years, but I never get around to buying his album, and I don't know anyone who listens to him. So typically, I just forget about him. I do enjoy his style of... um...

You know, he really is his own genre of music. From the songs I've heard, there's no way I can begin to categorize this guy.

If he has a new album coming out, I guess I should sample it. If I like it, I might (for once) buy one of his CDs.

[satan665]

Beck always seems to be a low priority for me, and thus I fall into the category of having heard all of the singles but never own an album. Beck always seemed a little too goofy to get into, but that might be a bad impression of his sound (I don't know).

I probably should look into Beck some more, I might just like it. Whats a good album to use as a starting point?

[Skye]

[size=1][color=slategray]This is gonna sound funny... I only ever heard of Beck from every time we would re-install MediaPlayer on my computer and his was a sample track thing. -.- Yeah, I'm wierd. I never bothered to listen to it, but I guess I will if everyone says he's good. >.>[/size][/color]

[Semjaza]

Hmm. A starting point. I kind of wish that greatest hits promo was actually releasing to stores, because then I'd recommend that. But since it isn't...

Odelay is generally considered his best work and probably the best thing to grab as of right now. I'd honestly say a good starting point would also be Guero, once it comes out. I've listened to the entire thing and it's really good stuff. Sea Change is also excellent, but it's better for when you're in a more sad/down state of mind.

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]I enjoy Beck, although I cannot say that he cracks my top five at the moment,

I have been looking forward to Guero for a little while now. Most of the reviews I have read are favorable though I don?t ever recall reading an unfavorable review of Beck?s work. From what I understand the album is supposed to be a bit more upbeat than Sea Change, which is pretty cool. Sea Change was a great album but I think Beck is at his best when he is a bit more funky.

Anyway, I?ll have to pull out Mutations and give it a listen or two just to get into a Beck frame of mind before the album is released.[/color]

Edit: Mutations is a much better album than Odelay...well, at least in my opinion it is, but hey, what is my opinion worth ($6.50, it was a rhetorical question).

[Semjaza]

[quote name='Heaven's Cloud][color=indigo']I From what I understand the album is supposed to be a bit more upbeat than Sea Change, which is pretty cool. /color][/quote]

Yes, as I said in my post, it is :animestun

It's maybe not a complete return to older Beck themes, but it seems to be a nice mix of what he accomplished on Sea Change and his older albums. There's still some qualities to Guero that I expect will turn off a good portion of people.

[Shinmaru]

Beck is awesome. His sound is pretty different from what I usually listen to, but it's different in a really great way. Though I've heard a slew of his songs, I only have [i]Odelay[/i] and [i]Midnite Vultures[/i]. I've been meaning to buy his other albums for a while now, but lack of money is always an issue. Being cheap (most of the time) really sucks.

I have the Hell Yes EP (courtesy of El Generico), and it's extremely fun to listen to. If [i]Guero[/i] ends up being better than that, then it'll be a damn good album. Here's hoping I actually have money when it's released! :p

[Genkai]

His new album is rinkdonkulously hot.

[i]Midnight Vultures[/i] makes it.

[Semjaza]

Genkai is still alive???

[quote name='Shinmaru] Though I've heard a slew of his songs, I only have [i]Odelay[/i] and [i]Midnite Vultures[/i']. I've been meaning to buy his other albums for a while now, but lack of money is always an issue. Being cheap (most of the time) really sucks.[/quote]

At least get Mellow Gold. I like Midnite Vultures quite a bit, but it's not as good as his other last few releases.