Information AboutBeck |
In several albums beginning in the late 1990s, Beck developed a slower, more melancholy sound, merging his trademark style with in the USA and by NME Magazine and Mojo Magazine in the UK. It was also nominated for the award of Best Album at the Grammys . BACKGROUND Beck's mother also has Norwegian and Swedish ancestry. When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by that city's diverse musical offerings—everything from Hip Hop to Latin Music and his mother's art scene—all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work. After dropping out of high school in the mid- 1980s , Beck traveled and educated himself. During this period, he developed his musical talent through the art of Busking . In Germany , he spent time with his grandfather Al Hansen . The late 1980s found him in New York City , involved in the Punk -influenced Anti-folk music movement. RECORDING CAREER (1988–1993) Independent releases Beck returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade. To support himself, he took a variety of low-paying, dead-end jobs, and even lived in a shed, all the while continuing to develop his music. During this time, Beck sought out (or sneaked onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops and busking on the streets. This is also when he met Chris Ballew (founder of The Presidents Of The United States Of America ). They even performed on the streets as a duo for a while. Some of his earliest recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios , a part of WIN Records . The founders of Bong Load Custom Records , Tom Rothrock , Rob Schnapf and Bradshaw Lambert discovered Beck, signing him to their fledgling label. "Loser," a collaboration between hip hop nuance producer Carl Stephenson and Beck, created a sensation when radio host Chris Douridas played the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic, the flagship music program from Santa Monica College radio station KCRW. That exposure and a subsequent live performance on the show July 23, 1993 led to a bidding war among labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records , who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract. Of all the record labels to offer Beck a contract, Geffen offered him the least amount of money, but the greatest amount of creative freedom. (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. At the same time, he released '' Stereopathetic Soulmanure '' on Flipside Records and '' One Foot In The Grave '' on independent K Records . Beck took his act on the road in 1994 with a worldwide tour, followed by a spot on the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. Still, some critics panned him as a One-hit Wonder . Audiences' (especially at Lollapalooza) familiarity with "Loser," and their general disinterest in his other work only reinforced his image as such. When the time came to record his follow-up to ''Mellow Gold'', he enlisted Rothrock and Schnapf as producers and began recording an album of moody, low-key acoustic numbers to showcase his songwriting. The songs were melancholy due to several close deaths in Beck's life, including one of his greatest inspirations, his grandfather. Eventually, Beck shelved the album and pursued a more upbeat approach. Beck was introduced to the Dust Brothers , producers of the Beastie Boys' album '' Paul's Boutique ,'' whose cut-and-paste, Sample -heavy production suited Beck's vision of a more fun, accessible album. What resulted, 1996 's '' Odelay ,'' would finally put the one-hit wonder label to rest. The lead single, " Where It's At ," received heavy airplay, and its video was in constant rotation on MTV. Within the year, ''Odelay'' had received good reviews in '' Rolling Stone '' and '' Spin '' magazines, having been listed on countless "Best of" lists (it topped the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 'Album of the Year'), receiving Double-platinum Status and earning a number of industry awards, including two Grammys . Also, beginning in 1993, "Loser" co-writer and ''Mellow Gold'' co-producer Carl Stephenson embarked on a experimental trip hop project which eventually resulted in Forest For The Trees , releasing a self-titled album in 1997, followed by an EP in 1999. Beck contributed to both records, providing spoken word, harmonica, and assorted instruments. (1998–2000) ''Mutations'' and ''Midnite Vultures'' ''Odelay'' was followed in 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 fourteen 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''. During 1998, Beck's art collaborations with his grandfather Al Hansen were featured in an exhibition entitled 'Beck & Al Hansen: Playing With Matches'] and showcased solo and collaborative to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg , Canada . A catalogue of the show was published by Plug In Editions/Smart Art Press. In 1999 , Geffen released the much-anticipated '' Midnite Vultures '', an orgy of sexual and culinary innuendo supported by a world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song " Debra " and the touring band was supplemented by a brass section. ''Midnite Vultures'' was nominated for Best Album at the Grammys. Beck has a number of B-side s and soundtrack-only songs as well, including "Midnite Vultures" (curiously, not on the album of the same name), a cover of The Korgis ' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" which appeared in the 2004 movie '' Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind '' and David Bowie 's "Diamond Dogs" from '' Moulin Rouge! ''. He is also credited on the French band Air ’s 2001 album '' 10 000 Hz Legend '' for vocals on the songs "Don't Be Light" and "The Vagabond" (as well as harmonica on the latter). (2001–2003) ''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 reminiscent 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.http://www.jimdero.com/News2005/BeckReviewSept23.htm A song Beck co-wrote with ''. (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". On February 1 , 2005 , Beck released an EP featuring four remixes of songs from ''Guero'' by independent artists who use sounds from various video game devices like the Nintendo Game Boy . The EP, titled ''GameBoy Variations'', featured "Ghettochip Malfunction" Yes and "GameBoy/Homeboy" Onda Guero , both remixed by the band 8-Bit, and also had "Bad Cartridge" and "Bit Rate Variation in B-Flat" [Girl , the last two being remixed by Paza {The X-Dump}. The EP cover art shows a long-haired person Headbanging to his Game Boy, which is plugged into an Amplifier like an electric guitar. This EP was featured in an issue of Nintendo Power . Also, a music video for "Gameboy/Homeboy" was also produced by Wyld File . Beck performed at the music and arts festival Bonnaroo in Manchester , Tennessee on June 17 , 2006 . He performed many songs from his album ''Guero''. In addition to his band, Beck was accompanied onstage by a group of puppets, dressed as him and members of his band. Live video feed of the puppets' performance was broadcast on video screens to the audience. The puppets were part of his 2006 world tour. Beck's 7th major label studio album, '', 2006. In the UK, the first single was "Cellphone's Dead".4 ''The Information'' in its entirety was leaked onto the Internet in late September. On September 27 , 2006, Beck released a Yahoo! Music Unlimited exclusive track before the album was released, titled "Think I'm In Love". Customers who purchased at Best Buy were treated to an exclusive download of an outtake track titled "This Girl That I Know", whereas Target shoppers received "Inside Out", both of which were on European versions of the disc. Some US stores also included a bonus disc, featuring the track "O Menina", which was also included in the Japanese release, along with the other two bonus tracks. Some copies of the album include a bonus DVD of "homemade" (by Beck and Godrich) music videos for each song.5 Because of its inclusion of free stickers, ''The Information'' was disqualified by the Official Chart Company from entering the UK Albums Chart , but in the US the album gave Beck his third straight Top 10 studio album peak on the ''Billboard'' 200 , reaching #7. His latest single, "Timebomb", was released on '' ITunes '' on August 21, 2007. 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. Ribisi gave birth to another child in 2007 . {Link without Title} Beck has been involved in Scientology for most of his life. His name appears in Scientology literature in 2003, showing that he is a member and a donor. His wife, Marissa, is also a second-generation Scientologist. Beck publicly acknowledged his affiliation with the Church Of Scientology for the first time in an interview published in the '' New York Times Magazine '' on March 6 , 2005 . Further confirmation came in an interview with the Irish '' Sunday Tribune '' newspaper's ''i Magazine'' on June 11, 2005, where he was quoted as saying, "Yeah, I'm a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it." When questioned by the interviewer about Scientology's core beliefs, he replied, "What it actually is is just sort of, uh, you know, I think it's about philosophy and sort of, uh, all these kinds of, you know, ideals that are common to a lot of religions."6 DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Beck discography The following are Beck's studio albums. |
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