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ONE love, blood, life
[SIMG]http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/11265IMGP6188table-sml.JPG[/SIMG]
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.10
Here's the 411 on Beck Hansen, King of Wacky Wordplay, these days. His latest release, "The Information," is being hailed as one of his best. It's playful, unsettling, tense, spacey, 15 songs long and has enough beats and wits to match anything on the charts, and then some. (Though, looking at the Billboard charts, a battle of wits wouldn't even be a pinkie wrestle challenge for him.) It even came packaged with stickers for you to make the album cover you want.
Recorded at the same time as 2005's fantastic "Guero," with producer Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame, Beck certainly has something to say with his new titular, informative works. He's back to his stream-of-consciousness ramblings ("Elevator Music") that made "Loser" so irresistible. He's still kooky, still unpredictable, and just so happens to be a grown ass married man of 36 with a two-year-old son.
So what's he trying to tell us with "The Information"? Perhaps we should sample lyrics from the namesake song: "When the information comes/We'll know what we're made from/And the skyline rising/High rise eyes see through you." Sounds a lot like old time chatter of the forthcoming "revolution," no? Beck has always been hard to decipher; always cryptic, always goofy, but then out of nowhere will say something personal, poignant and pointed. 2002's "Sea Change" was truly (and arguably) the most overtly topical in his catalog of genius. Bad break-ups can do that to you; give you no choice but to lay those cards down for the masses and pray you have the winning hand, or at least something to say. "The Information" however, finds Beck at his murkiest. The beats, samples and strange odysseys of couplets are plentiful, but he seems almost lost in the tide. And then there's the exhausting 10-minute album-closing opus "The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton" sounding like Beck's own personal "Battlefield Earth," starring ultimate hipsters director Spike Jonze and author Dave Eggers. True, Beck's a longtime Scientologist but I don't buy that "The Information" is his pulpit.
Baltimore's eccentric, booty-shaking kings Spank Rock opened the show, and quickly had the entire general admission floor on its feet grooving to lyrics such as "all you white girls/shake it ‘til/my d*** turn racist." Despite the dirrrty lyrics, Spank Rock was so impressive with its fusion of underground rap and the genre-hopping mastery of Outkast that you just had to dance.
Anyone who has witnessed a Beck concert knows that he's gonna throwdown. Be it with funky fresh dance moves (dude can do splits!), ace beat boxing, or for mind-blowingly skilled musicianship; you're in for a treat. Imagine, if you will, then, the shock of the opening song on Wednesday night being mega hit "Loser." But it wasn't Beck on stage doing it—it was puppets dressed as Beck and his backing band, providing the backdrop, tone and scenery for the evening. Real-time puppets!
(Image courtesy of JCP for Interference.com)
Surprisingly relying on a hit heavy set, Beck seemed to plow through the first offerings, "Loser," "Black Tambourine" and "The New Pollution" quickly, as if doing a medley to get them out of the way. Taking brief respite for a peppy "We Dance Alone" from "The Information," he dove right back into more favorites with an undeniably entertaining "Que' Onda Guero" off of "Guero," with a bouncy snippet of "Hell Yes."
New melodic jam "Think I'm in Love" followed, feeling so oddly familiar, like a soul cousin of "Girl," which would show up later in the evening. A down tempo but catchy "Elevator Music" came several songs afterward, along with a pretty but middling "Dark Star" featuring Beck on harmonica. "Nausea," also off of "The Information," was fun, but felt too much like a remix or fraternal twin of "Black Tambourine," and a surprisingly deflated but nevertheless entertaining "Where It's At" revved the crowd up with shout-outs to '80s designers Sergio Valente, "Jordache turn it up!" and "Ooh la la Sassoon!"
A gorgeous and mournful "Broken Drum" from "Guero" followed; the one song I longed to hear but doubted he'd pull it out. The plaintive ballad "Lost Cause" would find lighters in the air and male concertgoers closing their eyes to sing along in acknowledgement to the painful break-up anthem.
Just as I was starting to write off the dazzling but oddly fatigued show, Beck called out, "Any requests?" and dove right into a beautiful acoustic rendition of the Flaming Lips tune "Do You Realize?" It was such an ace cover, you'd almost forget all about the pink robot battling Yoshimi. Almost.
Then a dinner table of all things, replete with place settings, wine glasses and bowls, made its way to center stage, giving the backing band with seating and, presumably, a break, as the tuxedo-clad Beck provided dream dinner theater. An acoustic country jam of "You're Running Wild" entertained as the rest of us kept our eyes fixed on that dinner table, wondering what was to come. And at last, with the arrival of show-stopping, extraordinary hoedown jam of "Clap Hands" it was clear—this was no ordinary dinner party. Each item on that dinner table was for musical accompaniment: the bowls, the glasses, the table itself. Everything. Absolute, unrivaled genius. Attention to detail in everything he does is one of a million reasons why I love Beck.
(Image courtesy of JCP for Interference.com)
Now back to those puppets. During the encore break, a brief, rambunctious and hilarious "Puppets Take Manhattan" sketch video provided lots of laughs, leading into a silly "1000 BPM" with bear costumes (frankly, it looked like the annoying "Bear City" bit on "Saturday Night Live") and a hyper show-closing "E-Pro" with arms in the air, and people without a care. Which is just how Beck likes it.
Maybe that's his message—just have fun with his trippy dance, dance revolution. Because in the end, it's not what you say, it's how you say it, preferably with two turntables and a microphone.
For more information on Beck, visit his official website. "The Information" was released October 3 on Interscope Records.
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.10
Here's the 411 on Beck Hansen, King of Wacky Wordplay, these days. His latest release, "The Information," is being hailed as one of his best. It's playful, unsettling, tense, spacey, 15 songs long and has enough beats and wits to match anything on the charts, and then some. (Though, looking at the Billboard charts, a battle of wits wouldn't even be a pinkie wrestle challenge for him.) It even came packaged with stickers for you to make the album cover you want.
Recorded at the same time as 2005's fantastic "Guero," with producer Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame, Beck certainly has something to say with his new titular, informative works. He's back to his stream-of-consciousness ramblings ("Elevator Music") that made "Loser" so irresistible. He's still kooky, still unpredictable, and just so happens to be a grown ass married man of 36 with a two-year-old son.
So what's he trying to tell us with "The Information"? Perhaps we should sample lyrics from the namesake song: "When the information comes/We'll know what we're made from/And the skyline rising/High rise eyes see through you." Sounds a lot like old time chatter of the forthcoming "revolution," no? Beck has always been hard to decipher; always cryptic, always goofy, but then out of nowhere will say something personal, poignant and pointed. 2002's "Sea Change" was truly (and arguably) the most overtly topical in his catalog of genius. Bad break-ups can do that to you; give you no choice but to lay those cards down for the masses and pray you have the winning hand, or at least something to say. "The Information" however, finds Beck at his murkiest. The beats, samples and strange odysseys of couplets are plentiful, but he seems almost lost in the tide. And then there's the exhausting 10-minute album-closing opus "The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton" sounding like Beck's own personal "Battlefield Earth," starring ultimate hipsters director Spike Jonze and author Dave Eggers. True, Beck's a longtime Scientologist but I don't buy that "The Information" is his pulpit.
Baltimore's eccentric, booty-shaking kings Spank Rock opened the show, and quickly had the entire general admission floor on its feet grooving to lyrics such as "all you white girls/shake it ‘til/my d*** turn racist." Despite the dirrrty lyrics, Spank Rock was so impressive with its fusion of underground rap and the genre-hopping mastery of Outkast that you just had to dance.
Anyone who has witnessed a Beck concert knows that he's gonna throwdown. Be it with funky fresh dance moves (dude can do splits!), ace beat boxing, or for mind-blowingly skilled musicianship; you're in for a treat. Imagine, if you will, then, the shock of the opening song on Wednesday night being mega hit "Loser." But it wasn't Beck on stage doing it—it was puppets dressed as Beck and his backing band, providing the backdrop, tone and scenery for the evening. Real-time puppets!
(Image courtesy of JCP for Interference.com)
Surprisingly relying on a hit heavy set, Beck seemed to plow through the first offerings, "Loser," "Black Tambourine" and "The New Pollution" quickly, as if doing a medley to get them out of the way. Taking brief respite for a peppy "We Dance Alone" from "The Information," he dove right back into more favorites with an undeniably entertaining "Que' Onda Guero" off of "Guero," with a bouncy snippet of "Hell Yes."
New melodic jam "Think I'm in Love" followed, feeling so oddly familiar, like a soul cousin of "Girl," which would show up later in the evening. A down tempo but catchy "Elevator Music" came several songs afterward, along with a pretty but middling "Dark Star" featuring Beck on harmonica. "Nausea," also off of "The Information," was fun, but felt too much like a remix or fraternal twin of "Black Tambourine," and a surprisingly deflated but nevertheless entertaining "Where It's At" revved the crowd up with shout-outs to '80s designers Sergio Valente, "Jordache turn it up!" and "Ooh la la Sassoon!"
A gorgeous and mournful "Broken Drum" from "Guero" followed; the one song I longed to hear but doubted he'd pull it out. The plaintive ballad "Lost Cause" would find lighters in the air and male concertgoers closing their eyes to sing along in acknowledgement to the painful break-up anthem.
Just as I was starting to write off the dazzling but oddly fatigued show, Beck called out, "Any requests?" and dove right into a beautiful acoustic rendition of the Flaming Lips tune "Do You Realize?" It was such an ace cover, you'd almost forget all about the pink robot battling Yoshimi. Almost.
Then a dinner table of all things, replete with place settings, wine glasses and bowls, made its way to center stage, giving the backing band with seating and, presumably, a break, as the tuxedo-clad Beck provided dream dinner theater. An acoustic country jam of "You're Running Wild" entertained as the rest of us kept our eyes fixed on that dinner table, wondering what was to come. And at last, with the arrival of show-stopping, extraordinary hoedown jam of "Clap Hands" it was clear—this was no ordinary dinner party. Each item on that dinner table was for musical accompaniment: the bowls, the glasses, the table itself. Everything. Absolute, unrivaled genius. Attention to detail in everything he does is one of a million reasons why I love Beck.
(Image courtesy of JCP for Interference.com)
Now back to those puppets. During the encore break, a brief, rambunctious and hilarious "Puppets Take Manhattan" sketch video provided lots of laughs, leading into a silly "1000 BPM" with bear costumes (frankly, it looked like the annoying "Bear City" bit on "Saturday Night Live") and a hyper show-closing "E-Pro" with arms in the air, and people without a care. Which is just how Beck likes it.
Maybe that's his message—just have fun with his trippy dance, dance revolution. Because in the end, it's not what you say, it's how you say it, preferably with two turntables and a microphone.
For more information on Beck, visit his official website. "The Information" was released October 3 on Interscope Records.
