I met you...at JC POLLney
― calstars, Monday, 20 May 2019 15:06 (four years ago) link
Right now my list would pretty much exclusively be Vultures and earlier
cosign, I will really try to give the later stuff a chance but the 90's material is huge for me
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Monday, 20 May 2019 15:07 (four years ago) link
Good poll for me: approximately 10 songs I love--no more, no less.
― clemenza, Monday, 20 May 2019 15:13 (four years ago) link
This has nothing to do with the poll; but Disney’s Zootopia was on TV this morning, and I’m always intrigued by the scene where a depressed Judy Hops scrolls the radio dial and keeps encountering songs that reflect her state of mind (“Everybody Hurts,” “All by Myself”...). The final song snippet is a generic guy singing, “I’m a looooserrr...”. It seems v clear that they wanted to license the Beck song, but it didn’t work out, so they commissioned a new song with the same lyric (taking care to make it completely different otherwise). Does he not license his stuff?
― get your hand outta my pocket universe (morrisp), Monday, 20 May 2019 15:38 (four years ago) link
Can’t think of any examples but I’m p sure he generally does? Maybe he still has lingering discomfort about not wanting to be The Loser Song Guy
― One Eye Open, Monday, 20 May 2019 15:52 (four years ago) link
You know, I guess it’s also possible that the Beck song was deemed not suitable for a Disney movie, due to the second half of the chorus (even though they wouldn’t have included that part).
― get your hand outta my pocket universe (morrisp), Monday, 20 May 2019 15:52 (four years ago) link
That’s a good theory
― dragged across concrète (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 20 May 2019 19:54 (four years ago) link
There are so many great Beck lines--please don't give in to a dumb pun for the title.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 04:21 (four years ago) link
Not directed at anyone specific, on this or any other poll-thread. It's just something I don't understand. It's a tradition like when they stone the woman at the end of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": it's a tradition because it's a tradition, but if you asked anyone to explain why, I bet no one could.
She Can Talk to Squirrels: The Beck PollThe Drugs Won't Kill Your Day Job: The Beck PollKill the Headlights and Put It in Neutral: The Beck PollWhere the Puzzles and Pagans Lay: The Beck Poll
Something. Anything.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:22 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhmnT4KpXGQ
i always forget how energetic a performer he used to be
― ufo, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:49 (four years ago) link
Whiskey-Stained Buck-Toothed Backwoods Creep: The Beck Poll.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 12:26 (four years ago) link
bad pun derived from artist lyric >>>>> random cool artist lyric. i don't know how this is even an argument. maybe this particular bad pun for Beck could have been improved (I do prefer "JC POLL-ney") but either is way preferable to even the best lyrical snippet.
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 12:57 (four years ago) link
― ufo, Tuesday, May 21, 2019 4:49 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i saw him live a few years ago and: he still is!
― american bradass (BradNelson), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 13:06 (four years ago) link
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Tuesday, May 21, 2019 7:57 AM (thirty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Like a POLLL...that's ripe for the votin'
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 13:29 (four years ago) link
Soy Un POLL-dedor
― flamboyant goon tie included, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 13:53 (four years ago) link
lol
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 13:54 (four years ago) link
Beck's lyrical snippets are almost uniquely suited to make good thread titles, but yeah I'm on team bad pun all the way.
Seeing him in 1998 with the Odelay band was one of the most fun & energetic shows I've ever seen. But then I saw him a couple times when he did the tour with Flaming Lips a few years later and he seemed like he was about to fall asleep onstage both times, just completely checked out. I'm not really interested in the new album but I've heard that the shows have been super fun, which is good to hear.
― One Eye Open, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:06 (four years ago) link
both shows I saw were killers where he just tore it up. Odelay tour in '96 was total insanity with a packed house, first time I heard "Debra" and it stuck in my head for years. then I saw some gig post-Sea Change/Lips tour and it was great again, they opened with "Novacane" and did a buncha Midnite Vultures tunes before he did his sleepy acoustic interlude, then back to more full band action.
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
My ideas have been polly rejected.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:41 (four years ago) link
Everybody's Out to POLL YOU Motherfucker
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:42 (four years ago) link
ILX Makes me wanna smoke crack
― Mark G, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:53 (four years ago) link
I'm a loser babe so why don't you poll me?
― WmC, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 16:41 (four years ago) link
Don't...Let...The Sun...Catch Ya...POLLIN'
― a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 17:01 (four years ago) link
^^ "Deadweight" (where that lyric is from) is a great non-LP single
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 17:02 (four years ago) link
People roll their eyes when aging artists enter their "great American songbook", but Beck is one artist where I would be way into it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcmmw5HNGOY
― One Eye Open, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 17:17 (four years ago) link
Objections stated, but if you've gotta go that way, I like WmC's title.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 18:06 (four years ago) link
So metaLet’s poll a title too
― calstars, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 18:17 (four years ago) link
Clementa, I will take it under consideration but I think you're being outnumbered on this one.
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 21:32 (four years ago) link
Add stupid auto check, I corrected the name three times and it still reverted back
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 21:33 (four years ago) link
I have been listening to just random songs and there does seem to be some gems in his later work. Will see if it is enough to actually make my ballot.
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 21:35 (four years ago) link
Clementa's at peace--carry on.
Hope "Pay No Mind" finishes high. Love the video, love the non sequiturs, and most of all love the harmonica, as plaintive and indelible as Dylan in '64 or Toots Thielemans' Midnight Cowboy theme. (I've often thought that Beck has a Midnight Cowboy undercurrent running through some of his work--"Pay No Mind," the "Devil's Haircut" video [where he makes like Joe Buck walking around New York], the mood of "Jackass," maybe more.) Never tire of it.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 22:19 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d5ZAzrZ94Y
never heard this alt version of Jack-Ass before, really lovely and anticipates the sound of Sea Change except much better than he later did it
― ufo, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 00:27 (four years ago) link
https://foxsports-wordpress-www-prsupports-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/2/2016/12/PHOTO-Buck-HS-727x727-480x480.jpg
― calstars, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 00:30 (four years ago) link
I remember really enjoying him on Reverb around that time (back when that was my main frame of reference for live music).
― geoffreyess, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:04 (four years ago) link
speaking of alternate versions - I have distinct memories of a drastically different version of "Soul Suckin' Jerk" with different music and the verse order reversed. Anyone know what I'm taking about?
― Simon H., Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:08 (four years ago) link
Satan gave you a taco?
― geoffreyess, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:11 (four years ago) link
Upon re-reading the lyrics this joke doesn't make sense. Sorry.
― geoffreyess, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:17 (four years ago) link
a little research has informed me that this is the "Reject" version from the Loser EP. worth a listen.
― Simon H., Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:23 (four years ago) link
I had that Loser EP at the time and it kind of melded with Mellow Gold in my mind, I probably dubbed them onto the same tape. Always preferred that reject version of Soul Suckin Jerk, hard to go back to the album version when you know there's a version that ends with a 2-minute organ and trombone breakdown out there.
― One Eye Open, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 12:23 (four years ago) link
similarly, "Got No Mind" >>> "Pay No Mind"
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Wednesday, 22 May 2019 13:47 (four years ago) link
i decided to grab a CD on my commute to work today, so i pick Mutations. i had totally forgot about the bonus track and it's actually pretty good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=HeohGiH6v9g
― Bee OK, Thursday, 23 May 2019 00:16 (four years ago) link
oh, it's called "Diamond Bollocks"
― Bee OK, Thursday, 23 May 2019 00:17 (four years ago) link
yeah it was on a bonus 7" that came with early vinyl pressings, along with the B-side "Runners Dial Zero"
I was totally obsessed with Beck B-sides and ephemera all the way up to Sea Change, AMA
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Thursday, 23 May 2019 00:56 (four years ago) link
Runners Dial Zero” will definitely be on my ballot, possibly fairly high. An incredible song, performance, and recording imo. There’s such a wealth of amazing outtakes and bsides from that pre Sea Change period.
― One Eye Open, Thursday, 23 May 2019 01:08 (four years ago) link
"Diamond Bollocks" might be my favorite Beck song tbh
― Simon H., Thursday, 23 May 2019 01:15 (four years ago) link
B-side etc. "Search" recommendations:
ClocksCorvette BummerMexicoGot No MindHalo Of GoldDevil Got My WomanDirty, DirtyMidnite VulturesSalt In The WoundDiamond Bollocks/Runners Dial Zero.000.000the amazing Cornelius remix of "Mixed Bizness"
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Thursday, 23 May 2019 01:19 (four years ago) link
I sleep in slime iirc
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 May 2019 01:21 (four years ago) link
What about Arabian Nights? B at his best lyrically and the beat is aight too.
https://youtu.be/K5irVZljrFY
Bazookas and fisticuffs medicating in Porches98-karat stick shift, Chinatown late-night mealsAlfonso giving me a backrub, 2 pm laser vizzaginal rejuvenationTriple album project, detonatin' tracks like theseMagnums and barrettes, part-time hostages in pottery classesBlind date at the wax museumNorwegian hockey players passed out in government limosPrime ministers with cryogenic facesLouis Vuitton suitcasesAutographs and paid vacationsDivorce papers and synthetic lubricationsPlayin' you like top-40 stations, ah you know the deal
Arabian nightsWhite satellitesVoodoo is tightLike a sleek diamond ice
Airbrushed memories strewn like pamphlets into fifth MississippisTime-lapse footage of duct-taped liesAnimal frequencies pinching deodorized nervesCosmetic procedures on the cartilage of apocalypseMannequin tycoons with airport piano bar mystiquesRemodeling conjugal amaracus, flexing like suburban SpartacusGetting smacked up by unemployed hand modelsRunning out into the middle of traffic with Beaujolais bottles
― calstars, Thursday, 23 May 2019 01:49 (four years ago) link
Shout Out to "Fume"!
― a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 23 May 2019 03:42 (four years ago) link
xp Diamond Bollocks is one of the GOAT
― billstevejim, Thursday, 23 May 2019 06:01 (four years ago) link
From description and production aesthetic, 'Mutations' seems like it'd be an album I'd love. But at the time it came out, it left me really flat; and maybe even moreso now, it just does nothing for me. Even 'Guerro' and 'The Information,' which I never heard at the time, do more for me on listening for the purposes of this poll.
The fact it seems so beloved here makes me feel like I need to give it more chances...
― Soundslike, Saturday, 1 June 2019 01:10 (four years ago) link
The thing that pulled me back into Beck and made me realize he's actually still as brilliant as ever but mostly just not via albums was his full-album cover of 'Oar'. James Gadson's drumming throughout is just so great. That he could put together intepretations and production so fully-formed in just a day was/is mind-boggling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJonU9233Do
― Soundslike, Saturday, 1 June 2019 01:13 (four years ago) link
xp nah I was unmoved on re-listening, which I had to do on Spotify cuz it turns out I didn't even bother to keep a digital rip of a record I used to own on both (now very rare) vinyl and (now dirt cheap) CD.
― Ambient Police (sleeve), Saturday, 1 June 2019 01:50 (four years ago) link
The title track of IRM is dope as hell!
― brimstead, Saturday, 1 June 2019 02:08 (four years ago) link
some of Mutations is really great and i like the eclecticism of it as a whole - i wish more of his albums were like that rather than focusing so strongly on a single sound - but it's pretty inconsistent and there's a lot of tracks i don't care about at all on it
― ufo, Saturday, 1 June 2019 02:08 (four years ago) link
I submitted a weirdo ballot for this. I really wanted to vote for one of the live videos of Clap Hands with the band playing on a dinner table, but I found there wasn't a definitive version, so I just kinda gave up. Don't forget: I) the U.N.K.L.E. remix of Where It's At, which took up a whole side of the UK 12" single at 12 minutes; II) Diskobox, the excellent Jon Spencer produced Odelay bonus track; III) Ship In the Bottle, the surprisingly good Japanese bonus track from Sea Change.
Also I voted for Dead Wild Cat extremely high in my ballot because it was a pivotal track in my youth.
― Tom Violence (Extended Club Mix) (Tom Violence), Saturday, 1 June 2019 02:44 (four years ago) link
Diskobox is a great track, another one that just Barry missed my ballot- supposedly him & spencer recorded an album’s worth of tracks together... another entry in the apparently massive list of unreleased albums sitting in his vault
― One Eye Open, Saturday, 1 June 2019 03:44 (four years ago) link
*barely missed my ballot that is
i def get how mutations is divisive but the way it grew on me just in the past week was amazing, songs i thought were nonentities suddenly became the center of attention
― american bradass (BradNelson), Saturday, 1 June 2019 05:14 (four years ago) link
mutations haters should buy some fuckin ears imho
― Simon H., Saturday, 1 June 2019 06:03 (four years ago) link
oh it SOUNDS great, there's just not a whole lot there once you listen past the (admirable) production
― Ambient Police (sleeve), Saturday, 1 June 2019 06:55 (four years ago) link
finally got my ballot in
― ufo, Saturday, 1 June 2019 10:14 (four years ago) link
Voted. Enjoyed listening to Beck again :)
― geoffreyess, Saturday, 1 June 2019 18:29 (four years ago) link
I'll be getting one in later, before midnight EST!
― imago, Saturday, 1 June 2019 18:39 (four years ago) link
Midnite Gold > Mellow VulturesThat’s my philosophy, Marty
― calstars, Saturday, 1 June 2019 20:13 (four years ago) link
imago and all other last minute people, the deadline will be extended overnight but i will close this poll when i wake up tomorrow.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 1 June 2019 22:02 (four years ago) link
it SOUNDS great, there's just not a whole lot there once you listen past the (admirable) production
― Simon H., Saturday, 1 June 2019 22:47 (four years ago) link
Ballot sent! (Unranked, but I never would have gotten it submitted otherwise.)
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 2 June 2019 03:53 (four years ago) link
OK now I'm mad I didn't submit an all-Mutations ballot― Simon H., Saturday, June 1, 2019 3:47 PM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
same y’all sleepin
“bottle of blues” ffs
― american bradass (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 June 2019 04:05 (four years ago) link
"Tropicalia"!! "Sing it Again"!!! gah
― Simon H., Sunday, 2 June 2019 04:14 (four years ago) link
Sent!
― a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 2 June 2019 05:25 (four years ago) link
I keep trying with 'Mutations'. It's not hate at all--it's just. . . nothing? I listened to the album yesterday and the day before in full, along with tons of other Beck, and I literally can't remember anything besides "Nobody's Fault," which I like fine but it seems like a lesser version of the "Blackhole" or "Ramshackle" mode. I'll keep trying. . . but no tracks made my ballot.
― Soundslike, Sunday, 2 June 2019 13:00 (four years ago) link
"cold brains" is one of his very best, at least
― ufo, Sunday, 2 June 2019 13:04 (four years ago) link
I guess what's sort of striking me is it's the one album where his homage to various styles just makes me want to listen to the originals? Like, what is he really adding? "Sing It Again" just makes me want to listen to Willie. "Tropicalia" makes me want to listen to Brazilian musics. "Bottle of Blues" makes me want to listen to Skip Spence or Syd Barrett. "We Live Again" and "Dead Melodies" makes me want to listen to Arthur. "O Maria" makes me want to listen to early Tom Waits or Harry Nillson. "Canceled Check" makes me want to listen to "Rowboat," "Nobody's Fault" makes me want to listen to "Blackhole" or "Ramshackle".
I wish when I was 19 when it came out, it had been a gateway album to more of its source music, which other albums of his had been, but it just didn't click enough to get me searching.
None of it is bad at all, it's all perfectly lovely (though "Static" is a bit of a snoozer to end with--the hidden track is the best thing on the album). The album just seems to lack the energy and unique perspective of most other Beck (including the low-key 'One Foot in the Grave'). Like, "Paper Tigers" is pure homage, obviously, and yet it's so perfectly executed and has tons of verve and swagger and so doesn't make me just want to run to Gainsbourg/Vannier.
Not trying to tussle, just working through thoughts here : )
― Soundslike, Sunday, 2 June 2019 13:12 (four years ago) link
all confirmations emails have been sent.
― Bee OK, Sunday, 2 June 2019 22:15 (four years ago) link
btw, rollout is now going to start on Tuesday.
― Bee OK, Sunday, 2 June 2019 22:16 (four years ago) link
Roll Out ... Safely to the shore...
― Mark G, Monday, 3 June 2019 13:14 (four years ago) link
I met you...at JC POLLney - ILM Artist Poll #97 - BECK - the Results Thread
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 4 June 2019 16:52 (four years ago) link