Beck

American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter

• Born: July 8, 1970
• Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California

Using influences from blues, hip-hop, country, and funk, Beck coupled his music with clever and witty lyrics to create a unique alternative rock sound.

The Life

Beck Hansen was born to David Campbell and Bibbe Hansen, who were living in downtown Los Angeles, where Campbell worked as a bluegrass street musician. His mother, once associated with Andy Warhol’s Factory in New York, worked in an office. The family moved to a declining neighborhood in Hollywood, and thereafter Beck spent his childhood and adolescence staying with different members of his extended family. He spent time with his paternal grandparents in Kansas; he visited his maternal grandfather Al Hansen, an artist who lived in Europe; and, after his parents separated, he lived in a Salvadoran neighborhood in the Los Angeles area.

Beck dropped out of school, which was located in an unsavory area, in ninth grade to work as a busker, playing music for money on the streets. At age eighteen he took a bus trip from Los Angeles to New York, where he participated in the antifolk movement on the Lower East Side. A year later, tired of being cold and having no place to live, he moved back to Los Angeles. There he worked in a video store and played regularly in local punk dives.

Beck also began experimenting with low-fidelity (lo-fi) recording techniques and hip-hop styles. He made a number of contacts in independent record labels and began to release music. In 1994, his song “Loser,” released by Bong Load Custom Records, became an immediate success, making the Top 40 and getting continuous play on MTV. Two years later he experienced even greater success with the album Odelay, earning three Grammy nominations and winning two Grammy Awards. In 2004, he married Marissa Ribisi, and they had a son, Cosimo Henri. They had a daughter, Tuesday, in 2007. He and his wife became members of the Church of Scientology, to which his father had also belonged.

The Music

The places Beck spent his childhood influenced his music: Kansas, where he heard down-home church hymns; Los Angeles, where he experienced the 1980s punk culture; and Germany, where he was exposed to the artistic philosophy of his grandfather, Al Hansen, a member of the avant-garde Fluxus art movement. Often mislabeled as a spokesperson for the so-called slacker generation of the 1990s, Beck claimed he never had time to sit around and complain about being miserable. Instead, he produced music that was positive and life-affirming. Taking to heart the philosophy of his grandfather, who often created art out of disposable objects, Beck transformed musical ideas and styles of the past into something entirely new.

Early Works. At an early age, Beck was impressed by the blues music of Mississippi John Hurt, and Beck taught himself how to play Hurt’s songs on an acoustic guitar he had found. Once he had mastered the music, he improvised lyrics and forced himself to perform on city buses to overcome the shyness he felt playing in public. After returning to Los Angeles from New York, Beck’s talent was noticed by Tom Rothrock of Bong Load Custom Records. Rothrock saw potential in Beck as a recording artist and put him in touch with hip-hop producer Karl Stephenson. In Stephenson’s living room one afternoon, Beck improvised "Loser," with a looped slide-guitar riff over a hip-hop beat and rap lyrics in the style of Public Enemy that made fun of Beck’s poor rapping skills. Bong Load Custom Records released only five hundred copies of "Loser," but soon radio stations everywhere were playing it. Although Beck was unhappy with the way people misinterpreted the song as a "slacker anthem," its success led to major record labels bidding for his services. He chose to work with David Geffen’s DGC label, which gave him an unusual contract that allowed him to produce other records on independent labels. He made Mellow Gold for DGC Records in 1994, shortly followed by One Foot in the Grave and Stereopathetic Soulmanure on independent labels.

Odelay. Beck’s second release for DGC was produced in 1996 by the Dust Brothers. Making the Billboard Top 200, where it peaked at number sixteen, the album went platinum, selling a million units. Videos for its songs "Where It’s At," "Devil’s Haircut," and "The New Pollution" were staples on MTV’s playlist. A fusion of hip-hop, rock, country-western, blues, reggae, punk, funk, and polka, the album had a remarkable continuity despite its many styles. Beck earned two Grammy Awards for this album: Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Male Vocal Performance for "Where It’s At." Rolling Stone named Odelay the 1996 Album of the Year, and Beck was Spin magazine’s Artist of the Year.

Mutations. Beck followed the huge critical and commercial success of Odelay with Mutations in 1998. The album took a different approach in the studio, aiming for a live, organic performance feel compared to the sampling mashups of the previous effort. It notably showed the distinct influence of the tropicalia genre that became popular in Brazil in the 1960s. The album was critically well received and held as proof of Beck's versatility and staying power, though it did not sell as well as its predecessor.

Midnite Vultures. Funk and hip-hop were the key references for 1999's highly anticipated Midnite Vultures, originally intended as a double album poised to capitalize on Beck's growing star status. Though again critically acclaimed and a fairly strong seller, the album's playful nature was seen as a less-than-serious spoof by some listeners and failed to match the success of Odelay. A major world tour accompanied the record and incorporated elaborate sets, showing Beck at his most theatrical.

Sea Change. Released in 2002, Sea Change marked a stylistic shift toward somber, acoustic-based songs inspired by the breakup of Beck's relationship with a longtime girlfriend. More than any of his previous efforts, the album featured live takes and serious, introspective lyrics rather than samples and ironic wit. Critics praised the new direction on tracks like the single "Lost Cause," with some calling it Beck's strongest work to date and exemplary of turn-of-the-millenium alternative rock. Once again, it was a commercial success and eventually a certified gold record.

Guero. Released in March of 2005 by DGC Records and produced by the Dust Brothers, this album incorporates Brazilian pop influences and a healthy dose of the multiple styles featured on Odelay. Beck used new keyboard and percussion instruments that he would add to his regular repertoire. Noteworthy on this album is a forehead-slap solo by actress Christina Ricci on the song "Hell Yes." The album title refers to a Mexican slang term that Beck was called in his childhood, and it means a pale-skinned person, usually a white American. The album track "Qué Onda Guero" translates as "What’s up, blond boy?"

The Information. 2006's The Information was closer to a straight hip-hop record, though it continued to blend the various signature influences from throughout Beck's career. The musician worked closely with producer Nigel Godrich, who also had contributed to Mutations and Sea Change. Promotion and sales of the album incorporated some unique touches: videos were made for every track and made available by digital download, while the packaging included stickers intended to allow the consumer to create customized album art. Critical and commercial reception was largely positive.

Modern Guilt and Other Works. Beck's eighth studio album saw him firmly planted as a major figure in the alternative rock scene. Modern Guilt (2008) received more mixed reviews than most of his output, though in general attitudes were positive and the record earned a Grammy nomination for best alternative music album. Many reviewers noted that it carried strong influences from 1960s rock music while retaining an experimental and genre-crossing edge. The album also finished Beck's contract with Geffen, allowing him to pursue a variety of more independent projects in the ensuing years, including acting as producer for a variety of other acts. In 2009, he began a project known as Beck's Record Club, in which he and an assortment of friends and other musicians gather to record a cover version of an entire album in one day, generally with considerable experimentation and improvisation. The Record Club's first effort was a version of the Velvet Underground's 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico; it was followed by covers of Leonard Cohen's Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), Skip Spence's Oar (1969), INXS's Kick (1987), and Yanni's Yanni Live at the Acropolis (1994). In 2012, Beck released Song Reader, an entire album of new, original songs made available only in sheet music form. The idea was intended to encourage musicians to record their own versions.

Morning Phase. Beck's next solo album, 2014's Morning Phase, was promoted as a follow up and stylistic companion to Sea Change. Indeed, it returned to the down-tempo sound of the earlier record and even featured some of the same session musicians. Highly anticipated as Beck's first major release in several years, the album sold strongly and was almost universally acclaimed, with many critics naming it one of the year's best recordings and among the best in Beck's catalog. It won three Grammy Awards out of five nominations, including album of the year and best rock album.

Colors. Beck released his thirteenth studio album, Colors, in 2017. The album was critically acclaimed and served as Beck's take on late 2010s pop music. Most critics agreed that the album was fun and upbeat, however, some complained that it lacked real emotion. Colors was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning the awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

Hyperspace. Following his divorce from Marissa Rinisi in November 2019, Beck released his fourteenth album in which he collaborated with Pharrell Williams to create the track "Saw Lightning," described as heavenly pop by critics. It was later accompanied by a visual album created using artificial intelligence. Nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2020, Beck won the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Award.

Musical Legacy

Beck’s genius lies in taking traditional music styles and melding them into something fresh. Seeking to perform for the pleasure of his audience rather than for self-glorification, he won the appreciation of lovers of all musical styles. His albums reflected a constant search for new ways to be creative. In 2022, he released a cover of "Old Man" by Neil Young, and in 2023, Beck released "Thinking About You," his first single since 2019. Beck scored a Grammy nomination for his version of "Old Man."

Principal Recordings

ALBUMS: Mellow Gold, 1994; One Foot in the Grave, 1994; Stereopathetic Soulmanure, 1994; Odelay, 1996; Mutations, 1998; Midnite Vultures, 1999; Sea Change, 2002; Guero, 2005; Guerolito, 2005; The Information, 2006; Modern Guilt, 2008; Morning Phase, 2014; Colors, 2017. Hyperspace, 2019

Bibliography

Beck, and Al Hansen. Beck and Al Hansen: Playing with Matches. Smart Art Press, 1998.

Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Beck: Biography." AllMusic, 2024, www.allmusic.com/artist/beck-mn0000124492/biography. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Frere-Jones, Sasha. "A New Voice." The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2014, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/17/new-voice. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Jovanovic, Rob. Beck! On a Backwards River: The Story of Beck. Virgin, 2000.

Kemp, Mark. “Beck.” Rolling Stone, 1997, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beck-the-rolling-stone-interview-90514. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Martell, Nevin. Beck: The Art of Mutation. Pocket Books, 2001.

Palacios, Julian. Beck: Beautiful Monstrosity. Boxtree, 2000.