Prior to his breakthrough commercial single “Loser” in 1994, Beck began his music career as part of the anti-folk scene in New York. Relocating there in the late 80s, Beck drew on folk, delta blues and country influences. Hip hop would find its way into the songs, but not at first. A lot of the lyrics were surreal, eccentric and anti-mainstream. Throughout this time Beck became involved in the anti-folk scene in the East Village. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1991, but continued performing and making music. During this time he would often record demo tapes on a 4-track combining his folk/anti-folk style with sound collages and surreal lyrical elements. When talking of his lyrical style, Beck stated in an interview in Entertainment Weekly in 1997 "I'd be banging away on a Son House tune and the whole audience would be talking. So maybe out of desperation or boredom, or the audience's boredom, I'd make up these ridiculous songs just to see if people were listening." The song “Loser” was written and recorded while visiting Carl Stephenson’s home in 1992. Stephenson was a record producer for Rap-A-Lot Records. With a growing interest in hip hop, Beck mixed his folk style music with a hip hop drumbeat. Samples were added by Stephenson and Beck, including a line from the movie Kill The Moonlight. This was movie made by Steve Hanft in 1991, but not seen by many until 1994. Although seen by Beck as just a throwaway track initially, the song identified with people, especially during this early 90s time period. Beck gave some insight to the lyrics (as found on whiskeyclone.net) as: "feeling displaced in the '80s, a time of materialism when everybody was cashing in and making money. If you went to school and were wearing the same shoes you had a year ago, and you'd grown out of them, and your toe was coming through a hole, you were not accepted."
Released through Bong Load Records in 1993 as a single, “Loser” received radio airplay on a college radio station KXLU, followed by airplay on KROQ FM. Airplay in New York followed. It became a highly requested song and KROQ began playing it on an almost hourly basis. The initial 500 copies that were pressed had run out at this time. Since there was no streaming back then, the radio was the only place you could hear it. Soon Beck signed with DGC records and the single was reissued in January 1994 along with heavy promotion from Geffen Records. “Loser” quickly topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts at #10 and made the Modern Rock Tracks charts. It was quickly certified a gold record selling 600,000 copies. During this time Beck was still recording music. In 1993, he released his debut album Golden Feelings, which showed his early lo-fi anti-folk sound. Beck has since gone on to become a musical chameleon of sorts. Still maintaining what made him so unique in the 90s with other styles. His 1996 album Odelay mixed his love of country, rock, folk and hip hop and he continues to make different types of music. In 1994, Beck released a lot of material including singles, an EP and three albums. For approximately the last month on Revolution Rock, we have been focusing on selections from these releases. Something we have been calling the Summer of Beck. The episode on August 13th will also feature two sets of Beck songs.
A Western Field By Moonlight (January 1994 – Fingerpaint Records)
This release has ten songs, but is technically an EP due to its overall length. Although repressed three times, this release has not been available digitally. Like a lot of early Beck recordings, some of them have been reworked/rerecorded on later releases. This one starts off with “Totally Confused.” Found on a few different Beck releases (including 1993’s Golden Feelings and the Beercan single in 1994), this track is drum and bass heavy, as acoustic guitar is heard throughout in a lazy fashion. The lyrics add a bit of abstract thought with the theme of well, being confused. A standout on this release the violin on this track is played by Petra Haden and also features vocals throughout provided by Anna Waronker. “Mayonnaise Salad” is short noise and feedback heavy instrumental, while “Gettin’ Home” is a short, slower Delta blues inspired song that is also found on several different releases, “Black Fire Choked Our Death” is spoken word track telling a dark tale of doom and the apocalypse. This is similar to spoken word tracks found on the album Stereopathetic Soul Manure that is apparently just Beck’s voice adjusted with a higher vocal pitch. Three tracks on this release are short tracks “Feel Like A Piece of Shit (Mind Control),” Feel Like A Piece of Shit (Crossover Potential),” and “Feel Like A Piece of Shit (Cheetos Time)" are all variations of short sound experiments involving muffled vocals and synthesizers. “Lampshade” is another highlight found here. With a haunting harmonica and Delta blues/folk influence, many feel this is one of Beck’s finest songs. It’s hard to argue with lyrics such as “Someone's talking backwards, looking for a fight/Puttin' on a lampshade cause you're shining way too bright/I don't want no crying/I don't want no pain/I don't want no lonesome life on a broken train” that evoke a reflection on previous night that stays with you. When A Western Field By Moonlight was released (and reissued on vinyl) the last track of this release “Styrofoam Chicken (Quality Time)” was purposely made to skip on the record and repeat itself. In order for it to stop you would have to get up and take the needle off the record.
Stereopathetic Soul Manure (Flipside – February 1994)
Stereopathetic Soul Manure followed A Western Field By Moonlight. This 26 track release was considerably longer clocking in at about 48 minutes. This album was a collection of home recordings, studio recordings, live performances, field recordings, sound collages, experimental tracks and in general lo-fi folk songs. Apparently culled from the large collection of demos he made dating as far back as 1988, this album has many great tracks that reveal themselves. “Pink Noise (Rock Me Amadeus)” starts off the release with noise rock experimentation and plenty of distorted vocals and fuzziness. “Rowboat” is a mid-tempo country song. A love gone wrong tale with lyrics such as “Rowboat, row me to the shore/She don't want to be my friend no more/She dug a hole in the bottom of my soul/She don't want to be my friend no more,” this song has a certain depth to it and was apparently written quickly before it was due to be recorded. It was put together quickly so that Beck could have a song featuring Leo LeBlanc on pedal steel guitar. His playing on this track is truly stunning. This track was later recorded by Johnny Cash with Rick Rubin for his The Man In Black album.
“Thunder Peel” is a noisy alternative rock influenced track that would be revisited on 1996’s Odelay. Country twang returns with “The Spirit Moves Me,” “Crystal Clear (Beer)” is a rustic sounding bluesy folk song, while “Puttin’ It Down” is an acoustic track that is catchy while drawing on anti-folk themes. “Satan Gave Me A Taco” is another highlight found on this release. A cult favourite from his catalog, this track was written as a tongue-in-cheek track written in the Greenwich Village/story song tradition. Throughout the song Beck tells the tale of eating a rancid taco that he got from Satan and then after getting sick has a surreal experience in court, becomes a famous rock star and then opens his own taco stand. It turns out his life is just one big music video. The heavy “Tasergun” is one of the last tracks found on this release detailing a neighbour with a Taser gun following someone being noisy in his apartment building. This is followed by “Modesto.” Another country folk song, “Modesto” is often not talked about as much perhaps because it is one of the last tracks on the album. Once again featuring stunning pedal steel guitar work from Leo LeBlanc, this woeful song is ripe with lyrical images such as “This town is filled with thousand-dollar bills/Laminated songs/Contaminated lawns,” “Unglued, depressed, the meatloaf in my chest/Personality test/I'd failed with the best,” that all add to this song’s make up. Throughout this release there are song snippets, sound collages and other things of experimental fashion. Many of the spoken word sound collages such as “8.6.92,” “11.6.45,” “8.4.42” and “Dead Wild Cat” are at moments absurd, humorous and disturbing. Stereopathetic Soul Manure has been described as moving backwards and forwards. It showed shades of Beck’s early musical past and steps in directions he would take musically in the future. It is another often not as focused on release from his 1994/early period showing great depth in his musical abilities.
Mellow Gold (DCG Records – March 1994)
Beck’s third studio album was Mellow Gold. The album combined elements of folk, country, blues, rock, psychedelia and hip hop. Despite the huge commercial success that it found, the lyrics and themes found on it are considerably anti-commercial. The album featured his breakthrough single “Loser,” a song people labeled as a slacker anthem at the time, which isn’t really an accurate description. “Pay No Mind (Snoozer)” is a song that dates back to Beck’s early days, but is combined here with a full band. Lyrically, the song takes on a Bob Dylan-like approach that explores his attitude towards the music industry. “Fucking with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)” delivers blues, soul, psychedelia and hip hop with abstract lyrics, “Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997” is a slow blues and folk song. This song with lyrics such as “I was born in this hotel/Washing dishes in the sink/Magazines and free soda/Trying hard not to think” addresses the mundaneness of life working menial jobs, but was also apparently based on a real experience Beck had.
“Soul Sucking Jerk” blends fuzzy bass with hip hop and a bit of soul on this collaborative track with Stephenson. The song like a few on this album revolve around working 9-5 jobs that are quite dull. It tells the tale of someone working at a mini-mall who quits his job. “Beercan” is a song about a party, although there’s a bit more to it than that. It reached #27 on the US Modern Rock Tracks and combines funky rhythms with hip hop and a bit of blues and rock. It also features a sample of a Melvins song and from a Care Bears album. Beck raps over top with a song that is about a little bit more than a party, the character in the song starts to have real worries and concerns as he gets further into the party. “Nitemare Hippy Girl” is a song seemingly about someone with a self-obsession about themselves. Produced by Carl Stephenson, Tom Rothrock, Rib Schnapf and Beck, Mellow Gold really shows off Beck’s skills as a songwriter and his ability to combine different musical genres seamlessly.
One Foot In The Grave (K Records – June 1994)
One Foot In The Grave was recorded before Mellow Gold, but not released until after Mellow Gold came out and was met with commercial and critical success. It was produced and recorded by Calvin Johnson (of Beat Happening) in his Dub Narcotic basement studio. In addition to this Johnson wrote with Beck on this album and provides vocals on some tracks. As opposed to his other albums, this album has a cleaner production sound and emanates with a strong lo-fi, folk, blues and country influences. “He’s A Mighty Good Leader” is a traditional song by Delta blues musician Skip James that was rearranged by Beck. Dipping into Americana, this song starts off One Foot In The Grave and sets the tone for it, a collection of ramshackle folk, blues and country follow. “Sleeping Bag” is a lackadaisical blues song, while “I Get Lonesome” is an off kilter folk song features mostly bass drum, single note acoustic guitar and dual vocals from Beck and Calvin Johnson. “Burnt Orange Peel” is a fuzzy, noisy punk track, switching up the pace of the album, “Ziplock Bag” is another noisier track, “Cyanide Breath Mint” is a rustic, yet witty folk song, while “Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods” wades back into Delta blues territory.
The self deprecating “Asshole” is a folk song with maracas that was later covered Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “I’ve Seen the Land Beyond” is another song in the same wheelhouse as “Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods” and “He’s A Mighty Good Leader.” “Outcome” is a full band song with driving bass, laidback drums, slide guitar and surreal lyrics that is described as being a duet with Calvin Johnson, but it sounds like it could be another musician on duet vocals. The backing band on this album featured members of Built To Spill, Sam Jayne of Love As Laughter and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. “Painted Eyelids” with lyrics such as “I wake up and look upon your painted eyelids/The world is your oyster/And the trash bags are your kids/The ceiling is invisible/There's a bird sinking through the sky,” this song seems to be about the declining surroundings in the “ugly” part of town and a hopefulness that runs throughout it. Musically, the song in debited to folk and country with an almost shuffle drumbeat. Another standout on this album. “Atmospheric Conditions” with its rotating drumbeat, jangly lo-fi guitar and slide guitar is a collaboration between Beck and Calvin Johnson that ends the album on a ramshackle note. When originally released on K Records in 1994, the album was not a commercial success. One Foot In The Grave did not chart. It would however go onto critical acclaim. It was later given a new look when it was reissued in 2009. It came with 16 bonus tracks from the sessions and outtakes. One Foot In The Grave shows that Beck was never one thing. He was subversive with his rustic folk songs, but he didn’t conform to the idea of a particular song or sound. One Foot In The Grave is a hidden gem in Beck’s discography.
Show 946 (Originally Aired On August 6th, 2022)(Nick Lowe, Patsy Cline, Beck - A Western Field By Moonlight):
1. Nick Lowe - Don't Be Nice To Me
2. Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets - When I Write The Book (Live)
3. Los Straitjackets - Heart of the City
4. The Garrys - Come On
5. Martin Schiller - Houdini Mushrooms Pt.1
6. The Burning Hell - Dirty Microphones
7. Patsy Cline - Strange
8. Patsy Cline - Heartaches
9. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - He's Got You
10. Mark Lanegan - Lonely Street
11. Alvvays - Pharmacists
12. Tallies - Hearts Underground
13. Ok Vancouver Ok - Any Combination
14. Ghost Woman - Dead And Gone
15. Century Egg - Mirror
16. Beck - Totally Confused
17. Beck - Mayonnaise Salad
18. Beck - Feel Like Shit (Mind Control)
19. Beck - Getting Home
20. By Divine Right - The Weeping Man
21. Shotgun Jimmie - Suzy
22. Eddie & The Subtitles - Zombie Drug Killers
23. Podium - Una Coraza
24. Wine Lips - Get Your Money
25. Pilod - The Future Looks Bright
26. Trophy Knife - Under Warm Light
27. Tough Age - Guess Not
28. Susans - (It's Okay) To Be Weird
29. The Cure - From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
30. Dry Cleaning - Anna Calls From The Arctic
31. Dry Cleaning - Magic of Meghan
To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the August 6 file to download/stream the episode.
Show 945 (Originally Aired On July 30th, 2022)(X, The Routes, The Flaming Lips, Beck - One Foot In The Grave) :
1. Kenny & The Fiends - Moon Shot
2. The Metalunas - Satellite of Mystery
3. The Surfites - Comet’s Tail
4. The Routes - Computer Love
5. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1
6. The Flaming Lips – Test Flight
7. The Shangs – Eleven (Eleven They Will Never Solve)
9. Kamikaze Nurse – Boom Josie
10. Dummy – Mono Retriever
11. Sweeping Promises – Pain Without a Touch
12. Beck - Burnt Orange Peel
13. Beck - He’s A Mighty Good Leader
14. Beck - Atmospheric Conditions
15. Tim Swaddling - Real Gone
16. Joe Strummer - The Road To Rock “N’ Roll (Demo)
17. CLAMM - Something New
18. Cellos - Death Zone
19. Roye Trout - Dreamers
20. Huttch - Roll On
21. X – Motel Room in My Heart
22. X – Blue Spark
23. The Projectors – Lost is Spaces
24. Kiwi Jr. - Night Vision
25. Priors – Expelled Virtue
26. Preoccupations - Death of Melody
27. Osees - A Foul Form
28. Dion Lunadon - Screw Diver
To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the July 30 file to download/stream the episode.
Show 944 (Originally Aired On July 23rd, 2022)(The Sadies, T.Rex, Sonic Youth, Beck - Mellow Gold):
1. Bruce Springsteen - Open All Night
2. Daniel Romano - Genuine Light
3. C.Ross - Taking A Dip
4. Baby Giant - Admired
5. Weird Nightmare - Sunday Driver
6. Suckerpunch - What Do You Know?
7. The Sadies – You Should Be Worried
8. The Sadies – Better Yet
9. The Sadies - No One’s Listening (feat. Jon Spencer)
10. The Sadies - Dying Ain’t No Way to Make a Living
11. T. Rex – The Slider
12. T. Rex – Rock On
13. Sonic Youth – 100%
14. Sonic Youth – Youth Against Fascism
15. Beck - Pay No Mind (Snoozer)
16. Beck - Beercan
17. Beck - Nitemare Hippy Girl
18. Dana Gavinski - Under The Sky
19. Fake Palms - Visions
20. Anxious Pleasers - DUH!
21. Viagra Boys – Baby Criminal
22. Neutrals – Pressures of Life
23. Megamall – The Bug
24. Ty Segall – Saturday Pt. 2
25. Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - High School
To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the July 23 file to download/stream the episode.
Show 943 (Originally Aired On July 16th, 2022)(Curtis Mayfield, The Quid, Beck - Stereopathetic Soul Manure):
1. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
2. Ghost Woman – All Your Love
3. Flasher – Still Life
4. Tange – Bleach Blonde Baby
5. The OBGMs – Same
6. Beck - Pink Noise (Rock Me Amadeus)
7. Beck - Rowboat
8. Beck - 8.6.82
9. Beck - Dead Wild Cat
10. Beck - Satan Gave Me A Taco
11. Curtis Mayfield – Little Child Runnin’ Wild
11. Curtis Mayfield – Pusherman
12. Curtis Mayfield – Junkie’s Chase
13. Black Midi – The Race Is About to Being
14. Copyright – The Climb
15. Women – Group Transport Hall
16. Baby Shakes - Running Through The Night
17. Shadow Show - Contessa (Remix)
18. The Quid - Crazy Things
19. The Quid - Merseyside
20. Surfrajettes - Roller Fink
21. Sloan - Spend The Day
22. The Clash - He Who Dares Or Is Tired
23. Jon Spencer & The HITmakers - Worm Town
24. Paul Jacobs - Hold On
25. Fifth Column - Kangaroo Court
To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the July 16 file to download/stream the episode. Note: This episode is not available on the CJAM archives, but check back next week it may be available then.
