Bittel, Blog 6

When listening to Beck, I hear traces of electronic and alternative music influencing his folk roots, creating a rare listening experience that I find difficult to put into words. His steady guitar playing and synthesized instruments create an ambitious sound which he completes with his own vocals, though this basic sound varies across his long musical career. Some of his newer records (Colors and Morning Phase) retain their folk roots while experimenting with lofi, while older records (Mellow Gold) incorporate a greater emphasis on the indie and funk side. These records retain a rough beauty that I can best compare to hit songs like "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked", preformed by fellow indie group Cage the Elephant (though Beck's collection of lyrics are not as nonsensical as CTE's). His singing isn't his strong suit, so he carries his work in other ways, oftentimes with relatively simple delivery combined with a complex musical melody.

Beck emerged from relative obscurity with his hit single "Loser" from Mellow Bars, a song he reluctantly released in 1994. His mother, a Warhol superstar, and father, who worked as a conductor, pushed him towards LA's diverse music scene, which apparently influenced his love of southern blues. He performed in New York for a time, and despite catching the attention of an indie label, he found himself living in squalor in LA. After a college DJ stumbled upon his work, Beck strove to establish himself as more than just a one-hit-wonder and reached the number 16 spot on the Billboard 200 with Odelay. He began to incorporate lofi into his works in 2002 with the release of Sea Change and won Alternative Album of the Year after releasing Morning Phase. His musical style changes dramatically from his thirteen released albums, showing his mastery of hippie psychedelic style in Midnite Vultures and brings out a darker style of writing in the album Geuro. At 49, Beck is still active in the music scene and continues to play as well as collaborate with other indie artists, with his next album expected to be released later in the year. 

Colors (2018)

Loser (1994)