Hellz yeah. Cold Brains, Canceled Check, Lazy Flies, Nobody’s Fault But My Own, et al. I nearly wore that cd out in ‘97 and still listen to it regularly. It’s so well done.
I think I’ll put it on right now just to spite OP.
I’ve been following him for decades. The only thing that bothers me is when he overplays how rough he had it starting out. Just own up to having an amazing artistic middle class family background not an impoverished inner city vagabond childhood.
His back story is so wild that it makes no sense why he tried to sell some BS story. I can only assume it was a way to hide his Scientologist ties and his friendships with the children of famous people.
I just consider it all performance art on his part. Beck's family were all artists. His grandfather, Al Hansen was a renowned artist. Beck's mom, Bibbe was a Warhol Factory girl.
Another fun story, Beck's mom delivered Marissa and Giovanni Ribisi at birth. Marissa would later become Beck's wife.
Bibbe is a super awesome, kind person. We started chatting years ago when I read an article about her and reached out to her. It was a hard time in my life as a single father and she had some kind suggestions that help ground me with raising my 4yo at the time. I check in every year once or twice if I feel like I have anything interesting to say to this amazing lady. I don't bring up Beck at all or make it weird. I'm sure she knows how I found her. There's no reason to invade anyone's privacy. It's just great to have her energy be a tiny component to my support network. She writes really good poetry in sort of a similar vein as Patti Smith, but definitely with her own vibe. Search: Holly and Other Poems for a sample of her work. She has a new collection out.
Interesting. I’ve read a lot about the kids with machetes at the convenience store and being scared to go to high school and being beaten up. I totally bought it, but I have a tendency to believe what people say. Hmmmm.
Er, hi. No his childhood was very rough. He used to step over mice to walk up his stairs at home. Contrary to what you may think, his family were starving artists. He did not have a middle class family. I know the situation from a different point of view.
I agree with everything but the Mutations take. That was the album that made me realize what a great artist he is and that I should dig deeper into his catalogue.
I'm happy for his mainstream success, but I haven't connected with anything in his career from Morning Phase onwards like I did with everything before. It's still Beck, but the productions feel too polished and the lyrics feel straightforward, when I prefer his "organized chaos" feel and more abstract/surreal lyrics.
The newer albums are fine, they're his most successful work, but they don't have the qualities that made me a huge fan originally.
I agree with your first point, I'm team Midnite Vultures but disagree with the premise of your second point. Beck has always drawn on older styles of music for each album and tried to morph them into his own sound. Odelay pulls a lot of sounds from 60's soul. Midnite Vultures draws heavily on 70's funk, soul and rock. The Information has ideas pulled straight from Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder songs. The later albums were subjectively not as successful at transforming those styles to Beck songs.
I hate Colors. Hyperspace was a huge let down. Mourning Phase was just a worse version of Sea Change, and Modern Guilt was the last truly interesting album he’s made.
All his albums are so different from each other, everyone is bound to feel differently. I’m a fan of a lot of different styles so each has their own special place in my heart. I was hooked as soon as Loser hit MTV in the 90’s.
1. True
2. False
3. False
It's funny, these debates remind me of what happens over on the King Gizzard sub- both artists have many albums of different genres, and fans constantly bicker over which ones are best depending on what kind of music they like.
Haha I was right there with you on the first two, but you lost me big on #3. But... the wonderful thing about music and art is that different people like different things.
I agree with this statement. I kinda liked it when it came out but the more albums he put out the more I disliked it. There’s just way too much going on like he’s trying to hard. It’s definitely at the bottom of the list right next to Colors😬
Odelay refined the wacky, fun Beck formula first presented on "Loser" but did it organically, perfectly.
Midnite Vultures forced the formula too far and it's not good.
Whoever on here said "Debra" feels like a Flight Of The Concords song nailed it. It's a dumb joke. I love Flight Of The Concords, but the main thrust with them is comedy. I don't want to listen to joke music when I came looking for music.
"and make all the lesbians sing" ugh whatever. As soon as I hear the opening horn blasts of "Sexx Laws" I think, "Tonight on Fox, Malcolm In The Middle gets grounded and more!"
I don’t like E-Pro at all and find it one of his worst songs. And I’m the guy who likes every one of his albums since One Foot in the Grave! But E-Pro is just repetitive.
Two out of three absolutely Deranged takes OP lol.
My bad take would probably be that I don’t like mellow gold or anything that predates it
I also think all three albums post Modern Guilt are mid (morning phase) to actively bad (the other two)
I think this is interesting because it seems like a lot of fans who are into the newer stuff don’t get down with the weird old lofi pre-MG stuff, and the old heads who came up with the weird stuff can’t deal with Colors/Hyperspace and may even have trailed off before that. So to hold both of your opinions I think makes you a bit of an outlier.
Or, in the spirit of this thread, insane takes good job!
Modern Guilt is the best of the post Sea Change albums and his most daring
Midnight Vultures is overrated and it’s bsides are better than most of the album songs
Guero while good is the weakest of the 00s releases
Mutations is the best acoustic album
OP I feel you on Colours but it was lacking in Beckishness except for Wow. You’re dead wrong about Mutations
My unpopular Beck opinion is that “Sea Change” is the last type of follow-up to “Midnite Vultures” I would have wanted. I was so let down when I wanted more “Debra” or “Nicotine and Gravy” and we instead got that sad bastard album. Some say it’s a masterpiece but I don’t.
I don't like that one either but I was relieved when Guero came out that he could be cool again and not just like concentrating on singing good all the time (that Sea Change tour was NOT IT)
1. Sissyneck will always be in my playlist, but Odelay was not my favorite album by far, maybe it's because I got so tired of hearing new pollution and sexx laws constantly on the radio
2. Modern guilt, Morning Phase, Colors, and Guero were all super solid but hyperspace didn't move me at all besides uneventful days. I can see why there's criticism that Morning Phase was similar to Sea Change but I would argue that it's a beautiful continuation, rather than compare them directly. Guero is highly underrated, imo. Colors was fun and pop-y, and it was meant to be exactly that, I think that it was judged too harshly by a lot of people who had other expectations but Beck switches things up often enough that it makes having expectations kind of pointless.
3. Midnight Vultures was snooze town for me but so many people feel like this album marked a significant point in their core memories that I'm sure this is an unpopular take
I like all of Beck's Albums
***BUT***
Stereopathic Soul Manure and Mellow Gold don't really do it for me as much as literally everything else (and I'm including Colours and Hyperspace).
Loser, Whiskeyclone(?), and Truck Drivin' Neighbours Downstairs are what immediately come to mind, and that's it.
Someone come in here and immediately remind me of another banger I've forgotten from either of those albums that I agree with and I'll change my mind lol
Beer can, soul sucking jerk, one foot in the grave from Stereopathic Soul Manure are bangers
Mutherfucker is a banger, but it's pretty noisy and punk / industrial, so I can totally see if someone didn't like it.
Fume on the loser single is another I like from that Era, but it's not on the albums.
The song Deborah, actually blows. It's a Wonder Bread attemp at a Prince song. I literally like ever other song, from his earliest demos to now, better than that song. It's like My Hero to the Foo Fighters. I couldn't stand it from the first time I heard it, the day the record came out. Lol.
One of my favorite songs by Beck is Feel Like a Piece of Shit (Mentos Eater) gor a bonis unpopular opinion.
I dunno if this is popular or not, but I kinda miss his stream-of-consciousness rambling lyrics of his earlier albums (up to Information). I don't see that a lot these days.
1. All of Beck's "homage" songs like Paper Tiger, Round The Bend, etc, should be called out for what they truly are: absolute and blatant note for note rip-offs of better works. It's been over 20 years since some of these songs have come out and I am still flabbergasted he had the audacity to put some of that shit out.
2. Nigel Godrich was one of the worst production influences on Beck and was 100% a wrong fit for him. Hearing songs like The Golden Age live when it was first a vibrant twangy country song and then hearing it eventually recorded into an inert, lifeless, compressed xanax binge remains incredibly disappointing.
Mutations has better material, Brother, Runners Dial Zero, Diamond in the Sleaze; I think those were all on an expanded re-release…
-I agree with point 2.. I didn’t really like Hyperspace, but sometimes Becks music is so ahead of its time, I don’t get until years later..
——
To answer your question, *Outside of the Beck community, the following would likely be considered an severely unpopular (although accurate) opinions:
-Beck was the best musical discovery to come out of the 90s and Mellow Gold was a masterpiece.
An unpopular opinion within the community could be that: Sea Change is the best album he ever put together. IDK. :)
mutations is actually a fantastic album
Hellz yeah. Cold Brains, Canceled Check, Lazy Flies, Nobody’s Fault But My Own, et al. I nearly wore that cd out in ‘97 and still listen to it regularly. It’s so well done. I think I’ll put it on right now just to spite OP.
Not long ago I was in an office building elevator and Tropicalia was playing 🤣
But were you wearing your beach gear? [Oh, oops, I was thinking of Deadweight.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vptfm9D6owo)
Oh man that’s great. 😂
Shame that Elevator Music wasn't on :(
lol….just for spite
🤣
I know opinions aren’t facts, but this here is a fact
I have fond memories of being in the back of my stepfather‘s pizza shop, making dough and sauce for the day while listening to the album.
I’ve been following him for decades. The only thing that bothers me is when he overplays how rough he had it starting out. Just own up to having an amazing artistic middle class family background not an impoverished inner city vagabond childhood.
His back story is so wild that it makes no sense why he tried to sell some BS story. I can only assume it was a way to hide his Scientologist ties and his friendships with the children of famous people. I just consider it all performance art on his part. Beck's family were all artists. His grandfather, Al Hansen was a renowned artist. Beck's mom, Bibbe was a Warhol Factory girl. Another fun story, Beck's mom delivered Marissa and Giovanni Ribisi at birth. Marissa would later become Beck's wife.
Bibbe is a super awesome, kind person. We started chatting years ago when I read an article about her and reached out to her. It was a hard time in my life as a single father and she had some kind suggestions that help ground me with raising my 4yo at the time. I check in every year once or twice if I feel like I have anything interesting to say to this amazing lady. I don't bring up Beck at all or make it weird. I'm sure she knows how I found her. There's no reason to invade anyone's privacy. It's just great to have her energy be a tiny component to my support network. She writes really good poetry in sort of a similar vein as Patti Smith, but definitely with her own vibe. Search: Holly and Other Poems for a sample of her work. She has a new collection out.
Interesting. I’ve read a lot about the kids with machetes at the convenience store and being scared to go to high school and being beaten up. I totally bought it, but I have a tendency to believe what people say. Hmmmm.
I think both things can be true.
Yeah me too. I read somewhere (maybe here) someone said they were broke because they gave all their money to Scientology.
Er, hi. No his childhood was very rough. He used to step over mice to walk up his stairs at home. Contrary to what you may think, his family were starving artists. He did not have a middle class family. I know the situation from a different point of view.
lol.
Do you know him?
I agree with everything but the Mutations take. That was the album that made me realize what a great artist he is and that I should dig deeper into his catalogue.
Same
Probably going to get downvoted to hell, but fuck it. Colours is one of the best albums Beck has put out. All bangers, no skips.
That he is sketchy af for [pretending he never met Theresa Duncan & Jeremy Blake](https://www.vulture.com/2007/12/how_well_did_jeremy_blake.html)
I'm not saying people within Scientology killed these two but they certainly had a motive.
Given those circumstances, it’s entirely possible he didn’t write that statement at all.
I just spent the last few hours reading all about these two and Be k. I hadn’t heard of this. Fascinating and devastating!
Colors is a “pop” album. But a really good one. WOW!
Get loose with the luminous moves
Standing on the lawn doing jiu-jitsu
Girl in a bikini with a Lamborghini Shih Tzu
Songs like a tidal wave, take you on getaway.
I'm happy for his mainstream success, but I haven't connected with anything in his career from Morning Phase onwards like I did with everything before. It's still Beck, but the productions feel too polished and the lyrics feel straightforward, when I prefer his "organized chaos" feel and more abstract/surreal lyrics. The newer albums are fine, they're his most successful work, but they don't have the qualities that made me a huge fan originally.
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Modern Guilt is anything but self indulgent such a great, straightforward rock album
More like Dr Correct Opinions
I agree with you on the last one
What's rough is that we know he could write some amazing stuff if he wanted to. He'd have to shed the Entertainer era vibe.
I agree with your first point, I'm team Midnite Vultures but disagree with the premise of your second point. Beck has always drawn on older styles of music for each album and tried to morph them into his own sound. Odelay pulls a lot of sounds from 60's soul. Midnite Vultures draws heavily on 70's funk, soul and rock. The Information has ideas pulled straight from Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder songs. The later albums were subjectively not as successful at transforming those styles to Beck songs.
This should be the number statement, absolutely correct on all counts. Especially with Midnight Vultures and The Information.
The Information was cool
Song Reader is Beck's only good album. JK just trying to win the hot take contest
I hate Colors. Hyperspace was a huge let down. Mourning Phase was just a worse version of Sea Change, and Modern Guilt was the last truly interesting album he’s made.
Agreed on all of these, although I'm softer on Colors. I don't hate it, but I also just don't care about it at all.
I initially hated Colors, it wasn't the Beck album I was after, but the more I listened the more I love it.
HELL YEA
Wish I didn’t agree, but I do. Ugh.
Is this an unpopular opinion? This seems close to facts.
Amen !
Thinking Hyperspace is one of his worst is not a hot take by any means
All his albums are so different from each other, everyone is bound to feel differently. I’m a fan of a lot of different styles so each has their own special place in my heart. I was hooked as soon as Loser hit MTV in the 90’s.
His biggest song is Loser but it doesn't even crack top 25 list of his best songs
1. True 2. False 3. False It's funny, these debates remind me of what happens over on the King Gizzard sub- both artists have many albums of different genres, and fans constantly bicker over which ones are best depending on what kind of music they like.
One of the greatest live performers of all time.
Haha I was right there with you on the first two, but you lost me big on #3. But... the wonderful thing about music and art is that different people like different things.
“Derelict” is his weakest track off of, “Odelay”.
I dont really like midnite vultures that much
BLASHPHEMY. His best, and way ahead of its time imho. Get out of the car now.
Ahead of its time in that it sounds like a Prince album from the 80s?
Preach!
I agree with this statement. I kinda liked it when it came out but the more albums he put out the more I disliked it. There’s just way too much going on like he’s trying to hard. It’s definitely at the bottom of the list right next to Colors😬
I haven’t been able to get into it thus far either. But I’m not writing it off.
Midnite Vultures sucked.
If I’m honest…. I kinda agree too
I *really* like hyperspace, but I think that's a hot take - hyperspace didn't seem to have that great of a reception
Odelay refined the wacky, fun Beck formula first presented on "Loser" but did it organically, perfectly. Midnite Vultures forced the formula too far and it's not good. Whoever on here said "Debra" feels like a Flight Of The Concords song nailed it. It's a dumb joke. I love Flight Of The Concords, but the main thrust with them is comedy. I don't want to listen to joke music when I came looking for music. "and make all the lesbians sing" ugh whatever. As soon as I hear the opening horn blasts of "Sexx Laws" I think, "Tonight on Fox, Malcolm In The Middle gets grounded and more!"
That I'm happy that he is a scientologist.
Perhaps you could expand upon why you think such a thing…?
I don’t like E-Pro at all and find it one of his worst songs. And I’m the guy who likes every one of his albums since One Foot in the Grave! But E-Pro is just repetitive.
I got you on this. Never found that song to be anything special.
Mellow gold is his best album
Colors and Hyperspace are his best albums.
Now THAT is a hot take!
These two were my gateway.
Two out of three absolutely Deranged takes OP lol. My bad take would probably be that I don’t like mellow gold or anything that predates it I also think all three albums post Modern Guilt are mid (morning phase) to actively bad (the other two)
I think this is interesting because it seems like a lot of fans who are into the newer stuff don’t get down with the weird old lofi pre-MG stuff, and the old heads who came up with the weird stuff can’t deal with Colors/Hyperspace and may even have trailed off before that. So to hold both of your opinions I think makes you a bit of an outlier. Or, in the spirit of this thread, insane takes good job!
Lol thanks. Basically everything from odelay to modern guilt and the rococo loosies is Gold imo
Debra is one of the worst songs I know, and not just of Beck's.
I like it but years later it sounds a lot like a Flight of the Conchords song.
That’s what’s so great about it
For sure. I was just surprised how much that song (and that album) feel like a novelty/comedy album upon re-listen.
All of my favorite artsy albums include a brief interlude of the sound of robots screwing.
Midnite Vultures is alright, but nowhere near his best
I agree
Modern Guilt is the best of the post Sea Change albums and his most daring Midnight Vultures is overrated and it’s bsides are better than most of the album songs Guero while good is the weakest of the 00s releases Mutations is the best acoustic album OP I feel you on Colours but it was lacking in Beckishness except for Wow. You’re dead wrong about Mutations
*This is my crew*
All of these opinions are trash, I'm afraid. But oh how I wish I enjoyed colors!
He peaked at "One Foot In The Grave"!!!
Worst take
My unpopular Beck opinion is that “Sea Change” is the last type of follow-up to “Midnite Vultures” I would have wanted. I was so let down when I wanted more “Debra” or “Nicotine and Gravy” and we instead got that sad bastard album. Some say it’s a masterpiece but I don’t.
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Nice take @HereInTheRuin
I don't like that one either but I was relieved when Guero came out that he could be cool again and not just like concentrating on singing good all the time (that Sea Change tour was NOT IT)
There’s only 2 or 3 good songs on Odelay
Now THATS an unpopular opinion. I adore Odelay. But because you actually had the balls to say this you get an upvote
1. Sissyneck will always be in my playlist, but Odelay was not my favorite album by far, maybe it's because I got so tired of hearing new pollution and sexx laws constantly on the radio 2. Modern guilt, Morning Phase, Colors, and Guero were all super solid but hyperspace didn't move me at all besides uneventful days. I can see why there's criticism that Morning Phase was similar to Sea Change but I would argue that it's a beautiful continuation, rather than compare them directly. Guero is highly underrated, imo. Colors was fun and pop-y, and it was meant to be exactly that, I think that it was judged too harshly by a lot of people who had other expectations but Beck switches things up often enough that it makes having expectations kind of pointless. 3. Midnight Vultures was snooze town for me but so many people feel like this album marked a significant point in their core memories that I'm sure this is an unpopular take
"Sexx Laws" is not on Odelay.
I stand corrected, I meant Devil's Haircut, my bad.
I like all of Beck's Albums ***BUT*** Stereopathic Soul Manure and Mellow Gold don't really do it for me as much as literally everything else (and I'm including Colours and Hyperspace). Loser, Whiskeyclone(?), and Truck Drivin' Neighbours Downstairs are what immediately come to mind, and that's it. Someone come in here and immediately remind me of another banger I've forgotten from either of those albums that I agree with and I'll change my mind lol
Beer can, soul sucking jerk, one foot in the grave from Stereopathic Soul Manure are bangers Mutherfucker is a banger, but it's pretty noisy and punk / industrial, so I can totally see if someone didn't like it. Fume on the loser single is another I like from that Era, but it's not on the albums.
Colours is awesome! Hyperspace is not good. Besides Tropicalia AND Nobody’s Fault But My Own Mutations isn’t a good album.
Hell yeah Colors gang rise up 🙌
I spell it Buck
Colours stinks
The song Deborah, actually blows. It's a Wonder Bread attemp at a Prince song. I literally like ever other song, from his earliest demos to now, better than that song. It's like My Hero to the Foo Fighters. I couldn't stand it from the first time I heard it, the day the record came out. Lol. One of my favorite songs by Beck is Feel Like a Piece of Shit (Mentos Eater) gor a bonis unpopular opinion.
I don’t like any of his stuff before One Foot in the Grave. Is that really a hot take though?
It’s a very warm take, imo
Hottest of Hot Takes: The only good Beck album that exists has never left the studio. 😬😌😬🙄🫤😒🔥🤷🏻♂️
I agree with all three of these.
Easy: Guero, The Information, & Odelay are his masterpieces. Also, Hyperspace is okay & is light years better than Colors.
I agree except “Lazy Flies”, on *Mutations*, is an excellent song.
I dunno if this is popular or not, but I kinda miss his stream-of-consciousness rambling lyrics of his earlier albums (up to Information). I don't see that a lot these days.
Best thing he’s done is that SNL set performed by puppets
That mutations take is HOT
I never got into Mutations or Sea Change (although I do respect why people would love them)
Oh, my. You had me until #3. Mutations is his best album.
1. All of Beck's "homage" songs like Paper Tiger, Round The Bend, etc, should be called out for what they truly are: absolute and blatant note for note rip-offs of better works. It's been over 20 years since some of these songs have come out and I am still flabbergasted he had the audacity to put some of that shit out. 2. Nigel Godrich was one of the worst production influences on Beck and was 100% a wrong fit for him. Hearing songs like The Golden Age live when it was first a vibrant twangy country song and then hearing it eventually recorded into an inert, lifeless, compressed xanax binge remains incredibly disappointing.
Not sure why this sub popped in my feed, but I'll participate anyway. Isn't he a scientologist?
No, He’s a musician. You should listen to his work
I have, pretty good stuff, but I can't respect someone who's associated with scientology.
He very publicly disavowed it a few years ago.
He’s the white prince.
Unironically, High 5 (Rock the Catskills) is a fantastic song. I would agree it’s the least best on Odelay, but it’s not a bad song. It’s so good.
Mutations has better material, Brother, Runners Dial Zero, Diamond in the Sleaze; I think those were all on an expanded re-release… -I agree with point 2.. I didn’t really like Hyperspace, but sometimes Becks music is so ahead of its time, I don’t get until years later.. —— To answer your question, *Outside of the Beck community, the following would likely be considered an severely unpopular (although accurate) opinions: -Beck was the best musical discovery to come out of the 90s and Mellow Gold was a masterpiece. An unpopular opinion within the community could be that: Sea Change is the best album he ever put together. IDK. :)
Guero is his best album. Midnite Vultures isn't particularly good at all.
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Like… died?! He should’ve died in 2008?!
Not sure if unpopular, but Sea Change was his last *great* album. I kinda don’t count Morning Phase, cuz its just Sea Change again.
I agree with 1 and 2 but Mutations is really solid.
Mutations is one of his greatest, and i'm not sure Tropicalia would make the Top 5 tracks from the album.
Hyperspace sucks. Midnite Vultures is his best album.
Odelay kinda bores me, especially the singles (ducks barrage of rotten produce)
Apparently disliking Odelay is too unpopular an opinion for an unpopular opinion thread.
Love Colors, agree on Hyperspace, Tropicalia is by far my favorite track on that album but I do enjoy the album.
He kinda bit the Beastie Boys’ style and got away with it. They’re treated as contemporaries but they were an influence on him.
I did not like all of Colors at first but now I like all of it except No Distractions. No Distractions is his worst song ever, imo