auto

Yep. That project sounds interesting as well.

orangecrush

But, would you prefer a good 25 min album or a good 60 min album if they both cost the same?

auto

As long as it serves the album, I don't care how long it is. Price isn't really a factor with me. I have a certain amount of money that I am willing to spend on a CD, regardless of length.

auto

To hear the new song 'Chemtrails', go to beck.com and scroll over the jukebox in the upper right hand corner. It's pretty trippy.

The Bus

Can't believe it took me close to a month to realize that the new song was online at Beck.com

It's awesome, reminds me of Sea Change.

auto

Updated first post with tracklisting and cover art. Album is due July 8th.

macnorton

For me Beck is one of those artists that continues to impress me. I was in junior high when he broke and it was so different than what was out on top 40, he really commanded my attention. Then to come back with Odelay, wow that was mind altering. Loved Midnite, Mutations and I rank Sea Change in the top 10 of the last 10 years. Guero was a change of pace, but a good one. And The Information was another curve ball but I dug that too. Looking forward to this one.

Tarantino

It's out there, if you want to listen to it. I'm going to listen once before I go to bed.

= J

starseed1981

There really aren't any standout tracks on the album, it just feels like he just released a week long jam session with Danger Mouse. Which I guess, it is. For me personally, its a step down from "The Information".

porieux

So far the first two tracks didn't make much of impression on me, but I need to listen to the rest. Hope it gets better.

auto

Pitchfork Review:

Beck
Modern Guilt
[Interscope; 2008]
Rating: 7.0

On his tour behind 2006's The Information, Beck and his band were accompanied by a troupe of marionette doppelgängers. Projected onto a big screen, the dot-eyed puppets mimicked the group with uncanny accuracy; if Beck triumphantly raised his hand during "Devil's Haircut", his counterpart quickly followed. As the distance between concert DVDs and concerts themselves continues to dwindle, the puppet scheme was a winning example of spontaneous, analog cleverness. It was also a crafty bit of outsourcing. The cute figurines provided much of the night's visual entertainment while offering a distraction from Beck's increasingly uninvolved performances. Since the famed stops on his Odelay tour more than a decade ago, he's become a static shell of his former break-dancing, bed-humping self. Similarly, while Beck has gotten darker and more apocalyptic, he's tried to temper his direness with upbeat, counter-punch production from the Dust Brothers, Nigel Godrich, and now, Danger Mouse. Though Modern Guilt is more direct and consistent than his last two scattershot LPs, it also finds the disillusioned L.A. hippie struggling to balance his deathly outlook with his more crowd-pleasing inclinations.

Read the rest at pitchfork

This part of the review made me really sad inside...

cdollaz

Yeah, that is his best album. He should play the entire album and stop playing the weak shit from the last 2 albums.

Hollowgen

Quite frequently, you say exactly what I'm thinking before I can respond.

Is he serious? What a tool. Not only is that album hillarious, it's hillariously underrated. I never did and never will see a problem with having a bit of fun.

I'm going to listen that album right now, in spite of the artist's wishes.

mdc3000

I love midnight vultures, but would never call Guero weak shit.... however I'm not digging Modern Guilt right now...I'm just not feeling it - a real step backwards.

porieux

Anyone have any idea what they are referring to? IMO that is his best album, followed by Odelay and I have no idea why he would be singling out any songs from that album or why he would be "not proud" of them.

So far on his latest album he sounds bored. And if he doesn't care, why should I?

cungar

Someone should inform Pitchfork reviewers of how their numbering system works. Usually a 7.0 means they like the album. That review made it sound more like a 4.0 album.

Randy Miller III

Beck is rated on a scale of "0" to "Tutti Frutti".
Check the Becktionary.

DrStrangeL0ve71

I love me some Gamma Ray.

Hixx

He seems to be a lot more concerned with being a "serious" artist these days, really Que Onda Guero is the only funny song he's done since Midnite Vultures. So I would say that maybe he isn't proud of the album because it doesn't match up with his more recent new age-y self-important sensibilities.

bluetoast

I feel he's dropped off exponentially since Midnite Vultures. I haven't heard this new one though. And was anyone else wondering WTF was going on in his videos for The Information?

Hollowgen

picked it up tuesday and have spun it a few times.

i really like a handful of the songs, and enjoy the rest. it's totally lacking someting... maybe a common theme? it sounds like a b-sides collection.

upon repeated listens, the danger mouse production makes it sound like a gnarls barkley album with beck singing instead of cee lo.

3/5

The Antipodean

I'm really digging it myself, got a kind of swampy psychedelic vibe that's like Sea Changes with a dance beat. I find Beck alternates hot to cold on me - I love Sea Change, Odelay and Guero, but The Information was just OK and I've never liked Midnight Vultures quite as much as everyone else. Anyway, so far for me this is one of the "hot" records.

And I do dig that "Gamma Ray" too.

mkdevo

saw beck in nyc last night and was *extremely* disappointed with the show, which sucks, cause i was overall very happy with the setlist.

without going into too much detail, here's my list of gripes with the show:

- sound in the venue itself was horrible. very hollow.

- feedback problems plagued the *entire* set. i could see maybe the first song or two, but the whole show? really?

- house lights came on for no apparent reason during the 3rd song, and stayed on until they randomly were shut off right before the 10th song. incredibly lame.

- this was my first time seeing beck since HORDE in 96, but i have to say, i really just don't like the way he plays a lot of his songs live.

- the entire production crew just seemed to be making things up as they went along. the stage backdrop was essentially a bunch of lights, which they also started playing live video on later in the show. the camera guy was just terrible, and the video was shaky the entire time.

- the entire show, with encore, clocked in at 79 minutes. extremely weak.

if i were beck, i'd fire my entire crew. in the end, the sound was the main thing that ruined the show for me. but everything just seemed very unprofessional for a $50 ticket. oh well.

here's the setlist:

Beck
2008-10-08
United Palace Theatre
New York, NY

01. intro
02. Loser
03. Nausea
04. Girl
05. Timebomb
06. Minus
07. Soul of a Man
08. Mixed Bizness
09. Nicotine & Gravy
10. Que Onda Guero
11. Hell Yes
12. Black Tambourine
13. Clap Hands
14. Devils Haircut
15. Think I'm in Love
16. Modern Guilt
17. Orphans
18. Walls
19. Missing
20. Chemtrails
21. Golden Age
22. Lost Cause
23. Lonesome Whistle
24. Where It's At
25. encore break
ENCORE:
26. Gamma Ray
27. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
28. E-Pro

cungar

26 songs in 79 minutes?

Seems impossible since some of his songs are close to 5 minutes long. That's an average of 3 minutes a song.

Hixx

Sometimes he does medleys of his older stuff these days.

I've seen Beck seven times and the last three have been unsatisfying to varying degrees. I think the last time I saw him perform an outstanding show was in 2003 on the Sea Change tour with the Flaming Lips.

The fact that he has a dancer now so he doesn't have to concern himself with stage presence speaks volumes.