Beck ~ “Midnite Vultures”

We all know about the new Beck record, right? 10 songs, each song roughly three minutes…what is this middle-aged man trying to attempt? Is he attempting Sunshine Pop in the 21st century, you know, like The Turtles or something? Beck and sex don’t go together, as he works best while being cryptic or pretending to be poor, or better yet…both! The new record that I alluded to earlier might very well feature Cat Power, gee, who cares? Anyhow, man, “Midnite Vultures” was the last important Beck album. I sincerely mean what I say, despite the fact that your collective grandmothers are gay. Seriously, why release some bizarre Funk album featuring Prince heroics and astounding production values, but I guess this is what happens when Beck produces himself…he gets a might bit indulgent all up in my business.

I am afraid that it is not all good, as Beck by no means has a falsetto worthy of Gene Ween or that gent from The Stylistics. And it is a record that worked best in a live setting, for that is what Beck still successfully remains; a showman, and NOT a recording artist. The lyrical content is too precise in terms of sexual relations and still a bit vague in places but it is the music that sets the mood…and this is unfortunately near entirely a genre exercise. What makes this record important then, is just how audacious it was upon release in 1999, and unlike any other commercial release of the time period…I truly admire just how unimportant and un-serious the whole affair is, making the official follow-up to “Odelay” the joke of the century, and that takes guts and just a dash of musical vision.

If one looks ahead to “Sea Change”, which is a confessional singer/songwriter album from a man who is the exact opposite of straight forward in nearly all regards, another problem with that record is just how badly over-produced it is, when the message could have been brought across far more clear on simple 4-track tape. What I am getting to then are failed records, and because they happen to be made by Beck, are naturally overrated. “Guero” and “The Information” spell similar problems, and while I am not dismissing these albums, I am declaring them wholly unimportant; now and forever. Now then, “Midnite Vultures” highlights contain “Nicotine & Gravy”, which is very much musically satisfying and damn tasty to boot. Some critics have called “Hollywood Freaks” a hipster joke, long before the term hipster became commonplace for pasty white kids who dug the newest thing, think The Arcade Fire followed by Vampire Weekend, and you’ll get the point real fucking horror show, baby fart. But yeah, “Hollywood Freaks” is the Hip-Hop of imagination and I am frightened that the song actually exists in the first place (HE MY NUN!). “Get Real Paid” is from outer-space, it’s real creepy and robotic, something from a Funky dystopian future realm of some sort.

Got any “Midnite Vultures” favorites, or is your period late…and are you gay or straight?

“Nicotine & Gravy”

Beck, Scientology, Methodist, Daily Motion, Midnite Vultures

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