BECK PART ONE: Mellow Gold
In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins so I'm out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin' with a loser and the cruise control
Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat
Butane in my veins so I'm out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin' with a loser and the cruise control
Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat
Someone keeps sayin' I'm insane to complain
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don't believe everything that you read
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin' all your food stamps and burnin' down the trailer park
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don't believe everything that you read
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin' all your food stamps and burnin' down the trailer park
Yo, cut it
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (double barrel buckshot)
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (double barrel buckshot)
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
We all know the lyrics right? I was 21 years album when the album came out and I was blown away. I loved the single like everyone else. I had one issue like I always do. Why does MTV have to play this every damn' hour. It got old quick, and by quick I mean really quick. As much as the single was played the rest of the album was a revelation. It was a mix of Hip-Hop, Folk, Blues, Rock and anything else that entered and exited Beck's highly creative mind. He came to us in a flash. I know he was around before this superstar status was thrust upon us, but even before this he was thinking of this creativity and it finally hit the right person or creative consultant. I can hear whomever found him. "This is money $$$$" as the dollar signs were in their eyes.
I was a sucker who bought this album a bit after "Loser" became the single. I also bought all the singles that came with it. The singles had those nice b-sides and outtakes. I got a copy of it on cassette and regretted my decision as soon as I bought it. I knew this would be an album many times over and I knew that this music was something new and fresh. It sure was, the only problem was playing this music in the house. My parents hated any music that had curse words in it and any music that was what they considered crap. Highly opinionated mom was the first to complain about Beck's music. This just made me play it more and more. He was very much a true original.
At first listen of Mellow Gold I knew he had something. He was trying to break the 90's mold. He did not want to be put into one specific genre or category and the song "Loser" proved it. Sure the song was catchy but the song also contained a Dr. John sample. He wanted something specific and he got it with that sample. It was that sample that made me seek out more Dr. John then at that time I already knew. I knew his popular tunes, but had no idea about his album output. This music was totally unique to add some of that without it being a whole Rap album with samples left and right. He took the time to add loops and odd sounds and him playing guitar and all these sounds to make something new. It was MTV that really ruined the whole image of Beck and the song. It's still a theme song to many people. As I played it today I still have mixed feelings about it.
The beauty of Mellow Gold is that this album was not done in some state of the art studio, but at home with a series of tape loops and a bunch of ideas. Many artists get lost in those big studios and think of great ideas, but then they don't translate well to the studio and their ideas get lost. Beck did not get lost. His home ideas and blending of musical genres shows us he knows what he is doing. It was a springboard to his future releases and each of them are unique and also some of his best. It was an album that I loved playing again and again. There was so much that Beck was saying and his cleaver wordplay made it fun.
I like Beck's music and as addicting as it is some of the most unique music ever to come across my ears. An example is "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" has a harmonica passage that I swear sounds like a 70's Neil Young tune. Beck does it with ease. He keeps you on your toes at every move he makes. This music is totally smarter then the average. The home recording does pay off in each song, Hearing cool percussion or even just a simple guitar loop makes the song have it's own identity. They all sound so addicting and after about a year I had to buy another cassette because I played this way too much. The quick rewinding and fast forwarding of a song made me break the cassette. It was one of the very few tapes that I had to replace.
When there was a sample that sounded like something that belonged on an old R&B or Soul album he twisted it and bent it to his own way. He really made the music as unique as possible. Like the song "MutherFuker" sounds heavy in distortion and noise, but he makes it work. The lyrics may be simple but he makes his angry point. Even "Beercan" with it's nonsense and not the normal verse chorus verse is very, very addicting. The song feels like it's a free association type song. It's my favorite tune on the album.
Beck is unique and with that uniqueness he proves that he can do anything. His music like his live shows prove that he can groove and make you do the same. Mellow Gold is an awesome debut from a future Rock star that we know very well. It's one of the few times where I will mention that the musicians first album is one of their very best. I played it yesterday and it still as sharp and modern as it was when it came out in 1994. I love it and to me even back then Beck was ahead of the modern music curve. Enjoy!!
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