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The Information by Beck

Music // Jim // 8th October 2006

I’ve always been really keen on copying music for people, right from when I got my first twin tape deck at the age of about 14. I didn’t really question why I did this until I was in my second year at university.

In the pub, having just handed over a C90, the tracklisting scrawled in my child-like capitalised writing, to a girl on my course, her friend (who it seems had done an introduction to psychology module) loudly pipes up: “I think the reason that you keep copying music for people is two-fold. Firstly you use it as a device to befriend or ingratiate yourself without the need to make any emotional investment in actual friendship.” Chins were scratched, heads sagely nodded in a pitying fashion. “Secondly,” She continued, “You clearly have a sub-conscious need to impose your own personal tastes on those around you”.

“Oh, right”, I replied, crushed by her precise evaluation, “Does that mean that you don’t want that copy of Copper Blue anymore?”

“No, I still want that.” She said quickly before quietly adding, “You haven’t got Hatful of Hollow as well, have you?”

So safe in the knowledge that I taped stuff for people to make them like me, while carrying out a fascistic programme of musical indoctrination, I’ve carried on the practice. The advent of CD burners, iTunes and broadband has made things even easier, although my dodgy writing on the tracklisting hasn’t got any better.

However I will be refusing to copy The Information by Beck for anyone at all. In fact I’ve already made Tom fuck off and get his own copy. The reason being that each CD comes with a blank cover and a load of randomly selected stickers that you can use to make your own album artwork. How ace is that? Admittedly my own effort is pretty ropey but I just don't care. Stickers at random! The man's a genius.

Cover: Stickers, my ropey effort

So is the album itself any good? Lets have a listen…

Elevator Music: “One, two, you know what to do” and we’re off into classic Beck territory; lazy sounding beats, profound/nonsense lyrics with all manner of stuff going on in the background. It's got a great chorus and you can’t help but move at least some part of yourself as the musical hooks build up on top of each other. Plays along on a mobile phone at the end by the sounds of it. Very, very cool indeed.

Think I’m In Love: Echoey, peter gunn theme bass line for a trip into the bedroom/indie/miserabilist/lovelorn lyrical milieu that I call home. “I think I’m in love but it makes me kinda nervous to say so” wails Beck over some piano and bongo action. There’s a gorgeous section in the middle featuring some strings that remind me of Sea Change a bit.

Cell Phone’s Dead: Creepy hip-hop (creep-hop?) track with squelchy synth noises and Beck rapping about “Mangled Lungs” and “Laser Manifestos”, are things going to go a bit scientologist here? I do hope not. By the end I’m thinking that the Beta Band have got back together.

Strange Apparition: The Beta Band have stayed on for some shuffling beat action it seems, only to be overwhelmed by a big piano riff as Beck pays homage to The Rolling Stones, sort of via The Charlatans. A bit gospel, imagine it will be a single.

Soldier Jane: Really reminds me of Black Ghost by Gay Dad for some reason, the most likely reason being that it sounds just like it. Quite low key albeit with some big shimmering noises here and there. “Take your heart out of the shower”, says Beck like some kind of cardiologist plumber.

Nausea: Kicks in brilliantly after the slightly dull Soldier Jane finishes its shimmering finale. This is a catchy stomper with all sorts of mad percussion and shouting going on in the background. Nausea is a great word to use as a chorus, hang on has it finished or is my stereo knackered?

New Round: Lets all calm down bit shall we? After the sonic kicking of Nausea this seems well placid. Probably very good early in the morning when you get in from some horrific evening out somewhere and just want to feel even more sad. All sorts of telephone tone noises are circulating as proceedings draw to a close. No sign of John Craven at all, which is a bit of a blow.

Dark Star: The noise that I have on my computer to tell me when an e-mail has arrived features throughout this track, causing me immense confusion for the first minute or so. Like some of the earlier tracks this is slightly sinister and echo-ey, it has a fantastic epic chorus that sounds like it was done in a very deep cave.

We Dance Alone: Beck speedily raps over what is (comparatively) a stripped down instrumental backing, there is a break where it sounds like someone is playing a ratchet screwdriver, a bicycle bell and a pocketful of loose change. Completely impossible not to nod your head along with this one.

No Complaints: A Coffee And TV vibe adds some shoulder-shrugging action to my head nodding, which is actually making it quite difficult to type this. You’ve got to be pretty cool to get away with what sounds a whistling solo, fortunately he just about gets away with it. The accompanying beeps and squiggles help things out. This is a much warmer sounding song than some of the others so far.

1000 BPM: Hectic, almost arrhythmic chaos with Beck spouting a load of stuff about how “Earth was a terrestrial prison” and introduces the concept of “Biomechanical Jism” which just sounds painful, doesn’t it? Imagine this is Tom Cruise’s favourite song on the album.

Motorcade: Not the My Life Story cover that I was hoping for. This album has now completed its transition to the weird experimental side of the Beck Hansen brain. Although this isn’t half as interesting as you would think that would be. Quite dull.

The Information: Big beats and big noises abound on the title track from beginning to end. Probably a bit of a grower I would think, features the sort of sound effects that at least one person I know will use to demonstrate the potency of his hi-fi. Yes, people still do that.

Movie Theme: Aptly named, layers of synth noise wash around the place, while Beck mumbles quietly for a bit before giving up any pretence of singing and just lets out a long contented sigh like a man enjoying a particularly effective blow-job.

The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskelton: Oh no, this is ten and a half minutes long – Beck goes proper prog. Starts out in familiar scruffy hip-hop (scruff-hop?) territory then the synth motif from Cellphone's Dead pops up again along with a Speak & Spell. Are we into a different song? It’s all got a bit louder and chunkier. Cool bluesy guitar solo gets a couple of airings. We’re half –way through and now someone is reading the shipping forecast, sounds like it’s going to be rough in Berwick tonight.
Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers are having a stoner conversation while cast-offs from the Blade Runner soundtrack are let off around them. The word “Spaceship” is being used far too frequently for my liking. Oh, its finished, thank fuck for that.

Inside Out: Up tempo wailing, which is more than welcome after the sci fi endurance test of the previous track. It’s OK but never really gets going.

This Girl That I Know: Fairly funky and and thick sounding, sounds like someone is playing a dustbin lid on the railings outside. Blasts of harmonica and scratching help things. Don’t know who the sultry female giggle belongs to, but it’s great. Good way to finish things off after the album had gone a touch awry towards the end.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend getting hold of The Information, although it ain't a party album by any means it does have some classic Beck moments in there, Elevator Music, Nausea and Think I'm In Love are especially brilliant. To be honest though a few of the later tracks will probably be getting the skip treatment when they come round on my ever shuffling ipod. Plus you can make your own cover and as I've already said, how ace is that?

Information on The Information

Beck Web Site

All sorts of weird an wonderful stuff check the video section, marvellous.

The Information at metacritic

"Generally favourable reviews" it says here

Beck at Wikipedia

Bio info etc

Beck Puppet Show

The quality puppet videos that Beck did on his last tour half-way through his set