3 Songs for People Who Say They Don’t Like Beck

Beck is one of those one-of-one artists who is impossible to put into a specific box. In one minute, he’s playing a shredding guitar solo. In another he’s rapping with stream-of-consciousness flow, providing lyrics that somehow make sense despite being so unusual. For the Los Angeles-born artist, a life in music has been hugely successful and rather singular.

But it’s that singularity that might, for some reason, turn people off. Often, music fans like to know what to expect from a person, especially a frontman. And Beck has always sloughed off definition. It’s for that reason, though, many of his songs have stood the test of time. And here below, we wanted to examine three of those. Indeed, these are a trio of songs for people who say they don’t like Beck.

[RELATED: Beck Announces Orchestral Tour in 2024]

“Loser” from Mellow Gold (1994)

The song that in no uncertain terms put Beck on the map. Upon its release in 1994, the track eventually hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to a great deal of alternative rock airplay. It’s a funny song in that it’s obviously written by a young person full of energy and looking for creative direction. Thick drums, slide acoustic guitar and poetic, though strange lyrics combine to create this one-of-a-kind offering that turned Beck from a kid roaming the coasts in the anti-folk scene into a star in the musical sky. On the track, he raps,

I

n the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey

Butane in my veins and 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

“Where It’s At” from Odelay (1996)

Another interesting song that brides styles, this track opens with soulful keys that dovetail into hip-hop drums. Then, as Beck comes in, he talk-sings lyrics that both enliven and create wonder. Digging into his hip-hop love, he talks about two turntables and a microphone. But the music could be taken from 1970s lounge records. It’s this drive that makes Beck both beloved and somehow always new in whatever he puts out. On this particular single, he sings,

There’s a destination a little up the road

From the habitations and the towns we know

A place we saw, the lights turn low

The jigsaw jazz and the get-fresh flow

Pulling out jives and jamboree handouts

Two turntables and a microphone

Bottles and cans, just clap your hands

Just clap your hands

“Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

A cover of a 1980 song by The Korgis, Beck turned this one into one of his signature deep cuts in 2004 for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The song plays a key role in the film as it comes in when the lead character, played by Jim Carrey, is having a mental breakdown. Emotional, somber, and lush with keyboards and crisp percussion, the track showcases Beck’s softer, more serious side. And on it, he sings,

Change your heart, look around you

Change your heart, it will astound you

I need your lovin’ like the sunshine

Everybody’s got to learn sometime

Everybody’s got to learn sometime

Everybody’s got to learn sometime

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