Kobe and the Jackass Crew

Beck and Danger

“It was the most intensive work I’ve ever done on anything,” Beck says the day after finishing his new record, sounding slightly dazed. For his 10th studio disc, Beck worked with Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse — who’s overcommitted as both a producer and a member of Gnarls Barkley, which just released a record of their own. “It was like trying to fit two years of songwriting into two and a half months,” Beck says. “I know I did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night.”

Burton remembers Beck’s stamina during their late-night sessions: “He’s like a machine. I always got tired before he did. I stayed pretty late, but I’d usually hear the next day how late it went.” The resulting album, tentatively titled Modern Guilt, is full of off-kilter rhythms and left-field breakdowns, with an overall 1960s British vibe. Beck’s vocals float over the music as if he’s singing along to some mystical radio station in the next room. The title track has the groove of a good Zombies single, while the twangy guitar and uptempo beat of “Beggars Shoes” make it sound like Beck’s cruising at maximum speed down Route 66. The lyrics include lines about the ice caps melting down (and “the transistor sound”), but there were many earlier versions. “I can’t tell you how many times I wrote and recorded a complete song,” Beck says, “and then just took everything away but the drumbeat and wrote a whole new song.”

Beck and Danger Mouse knew each other casually before making the record — some of Beck’s former musicians ended up playing with Gnarls Barkley — but they were both surprised at how naturally they worked together. “It felt like we could have been making our fourth record together,” Beck says. “It did help that we share a lot of musical references. We spent the first week just talking about different records. His knowledge is pretty deep, especially with some of the obscure late-Sixties, early-Seventies rock.”

The original vision for Modern Guilt was 10 short tracks. “I was hoping all the songs would be two minutes long,” Beck says, “but then I got rid of all the short songs.” Each song started with Beck playing acoustic guitar over a drumbeat: If it made the cut, they’d flesh out the music, usually with Burton playing keyboard bass and Beck playing most of the other instruments. There were just a few guests: Joey Waronker added drums to the epic “Chem Trails,” which would have fit in nicely on an early Pink Floyd record. And Cat Power’s Chan Marshall added backing vocals to a few tracks, including the melancholy “Walls,” which includes the lyric “Some days are worse than you can imagine.”

Modern Guilt doesn’t have an official release date yet, but sources close to Beck say that he’s likely to rush it out in June, much like the recent blitzkrieg of releases from Gnarls Barkley and the Raconteurs. For Beck, always eager to shake up music-industry practices, the disc marks the end of his major-label contract. “I’ve had this deal since my early 20s,” says Beck, 37. “I don’t have any plans at the moment. It’s anybody’s guess where things are going week to week with the music business.”

Dr.Dog "The Girl" Beck Remix

Summer Sounds

It's starting to heat up here in Arizona. So you know what that means:
Lots of Dub, Reggae and whatever sounds good in the warm sun.

Classic.


Dub.


New Gold.

St. James Infirmary

I was feelin' kinda down and out last nite after the Suns got crushed by the Spurs. So, I listened too this song about 20 times in a row and had a few Blue Moon's.
Thanks Louis, I feel much better.

Jim Noir

His debut album Tower of Love set the bar pretty high for the one-chap band that is Jim Noir. The tunes were all super memorable and the sound was a bliss inducing mixture of burbling electronic beats, layered vocals reminiscent of '60s sunshine pop, trippy arrangements that harken back to the heyday of British psychedelia, goofy lyrics that always bring a smile, and instantly familiar melodies. Apparently, Noir liked the sound, too, since his second album replicates it, refines it and, in the best possible way, retreads it. It's easy to cut him and the album some slack since it's only the second one he's released. If it were his third, or fifth, record to have the same sound and feel, then it'd be a problem. On Jim Noir, it's like a second helping of a particularly good meal. Or more specifically, a second giant cupcake with a big glop of frosting on top. The songs are just as bubbly, the lyrics reach acceptable levels of silly (CDs vs. vinyl, going on a holiday, and having songs stuck in your head are some of the topics covered) and Noir generally sounds like he's having the time of his life making this album. The only problem with the record is that there are no stand-out tracks like Tower of Love's "My Patch" or "Eenie Meenie" to be found. As the stereotypical A&R weasel might say; "I don't hear a single." That could be a fatal flaw except that the overall quality of the record is so high and the sound is so perfect, you don't feel like there is something so terribly important missing. Songs like the lovely ballad "On a Different Shelf," the tough as nails rocker "What U Gonna Do" (which is sure to get played like crazy on Little Steven's Underground Garage) or the impossibly chipper and bouncy "Happy Day Today" are more than enough to salve any wounds and make the album a satisfying listening experience. If the third album comes out sounding exactly like this, we may need to re-examine Mr. Noir and his bubble machine, but for now it's enough to frolic giddily in the froth. (AllMusic)

Psych/Pop in 08'

Jim Noir "Ships and Clouds"

There Can Only Be One: Nash/Kidd

Can't wait for the playoffs. Nice use of Radiohead song.

Akon calls T-Pain