Let me preface this by saying I am not much of a Beck fan. While there are things he's done that I find musically interesting, I think he's a lyrical faker and that there is a lot of pretentiousness in his product. Several years back, he was interviewed by Nardwuar the Human Serviette (a Canadian radio and television personality who conducts semi-absurdist Q&A's with pop culture figures). Nardwuar's first question to Beck was "Why should we care about you?" (a great question that Nardwuar occasionally opens interviews with and one we should ask more often of celebrities). Instead of trying to answer the question or laughing it off (as some have done), little Beck had a hissy fit, told him to "Fuck-off" and hung-up. I won't even get into the Scientology issue.

Anyhoo, I caught a recent interview snippet on TV the other night and Monsieur Beck was talking about having to play the same songs over and over. He said, "Sometimes, it goes beyond boredom to a sort of Zen state" and talked about the absurdity of constantly having to recreate something that you'd written years ago and that he'd be much happier performing strictly new music that reflected where he was now.

Now, this is something I can understand. In fact, it really gets on my tits that a lot of Springsteen fans want The Boss to constantly play songs that were written over a quarter-of-a-century ago. I personally believe that he no longer thinks much of a lot of this work and does it strictly to appease the faithful.

My question to you: When you go to concerts, is it important to you that the artist plays older material? If the recordings are available (and what isn't these days?), why do you want to hear it live?

That's a tough question. I know I love to hear particular songs at concerts, but I think that if, overall someone puts on a kick ass show I'm gonna be happy.

Just an after thought...the question "Why should we care about you?" Is a good question, but it's like one of those horrible job interview questions.
[Edited 10/18/05 14:12pm]

well, as a fan, i want an artist to play songs that are maybe a little more obscure or a little more challenging. but most artists tend to cater to the mainstream folks who just want to come out and hear the hits. that's business, unfortunately. some artists, like prince, have played around with breaking that mold a little bit (musicology tour notwithstanding, though playing "question of u" and "the one" was moderately risky) - and some artists have such large, loyal fan bases that they can play whatever they want because it's not about "hits" but about seeing someone play (frank zappa comes to mind first and foremost)...then you have artists like beck and sting, who complain about having to play the same old standby hits over and over, when they should just be damn happy they're successful.

really, i'm a beck fan, but i can understand why ace doesn't like him. there's kind of a barrier between the sounds he makes (which i really like) and his soul (which i've hardly seen in his music, except perhaps in the 'sea change' album). beck does a lot of funky, bizarre stuff, but there's no real emotional or spiritual or intellectual "seed" to it. it's all surface. maybe that's why playing his own songs live over and over bores him so much. he can't play with the emotions that created his songs because there are none.

if it bothers him so much, he should do aftershows like prince does, where he can play whatever the hell he wants. better yet, beck should tighten up his live show and figure out the sound problems that seem to plague EVERY performance of his latest tour, before he goes bitching about how bored he is with touring.

Ace said:

Good Question. I like it when the artist will play older material. Not necca the hits but older material that may be a bit obscure. Maybe somehow the old fits in with the new. I abhor going to see the same artist and hearing the same tunes over and over...like I know what will get played. One of the reasons I want to hear the older material is perhaps this may be the first time I get to see said artist and I would love to hear how the older material translates currently. And for nolstalgia sakes...certianly.

I like surprises. I like different rendidtions of music. I like live energy. Nothing beats a live performance when you are enjoying it with all the people around you...singing or otherwise. I like when there is a concept behind the show that makes the music transcend.

Nothinbutjoy said:

I do, too. I suppose we are jazzed that the artist seems to value a song that we value (I guess this has something to do with our identification with an artist). But I think "seems" is the key word here.

As for the "Why should we care about you?" thing, if I were a celebrity interviewer I would want to lead-off every interview with this question! With very few exceptions, I think the truthful answer to this query is "You shouldn't".

P.S. I wouldn't last long as a celebrity interviewer.

Ace said:

And my response to this is...Eh? Pretentiousness? I am a semi-fan of his work...and wish I were a bigger fan, because I think of him as a musical artist...One of the Last IMHO. Well maybe not last...but there aren't that many guys out there just making music they want to make and not really care about anything else. At least that's the gist I get from the guy and his work.

Not a genius...just a good artist doing his thing. Certainly NOT a follower.

Ace said:

so far, i've been lucky enough to only interview people who i really admire...i wouldn't have the balls to ask tina weymouth or princess superstar why i should care about them, because i already do! but if i were a disgruntled staff reporter, i could see this creeping into my questions list.

Anxiety said:

ANd that may be why I can't whole heartedly latch onto a lot of his music. There is sould in some places like Jackass or Debra but not in many other places.

superspaceboy said:

yeah, but that sounds like beck emulating emotion more than actually feeling it. beck's crooning in debra is nothing like, say, kate bush singing 'this woman's work' or even some of the weaker tracks prince recorded on 'emancipation'. you just don't hear that level of sincerity in beck's vocals...with a POSSIBLE exception of 'sea change', which would make sense, as i've heard nigel godrich really forces the artists he produces to take risks with their songwriting.

Anxiety said:

Exactly. There's too much irony there for me. I am all ironied-out.

Ace said:

ace, have you ever heard 'sea change'? i don't really consider it a 'beck' album (even though, duh, it IS) because it's so unlike his other albums. it's really a gorgeous piece of work - if you can get over your dislike for him as a pop culture irony huckster and just listen to it as a piece of music by any ol' schmoe, i think you'd really enjoy it.

superspaceboy said:

What I mean by "pretentiousness" is that I hear a lot of non-sensical lyrics that seem to be masquerading as deep thought.

Ace said:

actually, a lot of it is just meant to be silliness...though there ARE some beck songs that are just all kinds of pretentious, sure. but then, look who we're celebrating on this site.

Ace said:

I always direct non-fans to 'Guess I'm Doing Fine'. It's very "Gram Parsons" and lyrically straight-forward but extremely heartfelt.

Anxiety said:

I ask myself this question all the time about things I care about (why do I care about them?); I think it's an important question. It's only because of Nardwuar's persona that he can sometimes get away with asking this question of musicians, etc.

Anxiety said:

I've read that this album was inspired by the break-up of a long-term relationship, so it would make sense that the songs are perhaps more heartfelt.

Ace said:

well, if you get too existential about it, then you'll realize your function as an interviewer doesn't matter either, and nobody really needs to be doing anything, and you'll end up standing on a beach with a gun in your hand, staring at the sky, staring at the sand. and that's no good. is it?

Anxiety said:

I think "dislike" is too strong a word for my opinion on Beck (as I've said, I think some of his stuff is really musically interesting). I just wish he'd inject a little more sincerity into his lyrics. I've heard that that is the case with Sea Change and perhaps one day I'll check it out.

Anxiety said:

As much as I'm a fan of Beck, including Sea Change, I don't hear much emotion on that album either. At least not much more than the "bummer" emotion. It's a self conscious attempt at being serious, and it's obvious. He's capable of emotional singing, I just know it.

Still, his stuff appeals to me, and I'm okay with artists missing one thing.

I got him "interviewed" on a space ghost dvd. I forget if he was funny or not. (could not of been funnier then hulk hogan and donny osmond mind u, as they were hilarious)

Ace said:

You can listen to 'Guess I'm Doing Fine' in full, here: http://www.epitonic.com/a.../beck.html and also download couple of cool tracks for free.

andyman91 said:

you're probably right. i've just never heard his voice sound as full and as mature as on that album. he tries to recapture it a couple times on 'guero', but doesn't quite hit the same mark. i'm sure it's all protools and production tricks, but my god beck sounds good on 'sea change'.

Anxiety said:

Sometimes it feels that way. But I think there are people with some profound insight into the human condition who can inspire us to look within and try to effect change without. Sometimes I read interviews and come away with a new perspective on something I wouldn't have necessarily gotten to on my own (or it's saved me a lot of time in getting there). And sometimes it's just nice to know there are others who share your perspective in what sometimes seems like a world filled with crazy people.

BinaryJustin said:

Thanks. I'll give it a listen. What album is that from?

Ace said:

It's from 'Sea Change'. It's my favourite Beck song.

Anxiety said:

No Debra could never make me cry like This Womans Work has...every time.

Anxiety said:

He always sounds good to me. Sea Change is great because of that vibe. The great thing about artists like Prince or Beck is the variety of their stuff, but it can be a problem, as well.

Prince doesn't make good background music, because the style/emotion changes from song to song and it can be jarring. Sea Change has the same vibe throughout the album so it's good for listening, but also as background music. It's got to be very hard to write 12-13 slow, sad songs and make it work as one album.

andyman91 said:

You got it, andyman.

But Beck is plagued with the same problem that plagued Prince until very, very recently. People mistook the novelty and fun in the image he projected for being the hallmarks of a frivolous musician instead of a serious artist.

He is a substantive artist who struggles with his own success.