You can always recognize a person from our 'Nintendo' generation because a) we believe that any electronic gadget can be fixed by either hitting it hard on the side or blowing into it, and b) because we know Beck Hansen is a loser, baby, not some cool, funky, genre-defying Californian.
Before Beck became the coolest hipster around, he defined a generation of grunge slackers with "Loser." But now, he presents a huge challenge to critics everywhere, as his music continues to defy categorization. Beck seems to alternate between fun, silly and funky albums rife with hip-hop and funk influences, and truly deep and heartfelt ones, that more closely resemble Bjork albums in their intensity, passion and melancholy.
His new album, "Guero," is more similar to "Mellow Gold" (1994) and "Odelay" (1996) than it is to his 2002 release, "Sea Change," which he supposedly wrote following a gut-wrenching breakup with a long-standing girlfriend. "Guero" contains a handful of extremely catchy songs, most notably "Girl," which bears a striking resemblance to Outkast's "Hey Ya!" It will make even the stiffest person start dancing as Beck substitutes the words "Hey Ya!" with "My summer girl."
The word "guero," Mexican slang for a blonde person, and the song "Que Onda Guero" (after which the album was named) is to Los Angeles what Will Smith's "Welcome to Miami" is to the Florida metropolis. You can almost imagine Beck sitting outside at a taco stand with a tape recorder as he describes: "Rancheras on cheap guitars abuelitas with/ Plastic bags walking to church with their/ Spanish candles dirty boracho says 'qu?© putas?/Andelay joto, your popsicles melting.'" But the cherry on top is the Mexican voice in the background with a really stereotypical accent saying a range of funny things about popsicles.
Beck's music is obviously influenced by his upbringing. Born in Los Angeles in 1970, he grew up amid the diversity of the city. His mother was part of the Andy Warhol scene, and even appeared in one of Warhol's films, while his father was a conductor and string arranger.
Beck dropped out of high school in tenth grade and was a street musician for a while before he was discovered in New York. The song "Loser," which came out in 1994 made him an instant superstar and got him a record deal. Since then, Beck has experimented with hip-hop, funk, country, electronica and every possible variety of rock, making him one of the most unique rock stars around today.
"Guero," while most easily categorized as a throwback to the days of "Odelay," also contains some truly heartfelt, honest songs, reminiscent of "Sea Change." The song "Broken Drum" is the most beautiful song on the album. Beck drops the rap and sings in his gently melodic, soothing voice about a woman he misses. The last verse, in which he softly sings, "I'll never forget you" is haunting and disturbing, but also humble and sweet.
What makes Beck so unique is that he can put a song like "Broken Drum" on the same album as a song like "Hell Yes," which could almost be a Busta Rhymes sample. On "Hell Yes," Beck returns to his classic white-boy rapping, but reminds us that he is not run-of-the-mill in the first line, with the words, "Looking for my place/On assembly lines." Clearly Beck is not an interchangeable part; he occupies a space all his own.
Beck's ability to be so eclectic has always been what sets him apart from other artists, and he takes this even further on his new album. Its strength lies in mixing the honesty of "Sea Change" with the funk of "Odelay." Beck, now a husband and father in his 30s, has with "Guero" returned to the aesthetic pop, rock, funk, hip-hop, electro mix of "Odelay," while cleaning up the sound - discarding facetious wackiness and paring the lyrics down to the essential, with good results.
