{{Short description|American musician (born 1970)}} {{About|the American musician|other uses|Beck (disambiguation)}} {{Good article}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Beck | image = Beck cropped.png | alt = Beck performing at Yahoo! Hack Day (09/29/2006) | caption = Beck in 2006 | birth_name = Bek<!-- His birth name was Bek, see the sources given. This is not a typo and should not be changed without good reason.--> David Campbell | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|7|8}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | occupation = {{flatlist| * Musician * singer * songwriter * record producer }} | years_active = 1988–present | awards = Full list | spouse = {{marriage|Marissa Ribisi|2004|2021<!--Do NOT change year. The divorce was finalized in 2021. 2019 was when they filed for divorce, but that does not mean that their divorce was finalized.-->|reason=divorced}} | children = 2 | mother = Bibbe Hansen | father = David Campbell | relatives = Al Hansen (Grandfather) | website = {{URL|beck.com}} | signature = Beck signature, Billboard Open Letter 2016.png | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | discography = Beck discography | genre = {{flatlist| * Alternative rock * folk rock * psychedelia * electronic * alt-country * lo-fi (early) }} | instrument = {{flatlist| * Vocals * guitar * bass guitar * keyboards * harmonica }} | label = {{flatlist| * DGC * Interscope * Bong Load * Fonograf * Capitol * K * Sonic Enemy }} }} }} '''Beck David Hansen''' (born '''Bek <!-- His birth name is Bek, see the sources given. This is not a typo and should not be changed without good reason.--> David Campbell'''; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as '''Beck''', is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronica, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 15 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Beck gravitated towards hip hop and folk in his teens and began to perform locally at coffeehouses and clubs. He moved to New York City in 1989 and became involved in the city's anti-folk movement. Returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he saw his commercial breakthrough with his 1993 single "Loser." After signing with DGC Records, the song peaked at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and served as lead single for his third album and major label debut, ''Mellow Gold'' (1994). Its follow-up, ''Odelay'' (1996), topped critic polls and won several awards. Before his 1996 release, the same year, he played the role of a taxi driver in the US video of Alisha's Attic's single, "I Am, I Feel".
Beck released the country-influenced, twangy ''Mutations'' in 1998, and the funk-infused ''Midnite Vultures'' in 1999. The soft-acoustic ''Sea Change'' in 2002 showcased a more serious Beck, and 2005's ''Guero'' returned to ''Odelay''{{'}}s sample-based production. ''The Information'' in 2006 was inspired by electro-funk, hip hop, and psychedelia; 2008's ''Modern Guilt'' was inspired by 1960s pop; and 2014's folk-infused ''Morning Phase'', a stylistic and thematic follow-up to Sea Change, won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards. His 2017 album, ''Colors'', won awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. His fourteenth studio album, ''Hyperspace'', was released on November 22, 2019. In 2022, Beck was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being among the most idiosyncratically creative musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock. Two of Beck's most popular and acclaimed recordings are ''Odelay'' and ''Sea Change'', both of which were ranked on ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Beck is a four-time platinum artist; he has collaborated with several artists and has made several contributions to soundtracks.
==Early life== Beck David Campbell was born in Los Angeles on July 8, 1970,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Petrusich |first=Amanda |date=2019-12-02 |title=Beck Is Home |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/02/beck-is-home |magazine=The New Yorker |quote=He was born on July 8, 1970, as Bek David Campbell. |access-date=2026-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Martell|first1=Nevin|title=Beck: The Art of Mutation|date=2002|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9780743424486|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fjlVMqXlYXQC}}</ref> the son of American visual artist Bibbe Hansen and Canadian arranger, composer, and conductor David Campbell.<ref name=rsencyclopedia>George-Warren, Holly and Romanowski, Patricia. (2001). ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll''. New York: Fireside, 1136 pp. First edition, 2001.</ref> Bibbe Hansen grew up amid Andy Warhol's The Factory art scene of the 1960s in New York City and was a Warhol superstar.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> She moved to California at 17 and met David Campbell.<ref name="q97"/> Beck's maternal grandfather, artist Al Hansen, was of Norwegian descent<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/bibbe_hansen.shtml| title=Bibbe Hansen, 1999| author= Davis, Vaginal| work=Indexmagazine.com| year=1999| access-date=March 4, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070308155245/http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/bibbe_hansen.shtml| archive-date= March 8, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-al-hansen-1589055.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Dick | last=Higgins | title=Obituary: Al Hansen | date=June 30, 1995 | access-date=August 24, 2017 | archive-date=September 20, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920101300/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-al-hansen-1589055.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and was a pioneer in the avant-garde Fluxus movement.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> Beck's maternal grandmother was Jewish; he has said that he considers himself Jewish because he was "raised celebrating Jewish holidays."<ref name="Spin 2008-09">{{cite web|last1=McAlley|first1=John|title=Reverberation: The Beck Sessions (September 2008 cover story)|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/07/reverberation-beck-sessions-cover-story-september-2008/|website=spin.com|publisher=Spin Magazine|access-date=September 29, 2014|date=September 1, 2008|archive-date=September 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927025528/http://www.spin.com/2014/07/reverberation-beck-sessions-cover-story-september-2008/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Beck was born in a rooming house near downtown Los Angeles. As a child he lived in a declining neighborhood near Hollywood Boulevard.<ref name="rs97"/> He remembers "By the time we left there, they were ripping out miles of houses en masse and building low-rent, giant apartment blocks."<ref name="q97"/> The working-class family struggled financially, moving to Hoover and Ninth Street, a neighborhood populated primarily by Koreans and Salvadorian refugees.<ref name="q97"/> He was sent for a time to live with his paternal grandparents in Kansas; he later remarked that he thought "they were kind of concerned" about his "weird" home life.<ref name=rs94>{{cite news| url =https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| title =Meet Beck: The Unlikely Success Story of a Hip-Hop Folk Rocker| work =Rolling Stone| date =April 21, 1994| access-date =July 11, 2013| author =Wild, David| issue =680| pages =79–80| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City| issn =0035-791X| archive-date =August 6, 2013| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130806003751/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| url-status =live}}</ref> Because his paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, Beck grew up influenced by church music and hymns.<ref name="rs94"/> He also spent time in Europe with his maternal grandfather.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/>
After his parents separated when he was ten,<ref name="q97"/> Beck stayed with his mother and brother Channing in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip hop to Latin music and his mother's art scene—all of which would later reappear in his work.<ref name= :"ny">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/02/beck-is-home|title=Beck Is Home|last=Petrusich|first=Amanda|magazine=The New Yorker|date=November 25, 2019|access-date=November 29, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=November 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129082832/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/02/beck-is-home|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck obtained his first guitar at 16 and became a street musician, often playing Lead Belly covers at Lafayette Park.<ref name="rs96"/> During his teens, Beck discovered the music of Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, and X, but remained uninterested in most music outside the folk genre until many years into his career.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/><ref name="q97"/> The first contemporary music that made a direct connection with Beck was hip hop, which he first heard on Grandmaster Flash records in the early 1980s.<ref name="q97"/> Growing up in a predominantly Latin district, he found himself the only white child at his school, and quickly learned how to breakdance.<ref name="q97"/> When he was 17, Beck grew fascinated after hearing a Mississippi John Hurt record at a friend's house,<ref name="lat94"/> and spent hours in his room trying to emulate Hurt's finger-picking techniques.<ref name="rs94"/> Shortly thereafter Beck explored blues and folk music further, discovering Woody Guthrie and Blind Willie Johnson.<ref name="lat94"/>
Feeling like "a total outcast", Beck dropped out of school after junior high.<ref name="lat94"/> He later said that although he felt school was important, he felt unsafe there.<ref name="rs97"/> When he applied to the new performing arts high school downtown, he was rejected.<ref name=nym12>{{cite news| url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/beck-hansens-song-reader.html| title=Listening to Beck: The Artist on His New Album, Which Isn't Really an Album At All| work=New York| date=December 23, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Lee, Dan P.| publisher=New York Media, LLC| location=New York City| issn=0028-7369| archive-date=May 30, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530032432/http://www.vulture.com/2012/12/beck-hansens-song-reader.html| url-status=live}}</ref> His brother took him to post-Beat jazz places in Echo Park and Silver Lake. He hung out at Los Angeles City College perusing records, books, and old sheet music in the college's library. He used a fake ID to sit in on classes there, and he also befriended a literature instructor and his poet wife.<ref name="nym12"/> He worked at a string of odd jobs, including loading trucks and operating a leaf blower.<ref name="lat94"/>
==Career== ===Early performances and first releases (1988–1993)=== Beck began as a folk musician, switching between country blues, Delta blues, and more traditional rural folk music in his teenage years.<ref name=q97>{{cite news| last=Cavanagh| first=David| title=The Devil Inside |work=Q| date=July 1997| pages =92–99| publisher =Bauer Media Group| location =London }}</ref> He began performing on city buses, often covering Mississippi John Hurt alongside original, sometimes improvisational compositions.<ref name="rs94"/> "I'd get on the bus and start playing Mississippi John Hurt with totally improvised lyrics. Some drunk would start yelling at me, calling me Axl Rose. So I'd start singing about Axl Rose and the levee and bus passes and strychnine, mixing the whole thing up", he later recalled.<ref name="rs94"/> He was also in a band called Youthless that hosted Dadaist-inspired freeform events at city coffee shops.<ref name="q97"/> "We had Radio Shack mics and this homemade speaker and we'd draft people in the audience to recite comic books or do a beatbox thing, or we'd tie the whole audience up in masking tape," Beck recalled.<ref name="q97"/>
In 1989, Beck caught a bus to New York City with little more than $8.00 and a guitar.<ref name="rs94"/> He spent the summer attempting to find a job and a place to live with little success.<ref name="rs94"/> Beck eventually began to frequent Manhattan's Lower East Side and stumbled upon the tail end of the East Village's anti-folk scene's first wave.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> Beck became involved in a loose posse of acoustic musicians—including Cindy Lee Berryhill, Kirk Kelly, Paleface, and Lach headed by Roger Manning—whose raggedness and eccentricity placed them well outside the acoustic mainstream.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name="gp94"/> "The whole mission was to destroy all the clichés and make up some new ones," said Beck of his New York years. "Everybody knew each other. You could go up onstage and say anything, and you wouldn't feel weird or feel any pressure."<ref name="gp94"/> Inspired by that freedom and by the local spoken-word performers, Beck began to write free-associative, surrealistic songs about pizza, MTV, and working at McDonald's, turning mundane thoughts into songs.<ref name=gp94>{{cite news| last=Rotondi| first=James| title=Beck & Roger Manning: "Set Your Guitars and Banjos on Fire" |work=Guitar Player| date=September 1994|volume=28| issue =9| pages =113–116| publisher =New Bay Media| location =San Bruno | issn = 0017-5463}}</ref> Beck was roommates with Paleface, sleeping on his couch and attending open mic nights together.<ref>Leibovitz, Annie. ''American Music''. New York: Random House, 264 pp. First edition, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-375-50507-2}}.</ref> Daunted by the prospect of another homeless New York winter, Beck returned to his home of Los Angeles in early 1991.<ref name="lat94"/><ref>Palacios, Julian. ''Beck: Beautiful Monstrosity'', p.67. Boxtree, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-7522-7143-9}}.</ref> "I was tired of being cold, tired of getting beat up," he later remarked. "It was hard to be in New York with no money, no place ... I kinda used up all the friends I had. Everyone on the scene got sick of me."<ref name="rs94"/>
Back in Los Angeles, Beck began to work at a video store in the Silver Lake neighborhood, "doing things like alphabetizing the pornography section".<ref name="rs94"/> He began performing in arthouse clubs and coffeehouses such as Al's Bar and Raji's.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/><ref name="rs94"/><ref name="lat94"/> In order to keep indifferent audiences engaged in his music, Beck would play in a spontaneous, joking manner.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 71</ref> "I'd be banging away on a Son House tune and the whole audience would be talking. So maybe out of desperation or boredom, or the audience's boredom, I'd make up these ridiculous songs just to see if people were listening," he later remarked.<ref name=ew97>{{Cite magazine| last=Browne| first=David| author-link=David Browne (journalist)| title=Beck in the High Life| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| issue =366| pages =32–35| date=February 14, 1997| publisher =Time Inc.| location =New York City | issn = 1049-0434}}</ref> Virtually an unknown to the public and an enigma to those who met him, Beck would hop onstage between acts in local clubs and play "strange folk songs", accompanied by "what could best be described as performance art" while sometimes wearing a ''Star Wars'' stormtrooper mask.<ref name=lat94>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-20-ca-25047-story.html| title=Don't Get Bitter on Us, Beck| work=Los Angeles Times| date=February 20, 1994| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Hochman, Steve| location=Los Angeles| issn=0458-3035| archive-date=October 29, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200830/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-02-20/entertainment/ca-25047_1_folk-songs| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck met someone who offered to help record demos in his living room, and he began to pass cassette tapes around.<ref name="lat94"/>
Eventually, Beck gained key boosters in Margaret Mittleman, the West Coast's director of talent acquisitions for BMG Music Publishing, and the partners behind independent record label Bong Load Custom Records: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf, and Brad Lambert.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> Schnapf saw Beck perform at Jabberjaw and felt he would suit their small venture.<ref name="lat94"/> Beck expressed a loose interest in hip hop and Rothrock introduced him to Carl Stephenson, a record producer for Rap-A-Lot Records.<ref name="lat94"/><ref>Palacios 2000, p. 72</ref> In 1992, Beck visited Stephenson's home to collaborate with him. The result—the slide-sampling hip hop track "Loser"—was a one-off experiment that Beck set aside, going back to his folk songs, making his home tapes such as ''Golden Feelings'', and releasing several independent singles.<ref name="lat94"/>
===''Mellow Gold'', and independent albums (1993–1994)=== By 1993, Beck was living in a rat-infested shed near a Los Angeles alleyway with little money.<ref name="rs94"/> Bong Load issued "Loser" as a single in March 1993 on 12" vinyl with only 500 copies pressed.<ref name = "Palacios 77">Palacios 2000, p. 77</ref> Beck felt that "Loser" was mediocre, and only agreed to its release at Rothrock's insistence.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 74</ref> "Loser" unexpectedly received radio airplay, starting in Los Angeles, where college radio station KXLU was the first to play it,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Ron |date=March 4, 2019 |title=Beck Producer Tom Rothrock Looks Back on 'Mellow Gold' & Its Unlikely Road to Success |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/beck-producer-tom-rothrock-mellow-gold-loser-8500851/ |magazine= Billboard|location=NYC |access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name = "Palacios 77" /> and later on Santa Monica College radio station KCRW, where radio host Chris Douridas played the song on ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'', the station's flagship music program. "I called the record label that day and asked to have Beck play live on the air", Douridas said. "He came in that Friday, rapped to a tape of 'Loser' and did his song 'MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack.{{'"}}<ref name="lat94"/> That night, Beck performed at the Los Angeles club Cafe Troy to a packed audience and talent scouts from major labels.<ref name="lat94"/> The song then spread to Seattle through KNDD The End, and KROQ-FM began playing the song on an almost hourly basis.<ref name = "Palacios 77" /> As Bong Load struggled to press more copies of "Loser", Beck was beset with offers to sign with major labels.<ref name="Palacios 80">Palacios 2000, p. 80</ref> During the bidding war in November, Beck spent several days in Olympia, Washington, recording material with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening, which would later see release the following year on Johnson's K Records as ''One Foot in the Grave''.<ref name="bb93"/>
A fierce bidding war ensued, with Geffen Records A&R director Mark Kates signing Beck in December 1993 amid intense competition from Warner Bros. and Capitol.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name=bb93>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| title=Labels are at Beck's call; "Loser" may win deal for new artist| magazine=Billboard| date=November 27, 1993| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Rosen, Craig| volume=105| issue=48| publisher=Prometheus Global Media| location=New York City| issn=0006-2510| archive-date=August 6, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806003751/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck's non-exclusive contract with Geffen allowed him an unusual amount of creative freedom, with Beck remaining free to release material through such small, independent labels as Flipside, which issued the sprawling, 25-track collection of pre-"Loser" recordings titled ''Stereopathetic Soulmanure'' on February 22 the following year.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name="bb93"/> By the time Beck released his first album for Geffen, the low-budget, genre-blending ''Mellow Gold'' on March 1,<ref name="lat94"/> "Loser" was already in the top 40 and its video in MTV's Buzz Bin.<ref name=rs97>{{cite news | title=Beck: The Rolling Stone Interview| work=Rolling Stone| date=April 17, 1997 | author=Kemp, Mark| issue =758| pages =58–64; 94; 97| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> "Loser" quickly ascended the charts in the U.S., reaching a peak of number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and topping the Modern Rock Tracks chart.<ref name="US charts">{{cite magazine | title= Beck—Artist Chart History | magazine= Billboard | url= {{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beck|chart=all}} | access-date=December 21, 2008 }}</ref> The song also charted in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. Beck's newfound position of attention led to his characterization as the "King of Slackers", as the media dubbed him the center of the new so-called "slacker" movement.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 84</ref> Critics, feeling it the essential follow-up to Radiohead's "Creep",<ref name="bb93"/> found vacantness in the lyrics of "Loser" strongly associated with Generation X, although Beck himself strongly contested his position as the face of the "slacker" generation: "Slacker my ''ass''. I mean, I ''never'' had any slack. I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive. That slacker stuff is for people who have the time to be depressed about everything."<ref name="rs94"/>
===Backlash and ''Odelay'' (1994–1997)=== Feeling as though he was "constantly trying to prove myself",<ref name="rs97"/> Beck suffered a backlash, with skeptics denouncing him as a self-indulgent fake and the latest marketing opportunity.<ref name=ew94>{{cite magazine| last=Lewman| first=Mark| title="Loser" Takes All|magazine=Entertainment Weekly| date=April 8, 1994| issue =217| page =14| publisher =Time Inc.| location =New York City | issn = 1049-0434}}</ref> In the summer of 1994, Beck was struggling and many of his fellow musicians thought he had lost his way.<ref name="q97"/> Combined with "Loser"'s wildly popular music video and the world tour, Beck reacted believing the attention could not last, resulting in a status as a "one-hit wonder". At other concerts, crowds were treated to twenty minutes of reggae or Miles Davis or jazz-punk iterations of "Loser".<ref name="nym12"/> At one-day festivals in California, he surrounded himself with an artnoise combo. The drummer set fire to his cymbals; the lead guitarist "played" his guitar with the strings faced towards his body; and Beck changed the words to "Loser" so that nobody could sing along.<ref name="q97"/> "I can't tell you how many times I was looking at faces that were looking back at me with complete bewilderment—or just pointing and shaking their heads and laughing—while performing during that period," he later recalled.<ref name=p4k11>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8026-beck-15-years/| title=Beck: 15 Years| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=August 17, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Dombal, Ryan| archive-date=June 27, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627111120/http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8026-beck-15-years/| url-status=live}}</ref> Despite this, Beck gained the respect of his peers, such as Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, and created an entire wave of bands determined to recapture the ''Mellow Gold'' sound.<ref name="ocr96"/> Feeling his previous releases were just collections of demos recorded over the course of several years, Beck desired to enter the studio and record an album in a continuous linear fashion, which became ''Odelay''.<ref name="p4k11"/>
Beck blends country, blues, rap, jazz and rock on ''Odelay'', the result of a year and half of feverish "cutting, pasting, layering, dubbing, and, of course, sampling".<ref name=rs96>{{cite news| title=Beck: Resident Alien| work=Rolling Stone| date=July 11, 1996 | author=Dunn, Jancee| issue =738/739| pages =50–51; 53| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Each day, the musicians started from scratch,<ref name="rs99"/> often working on songs for 16 hours straight.<ref name="rs96"/> ''Odelay''{{'}}s conception lies in an unfinished studio album Beck first embarked on following the success of "Loser", chronicling the difficult time he experienced: "There was a cycle of everyone dying around me," he recalled later.<ref name="ocr96"/> He was constantly recording, and eventually put together an album of somber, orchestrated folk tunes; one that, perhaps, "could have been a commercial blockbuster along with similarly themed work by Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana".<ref name="ocr96"/> Instead, Beck plucked one song from it—the ''Odelay'' album closer "Ramshackle"—and shelved the rest ("Brother" and "Feather In Your Cap" were, however, later released as B-sides).<ref name="q97"/><ref name=ocr96>{{cite news| title=Beck Lives Through the Hype That Would Have Killed Most Losers| newspaper=The Orange County Register| date=October 9, 1996 | author=Brown, Mark| publisher =Freedom Communications| location =Santa Ana | issn = 0886-4934}}</ref> Beck was introduced to the Dust Brothers, producers of the Beastie Boys' album ''Paul's Boutique'', whose cut-and-paste, sample-heavy production suited Beck's vision of a more fun, accessible album.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} After a record executive explained that ''Odelay'' would be a "huge mistake", he spent many months thinking "that I'd blown it forever".<ref name="nym12"/>
''Odelay'' was released on June 18, 1996, to commercial success and critical acclaim. The record produced several hit singles including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution",<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9709/05/mtv.music.awards/ "Beck, Jamiroquai big winners at MTV Music Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215033521/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9709/05/mtv.music.awards/ |date=December 15, 2017 }}. ''CNN'', September 5, 1997</ref> and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997, winning a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album as well as a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Where It's At". During one busy week in January 1997, he landed his Grammy nominations, appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''Howard Stern'', and did a last-minute trot on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. The combined buzz gave ''Odelay'' a second wind, leading to an expanded fan base and additional exposure<ref name="ew97"/> Beck enjoyed but, like several executives at Geffen, was bewildered by the success of ''Odelay''. He would often get recognized in public, which made him feel strange. "It's just weird. It doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel natural to me. I don't think I was made for that. I was never good at that," he later told Pitchfork.<ref name="p4k11"/> ''Odelay'' sold two million copies and put "one-hit wonder" criticisms to rest. During this time, he contributed the song "Deadweight" to the soundtrack of the film ''A Life Less Ordinary'' (1997).<ref name="rs98"/>
===''Mutations'' and ''Midnite Vultures'' (1998–2001)=== [[File:Oliver Mark - Beck, Hamburg 2000.jpg|alt=Close-up portrait of musician Beck having his eyes closed against an abstract blue background.|thumb|Beck in Hamburg, 2000]] Having not been in a proper studio since "Deadweight", Beck felt anxious to "go in and just do some stuff real quick", and compiled several songs he had had for years.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck and his bandmates wrote songs in fourteen days, although just twelve made it onto the album, 1998's ''Mutations''.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck hired the producer Nigel Godrich, who had produced Radiohead's 1997 album ''OK Computer''.<ref name="rs98" /> Godrich was leaving the United States for England in a short time, which led to the album's quick production schedule—"No looking back, no doctoring anything."<ref name="rs98" /> The whole point of the record was to capture the performance of the musicians live, an uncharacteristic far-cry from the cut-and-paste aesthetic of ''Odelay''.<ref name=rs98>{{cite news| title=Q&A: Beck| work=Rolling Stone| date=November 26, 1998 | author=DeCurtis, Anthony| issue =800| page =39| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Though the album was originally slated for release by Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck's wishes.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |title=Beck on top |newspaper=Now |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120212507/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |archive-date=January 20, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847,smith,1349,22.html |title=Beck to the Base |newspaper=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420172712/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847%2Csmith%2C1349%2C22.html |archive-date=April 20, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and it remains unclear to this day if it has ever been completely resolved.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |title=Beck Battles Labels Over Business, Artistic Issues |publisher=MTV |date=May 4, 1999 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080225173603/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |archive-date = February 25, 2008}}</ref> Beck was later awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for ''Mutations'' at the 42nd Grammy Awards.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181:50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=The Grammys 2000; Other Winners |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 24, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504000917/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181%3A50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT |archive-date=May 4, 2009 }}</ref>
''Midnite Vultures'', Beck's next studio effort, was originally recorded as a double album, and more than 25 nearly completed songs were left behind.<ref name="p4k11"/> In the studio, Beck and producers studied contemporary hip hop and R&B, specifically R. Kelly, in order to embrace and incorporate those influences in the way Al Green and Stax records had done in previous decades.<ref name="p4k11"/> In July 1998, a core group began to assemble at Beck's Pasadena home: bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and producer-engineers Mickey Petralia and Tony Hoffer.<ref name="rs99"/> Dozens of session players passed through including Beck's father, David Campbell, who played viola and arranged some of the strings. The musicians held communal meals and mountain-bike rides on dusty trails nearby, but remained focused on Beck's instructions: to make an up-tempo album that would be fun to play on tour night after night.<ref name="rs99"/> "I had so many things going on", said Beck of the recording process. "I had a couple of rooms of computers hooked up, I was doing B sides for Japan, I was programming beats in one room and someone would be cooking dinner in the other room."<ref name=rs99>{{cite news| title=Beck: Notes on a Full-Grown Man| work=Rolling Stone| date=December 9, 1999 | author=Healy, Mark| issue =827| pages =38–40| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> In November 1999, Geffen released the much-anticipated ''Midnite Vultures'',<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6/ |title=Midnite Vultures, Review |publisher=BBC |date=January 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213062052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6 |url-status=live }}</ref> which attracted confusion: "fans and critics misguidedly worried whether it was serious or a goof," and as a result, ''The New York Times'' wrote that the album "never won the audience it deserved".<ref name="nyt05"/> The record was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "Debra", and the touring band was complemented by a brass section.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104050603/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title=Beck Revives Soul of '70s, Singer Keeps Crowd Rocking |newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News |date=May 8, 2000 }}</ref> ''Midnite Vultures'' was nominated for Best Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|title=The 43rd Annual Grammy Nominations; Grammys Cast a Wider Net Than Usual; Awards * Breaking recent tradition, the academy's nominations are spread out among many acts.|first=Geoff|last=Boucher|date=January 4, 2001|work=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504001417/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===''Sea Change'' (2002–2003)=== In 2000, Beck and his fiancée, stylist Leigh Limon, ended their nine-year relationship.<ref name="age">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/28/1032734372703.html|title=Beck to basics|author=Paul Lester|date=September 29, 2002|newspaper=The Age|access-date=February 13, 2011|location=Melbourne|archive-date=November 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109171256/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/28/1032734372703.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck lapsed into a period of melancholy and introspection, during which he wrote the bleak, acoustic-based tracks later found on ''Sea Change''.<ref name="heartbreak">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457794/beck-pours-his-heart-out.jhtml|title=Beck Shoots For Feel-Good Acoustic Heartbreak LP|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=September 26, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172143/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457794/beck-pours-his-heart-out.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck sat on the songs, not wanting to talk about his personal life; he later said that he wanted to focus on music and "not really strew my baggage across the public lobby". Eventually, however, he decided the songs spoke to a common experience, and that it would not seem self-indulgent to record them.<ref name="beckchecksin">{{cite news| title=Beck Checks in to Heartbreak Hotel|author=Issac Guzman|date=September 29, 2002|newspaper=Daily News |location=New York}}</ref> In 2001, Beck drifted back to the songs and called Godrich.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html|title=Beck Gets (Kind of) Blue|author=Josh Tyrangial|date=September 22, 2002|magazine=Time|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=October 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027013610/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Retailers initially predicted that the album would not receive much radio support, but they also believed that Beck's maverick reputation and critical acclaim, in addition to the possibility of multiple Grammy nominations, might offset ''Sea Change''{{'}}s noncommercial sound.<ref name="beckchecksin"/> ''Sea Change'', issued by Geffen in September 2002, was regardless a commercial hit and critical darling,<ref name="nyt05"/> with ''Rolling Stone'' revering it as "the best album Beck has ever made, [...] an impeccable album of truth and light from the end of love. This is his ''Blood on the Tracks''."<ref name=rs02review>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sea-change-20020910| title=Review: ''Sea Change'', Beck| work=Rolling Stone| date=October 3, 2002| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=David Fricke| issue=906| pages=97–98| publisher=Wenner Media LLC| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624123003/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sea-change-20020910| url-status=live}}</ref> The album was later listed by the magazine as one of the best records of the decade and of all time, and it also placed second on the year's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. ''Sea Change'' yielded a low-key, theater-based acoustic tour, as well as a larger tour with The Flaming Lips as Beck's opening and backing band.<ref name="becktour">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456011/beck-sets-up-acoustic-tour.jhtml|title=Beck Previewing New Songs on Acoustic Tour|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=July 10, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172310/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456011/beck-sets-up-acoustic-tour.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="flaminglips">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457030/flaming-lips-backing-beck.jhtml|title=Beck's Plan For Keeping Everyone Awake: The Flaming Lips|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=August 14, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172248/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457030/flaming-lips-backing-beck.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck was playful and energetic, sometimes throwing in covers of the Rolling Stones, Big Star, the Zombies and the Velvet Underground.<ref name="rs02review"/><ref name="jackwhite">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456977/beck-gets-giggles-jack-white-mi.jhtml|title=Beck Gets The Giggles, White Stripes' Jack at Michigan Gig|author=Christina Fuoco|date=August 12, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172314/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456977/beck-gets-giggles-jack-white-mi.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Following the release of ''Sea Change'', Beck felt newer compositions were sketches for something more evolved in the same direction, and wrote nearly 35 more songs in the coming months, keeping demos of them on tapes in a suitcase.<ref name="p4k11"/> During his solo tour, the tapes were left backstage during a stop in Washington, D.C., and Beck was never able to recover them. It was disheartening to the musician, who felt the two years of songwriting represented something more technically complex. As a result, Beck took a break and wrote no original compositions in 2003.<ref name="p4k11"/> Feeling as though it might take him a while to "get back to that [songwriting] territory", he entered the studio with Dust Brothers to complete a project that dated back to ''Odelay''. Nearly half of the songs had existed since the 1990s.<ref name="p4k11"/>
===''Guero'' and ''The Information'' (2004–2007)=== thumb|upright=0.75|left|Beck in 2005 ''Guero'', Beck's ninth studio album, was recorded over the span of nine months during which several significant events occurred in his life: his girlfriend, Marissa Ribisi, became pregnant; they were married; their son, Cosimo, was born; and they moved out of Silver Lake.<ref name=nyt05>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/06BECK.html| title=Beck at a Certain Age| newspaper=The New York Times| date=March 6, 2005| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Lubow, Arthur| location=New York City| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=October 10, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010033308/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/beck-at-a-certain-age.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="guerolito"/> The collaboration with the Dust Brothers, his second, was notable for their use of high-tech measures to achieve a lo-fi sound.<ref name="nyt05"/> For example, after recording a "sonically perfect" version of a song at one of the nicest recording studios in Hollywood, the Dust Brothers processed it in an Echoplex to create a gritty, reverb-heavy sound: "We did this high-tech recording and ran it through a transistor radio. It sounded too good, that was the problem."<ref name="nyt05"/> Initially due to be released in October 2004, ''Guero'' faced delays and did not come out until March 2005, though unmastered copies of the tracks surfaced online in January.<ref name="finished">{{cite news|access-date=May 7, 2008|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496060/20050119/index.jhtml?headlines=true|title=Finished Version of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due in March|publisher=MTV News|date=January 19, 2005|author=Perez, Rodrigo|archive-date=January 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115015010/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496060/20050119/index.jhtml?headlines=true|url-status=dead}}</ref>
''Guero'' debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 162,000 copies, an all-time sales high.<ref name="guerobb">{{cite news|access-date=July 12, 2013|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/63396/50s-massacre-staves-off-becks-guero|title=50's ''Massacre'' Staves Off Beck's ''Guero''|publisher=MTV News|date=April 6, 2005|archive-date=September 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914090150/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/63396/50s-massacre-staves-off-becks-guero|url-status=live}}</ref> Lead single "E-Pro" peaked at number one at Modern Rock radio, making it his first chart-topper since "Loser".<ref name="charts">{{cite press release |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title = Beck's GUERO Debuts at No. 2 |date = April 6, 2005 |publisher = PR Newswire |location = Los Angeles |url = http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/becks-guero-debuts-at-2-54203112.html |access-date = July 12, 2013 |quote = The numbers and critical acclaim have aligned: Beck's Guero entered the Top 200 albums at No. 2 today, representing an all-time sales high for the three-time Grammy winner. |archive-date = November 6, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131106103736/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/becks-guero-debuts-at-2-54203112.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Beck, inspired by the Nintendocore remix scene and feeling a connection with its lo-fi, home-recording method, collaborated with artists 8-Bit and Paza on ''Hell Yes'', an EP issued in February 2005.<ref name="guerolito"/> In December 2005, Geffen also issued ''Guerolito'', a fully reworked version of ''Guero'' featuring remixes by the Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock, the Dust Brothers' John King and Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada.<ref name="guerolito"/> ''Guerolito'' combines remixes previously heard as B-sides and new versions of album tracks to make a track-by-track reconfiguration of the album.<ref name="guerolito">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1511842/20051019/beck.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408201440/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1511842/20051019/beck.jhtml| title=Beastie Boys, Dust Brothers Get Their Hands on Beck's ''Guero''|author=Montgomery, James|date=October 19, 2005|publisher=MTV News|access-date=July 12, 2013|archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Also released in 2005 was ''A Brief Overview'', a 12-track promotional-only "History of Beck" compilation CD sampler that featured a combination of older and newer Beck tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''A Brief Overview'' |url=https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=320319 |date=2005 |author=Beck |access-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131040728/https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=320319 |url-status=live }}</ref>
thumb|upright=0.75|Beck in 2006 ''The Information'', Beck's tenth studio album, began production around the same time as ''Guero'', in 2003. Working again with Godrich, Beck built a studio in his garden, where they wrote many of the tracks.<ref name=rs06>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-breaks-new-ground-20061005| title=Beck Breaks New Ground| work=Rolling Stone| date=October 5, 2006| access-date=July 12, 2013| author=Serpick, Evan| issue=1010| page=16| publisher=Wenner Media LLC| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=March 26, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326015551/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-breaks-new-ground-20061005| url-status=live}}</ref> "The idea was to get people in a room together recording live, hitting bad notes and screaming," said Beck, adding that the album is best described as "introspective hip hop".<ref name="rs06.1">{{cite news | title=Fall Music Preview: Beck, ''The Information''| work=Rolling Stone| date=September 7, 2006| issue =1008| page =32| publisher =Wenner Media LLC| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Beck described the recording process as "painful", noting that he edited down songs constantly and he perhaps recorded the album three times.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|title=Beck's 'Painful' Album|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20061002_beckday2.shtml|publisher=BBC|date=October 2, 2006|access-date=October 16, 2006|archive-date=October 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022162317/http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20061002_beckday2.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> For the release, Beck was allowed for the first time to fulfill a long-running wish for an unconventional rollout: he made low-budget videos to accompany each song, packaged the CD with sheets of stickers so buyers could customize the cover, and leaked tracks and videos on his website months ahead of the album's release.<ref name="rs06"/><ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535009/20060623/beck.jhtml?headlines=true|title=Beck Giving Fans Sticky Fingers With Quasi-Hip-Hop Album|publisher=MTV|date=June 26, 2006|author=Montgomery, James| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080502051307/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535009/20060623/beck.jhtml?headlines=true| archive-date= May 2, 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref> Digital download releases automatically downloaded the song's additional video for each single sale, and physical copies came bundled with an additional DVD featuring fifteen videos.<ref name="rs06"/>
=== ''Modern Guilt'', production work, Record Club and ''Song Reader'' (2008–2013) === In 2007, Beck released the single "Timebomb", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.<ref name="nyt08"/> For his next studio effort, his eleventh, Beck tapped Danger Mouse to produce, and the two first met in December 2007 to record. The duo knocked out two tracks in two days, but the notion that the album would be finished in a timely fashion soon evaporated.<ref name=nyt08>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| title=In a Chaotic Industry, Beck Abides| newspaper=The New York Times| date=July 6, 2008| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Itzkoff, Dave| location=New York City| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=January 18, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118012526/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck had known Danger Mouse casually before, as many of his former musicians ended up working with Danger Mouse's side project, Gnarls Barkley. Still, the musicians were surprised at how well they got along.<ref name="rs08"/> Following the grueling recording schedule, Beck was exhausted, calling it "the most intense work I've ever done on anything", relating that he "did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night."<ref name="rs08"/> Beck's original vision was a short 10-track burst with two-minute songs, but the songs gradually grew as he fit 'two years of songwriting into two and a half months."<ref name=rs08>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| title=Beck, Danger Mouse Craft '60s-Style Disc| work=Rolling Stone| date=May 29, 2008| access-date=July 12, 2013| author=Edwards, Gavin| issue=1053| page=20| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=February 3, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203184758/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| url-status=live}}</ref> ''Modern Guilt'' (2008) was "full of off-kilter rhythms and left-field breakdowns, with an overall 1960s vibe."<ref name="rs08" />
''Modern Guilt'' was the final release in Beck's contract with Geffen Records. Beck, then 38, had held the contract since his early 20s.<ref name="nyt08"/><ref name="rs08"/> Released from his label contract and going independent, Beck began working more heavily on his own seven-year-old label, which went through a variety of names.<ref name="p4k11"/> He focused on smaller, more quixotic projects,<ref name="nym12"/> and moonlighted as a producer, working with artists such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Thurston Moore and Stephen Malkmus.<ref name="p4k11"/> Beck worked for five or six days a week at the small studio on his property in Malibu, and founded Record Club, a project whereby an entire classic album—by The Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, INXS, Yanni—would be covered by another singer in the span of a single day.<ref name="nym12"/> Beck provided four songs for the film ''Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' (2010), each attributed to the title character's fictional band, Sex Bob-Omb.<ref name=ew10>{{Cite news|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|author=Brittain, Jace|title=Beck and Michael Cera team up on ''Scott Pilgrim'' soundtrack|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 11, 2013|date=June 21, 2010|publisher=Time Inc.|location=New York City|issn=1049-0434|archive-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200052/http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck also collaborated with Philip Glass,<ref name=collabglass>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| title=Listen to Beck's Epic 20-Minute Philip Glass Remix| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=October 3, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| archive-date=July 13, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713090131/http://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| url-status=live}}</ref> Jack White,<ref name=collabwhite>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| title=Beck to Release New Single on Jack White's Third Man Records, Hear Clips Now| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=May 23, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706050139/http://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| archive-date=July 6, 2013| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow,<ref name=collab1>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| title=Beck to Guest on New Tobacco Album| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=February 19, 2010| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=June 15, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615185553/http://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| url-status=live}}</ref> Jamie Lidell,<ref name=collab2>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| title=Listen: Beck Remixes Jamie Lidell| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=May 10, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624184855/http://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| url-status=live}}</ref> Seu Jorge,<ref name=collab3>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| title=''Red Hot + Rio 2'' Tropicália Tribute Compilation Tracklist Revealed, Collaborations Abound| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=May 4, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=July 9, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709160539/http://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| url-status=live}}</ref> Childish Gambino,<ref name=collab5>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| title=Even Beck Can't Save Childish Gambino's Messy 'Silk Pillow'| magazine=Spin| date=May 31, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Hogan, Mark| archive-date=June 23, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623011123/http://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| url-status=live}}</ref> and The Lonely Island.<ref name=collab6>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| title=Listen to Beck's Collab With the Lonely Island| publisher=Pitchfork Media| date=May 3, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624224821/http://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| url-status=live}}</ref>
thumb|Beck performing in 2013 ''Song Reader'', a project Beck released in December 2012, is 20 songs presented only as sheet music, in the hopes that enterprising musicians will record their own versions.<ref name=srnpr>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| title=Beck Explains ''Song Reader'', An Album Fans Perform Themselves| publisher=NPR| date=December 29, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=NPR staff| archive-date=July 1, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701014223/http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| url-status=live}}</ref> The idea of ''Song Reader'' came about nearly fifteen years prior, shortly after the release of ''Odelay''.<ref name="nym12"/> When sent a book of transcribed sheet music for that album, Beck decided to play through it and grew interested in the world before recorded sound. He aimed to keep the arrangements as open as possible, to re-create the simplicity of the standards, and became preoccupied with creating only pieces that could fit within the Great American Songbook.<ref name="nym12"/> In 2013 Beck began playing special ''Song Reader'' concerts with a variety of guests and announced he was working on a record of ''Song Reader'' material with other musicians as well as possibly a compilation of fan versions.<ref name="Future Heart">{{cite web |date=November 21, 2013 |publisher=The Future Heart |url=http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |title=Beck Working on "Song Reader" Record; Reveals "Morning Phase" Details |access-date=November 22, 2013 |archive-date=November 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124023659/http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the summer of 2013, Beck was reported to be working on two new studio albums: one a more self-contained acoustic disc in the vein of ''One Foot in the Grave'' and another described as a "proper follow-up" to ''Modern Guilt''.<ref name=rs13>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |magazine=Rolling Stone |title=Beck Planning Two New Albums; Listen to New Song 'Defriended' |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-date=July 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711044222/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck expected to release both albums independently, and released three standalone singles over the course of the year: the electro ballad "Defriended", the chorus-heavy "I Won't Be Long", and finally "Gimme".<ref name="rs13"/><ref name="rs13.1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=Beck Hands Out New Song 'I Won't Be Long'|access-date=July 11, 2013|archive-date=July 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705040957/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Nephilim |date=September 18, 2013 |title=Gimme: il nuovo sorprendente singolo di Beck (anteprima audio) |trans-title=Gimme: the amazing new single by Beck (Audio Preview) |language=it |publisher=Radio Musik |url=http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |access-date=September 18, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061312/http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2013, Beck signed to Capitol Records.<ref name="Columbia">{{cite web |last1=Itzkoff |first1=Dave |title=Beck to Release New Album After Signing With Capitol Records |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/beck-to-release-new-album-after-signing-with-capitol-records/ |website=The New York Times |access-date=November 4, 2023 |date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>
=== ''Morning Phase'', ''Colors'', ''Hyperspace'' (2014–2022) === In January, Beck released the lead single "Blue Moon" from his twelfth studio album, ''Morning Phase''.<ref name="Blue Moon Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon/dp/B00HYGKGU2/ |title=Blue Moon: Beck |website=Amazon |date=January 20, 2014 |access-date=January 23, 2014 |archive-date=January 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130085439/http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon/dp/B00HYGKGU2 |url-status=live }}</ref> A second single "Waking Light" was also released a week prior to the official release of ''Morning Phase'' on February 21, 2014.<ref name="Waking Light Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Light/dp/B00I0C8PHA/ |title=Waking Light: Beck |website=Amazon |date=February 4, 2014 |access-date=February 4, 2014 |archive-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205042905/http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Light/dp/B00I0C8PHA |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Minsker|first=Evan|title=Listen: Beck: "Waking Light"|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/53830-listen-beck-waking-light/|publisher=Pitchfork|date=February 4, 2014|access-date=February 4, 2014|archive-date=February 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207102704/http://pitchfork.com/news/53830-listen-beck-waking-light/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Morning Phase Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Phase-Beck/dp/B00IB73QTG/ |title=Morning Phase: Beck |website=Amazon |date=February 25, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302061428/http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Phase-Beck/dp/B00IB73QTG |url-status=live }}</ref> For the recording of the album, Beck reunited with many of the same musicians with whom he had worked on the critically acclaimed 2002 album ''Sea Change'', and likely because of this, it has been noted that the two albums share a similar mood and genre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.radio.com/2013/11/26/beck-2014-album-morning-phase-preview/ |title=Why Beck's 'Morning Phase' Is Already Among the Best Albums of 2014 " Radio.com News |publisher=News.radio.com |date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=February 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105113207/http://news.radio.com/2013/11/26/beck-2014-album-morning-phase-preview/ |archive-date=January 5, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
On February 8, 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, ''Morning Phase'' won three Grammys: Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Rock Album; and Album of the Year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58388-beck-wins-album-of-the-year-grammy-kanye-runs-on-stage/|title=Beck Wins Album of the Year Grammy, Kanye Runs on Stage|work=Pitchfork|date=February 8, 2015|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=May 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524082604/https://pitchfork.com/news/58388-beck-wins-album-of-the-year-grammy-kanye-runs-on-stage/|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon receiving the Album of the Year award, the album beat out Pharrell Williams's ''G I R L'', Beyoncé's self-titled album, Sam Smith's ''In the Lonely Hour'', and Ed Sheeran's ''x''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards|title=Awards|date=April 30, 2017|work=GRAMMY.com|access-date=October 17, 2017|language=en|archive-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213215027/http://www.grammy.com/nominees|url-status=live}}</ref>
thumb|Beck in October 2018 In June 2015, Beck released "Dreams", the first single for his next album.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Anderson |first1=Trevor |date=June 15, 2015 |title=Beck Returns to Funk With 'Dreams' From Upcoming Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/beck-dreams-new-album/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514181210/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6598151/beck-dreams-new-album |archive-date=May 14, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> The next June, he released the next single, "Wow".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Julia |date=June 2, 2016 |title=Beck's New Album Will Sound Nothing Like His Grammy-Winning ''Morning Phase'' |url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a45447/beck-announces-new-album/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130090823/http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a45447/beck-announces-new-album/ |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |website=Esquire}}</ref> On September 8, 2017, Beck released the single "Dear Life", which was followed up with the official release of "Up All Night" on September 18.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Monroe|first1=Jazz|last2=Wicks|first2=Amanda|title=Beck Shares New Song "Dear Life": Listen|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-shares-new-song-dear-life-listen/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=October 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016022311/https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-shares-new-song-dear-life-listen/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Up All Night">{{cite magazine|last1=Reed|first1=Ryan|title=Watch Beck's Hallucinatory Video for Slick New Song 'Up All Night'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-becks-hallucinatory-video-for-slick-new-song-up-all-night-w501513|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912130810/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-becks-hallucinatory-video-for-slick-new-song-up-all-night-w501513|url-status=live}}</ref> The album, ''Colors'', was released on October 13, 2017. It was recorded at co-executive producer Greg Kurstin's Los Angeles studio, with Beck and Kurstin playing nearly every instrument themselves.<ref name="Rolling Stone Colors">{{cite magazine|last1=Greene|first1=Andy|title=Beck Talks 'Complex' New Pop Opus 'Colors'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/beck-talks-new-album-colors-kanye-at-grammys-w496982|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=August 11, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014205006/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/beck-talks-new-album-colors-kanye-at-grammys-w496982|url-status=live}}</ref> The experimental pop-fused record received generally positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reviews and Tracks for Colors by Beck|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/colors/beck|website=Metacritic|access-date=October 16, 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017232606/http://www.metacritic.com/music/colors/beck|url-status=live}}</ref> On July 18, 2018, Beck performed the title track ''Colors'', and the first single "Wow" on ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/late-show-beck-performs-colors-wow-colbert-8466144/|title=Beck Gives Electrifying Performances of 'Colors' & 'Wow' on 'The Late Show': Watch|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720173827/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8466144/late-show-beck-performs-colors-wow-colbert|url-status=live}}</ref>
On April 15, 2019, Beck released a single co-produced with Pharrell Williams titled "Saw Lightning" from his fourteenth studio album, titled ''Hyperspace''.<ref name="NPR Hyperspace">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/04/15/713518756/listen-beck-and-pharrell-team-up-for-saw-lightning|title=Listen: Beck and Pharrell Team Up For 'Saw Lightning'|newspaper=NPR|date=April 15, 2019|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=April 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425211054/https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/04/15/713518756/listen-beck-and-pharrell-team-up-for-saw-lightning|url-status=live|last1=Bote|first1=Joshua}}</ref> The song "Dark Places" was released on November 6, with the album being released on November 22.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/beck-new-song-dark-places-8542983/|title=Beck Goes to Some Seriously 'Dark Places' on Meditative 'Hyperspace' Song: Listen|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|date=November 7, 2019|magazine=Billboard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107182815/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8542983/beck-new-song-dark-places|archive-date=November 7, 2019|access-date=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
=== Possible fifteenth studio album (2022–present) === On September 25, 2022, Beck released a cover of Neil Young's track "Old Man" to promote a ''Sunday Night Football'' game. The track was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the 65th Grammy Awards later in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2022 |title=Beck Gives a New Shine to Old Man |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/beck-gives-a-new-shine-to-old-man-44305/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 26, 2022 |title=Beck Covers Neil Young's "Old Man": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2200731/beck-old-man-neil-young-cover/music/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref> A music video for the track would be released on December 8, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peacock |first=Tim |date=December 9, 2022 |title=Beck Shares Performance Video For His Cover Of Neil Young's 'Old Man' |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/beck-neil-young-old-man-video/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}}</ref> Following the commercial featuring the cover, Neil Young posted a still image from his 1988 music video for "This Note's For You", an anti-commercialization song in protest of the cover and commercial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2022 |title=Neil Young Takes A Shot At Beck's "Old Man" Cover Appearing In An NFL Commercial |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2200834/neil-young-takes-a-shot-at-becks-old-man-cover-appearing-in-an-nfl-commercial/news/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref>
Later on February 10, 2023, he released the song "Thinking About You", his first original solo-track since 2019's ''Hyperspace''. A music video for the track would be released on February 20, 2023. It is currently unknown if this means a 15th studio album will be released in the upcoming future or not.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=February 10, 2023 |title=Beck Gets Back Into His Morning Phase on New Song 'Thinking About You' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beck-new-song-thinking-about-you-1234677358/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Many music critics have noted that it sounds like a return to the folk of ''Morning Phase'' and ''Sea Change''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BECK "THINKING ABOUT YOU" NEW SINGLE OUT NOW |url=https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/beck-thinking-about-you-new-single-out-now/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=Umusic |language=en-US |archive-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423184449/https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/beck-thinking-about-you-new-single-out-now/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=lewis |first=scott |date=February 8, 2023 |title=Beck Shares New Acoustic Standalone Single 'Thinking About You' |url=https://indie88.com/beck-shares-new-acoustic-standalone-single-thinking-about-you/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |website=Indie88 |language=en-US |archive-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423184447/https://indie88.com/beck-shares-new-acoustic-standalone-single-thinking-about-you/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
On June 21, 2023, Beck released the track "Odyssey" with French pop-rock band Phoenix, who did a co-headlining summer tour with Beck, which started in August and ended in September.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Beck and Phoenix Team Up for New Song "Odyssey" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-and-phoenix-team-up-for-new-song-odyssey-listen/ |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Paul |first=Larisha |date=January 23, 2023 |title=Beck and Phoenix Share Dates for 2023 Co-Headlining 'Summer Odyssey' Tour |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beck-phoenix-summer-odyssey-coheadlining-north-american-tour-1234666268/ |access-date=June 21, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Geraghty |first=Hollie |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Beck and Phoenix share collaborative single 'Odyssey' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/beck-and-phoenix-share-collaborative-single-odyssey-3458897 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Beck, Phoenix Team Up for Sparkling New Song 'Odyssey' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/beck-phoenix-team-sparkling-song-181319075.html |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}}</ref> On 29 January, 2026, Beck announced the compilation album ''Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime'', curating a collection of rarities, deep cuts and cover versions, including previously unreleased recordings of "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "True Love Will Find You in the End"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/beck-announces-everybodys-gotta-learn-sometime-a-lovingly-curated-collection-of-rarities-deep-cuts-and-covers-3926305|title=Beck announces 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime' – "a lovingly curated collection of rarities, deep cuts and covers"|date=2026-01-29|access-date=2026-01-30|website=NME|last=Skinner|first=Tom}}</ref>. Initially, the eight-track album released digitally with a physical release on red vinyl set for 13 February, 2026.
On April 20, 2026, Beck released the single "Ride Lonesome" to mostly positive reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=2026-04-21 |title=Beck Rolls Out Dates For 2026 North American Ride Lonesome Tour |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/beck-dates-2026-north-american-ride-lonesome-tour-single-1236227888/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> When asked if this meant an album would follow it, Beck confirmed he was writing more music.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hilton |first=Robin |date=2026-04-20 |title=Interview: Beck returns, rides lonesome on new song |url=https://www.npr.org/2026/04/20/nx-s1-5790485/beck-interview-ride-lonesome |access-date=2026-05-13 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>
== Collaborations and contributions == [[File:BeckMSG190718-78 (46341252074).jpg|thumb|Beck performs at Madison Square Garden with Jenny Lewis in 2018]] Beck co-wrote and performed on the song "Flavor", from the 1994 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album ''Orange''.
In 1999, Beck contributed to a tribute album for Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson and their label Dimension 5 Records. The album, Dimension Mix, released in 2005, was a benefit for Cure Autism Now that was produced by Ross Harris, an early collaborator who designed the artwork for ''Mellow Gold''.
In 2004, Beck contributed a cover of the Korgi's 1980 New Wave song, "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" to the soundtrack for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
On June 20, 2009, Beck announced that he was starting an experiment called Record Club, in which he and other musicians would record cover versions of entire albums in one day. The first album covered by Beck's Record Club was ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Starting on June 18, the club began posting covers of songs from the album on Thursday evenings, each with its own video.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vimeo.com/videotheque |title=Beck Hansen on Vimeo |publisher=Vimeo.com |access-date=September 1, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090916183823/http://vimeo.com/videotheque| archive-date= September 16, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> On September 4, 2009, Beck announced the second Record Club album, ''Songs of Leonard Cohen''. Contributors included MGMT, Devendra Banhart, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Andrew |url=http://stereokill.net/2009/09/beck-mgmt-banhart-cover-leonard-cohen/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214172229/http://stereokill.net/2009/09/beck-mgmt-banhart-cover-leonard-cohen/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 14, 2010 |title=Beck, MGMT & Banhart cover Leonard Cohen |publisher=stereokill.net |access-date=November 21, 2010 }}</ref> In the third Record Club venture, Wilco, Feist, Jamie Lidell and James Gadson joined Beck to cover Skip Spence's ''Oar''. The first song, "Little Hands", was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/35990-beck-and-wilco-cover-skip-spence/ |title=Beck and Wilco Cover Skip Spence |website=Pitchfork |date=July 22, 2009 |access-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-date=September 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917035358/http://pitchfork.com/news/35990-beck-and-wilco-cover-skip-spence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Record Club has since covered albums by INXS and Yanni.
On June 19, 2009, Beck announced Planned Obsolescence, a weekly DJ set put together by Beck or guest DJs. Soon after, on July 7, Beck announced that his website would be featuring "extended informal conversations with musicians, artists, filmmakers, and other various persons" in a section called Irrelevant Topics. Then, on July 12, he added a section called Videotheque, which he said would contain "promotional videos from each album, as well as live clips, TV show appearances and other rarities". Also in 2009, Beck collaborated with Charlotte Gainsbourg on her album ''IRM'', which was released in January 2010. Beck wrote the music, co-wrote the lyrics, and produced and mixed the album. The lead single, "Heaven Can Wait", is a duet by Beck and Gainsbourg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/36736-new-charlotte-gainsbourg-with-beck-irm |title=New Charlotte Gainsbourg (With Beck): 'IRM' |publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=October 9, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100126004402/http://pitchfork.com/news/36736-new-charlotte-gainsbourg-with-beck-irm| archive-date= January 26, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>
In late February 2010, it was announced that electronic artist Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow had collaborated with Beck on two songs, "Fresh Hex" and "Grape Aerosmith", on his upcoming album ''Maniac Meat''. Tobacco revealed that in making the album, Beck sent the vocal parts to him, and that they had never actually met.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} In March 2010, Beck revealed that he had produced songs for the new Jamie Lidell album, ''Compass''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idiomag.com/peek/107488/jamie_lidell|title=Beck To Produce New Jamie Lidell|access-date=March 16, 2010|publisher=idiomag|archive-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312172352/http://www.idiomag.com/peek/107488/jamie_lidell|url-status=live}}</ref> In the summer of 2010, Beck contributed songs to both ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' soundtrack, with "Let's Get Lost" (a duet with Bat for Lashes),<ref>{{cite web|last1=Breihan|first1=Tom|title=Let's Get Lost" by Beck / Bash for Lashes Review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11928-beck-bat-for-lashes-lets-get-lost/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=October 25, 2017|date=June 25, 2010|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026053747/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11928-beck-bat-for-lashes-lets-get-lost/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''True Blood (HBO Original Series Soundtrack, Vol. 2)'', with "Bad Blood".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stosuy|first1=Brandon|title=Beck – "Bad Blood|url=https://www.stereogum.com/383322/beck-bad-blood/mp3s/|website=Stereogum|access-date=October 25, 2017|date=May 24, 2010|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054202/https://www.stereogum.com/383322/beck-bad-blood/mp3s/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also contributed songs to the soundtrack of Edgar Wright's film ''Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'', which was released in August 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Matt|title=Beck records new material for 'Scott Pilgrim' soundtrack|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/beck-5-1289541|publisher=NME|access-date=October 25, 2017|date=June 23, 2010|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026054335/http://www.nme.com/news/music/beck-5-1289541|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2011, he collaborated with Seu Jorge on a track titled "Tropicália (Mario C. 2011 Remix)" for the Red Hot Organization's charitable album ''Red Hot+Rio 2'', a follow-up to the 1996 album ''Red Hot + Rio''. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues.<ref name="tracklisting">{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Gregory |url=http://exclaim.ca/News/red_hot_rio_2_reveals_tracklisting_featuring_beck_beirut_david_byrne |title=Red Hot + Rio 2 Reveals Tracklisting Featuring Beck, Beirut, David Byrne |work=Exclaim! |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=August 26, 2011 |archive-date=August 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829071910/http://exclaim.ca/News/red_hot_rio_2_reveals_tracklisting_featuring_beck_beirut_david_byrne |url-status=live }}</ref>
In October 2011, it was widely reported that Beck and producer Hector Castillo were collaborating with American composer Philip Glass to produce a remix album of the composer's works in honor of his 75th birthday.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/18/beck-philip-glass-remix-album | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Sean | last=Michaels | title=Philip Glass, Beck (musician), Music, Pop and rock (Music genre), Classical music (Music genre), Electronic music (Music genre), Culture | date=October 18, 2011 | access-date=December 14, 2016 | archive-date=April 10, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410051432/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/18/beck-philip-glass-remix-album | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/beck-philip-glass-remix_n_1016216.html | work=Huffington Post | first=Mallika | last=Rao | title=Beck Is Remixing Philip Glass Songs | date=October 17, 2011 | access-date=April 21, 2020 | archive-date=April 10, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410051750/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/beck-philip-glass-remix_n_1016216.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://justmanaging.com/2011/10/17/hector-castillo-producing-phillip-glass-re-mix-album-with-beck/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426205730/http://justmanaging.com/2011/10/17/hector-castillo-producing-phillip-glass-re-mix-album-with-beck/|date=April 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.feelguide.com/2011/10/19/beck-and-producer-hector-castillo-putting-together-tribute-remix-album-in-honor-of-philip-glass/ |title=Beck And Producer Hector Castillo Putting Together Tribute Remix Album in Honor of Philip Glass | FEELguide | Film, Music, Design, Science, Style, Psychology, and More |date=October 19, 2011 |publisher=FEELguide |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190526/http://www.feelguide.com/2011/10/19/beck-and-producer-hector-castillo-putting-together-tribute-remix-album-in-honor-of-philip-glass/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The album, ''Rework Philip Glass Remixed'', was released on October 23, 2012, to critical acclaim, and featured Beck as both a curator and a performer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/47408-details-of-philip-glass-remix-album-announced/ |title=Details of Beck-Inspired Philip Glass Remix Album Announced | News |website=Pitchfork |date=August 7, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191751/http://pitchfork.com/news/47408-details-of-philip-glass-remix-album-announced/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Nicole Oran |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/08/becks-philip-glass-remix-album-set-for-oct-release.html |title=Beck's Philip Glass Remix Album Set for October Release :: Music :: News :: Paste |work=Paste Magazine |publisher=Pastemagazine.com |date=August 9, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=November 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101201306/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/08/becks-philip-glass-remix-album-set-for-oct-release.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In particular, Pitchfork described Beck's 22-minute contribution to the album, "NYC: 73–78", as "a fantasia ... the most startling and original piece of music with Beck's name on it in a while, and the first new work to bear his own spirit in even longer."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14412-73-78-beck-remix/ |title=Philip Glass: "73 – 78 (Beck Remix)" | Tracks |website=Pitchfork |date=October 9, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023164206/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14412-73-78-beck-remix/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Reflecting on Beck's contribution to the album, Glass remarked that he was "impressed by the novelty and freshness of a lot of the ideas".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/15012/1/beck-philip-glass |title=Beck & Philip Glass |publisher=Dazed Digital |date=October 14, 2013 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193655/http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/15012/1/beck-philip-glass |url-status=live }}</ref> Beyond his work as a performer, Beck acted as the album's curator, bringing together a diverse collection of artists—including Amon Tobin, Tyondai Braxton, Nosaj Thing, and Memory Tapes—whose work had also been influenced by Glass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sonicscoop.com/2013/01/24/behind-the-release-phillip-glass-rework/ |title=Behind The Release: Philip Glass Rework : SonicScoop – Creative, Technical & Business Connections For NYC's Music & Sound Community |publisher=Sonicscoop.com |date=January 24, 2013 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=January 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126202833/http://www.sonicscoop.com/2013/01/24/behind-the-release-phillip-glass-rework/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/23/rework-philip-glass-remixed/ |title=Rework: Beck and Others Remix the Music of Philip Glass for the Iconic Composer's 75th Birthday |publisher=Brain Pickings |date=October 23, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192806/http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/23/rework-philip-glass-remixed/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2012, an interactive iPhone app titled "Rework_" was released to complement the album.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671452/a-magical-app-for-exploring-a-philip-glass-remix-by-beck#1 |title=A Magical App For Exploring A Philip Glass Remix By Beck | Co. Design | business + design |publisher=Fastcodesign.com |date=December 12, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722090923/http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671452/a-magical-app-for-exploring-a-philip-glass-remix-by-beck#1 |archive-date=July 22, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Mark Teo |url=http://www.aux.tv/2013/03/app-of-the-month-rework_-a-whole-new-way-to-enjoy-philip-glasss-music/ |title=APP OF THE MONTH: Rework_, a whole new way to enjoy Philip Glass's music |publisher=Aux.tv |date=March 5, 2013 |access-date=October 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194202/http://www.aux.tv/2013/03/app-of-the-month-rework_-a-whole-new-way-to-enjoy-philip-glasss-music/ |archive-date=October 29, 2013 }}</ref>
Beck has contributed three new songs—"Cities", "Touch the People" and "Spiral Staircase"—to the video game ''Sound Shapes'' for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1125002/beck-cities-spiral-staircase-touch-the-people/mp3s|title=Beck – "Cities," "Spiral Staircase," & "Touch The People" – Stereogum|work=Stereogum|date=August 14, 2012|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728235258/https://www.stereogum.com/1125002/beck-cities-spiral-staircase-touch-the-people/mp3s/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck collaborated on two songs for Childish Gambino's "Royalty" mixtape in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/|title=Even Beck Can't Save Childish Gambino's Messy 'Silk Pillow'|work=SPIN|date=May 31, 2012|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405154527/https://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, Beck collaborated with Sia for the song "Moonquake Lake", which is featured in the soundtrack for the 2014 ''Annie'' film.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rigby|first1=Sam|title=Sia and Beck Join Stars on Annie Movie Soundtrack|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a605383/sia-and-beck-join-stars-on-annie-movie-soundtrack.html|website=digitalspy.com|date=October 23, 2014|publisher=Digital Spy|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104005343/http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a605383/sia-and-beck-join-stars-on-annie-movie-soundtrack.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2015, Beck collaborated with former Fun. frontman Nate Ruess on the single "What This World Is Coming To", which was one of the Grammy-winning artist's many works featured on his debut solo album ''Grand Romantic'' released in June 2015. He also collaborated with electronic dance music duo The Chemical Brothers on their album ''Born in the Echoes'', providing lead vocals and also credited in writing for the track "Wide Open", released in July.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Kreps|first1=Daniel|title=Chemical Brothers Continue Robot Fascination With Beck Collabo Video|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chemical-brothers-continue-robot-fascination-with-beck-collabo-video-20160125|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 25, 2017|date=January 25, 2016|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026110655/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chemical-brothers-continue-robot-fascination-with-beck-collabo-video-20160125|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, Beck collaborated with French electronic music band M83, providing vocals for the song "Time Wind" from their album ''Junk''. He was also featured on "Tiny Cities" by Flume. He also collaborated with Lady Gaga on the song "Dancin' in Circles", from her 2016 album ''Joanne''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Browne|first1=David|title=Lady Gaga's 'Joanne': Mark Ronson on Producing 'Raw and Exposed' New Album|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/mark-ronson-on-lady-gagas-raw-and-exposed-joanne-w445356|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 25, 2017|date=October 18, 2016|archive-date=October 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019192054/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/mark-ronson-on-lady-gagas-raw-and-exposed-joanne-w445356|url-status=live}}</ref>
Also in 2016, during a pre-show for the Grammy Awards, Beck collaborated with the surviving members of the band Nirvana to play Nirvana's rendition of "The Man Who Sold the World" as a tribute to both David Bowie, who had died just 1 month earlier, and Kurt Cobain, the former lead singer of Nirvana.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Surviving members of Nirvana team up with Beck to cover David Bowie's 'Man Who Sold The World' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nirvana-beck-cover-david-bowie-man-who-sold-the-world-mtv-unplugged-dave-grohl-kurt-cobain-a6876526.html |last=Shepherd |first=Jack |access-date=April 29, 2023 |date=February 16, 2016 |work=The Independent}}</ref> Beck and Nirvana teamed up once again in 2020 for a fundraiser event, alongside St. Vincent and Dave Grohl's Daughter Violet Grohl.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Dave Grohl Reunites With Nirvana Members For Special Performance|access-date=April 29, 2023 |date=January 5, 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nirvana-reunion-2020-dave-grohl-krist-novoselic-pat-smear-beck-st-vincent-933688/ |last=Chan |first=Tim}}</ref>
In 2017, Beck appeared in the multiple award-winning film ''The American Epic Sessions'', directed by Bernard MacMahon. He recorded "14 Rivers, 14 Floods" backed by a full gospel choir, live onto the first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/05/american-epic-return-of-the-lathe/|title=The Long-Lost, Rebuilt Recording Equipment That First Captured the Sound of America|magazine=WIRED|access-date=February 4, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=December 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230172640/https://www.wired.com/2017/05/american-epic-return-of-the-lathe/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2019, Beck contributed to Cage The Elephant's song "Night Running" on their album Social Cues. He delivered vocals along with Matt Shultz and helped the band to finalise the song.
In 2021, Beck collaborated with Paul McCartney to make his hit single "Find My Way" on the album ''McCartney III Imagined''.
In 2023, Beck collaborated with The Chemical Brothers for the second time on the song "Skipping like a Stone". This was the fourth single to be released from their album ''For That Beautiful Feeling''.
In 2024, Beck appeared on the song, "Boom Boom Back" by the band, Hinds. The song is from the band's 2024 album, ''Viva Hinds''. Later in July that year Beck also featured on the Orville Peck song "Death Valley High" off the latter's album ''Stampede''. A music video for the song was also filmed and feature appearances from the two musicians as well as drag queen Gigi Goode and actress Sharon Stone.
==Musical style == Beck's musical style has been considered alternative<ref>{{cite news|access-date=May 6, 2008|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1429687/19970227/beck.jhtml|title=Beck, Braxton, Babyface Share Grammy Wealth|publisher=MTV|date=February 27, 1997|archive-date=February 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214224439/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1429687/19970227/beck.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> and indie.<ref>{{cite news|title=Old school night for 'The O.C.'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 27, 2005|page=E47|author= Hochman, Steve}}</ref> He has played many of the instruments in his music himself.<ref name="the information">{{cite news |access-date=May 6, 2008|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11852928/review/11925431/the_information|title=The Information review |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080422063243/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11852928/review/11925431/the_information |archive-date = April 22, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck has also done some remixes for fellow artists, notably David Bowie and Björk. He has been known to synthesize several musical elements together in his music, including folk, psychedelia, electronic, country, Latin music, hip hop, funk, soul, blues, noise music, jazz, art pop and many types of rock.<ref name="guero">{{cite magazine|access-date=May 6, 2008|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/music/pop/reviews/11605/|title=White-Boy Shuffle|magazine=New York|date=March 28, 2005|author=Beato, Greg|archive-date=June 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626083246/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/music/pop/reviews/11605/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/28/arts/music-they-re-recording-but-are-they-artists.html|title=MUSIC; They're Recording, but Are They Artists?|first=Stephen|last=Holden|date=February 28, 1999|website=The New York Times|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=November 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130144527/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/28/arts/music-they-re-recording-but-are-they-artists.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of this unconventional approach, Beck has been described as a postmodern musician.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/10/20/558768104/colors-continues-beck-s-postmodern-pastiche |title='Colors' continues Beck's postmodern pastiche |last=Moon |first=Tom |date=October 20, 2017 |publisher=NPR |access-date=September 24, 2022}}</ref> He has also taken music from Los Angeles as a reference point in his songs.<ref name="guero" />
Pitchfork Media applauded ''Midnite Vultures'', saying, "Beck wonderfully blends Prince, Talking Heads, ''Paul's Boutique'', 'Shake Your Bon-Bon', and Mathlete on ''Midnite Vultures'', his most consistent and playful album yet." The review commented that his mix of "goofy piety and ambiguous intent" helped the album.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 6, 2008|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15360-midnite-vultures?artist_title=15360-midnite-vultures|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406103110/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15360-midnite-vultures?artist_title=15360-midnite-vultures|archive-date=April 6, 2008|title=Midnite Vultures review |publisher=Pitchfork Media }}</ref> A Beck song called "Harry Partch", a tribute to the composer of the same name and his "corporeal" music, employs Partch's 43-tone scale.<ref>Beck.com [http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/11/beck-salutes-harry-partch/ Beck salutes Harry Partch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121164753/http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/11/beck-salutes-harry-partch/ |date=January 21, 2010 }}</ref>
==Art career== During 1998, Beck's art collaborations with his grandfather Al Hansen were featured in an exhibition titled "Beck & Al Hansen: Playing With Matches", which showcased solo and collaborative collage, assemblage, drawing and poetry works.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://stewoo.net/beck/gallery/hansen_art/ |title=Playing with Matches |publisher=Stewoo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509062301/http://stewoo.net/beck/gallery/hansen_art/ |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The show toured from the Santa Monica Museum of Art to galleries in New York City and Winnipeg, Manitoba. Beck chose Winnipeg due to a family connection, as his grandfather gave their family stability through his work as a street car conductor in Winnipeg.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/features/beck-interview-colors-winnipeg-u2-childish-gambino | title=Q&A: Why Beck nearly quit making albums | date=October 12, 2017 | access-date=September 26, 2022 | archive-date=September 26, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926191914/https://nowtoronto.com/music/features/beck-interview-colors-winnipeg-u2-childish-gambino | url-status=dead }}</ref> A catalog of the show was published by Plug in Editions/Smart Art Press.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/29151145.html?dids=29151145:29151145&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=ART; Beck's First Sampling; The pop star learned about collage from his larger-than life grandfather, Al Hansen. A Santa Monica show connects their careers. |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 3, 1998 |author=McKenna, Kristine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504002839/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/29151145.html?dids=29151145%3A29151145&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT |archive-date=May 4, 2009 }}</ref>
==Personal life== Beck's nine-year relationship with designer Leigh Limon and their breakup is said to have inspired his 2002 album ''Sea Change''.<ref name="Salon">{{cite news | title = Guess I'm Doing Fine | date = October 2, 2002 | url = http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2002/10/02/beck/ | work = Salon.com | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071227182806/http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2002/10/02/beck/ | archive-date = December 27, 2007 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> He wrote most of the songs for the album one week after the breakup.<ref name="Time">{{cite news | title = Beck Gets (Kind of) Blue | date = September 22, 2002 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html | magazine = Time | access-date = December 3, 2007 | archive-date = October 27, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111027013610/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> In April 2004, Beck married actress Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi, shortly before the birth of their son.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 26, 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-93658028.html |title=Beck Marries Marissa Ribisi |publisher=United Press International |date=April 20, 2004 }}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="Spin">{{cite magazine | title = Beck Expecting Baby No. 2? | magazine = Spin | date = October 18, 2006 | url = https://www.spin.com/2006/10/beck-expecting-baby-no-2/ | access-date = July 13, 2008 | archive-date = May 31, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150531012020/http://www.spin.com/2006/10/beck-expecting-baby-no-2/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Their daughter was born in 2007.<ref name=nyt08/> Beck filed for divorce from Ribisi on February 15, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Singer Beck Files for Divorce From Wife of 14 Years |url=https://theblast.com/beck-divorce/ |website=The Blast |date=February 15, 2019 |access-date=February 16, 2019 |archive-date=February 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153246/https://theblast.com/beck-divorce/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Their divorce was finalized on September 3, 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Beck Finalizes Divorce from Wife Marissa Ribisi as Couple Divvies Up Possessions — Including Banksys|url=https://people.com/music/beck-finalizes-divorce-from-wife-marissa-ribisi-as-couple-divvies-up-possessions/|date=September 8, 2021|access-date=October 2, 2021|magazine=People|quote=The musician's divorce from wife Marissa Ribisi was finalized on Sept. 3, more than two years after he first filed for divorce in February 2019 after nearly 15 years of marriage}}</ref>
Beck has described himself as both Jewish<ref name="Spin 2008-09" /> and a Scientologist, but no longer identifies as the latter.<ref name="Sunday Tribune">{{cite web|last1=Dunphy|first1=Neil|title=A sort of homecoming|website=tribune.ie|url=http://www.tribune.ie/article/2005/jun/12/a-sort-of-homecoming/|publisher=Sunday Tribune|access-date=September 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915054237/http://www.tribune.ie/article/2005/jun/12/a-sort-of-homecoming/|archive-date=September 15, 2010|date=June 12, 2005|quote='Yeah, I'm a Scientologist,' Beck resumes…}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Through his parents, he has been involved in Scientology for most of his life, and his ex-wife, Marissa, is also a second-generation Scientologist.<ref name="Celebrific">{{cite news|title=Scientologists Beck & Marissa Ribisi had their second child, daughter Tuesday in June 2007 |url=http://www.celebrific.com/scientologists-beck-marissa-ribisi-expecting-second-child/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121053102/http://www.celebrific.com/scientologists-beck-marissa-ribisi-expecting-second-child/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2007 |publisher=Celebrific }}</ref> He publicly acknowledged his affiliation for the first time in a ''New York Times Magazine'' interview on March 6, 2005.<ref name=nyt05/><ref name = :"ny"/> In a 2008 interview with Spin, when asked about press interest in his spiritual life, Beck responded, "I don’t pay attention to any of it, really. I’m not that aware of what the perception is. My father was doing Scientology in the ’60s, so it’s something that has been around for most of my life," adding, "I was raised celebrating Jewish holidays, and I consider myself Jewish. But I’ve read books on Scientology and drawn insights from that."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.spin.com/2014/07/reverberation-beck-sessions-cover-story-september-2008/ |title=Reverberation: The Beck Sessions |first=John |last=McAlley |date=July 8, 2014 |website=Spin.com |access-date=January 7, 2026}}</ref><ref name=usat>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/11/22/beck-says-misconception-him-and-scientology/4277334002/|title=Beck says he's not a Scientologist after all: 'I think there's a misconception'|first=Charles|last=Trepany|website=Usatoday.com|access-date=September 17, 2020|archive-date=November 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127215909/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/11/22/beck-says-misconception-him-and-scientology/4277334002/|url-status=live}}</ref> In a November 2019 interview with ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Beck disavowed previous reports of his being a Scientologist and clarified, "I think there's a misconception that I'm a Scientologist. I'm not a Scientologist. I don't have any connection or affiliation with it."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/workaholic-beck-i-feel-a-little-guilty-if-something-s-too-easy-20191118-p53bnh.html|title='I think there's a misconception': musician Beck on Scientology|date=November 22, 2019|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122225700/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/workaholic-beck-i-feel-a-little-guilty-if-something-s-too-easy-20191118-p53bnh.html|archive-date=November 22, 2019|access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name=usat/>
Beck's mother is artist/writer/performer Bibbe Hansen, a former Andy Warhol The Factory collaborator.<ref name="Bibbe Hansen, bio">{{Cite web|url=https://bibbe.com/wp/bio/|title=Bio – Welcome|website=Bibbe.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://warholstars.org/superstars.html|title=Andy Warhol Superstars|website=Warholstars.org}}</ref> Since the early 1980s, she has been married to Chicano artist and media maker Sean Carrillo, a member of the performance art group ASCO, who became Beck's stepfather at age 22 when the musician was twelve years old.<ref name="ModernDadhood2023">{{cite episode |title=The Gang’s All Here: Sean Carrillo on Beck, Channing, Step-Fatherhood |series=Modern Dadhood |url=https://modern-dadhood.simplecast.com/episodes/the-gangs-all-here-sean-carrillo-beck-bibbe-hansen/transcript |access-date=2026-01-11 |date=2023-12-14}}</ref> Along with Hansen, Carrillo operated the Troy Cafe, an artist hub in Los Angeles.<ref name="ModernDadhood2023"/> His siblings are fiber artist Channing Hansen (born in 1972 in Los Angeles)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stephenfriedman.com/artists/40-channing-hansen/|title=Channing Hansen|website=Stephenfriedman.com}}</ref> and poet Rain Whittaker, a family friend whom Hansen and Carrillo raised.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rogovoyreport.com/2016/02/16/lydia-lunch-bibbe-hansen-spotty-dog/ |title="Lydia Lunch and Bibbe Hansen (aka Beck's Mom) to Read at Spotty Dog" |magazine=The Rogovoy Report |date=February 16, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Bibbe Hansen, bio"/><ref name="ModernDadhood2023"/>
Beck sustained a spinal injury while filming the music video for 2005's "E-Pro". The incident was severe enough to curtail his touring schedule for a few years, but he has since recovered.<ref name="Future Heart"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-details-spinal-injury-that-nearly-ended-his-touring-career-20140314 |title=Beck Details Spinal Injury That Nearly Ended His Touring Career |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 14, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813114315/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-details-spinal-injury-that-nearly-ended-his-touring-career-20140314 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Beck primarily lived in Los Feliz, Los Angeles until 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/business/real-estate/story/2022-08-31/beck-asks-2-95-million-for-musician-friendly-home-in-los-feliz | title=Beck asks $2.95 million for musician-friendly home in los Feliz | website=Los Angeles Times | date=August 31, 2022 }}</ref> He owns properties in California, Tennessee, and Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/now-that-s-where-it-s-at-rent-beck-s-arkansas-18308465.php |title=Now That's 'Where It's At': Rent Beck's Arkansas Ranch House for Just $1,250 a Month |work=SF Gate |last=Natalie |first=Britney |date=August 25, 2023 |access-date=July 31, 2025}}</ref>
==Appearances in media== The 1986 punk rock musical film ''Population: 1'', starred Tomata du Plenty of The Screamers and featured a young Beck in a small non-speaking role.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.population1movie.com/ |title=AgitPop and Cult Epics present Population: 1 |publisher=Population1movie.com |access-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114044451/https://population1movie.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck also appears in ''Southlander'' (2001), an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gordon|first1=Jeremy|title=Beck, Elliott Smith-Starring Cult Classic ''Southlander'' Gets Reissue|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/65382-beck-elliott-smith-starring-cult-classic-southlander-gets-reissue/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=May 10, 2016|archive-date=October 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225946/https://pitchfork.com/news/65382-beck-elliott-smith-starring-cult-classic-southlander-gets-reissue/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Beck has performed on ''Saturday Night Live'' seven times. During his 2006 performance in the Hugh Laurie episode, Beck was accompanied by the puppets that had been used onstage during his world tour. He has made two cameo appearances as himself on ''Saturday Night Live'': one in a sketch about medicinal marijuana, and one in a VH1 ''Behind the Music'' parody that featured "Fat Albert & the Junkyard Gang".<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 26, 2008 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-31512469_ITM |title=Bright spots scarce on 'SNL'. |work=Chicago Tribune|date=October 30, 2006|author=Ryan, Maureen |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080707122033/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-31512469_ITM |archive-date = July 7, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck performed a guest voice as himself on Matt Groening's animated show ''Futurama'', in the episode "Bendin' in the Wind".<ref>{{cite web|access-date=April 26, 2008|url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw10977.html|title=Futurama Volume Three DVD |publisher=Sci Fi|date=May 3, 2004 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080701045811/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw10977.html |archive-date = July 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> He performed in episode 10 of the fourth season of ''The Larry Sanders Show'', in which the producer character Artie (Rip Torn) referred to him as a "hillbilly from outer space".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lastbroadcast.co.uk/music/v/5968-beck-gamma-ray.html |title=Beck: 'Gamma Ray' |publisher=LastBroadcast.co.uk |date=August 11, 2008 |access-date=September 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504015618/http://www.lastbroadcast.co.uk/music/v/5968-beck-gamma-ray.html |archive-date=May 4, 2009 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> He also made a very brief voice appearance in the 1998 cartoon feature film ''The Rugrats Movie'',<ref>IMDB entry for [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134067/fullcredits#cast ''The Rugrats Movie'' full cast & crew] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927021807/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134067/fullcredits#cast |date=September 27, 2016 }}.</ref> and guest-starred as himself in a 1997 episode of ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' titled "Edelweiss".<ref>IMDB entry for [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0706050/ "Edelweiss"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208001503/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0706050/ |date=February 8, 2017 }}.</ref>
On January 22, 2010, Beck appeared on the last episode of ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' as a backup guitarist for a Will Ferrell-led rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" alongside ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, Ben Harper, and O'Brien himself on guitar.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/22/2010-01-22_will_ferrell_and_wife_viveca_paulin_perform_freebird_with_conan_obrien_on_last_t.html |title=Will Ferrell and wife Viveca Paulin perform 'Free Bird' with Conan O'Brien on last 'Tonight Show' |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=January 23, 2010 |access-date=November 21, 2010 |location=New York |first=Soraya |last=Roberts |archive-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126072711/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/22/2010-01-22_will_ferrell_and_wife_viveca_paulin_perform_freebird_with_conan_obrien_on_last_t.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/23/will-ferrell-free-bird-vi_n_433975.html |title=Will Ferrell Sings Free Bird on Conan's Last Show (VIDEO) |work=The Huffington Post |date=January 23, 2010 |access-date=May 6, 2013 |location=New York |first=Alex |last=Leo |archive-date=June 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622050641/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/23/will-ferrell-free-bird-vi_n_433975.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck also appeared as himself in the 2017 film ''The Circle'', giving a musical performance of the song "Dreams". Beck also appeared as himself in the 2022 film ''The Bubble'', performing a version of "Ladies' Night".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Jordan |title=Every Celebrity Cameo in The Bubble Explained |url=https://screenrant.com/bubble-movie-cameos-actors-celebs-explained/ |website=Screen Rant |access-date=17 December 2025}}</ref>
==Discography== {{Main|Beck discography}}
===Studio albums=== {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * ''Golden Feelings'' (1993) * ''Stereopathetic Soulmanure'' (1994) * ''Mellow Gold'' (1994) * ''One Foot in the Grave'' (1994) * ''Odelay'' (1996) * ''Mutations'' (1998) * ''Midnite Vultures'' (1999) * ''Sea Change'' (2002) * ''Guero'' (2005) * ''The Information'' (2006) * ''Modern Guilt'' (2008) * ''Morning Phase'' (2014) * ''Colors'' (2017) * ''Hyperspace'' (2019) {{Div col end}}
==Awards and nominations== {{main|List of awards and nominations received by Beck}}
==See also== {{Portal|Rock music|Biography}} * List of people from Los Angeles * List of singer-songwriters {{clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{external links|date=April 2024}} {{sister project links|d=Q11901|c=Category:Beck|q=Beck|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|s=no|wikt=no|f=no}} * {{Official website|http://www.beck.com}} * {{Discogs artist}} * {{AllMusic|id=mn0000124492|label=Beck}} * {{IMDb name|65059|Beck}} * [http://diskobox.org/ Diskobox], comprehensive discography * [http://www.whiskeyclone.net/ Whiskeyclone.net], large, informative Beck site * [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/beck Beck] at ''Rolling Stone''
{{Beck|state=expanded}} {{Navboxes |title = Awards for Beck |list = {{Brit International Male}} {{Grammy Award for Album of the Year}} {{Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album}} {{Grammy Award for Best Rock Album}} {{MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction}} }} {{Navboxes |title = ''Saturday Night Live'' appearances |list = {{S-start}} {{Succession box|before = Whitney Houston|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = January 11, 1997|after = Snoop Doggy Dogg}} {{Succession box|before = Luciano Pavarotti and Vanessa Williams|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = January 9, 1999|after = Everlast}} {{Succession box|before = Sting|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = December 4, 1999|after = R.E.M.}} {{Succession box|before = Dixie Chicks|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = February 15, 2003|after = Foo Fighters}} {{Succession box|before = Green Day|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = April 16, 2005|after = System of a Down}} {{Succession box|before = My Chemical Romance|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = October 28, 2006|after = Christina Aguilera}} {{Succession box|before = Imagine Dragons|title = ''Saturday Night Live'' musical guest|years = March 1, 2014|after = The National}} {{S-end}} }}
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