2008 Woodie Awards
It's Only Rock and Roll
'Beck' and Call: Time Traveling with Everyone's Favorite Guero
Xiomara Martinez-White
Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: Arts
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Music journalists are hailing 2005 as a year of the comeback. Indeed, many favorite artists from the mid-90s are coming back strong this year with new albums. Leading the pack is singer Beck, who wowed us all with the 1994 album "Mellow Gold" and the song "Loser." The critical acclaim poured in for the album "Odelay!" (including a 1997 Grammy nod for Album of the Year), and he followed that up with "Mutations" and "Midnite Vultures;" each one took on and shook up a new genre. After the 2003 album "Sea Change," a term applicable to both name and sound - I remember it not really appealing to me after watching a performance of his on "SNL;" it was very sad and made me want to jump through the screen and give him a hug - Beck seems to have recovered and gotten back his joie de vivre, and not a moment too soon. On "Guero," he reminds the world that he's still "where it's at."
The first track on "Guero" is entitled "E-Pro." It comes out swinging with a heavy drum machine beat, similar to the opening of Björk's "Army of Me." But the outside influence on the song doesn't end there; the drum beat is actually a sample from the Beastie Boys hit "So What'Cha Want." Beck hits the ground running from the first lines: "See me comin' to town with my soul straight down out of the world with my fingers." The song's chorus is similarly infectious, with a repetitive "Na na na na na na na...." Supposedly, Beck claims it to be "like Nelly, but with a garage band." But even though these sounds mixing may seem strange, "E-Pro" gets the job done, and very well.
"Que Onda Guero" follows this one up. The lyrics set up the scene of East Los Angeles, the well-known Mexican neighborhood. He is very observant, noticing the sights ("the vegetable man in the vegetable van," "Mango ladies, vendedoras at a bus stop") and sounds ("a horn that's honking like a mariachi band") of the city, aptly capturing the Spanglish spoken in the street. Of course, he does stick out like a sore thumb there - guero is a slang term for "white boy." I already have a video treatment. Simply, it shows Beck walking backwards (à la one of our Gold Key Tour Guides) through East L.A. and showing everybody around, the locals calling out to him during the chorus, "Guero, where are you going? Qué onda guero?" Maybe his walking will have some kind of cool effect. Spike Jonze, come see me.
The first track on "Guero" is entitled "E-Pro." It comes out swinging with a heavy drum machine beat, similar to the opening of Björk's "Army of Me." But the outside influence on the song doesn't end there; the drum beat is actually a sample from the Beastie Boys hit "So What'Cha Want." Beck hits the ground running from the first lines: "See me comin' to town with my soul straight down out of the world with my fingers." The song's chorus is similarly infectious, with a repetitive "Na na na na na na na...." Supposedly, Beck claims it to be "like Nelly, but with a garage band." But even though these sounds mixing may seem strange, "E-Pro" gets the job done, and very well.
"Que Onda Guero" follows this one up. The lyrics set up the scene of East Los Angeles, the well-known Mexican neighborhood. He is very observant, noticing the sights ("the vegetable man in the vegetable van," "Mango ladies, vendedoras at a bus stop") and sounds ("a horn that's honking like a mariachi band") of the city, aptly capturing the Spanglish spoken in the street. Of course, he does stick out like a sore thumb there - guero is a slang term for "white boy." I already have a video treatment. Simply, it shows Beck walking backwards (à la one of our Gold Key Tour Guides) through East L.A. and showing everybody around, the locals calling out to him during the chorus, "Guero, where are you going? Qué onda guero?" Maybe his walking will have some kind of cool effect. Spike Jonze, come see me.