Beck - Midnite Vultures

I never thought that the first album I would mention by Beck would be this one but c’est la vie (if you know me you get that inside reference, if not sorry.) Back in 1999, I was all about Beck’s Midnite Vultures. It was one of those albums that I forced my dad to buy me way back when I still had a CD walkman to constantly play music on. I hadn’t heard much of Beck and though I was well aware of his nomination for Album of the Year, alongside Radiohead’s Kid A (I used to follow the Grammys), I was intrigued by the descriptions. And I can honestly say that while a personal pick, it’s probably my favorite by him and easily, a winner in many regards.

First, there’s the overall scope of the sound. Funky, with touches of soul, hip-hop, electronic music, synths, disco and Beck’s now trademark idiosyncratic stories, it sparkles with vast diversity. And more so, every single song stands out with stunning melodies and choruses that will have everyone singing. If you can buy in to Beck’s message when he presents his Weird guys with masks wearing pink pants shooting lasers at each other cover and delve into his ambition, it all makes sense. Check out the album’s biggest hit, “Mixed Bizness”:


And what’s crazy, is that even with all of his ‘out there’ and strange ideas, there was always a strong heart at the core of it all. This was before Sea Change, back when we could say Beck sounded happy and don’t get me wrong, he sounds good and fine now but I can honestly say, as a Beck die-hard, that he hasn’t sounded this upbeat since. But still, check out the poetic vibe of “Beautiful Way” in describing (“But you had some change to spare, so you said you wanna spend it on me and shake the blues right out of your hair”)getting your heart shattered the most beautiful way, if possible:


But bottom line, this is a joker of a guy making honestly awesome music. And in the most endearing way, Beck closes out the album with a 70s throwback crooner that recalls Marvin Gaye at his most loving. Only this time, Beck’s singing about getting with his favorite girl of all time and well, sure, his sister too, he thinks her name is Debra. Check out this home-made video for “Debra,” great stuff – Bryan.