On the same day that Demolished Thoughts, the album he produced for Thurston Moore, hits stores comes news of yet another high-profile Beck collaboration: He’s producing Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks’ new record, Mirror Magic. To tide us over until that album’s release, August 23, we’re taking a look back at Beck’s rich history of working with other artists. From Calvin Johnson in 1994 to Moore in 2011, we present a fairly comprehensive guide to Beck’s collaborations.
Former LA Times pop critic Ann Powers came storming out of the gate yesterday with the first post for her new gig at NPR Music. Titled “It’s the Summer of Selling Out, and It Feels Fine,” her piece uses last weekend’s Coachella festival and the current crop of American Idol frontrunners to argue that 2011 is shaping up to be a good year “for all kinds of fans who like their music to feel free while it still aims for the center of the culture’s attention.” Part of Powers’s point is that “selling out” and making great music don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Although we have immense respect for the underground, we think Powers makes an important point. The tale of a talented but naïve band signing their lives away to a major label and then collapsing under the pressure to sell product is a common narrative, but it’s also far from the only outcome. After the jump, we list ten bands that ditched the indies for the majors, licensed their music to commercials, and went pop — and were better off for it, artistically.
A while back, we posted a selection of our favorite opening lines from literature -– everything from Albert Camus from Mark Twain. The whole thing stirred some healthy debate in the comments section (as did the follow-up post about closing lines), and we liked the idea so much that we thought we’d extend it to the world of music. So here’s a selection of our favorite opening lines of songs. As ever, feel free to add your own in the comments section!
The title of She & Him’s latest music video may be “Don’t Look Back,” but the clip itself is all about nostalgia for the ’60s. Just when we thought Zooey and M. Ward couldn’t get any more adorable right? From the bright, Technicolor-like tones to the mid-century sets and wardrobe to the retro narration, “Don’t Look Back” is a quick and comforting vacation to a simpler time. After the jump, check out the She & Him clip, plus nine more music videos that will transport you back to the swingin’ ’60s.
33.3 is an art show of album covers that have been reimagined and reinterpreted by artists and designers, which we first spotted over on Boing Boing. Click through to view 12 of our favorites — which range from the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds to Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast — and let us know in the comments if you think that they improved upon the original versions.
Featuring new compositions and tracks by Beck, Broken Social Scene, and Metric, the soundtrack to new Michael Cera flick Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is almost as enticing as the film itself.
Beck penned the tracks for fictional band Sex Bob-Omb, which features Cera’s character on bass, while BSS took on the same duties for another of the film’s made-up groups, Crash and the Boys. Highlights include Metric’s “Black Sheep” and Beck’s own ballad to the movie’s heroine, “Ramona,” while old-school tracks from the Rolling Stones and T.Rex add classic-rock cred.
1. Allegedly the reason that Emma Watson lopped off all of her hair is because she’s screen-testing for the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher‘s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Thoughts? [via The Sun]
2. Stream the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World soundtrack, which features contributions from Frank Black, Black Lips, Beck, and Broken Social Scene. [via Spinner]
3. Reese Witherspoon has scored the rights to Peggy Lee‘s story from the singer’s estate. She plans to produce and star in the film; Nora Ephron will both write and direct. [via Cinematical]
4. Places we wish we had been: Beyoncé dropped by Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg on Friday night to support her sister Solange, who was DJing a set there. [via NYP]
5. Why Google‘s count of 130 million books in all of the world is probably bunk: it’s all about process of elimination. [via Ars Technica]
Bonus link: The Elvis doughnut [via Pop Candy]
This week’s installment of the Flavorpill Mixtape showcases the union of Bat for Lashes and Beck and the reunion of Azure Ray. We’re also introducing you to some lesser-known names that will surely make it into your regular rotation (Yadi, Miniature Tigers, Everything Everything). Be sure to Right Click (Control + Click) + Save As after the jump for your next 10 replayables.
1. Is Street Art Over? [via Slate]
2. Everything Tracy Jordan Said in Season 4 [via Unlikely Words]
3. Beck’s Record Club Does “Never Tear Us Apart” [via Stereogum]
4. Making Cheetos: It Ain’t Easy Being Cheesy [via Wired]
5. Tony Parsons’ top 10 troubled males in fiction [via The Guardian]
6. Dinosaurs For Sale [via BuzzFeed]
7. Video of pretty jellyfish [via Boing Boing]
8. Astronauts Spill Secrets to Space Toilet Training [via GOOD]
9. At the Whitney in the Wee Small Hours of the Morning [via ArtsBeat]
10. The Nine Meals and 20 Drinks That Will Kill You [via Gawker]
1. Morgan Spurlock, Joss Whedon, Ain’t It Cool News founder Harry Knowles, and Stan Lee are collaborating on a documentary that will “follow seven different people from across America, and around the world, as they descend upon the veritable Mecca of fandom and experience the rapture that is Comic-Con.” [via ABC News]
2. The winners of the Moby Awards for Best & Worst Book Trailers were announced at a ceremony last night, including Jonathan Safran Foer for Most Annoying Performance by an Author. Eeep! [via GalleyCat]
3. Is the Whitney Museum of American Art really planning to lease its flagship location to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and relocate downtown completely? [via ARTINFO]
4. While you wait for Season 3 to start, stream True Blood: Volume 2, which features a new song by Beck, and tracks from M. Ward, Lucinda Williams, and Elvis Costello. [via EW]
5. Hallelujah: Governor Paterson has reenacted a more restrictive law against ticket scalpers from the 1920s that prohibits reselling tickets for more than $2 above face value. [via NYDN]
Bonus link: The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Samples Of All Time
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