wank fest of misery

this morning fortune was mine when I located the new Beck leaked on the internet (click Beck... the tracks may still be online).

I like Beck. He's got great beats and writes funny party records. However my favorite record was 2002's Sea Change. It's a mostly accoustic, somber "my baby left me" wank fest of misery. It's a beautiful record.

I saw him only once at the Chicago Theater with my pal Eric. The Chicago Theater is a "class joint." For first rate entertainment. Like "Clay Aiken." (would he get his hands on those if he'd never been on TV? doesn't she know he's gay?)

The Flaming Lips opened the show and then served as Beck's back up band. Eric and I got to the show about 10 minutes after it had begun and walked into a full-on hypnotic visual display. I had to tap the usher's shoulder to grab his attention... he didn't even see us approach. He walked us to our seats and all I could do was stare.

Onstage they had the entire rainbow of colors, plus shiny objects, plus purposely miss-timed strobe lights, confetti, and human sized animal costumes dancing to this psychedelic rock with flash lights in their hands. It look exactly like what the sober mind imagines/recreates acid to look like. It was positive and sinister at the same time. Kind of like "the Wizard of Oz".

The Flaming Lips finished their set and then Beck came out maybe 15 minutes later with an accoustic guitar. I think he opened with "cold brains"... Strummed a couple more tracks and then the Lips accompanied him for the rest of the show.

I thought that it was a great show, and that I saw and heard what I wanted to. But if I remember correctly, both Beck and the Lips caught some heat from the hipsters and the professional critics for having a few off notes. Who knows (go back to writing in your black diaries with your black turtlenecks and your cold, black hearts, hipsters!!), my pal and I had a good time.

I hope those tracks are still active... I'd say that I'm most partial to track #'s 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13... but the whole shit is pretty good.