MUSICOLOGY


sydney city limits festival



The inaugural Sydney City Limits festival is almost with us. Musicology looks at headliner Beck and five tracks that influenced a generation.





Not since Harvest Festival back in 2012 has Beck been to our shores which makes his performance at this year’s Sydney City Limits Festival a must see. Musicology delves into the defining tracks that have cemented Beck as one of indie music’s leading figures.



#1 Loser



mellow gold



Surfing the wave of slacker discontent, Loser arrived from the wastes of suburban America and spoke to a global audience of disaffected youth.

Early signs of Becks prodigal abilities can be evidenced here with the confluence of sounds and choice of instruments, ranging from drum machines, sitar, acoustic guitar and sampling. Becks fusion of hip hop rhythms and cryptic poetic lines which was to become the true signature of his characteristic style, were as scathing as they were mystic and hilarious. During a decade of grunge and garage, it is a track that regularly features in the top ten tracks of the nineties for its high water mark of indie music during the peak of its reign.


listen

#2 Devils haircut



odelay



Odelay redefined a genre and a generation, whereby it didn’t just throw out the rule book, it devoured it, recycled it, made it into something new and came out looking in better shape than when it was set upon.​With crystalline production and a finesse that only comes from composer like approach. A holistic understanding of every facet of each beat, sample, guitar hook and haiku lyric, all executed with surgical precision. As with all truly momentous albums, each track is one work of art followed by another in a fashion that baffles the listener as the hit machine red lines with unprecedented clarity in the exquisite craftsmanship of each song. Devils Haircut is but one of standout tracks on this record. The shape shifting piece catapulted Beck into a new direction and firmly cemented his position in the musical world as a master builder.



listen

#3 nobody's fault but my own



mutations



​​The curious thing about this track is that it was something of a litmus test of the painfully dark side of emotions Beck not only conveys with his deft touch but what path future albums such as Scene Change were to explore. Every good artist challenges their fans endurance and faith in riding the bumpy road of life and diverse musical frontiers new albums traverse. From the heady highs of Odelay to patchy depths of Mutations, this album foretells of an emotional prism Beck not only dove into but one that gave way to more cavernous albums that were the release valve to some rather relatable personal pain.


listen

#4 hollywood freaks



midnite vultures



From the sublime to the ridiculous, Midnite Vultures was a firehose of implicit and explicit sexual mayhem. Brimming with exuberance and deviancy, tracks like Hollywood Freaks ridicule stars with gutters in their eyes. Cataloguing the seedy misgivings of a world that simmers just below the surface, exposed by Beck's comical microscope. Harking upon Odelay's musical jamboree, the erratic arrangements and witches brew of electro, R&B and sampling, aptly match the fervour and energy bursting at every seam.


listen

#5 morning



morning phase



​​​From upstart to master of his domain. The Grammy award winning Beck reconnects with his folk roots. An album that demands nothing but conveys everything. A confidence, security and contented piece that doesn't see Beck at the vanguard pushing hard but rather settling into his most comfortable skin.

The moment Morning arrives, it is with a gentle flutter, graceful and matured approach. The virtuoso that is Bek David Campbell hones his wealth of musical prowess into a delicate and measured folk track with chivalrous simplicity.


listen