Look it up in the Becktionary as a synonym for awesome

Beck's newest album, The Information, has one of the coolest gimmicks in the history of albums. In case you haven't heard, each copy of the album has a blank album cover and a (somewhat) unique set of stickers, allowing listeners to create their own covers for the CD. It's pretty nifty. It's ironic, though, that he chose to use this idea on this particular album.

Here's the thing : Beck has made a career out of being eclectic, no matter what level you look at. His albums have cycled through all sorts of different personas: Beck the anti-folk blues man, Beck the crazy sampler with two turntables and a microphone, Beck the funky MC in charge of starting the party, Beck the depressed singer-songwriter pining for lost love. But he doesn't stop there, each album shifts styles on a song by song basis. Midnite Vultures moves between funk, dance rock, electronica, slow jams; Sea Change has solo acoustic songs right next to wacky string arrangements. Even Beck's songs frequently feature styles clashing together. The point of these descriptions is to suggest that Beck has always been the sort of artist who let his listeners create their own Beck. Whatever you like, there's at least one Beck song for you, and probably a whole album, not to mention the other songs that might take what you like and turn it into something totally different you didn't even realize you could like.

The Information is not like other Beck albums. Unlike the others, which somehow create cohesion out of an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach, The Information is a coherent album on its own. It can be characterized by deep bass, prominentand generally driving drum beats, dense yet spacey arrangements, and a general dark feel. It sounds great on headphones (and not so great on crappy laptop speakers, at least according to Vespe). Most of the reviews I've read, though, seem to have faulted Beck for this new style or, as many reviewers have framed it, old style. The Spectator's review suggests that "Beck needs to find a niche he hasn’t filled before," and Pitchfork says, "the familiar musical settings are something of a letdown from an artist famous for complete reinvention." To me, this seems like a major case of missing the point. I am a huge Beck fan, and I love the way he frequently tries on new musical costumes as much as anyone, but that's not what really keeps me listening to him. It sounds obvious, but apparently it isn't; what brings me back to Beck time after time is the really good music. And the Information is really good music.

Beck begins with "Elevator Music," a groovy song in the truest sense of the word. In some ways, it's a foreshadowing of things to come. This is an album about killer basslines; I was going to list the songs with awesome bass parts, but I realized it could easily be half the album. (Maybe that's why the album sounds bad on laptop speakers?) But don't worry, this is Beck so there's still enough variety to keep things exciting, whether it's the Rolling Stones piano line in "Strange Apparition", the synthy introversion of "Movie Theme", or the, well, I don't even know how to describe the wackiness that is "1000 BPM". Tying the whole thing together is a set of hooks so offbeat and catchy you'll be singing them for weeks a still won't feel weird about doing it in front of your hipster friends. I'm partial to "Think I'm in Love"s simple refrain of "Think I'm in love but it makes me kind of nervous to say so," but there's something for everyone.

In conclusion, don't be fooled. Beck doesn't need to pick some new genre out of a hat in order to make an album that's smart, intriguing, funny, and simply great album. He doesn't need to be whatever you want him to be in order to make an album that you'll like; he does just fine being himself. If you don't believe me, buy the album and let it speak for itself. At the very least, you'll have some fun with the stickers.