Oldies But Goodies

Beck - Sea Change

When most people think of Beck I imagine their thoughts immediately turn to Loser - the slacker anthem of my generation. Perhaps some people who know Beck a little better might want to discuss the classic album Odelay, that contained a slew of hits and is listed on many critics' lists of top 100 albums of all time. However, my opinion is that Beck's true masterpiece is Sea Change.

One of Beck's strengths is his ability to recreate himself with each album. From hip hop to folk to R and B, the only thing that usually is a given when you pick up one of his new albums is that it will be full of catchy tunes with abstract and almost nonsensical lyrics. A few albums before Sea Change, Beck released Mutations, an album that was a melting pot of musical genres but included songs that I would call siblings to those found on Sea Change such as Nobody's Fault But My Own.

Beck took everything good about the songs on Mutations and elevated them to another level on Sea Change by writing lyrics that seem genuine, poetic and also a bit melancholy. Songs like The Golden Age, Guess I'm Doing Fine, Lost Cause, and It's All In Your Mind are quite good but Lonesome Tears is one of the all time greats, folks. It is the perfect soundtrack for the days when the stresses of life are bearing down and all you want to do is sit out on the porch in the rain with some mellow tunes and yerbamate (or your own favorite beverage) and just feel sad. Sometimes that is the best therapy of all.