Record Club Project: Feist + Jeff Tweedy + Beck = Video

Record Club: Skip Spence "Broken Heart" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Good morning Vietnam! Ready to go back to work today? You know you are!

They are five months in now, mentions Beck, to the Record Club project. Calling upon some of today's seminal Americana, rock and folk hero's, Beck hopes to further extend his musical footprint by reworking some classic records; the only limitation, an entire album music be recorded in-full, in one day. It is an organic and off-the-cuff working environment with little to no rehearsal and a grab-it-and-go mentality. For this, the third installment of the Record Club project, Beck & Co. join forces to tackle Skip Spence's (former drummer for Jefferson Airplane) 1969, one-and-only record, Oar. Tracks are released from the sessions once a week and this week's track, "Broken Heart," comes courtesy of Feist and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy -- two modern musicians that need no real introduction.

See more videos from this album's recording session including appearances by Jamie Lidell, Nels Cline and more from Feist after the jump.


"Weighted Down (Feat. Feist and Nels Cline)"

Record Club: Skip Spence "Weighted Down" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

"War in Peace"

Record Club: Skip Spence "War In Peace" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

"Cripple Creek (Feat. Jamie Lidell and Beck)"

Record Club: Skip Spence "Cripple Creek" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Broken Bells Debut mp3

[mp3] Broken Bells: "The High Road"

Today, Spin debuted the new mp3 "The High Road" from the Danger Mouse/James Mercer project Broken Bells. Danger Mouse had an overexposed 2008 twiddling the knobs for tons of artists, most notably Beck. But from the sound of this single, the time off has done both Mercer and 'Mouse a ton of good, as this track is excellent. While we don't know if we can take a full album of mid-tempo slow burners such as this, the core melody and groove are truly strong, and actually unique.

One Scoop, or Two? Beck, Santigold and Beastie Boys Remix Norah Jones

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Genius. Norah Jones' newest effort, The Fall, which drops tomorrow (Blue Note), is already chock full o' tracks (and nuts?) more suitable to the mature and musically-inclined Norah fan. Now, Blue Note records and Jones team up to take down (new Thao bandname?) the indie-blogosphere in one fell swoop. These goddamn name droppers. "Chasing Pirates" the clear standout and now ready-made video track (above) from this album, has had the floor opened on it -- a call to arms for all remix-friendly artists. Who answered the call? Beck, Santigold and The Beastie Boys (who actually chose a different track.) Booyah! The best just got better -- albeit more ambient, indie and, cool? They put skinny jeans on Norah songs. But you be the judge... in two or three weeks when these bad boys are clear to post. We have them. We just aren't leakers. Regardless, these remixes, three in number, are going to spread like wildfire across the blog world, major publications, your parents, you name it. Again, genius. Santi and Beck chose to lend their hands to the aforementioned keynote track, "Chasing Pirates," while the Beasties chose "That's What I Said" which was on an NCIS soundtrack? What the fuck? OK.

Stream, in-full, Norah Jones' The Fall HERE and be happy.

Blatant Butchering - Redo of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne"

Record Club: Songs Of Leonard Cohen "Suzanne" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

"Suzanne" is perhaps one of Leonard Cohen's most famous and most beautiful tracks ever recorded. Hence why we are conflicted about this video: on one hand, this is a blatant butchering of an amazing song -- this thing gets pretty rough during certain parts, so much so you just want to turn the fucking thing off. But then again, look at who is involved here -- Beck, MGMT, Wolfmother, Banhart... So yes, we are conflicted. Judge for yourself and please weigh in! We say, this is garbage. So be it.

Via

First Impression: Beck "Modern Guilt"

Upon first listen, Modern Guilt sounds like Beck's most cohesive and focused effort since Sea Change. Whereas Guero and even more so The Information sounded like hodgepodge albums of random tracks and musical genres. Modern Guilt feels like a singular vision, with songs written and conceived for this album alone.

Danger Mouse's production techniques are immediately felt. He gives songs a rounded-off gauzy sound, which differs from Beck's sometimes rough-cut yet crisp offerings on previous albums. Modern Guilt has an obvious analog/vintage-rock sound most notable in the distorted drum tracks that sound very similar to the soul-influenced beats found on Gnarls Barkley records.

Another departure from previous Beck records is the lack of additional percussion. Guero and The Information were filled with shakers, maracas, wood blocks and (black) tambourines. These instruments are replaced with electronic sounds that fill the same voids, but again give the album a softer and darker feel. Similar to the previous Beck records, behind vocal lines and percussion lies a myriad of sounds and layers that unveil themselves only upon repeat listens.

So far, standout tracks include "Orphans", "Gamma Ray," (Beck always front loads) "Youthless" and "Walls." Already, Modern Guilt feels more rewarding than The Information and promises to stay in heavy rotation for some time to come. Bottom line, Beck refuses to stay stagnant. He always pushes himself and his fans into new directions -- thankfully, those directions are almost always excellent ones.

Beck Cover Art and Tracklist

Saw this floating around the blogosphere, and since today has been slow on the old Stark site I thought I'd throw it up there. I think it's pretty bitchin'. Something about the pointy rock shoes I think. Looking forward to this one. Released in the UK 7/7 (XL) and over here in the colonies on 7/8 (DCG).

1 "Orphans"
2 "Gamma Ray"
3 "Chemtrails"
4 "Modern Guilt"
5 "Youthless"
6 "Walls"
7 "Replica"
8 "Soul of A Man"
9 "Profanity Prayers"
10 "Volcano"

After the jump.