Beck was born in Los Angeles, California, to David Campbell (a musician and son of a Presbyterian minister) and Bibbe Hansen (a former dancer for The Velvet Underground, founding member of the satirical band Black Fag, and visual artist). When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by that city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip-hop to latin music—and his mother's art scene – all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
Although Beck's work defies easy description, his eclecticism and genre experiments have sparked comparisons with Prince, though Beck was undoubtedly a less prolific artist, and drew on an absurdist, free-flowing lyrical style totally original when first exposed to mainstream audiences (indeed, some critics labeled him and his breakthrough single Loser as novelties - see below). Despite this individualism, Beck's music was very much a product of the 90s and the media age in general, with hip hop, indie/underground rock, electronic music and genre-benders like the Beastie Boys as notable touchstones; in addition, some critics could not resist likening his head-spinning lyrical aesthetic to a post-modern Bob Dylan sensibility.
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck educated himself and traveled widely. In Germany, he spent time with his grandfather, fluxus artist Al Hansen. His artistic relationship with his grandfather may have influenced both his album art and sense of musical collage. He began the musical activity in 1988. The late-80's found him in New York City as part of the punk-influenced anti-folk music movement.
Beck returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade, destitute but motivated. During this time, Beck sought out (or snuck onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops. Some of his earliest and most thought-provoking recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of WIN Records.
In this atmosphere of heady creativity the founders of Bong Load Custom Records discovered Beck. Their 1993 12" vinyl Loser, from an initial run of 530 copies, created a sensation on college and alternative radio that led to a furious bidding war between labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records, who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract (he may have owed Bong Load another album or two).
In 1994, Geffen's official debut release of Mellow Gold made Beck a mainstream smash success; it also led to his iconic status as the "slacker" representative of the alternative rock scene, although the title of the song had been ironic.
At the same time, he released Stereopathetic Soulmanure on Flipside Records and One Foot in the Grave on independent K Records. Beck took his act on the road with the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. Still, some critics panned him as a one-hit wonder. Audiences' (especially at Lollapalooza) familiarity with Loser only, and their general disinterest in his other work only reinforced his image as a one-hit wonder. It's been said said that Beck released Stereopathetic Soulmanure and One Foot in the Grave to shake the Gen X-ers that associated themselves with him and made "Loser" their slacker anthem.
The one-hit wonder label was put to rest with the release of 1996's Odelay, a collaborative effort with The Dust Brothers, producers of Paul's Boutique. The lead single, "Where It's At", received heavy airplay and its video was in constant rotation on MTV. Within the year, Odelay had received perfect reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, having been listed on countless "Best of" lists (it topped the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 'Album of the Year'), receiving double-platinum status, and earning an impressive number of industry awards, including two Grammys.
Odelay was followed in 1998 by Mutations. Produced by Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame, it was intended as a stopgap measure before the next album proper. Recorded over two weeks, during which Beck recorded one song a day, the sessions produced 14 songs. Mutations was a departure from the electronic density of Odelay, and was filled with folk and blues influences. Songs on the album consisted of older tracks, some even dating back as far as 1994.
In 1999, Geffen released the much-anticipated Midnite Vultures, an orgy of sexual and culinary innuendo supported by a world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza.
After Midnite Vultures came Sea Change in 2002, another airy and emotional album with producer Nigel Godrich, which became Beck's first U.S. Top 10 album, reaching # 8. Sea Change was conceptualized as an album with one unifying theme—the stages following the end of a relationship. The album also featured string arrangements by Beck's father and a sonically dense mix reminiscient of Mutations. The Sea Change tour featured The Flaming Lips as Beck's opening and backing band.
In September 2003, Beck returned to the studio to work on his sixth major-label album. Guero was produced by the Dust Brothers and Tony Hoffer and features a collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes; it marked a return to Odelay-era sound. The album was released in March of 2005 and despite critical acclaim, the album received a more lackluster response from Beck's indie-oriented fanbase.
Beck married Marissa Ribisi in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri Hansen. 2004 also saw the release of "10 Years of Mellow Gold," a short documentary about Beck's first album.
Beck's next album, The Information was released on October 3, 2006. It is a largely electronic and ambient, filled with blips and beeps. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, who worked on "Sea Change" and a longtime Radiohead and Thom Yorke producer. The first single was Nausea, an acoustic rock hip hop song. The next single was Cellphone's Dead, and the third single was Think I'm In Love.
His next single, Timebomb, was released on iTunes on August 21, 2007, and the limited edition vinyl 12" was released on November 2, 2007, with an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. In December, 2007, it was announced that Timebomb had been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
Modern Guilt was the eighth studio album by Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008. The album fulfilled Beck's recording contract with Interscope Records. Outside of North America, the record was released by XL Recordings. Its three singles were Chemtrails, Gamma Ray, and Youthless.
Modern Guilt features two contributions by Cat Power and was produced by Beck and Danger Mouse.
The album entered both the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart at number four, and gave Beck his first ever Top 10 placing on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine. The album has also been Beck's best charting album in Australia, reaching 13. It sold 84,000 copies in its first week. Although successful, this does not match the first week sales of The Information, which were 99,000. In December 2008, Modern Guilt was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 51st Grammy Awards.
Song Reader, a project Beck released in December 2012, is 20 songs presented only as sheet music, in the hopes that enterprising musicians will record their own versions. The idea of Song Reader came about nearly fifteen years prior, shortly after the release of Odelay. When sent a book of transcribed sheet music for that album, Beck decided to play through it and grew interested in the world before recorded sound. He aimed to keep the arrangements as open as possible, to re-create the simplicity of the standards, and became preoccupied with creating only pieces that could fit within the Great American Songbook. In 2013 Beck began playing special Song Reader concerts with a variety of guests and announced he was working on a record of Song Reader material with other musicians as well as possibly a compilation of fan versions.
In the summer of 2013, Beck was reported to be working on two new studio albums: one a more self-contained acoustic disc in the vein of One Foot in the Grave and another described as a "proper follow-up" to Modern Guilt. Beck expects to release both albums independently. He released two standalone singles over the course of the summer: the electro ballad Defriended and the chorus-heavy I Won't Be Long. A third single, Gimme, appeared on September 17.
In October 2013, it was announced that Beck signed to Capitol Records. Beck released his twelfth studio album entitled Morning Phase on 21 February 2014. For the recording of Morning Phase, Beck reunited with many of the same musicians with whom he had worked on the critically acclaimed 2002 album Sea Change. On January 20, 2014, the album's first single Blue Moon was released. Beck released the second single, Waking Light, on February 4, 2014.
4 years later, on October 13th, 2017, Beck released the second album that was supposed to come out alongside Morning Phase. This album was called Colors. Colors is very different from Beck's previous albums, in which he takes a stab at pop music. Beck's expertise, mixing genres, works in this album when he mixes Alternative Rock, hip hop, and a lot of Pop. The album's earliest single, "Dreams", was released in June 2015, and three more ("Wow", "Dear Life", "Up All Night") were released between June 2016 and September 2017. The title track was released as a single in April 2018. The album won the Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album (Non-Classic) at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
After a short wait, Beck released Hyperspace on November 22, 2019. There was little marketing for this album. The whole album is a collaboration with Pharrell Williams, as he produced almost every song on the album. The album's first single was "Saw Lightning" released on April 15, 2019, and had a folk-pop sound to it. It doesn't fit with the rest of the album's synth lo-fi sound. Other singles were "Hyperlife" and "Uneventful Days" on October 17, 2019, and "Dark Places" on November 7, 2019.
2) BECK can refer to a fictional rock band from the Japanese Anime series BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad. The fictional BECK's songs feature in the BECK Original Sound Track. BECK's style and members are highly influenced by various different artists. From vocals in the style of Zack De La Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, guitar influenced by Tom Morello of the same band, the band is highly influenced by rap-rock.
As the series develops, other influence appear, including guitar in the style of Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, and Red Hot Chili Peppers John Frusciante. During the series, the band covers a famous The Beatles song, 'I've got a Feeling'. The name BECK could have possibly been influenced by the first artist Beck, mentioned above. Harold Sakushi, the original author of the series, has confirmed that BECK is generally based around the Red Hot Chili Peppers, being his favourite band.
Dear Life
Beck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
So you cut it out, well your sins cost
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on, uh
How long must I wait
You drove your Rolls into the swamp
You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock
Of the price they put upon your soul
You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on, uh
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone, uh
Dear life, come and pick me up
Dear life, I think the button's stuck
Dear life, I think it's gone too far
Dear life, please lower the bar
Lower than the stars
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on, uh
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone, uh
In Beck's song "Dear Life", the lyrics seem to touch on the struggle of trying to maintain a sense of hope and purpose in the face of challenges and disappointments. The first verse references someone who has given up on their dreams after they were "made mincemeat of" by others, and is now being controlled by money and possibly regretting their choices. The chorus of "Dear life, I'm holding on...how long must I wait before the thrill is gone" suggests a feeling of desperation, as if the singer is trying to hold on to life and all it has to offer, but is questioning how long they can keep that up.
The second verse mentions someone who has also been burned by making bad choices, driving their Rolls into a swamp and realizing the true cost of what they've lost. The line "buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know" seems to speak to the idea of trying to regain what's lost, but also acknowledging the difficulties that come with doing so. The repeated lyrics of the chorus reinforce the sense of uncertainty and longing for something more in life, accompanied by a slightly melancholy melody.
Overall, the song appears to be exploring themes of disillusionment, regret, and the struggle to find meaning and purpose in life despite setbacks. The lyrics suggest a sense of frustration and weariness, but also a desire to keep going and find some kind of resolution.
Line by Line Meaning
You sang your swan song to the dogs
You gave up on your dreams and aspirations after being met with relentless criticism and ridicule
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
Because those dogs destroyed and tore apart the very dreams you had believed in and anchored your hope on
So you cut it out, well your sins cost
So you decided to let go, but your past mistakes and regrets continued to haunt and weigh you down
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love
You're constantly questioning the morality of chasing money and the emptiness of what it can buy, feeling foolish for prioritizing love and emotions instead
Dear life, I'm holding on
Addressing life as if it is a person, expressing your determination and grit to hold on and not give up
How long must I wait
Wondering how much longer you have to endure the difficulties and pain of waiting and hoping for something better
Before the thrill is gone, uh
Before the excitement and enjoyment of life fades and disappears completely
You drove your Rolls into the swamp
You intentionally drove your luxury vehicle, representing your status and wealth, into a place where it doesn't belong or can't survive, signifying self-sabotage
You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock
You escaped from the situation you created, feeling the aftershock of realizing the consequences of your actions and the price you paid for it
Of the price they put upon your soul
Of the value or worth that others placed on your innermost self or essence, which you felt was taken away or exploited
You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know
You try to regain it by bringing it back from a state of complete destruction, torture, or hardship from the known and familiar 'devil' you've dealt with before
Dear life, come and pick me up
Asking life to rescue and help you move on from a dark place or negative situation
Dear life, I think the button's stuck
Feeling as if life is malfunctioning or not working properly, in which an imagined button cannot be pressed to fix things
Dear life, I think it's gone too far
Feeling like things are beyond a point of no return or too extreme, unable to cope or handle it alone anymore
Dear life, please lower the bar
Requesting life to ease up or lessen the expectations or standards placed upon oneself
Lower than the stars
Asking life to make those expectations lower than the unreachable, unrealistic, and distant stars above us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BECK DAVID CAMPBELL, GREGORY KURSTIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joseph Quinto
[Verse]
You sang your swan song to the dogs
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
So you cut it out, well your sins cost
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
[Verse]
You drove your Rolls into the swamp
You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock
Of the price they put upon your soul
You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
[Bridge]
Dear life, come and pick me up
Dear life, I think the button's stuck
Dear life, I think it's gone too far
Dear life, please lower the bar
Lower than the stars
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
HumanCarBomb
Lyrics, enjoy: \m/
You sang your swan song to the dogs
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
So you cut it out, well your sins cost
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
You drove your Rolls into the swamp
You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock
Of the price they put upon your soul
You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
Dear life, come and pick me up
Dear life, I think the button's stuck
Dear life, I think it's gone too far
Dear life, please lower the bar
Lower than the stars
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
Deiter Vonjibbler
Beck has to be one of the most unique, original and diverse musicians that has ever lived. Fantastic song writer, composer, and a master of so many instruments. The planet is a better place to live with Beck on it!
Championette
Deiter Vonjibbler
FOR SURE!! 💜
Shanana Bonquiqui
You really NEVER know what he is going to drop next it's insane how unpredictable he is. And damn it he pulls it off every god damn time. I really hope you got to see him on tour with Phoenix! Maybe the best show I've seen in my life!
Robert F
Been listening to this brother for 25 years, maybe more. He is just a fantastic musician. Love him to death.
Christine Janvier
94 baby Mellowgold
Almightrex
Me too, I moshed at glastonbury in '96. He's a legit treasure.
The_Nuclear_Winter
I hear this as a dark song too. And I kind of relate to what I interpret it as. I see it as asking why life isn't getting better and why happiness is still absent after waiting for so long. Asking why things keep going wrong and wanting to give up and call it a night but you can see a lot of beauty in life and life is weird and unpredictable so you just want to hold on.
Frame
Dude, honest mode: I feel what you're getting at. All around, I think what the notion is... whether you are prepared to hear it or not... He, they, anyone from that ivory tower is kind of saying... hey, I don't care, you are down there nobody cares... ooohh aaawaghohhh,,,,,.... you know the songs today. Anyway, it's as sad as it seems. You do something legitimately perfect, and somebody from the "wayup" says, NO. And now it is for you to go and dig and dirt and feel obsessed and do everything you can, when the few are "overlording" above, acting like they even have the right to do that. And even though you are above THAT, and above what I'm saying right now, and doing everything you motherloving can do to make the difference. It just... I don't know. Have faith, love each other, and let's get each other's backs :)
Joseph Quinto
[Verse]
You sang your swan song to the dogs
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
So you cut it out, well your sins cost
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
[Verse]
You drove your Rolls into the swamp
You stole away like a thief, reeling from the sticker shock
Of the price they put upon your soul
You buy it back from the burning ashes of the devil you know
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
[Bridge]
Dear life, come and pick me up
Dear life, I think the button's stuck
Dear life, I think it's gone too far
Dear life, please lower the bar
Lower than the stars
[Chorus]
Dear life, I'm holding on
Dear life, I'm holding on
How long must I wait
Before the thrill is gone
JM H
"You sang your swan song to the dogs,
'Cause they made mincemeat of the dreams you hung your hopes on
So we counted out what your sins cost
While money talks to your conscience, looking like a fool for love"