Beck

I'm digging on Mr. Beck Hanson.

Not every single move that he makes is spot on, but enough of his moves are hits that I'm willing to accept the occasional odd steps here and there.

The newest cool step is that each of us will be getting a chance to design his new album cover. His new album - due October 3rd - is called The Information and is already streaming over at his website - along with loads of his songs and videos from past albums.

Of course, Beck's been doing a lot of odd stuff for a while now. He's sort of alternated from upbeat, electronic albums (Odelay, Midnite Vultures, Guero) and slower, more folky stuff (Mutations, Sea Change, One Foot in the Grave) and seems equally at home in each genre. He's also full on into the remixes, as evidenced by Guerolito and his release of B-sides, Stray Blues.

And now it appears that Beck thinks he's beyond the album.

And there's the "Clap Hands" video that I've mentioned before. Of course, not all of his songs get translated to live performances quite as well as some others.

If you're new to Beck, I'd recommend starting with Odelay or Guero, they're probably his most accessible albums, though I do enjoy One Foot in the Grave, Mutations, and Midnite Vultures. Sea Change left me a little cold, admittedly.