Beck "New Pollution"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I was going to do some weekend posts about artists who'll be at Newport Folk, who were 90s faves . . .  but I realize that the intersection on that Venn diagram, is pretty small.   But Beck fills the bill . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Jellyfish "That Is Why"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Another 90s Power Pop band featuring Jason Falkner, whose bandmates went on to do session, writing and production work for loads of other folks (including Beck, Cheap Trick, Aimee Mann and Puffy Amiyumi).


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Beck "Looking For A Sign"

Sometimes I wish that I could post these songs, without revealing the name and title.*

Because I think you'd get a kick out of listening to this song from the soundtrack to the movie "Jeff Who Lives At Home,"** and trying to guess who it is.

But because his name is right up front, well, never mind.

Still, would you have guessed that this is Beck?

Maybe not the first time through, but certainly on second listen, you can pick out his voice. And there are some sonic flourishes that are noticeably Beck-ian.

What I find most remarkable about Beck, after nearly 20 years of listening to his output, is the ease with which he moves from sound to sound on his various albums. It's amazing that the guy who made "Midnight Vultures" is also the guy who made "Sea Change," and made both those records sound distinctly like a Beck album.

I'm a huge Elvis Costello fan, but even with Elvis, even when he does a great album that leans Country or R&B or Classical or whatever, it general feels like "Okay, here is Elvis, trying to work within a particular style."

For some reason, I never get that sense from Beck.

It never feels like he's "putting on" a style. He's just making the record sound like the songs warrant.

So when he does the acoustic-y, downbeat stuff, he's not trying to sound like a singer-songwriter, to explore that style. He's just making Beck songs, and these happen to be quieter, sadder and strummy-er.

It's quite a feat.


Hear the song on Youtube.


See the movie trailer of Youtube.

* I suppose I could create my own, unnamed Youtube videos, but that's going a long way, just to prove a point.

** This is the 2nd Jason Segel-related post this week!

Emmylou Harris & Beck "Sin City"

If you've had a kid in the last decade, chances are pretty good you've had a copy of "What To Expect When You're Expecting" in your house.

One of the pieces of advice that I remember from it, was about singing to sooth a crying child. Something about how babies like singing and don't even notice the worst, out-of-tune off-key warbling. They just like the sound of your voice.

My wife has been singing to our kids at bedtime ever since they were born. She's got a really nice voice, and I'm sure it's a very pleasant way to go to sleep.

After teeth-brushing and a few books, she turns out the light and goes into her repertoire of songs.

Usually it starts with the song from Dumbo, "Baby Mine," which Bonnie Raitt and Alison Krauss have both recorded. On a good night, one song is all that it takes.

But not every night is a good night. Sometimes it takes a bit for the kids to settle down.

So she'll sing "Lullaby" by Billy Joel. Then maybe "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon for my son. My daughter has always been inexplicably calmed by my wife's version of Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am."

Some combination of those songs sung by my wife, usually is enough to get the kids to drift off.

But on certain occasions, my wife isn't home for bedtime.

Consistency is the key to parenting, so with great care I make sure we go through the same pajama-putting-on, teeth-brushing, story-reading routine. In exactly the same way my wife does it.

Then I turn out the light.

My voice is no where near as good as my wife's, but it's not a total disaster.

I do just fine with "Baby Mine." I'll even repeat the last verse and chorus 3 or 4 times, to stretch out the song.

If that doesn't do the trick then it's on to "Lullaby."

Their still awake and need more?

"Beautiful Boy" then "The Way I Am."

No? Not asleep yet?

Okay, a medley of The Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" and "Good Night."

At this point, if they're not asleep, I'm out of lullabies.

It used to be that panic would set in, and I'd start over with "Baby Mine."

Then I realized that the kids probably don't care too much about the words, as long as the melody is pleasing.

I'm not the best singer. But within a limited range, I can do alright.

So if all else fails, I usually sing "Sin City." The version that Emmylou Harris did with Beck, falls within (what we can be liberally described as) my wheelhouse.

The lyrics don't, in any way, qualify as restive, lullaby-ish or sleep-related. The mix of religion and politics and its "whole town insane" vibe won't ever replace "Rockabye Baby."

But to a Dad just trying to do the best he can, it works.

Bran Van 3000 "Drinking In L.A."

Here's another Weekend Post:

I can't freakin' stand the "Autocomplete" feature on Google. It drives me ba-nonckers that it will actually change something I'm typing, because it thinks it has a better idea of what I'm trying to say than I do.

But I will give Google credit for reminding me of this band and song---a 90s nugget pitched halfway between Beck's work and Moby's work of that era---when I tried to search for "Brand Name Electronics."


See the video on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Beck "Loser"

When I was a kid, our house seemed vast.

I'd come home after school, and it would be quiet, still.

I knew Mom was in there somewhere, so I'd call out to her.

"MOM! ARE YOU UPSTAIRS?"

The reply would come, "Nobody here but us chickens."


When you're a kid, you don't think too much about the weird things your parents say. "Nobody here but us chickens" isn't any stranger than "See you later, Alligator," or any of a million other catchphrases.

But you get a little older and you realize that nobody else's Mom says "Nobody here but us chickens," so you ask:

"Mom, where does 'Nobody here but us chickens' come from?"

"I don't know. It's something my Mom used to say."

It was years after that, when I was listening to an oldies, "years of our lives" type radio station, that the mystery was solved.

"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" is a song, recorded by Louis Jordan the year my Mom was born!


When my 3 year old girl is running around the house, over-sugared, over-tired, over-the-edge, she shouts:

"I'M GETTING CRAZY WITH THE CHEESE WHIZ."

I taught her that.

She doesn't know where it comes from or who wrote it or anything. She just knows it's something her Dad says.

In 2058, there will be a conversation. My daughter will have grown kids of her own, who used to say, "I'm getting crazy with the Cheese Whiz," too.

And those grown kids will say to their mother, my now-50-year-old daughter:

"Mom, did you know that comes from a song from some guy named Beck!?!"

The lyric is at the 2:15 mark.