Thyklopth wrote: Sat Dec 30, 2023 7:15 pm “Mutations” was his best imo and when I started to take him seriously as a writer. Nary a dud on there.

Yeah I remember thinking that album was pretty good; the word-salad sound collage took a back seat to more focused songwriting, chord sequences and melodies, more sombre themes and less Dust Brothers.

And who do we have occupying that position now, Ed Sheeran maybe? We were better off with Beck, surely.

penningtron wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 11:14 am I think Russ even used to have a 'rule': if you announce you're leaving, you're done.

That was a C/NC rule specifically: If you start a poll about whether you should leave, and the results say you should leave, you’re done.

On-topic: I do like that first song on Sea Change but I generally do not care for Beck. Most of his albums feel very bound to their particular time and place for me, especially Odelay and Midnite Vultures. Some artists can do that and succeed in creating something that is accidentally universal and enduring, and it’s really magical. I don’t think Beck ever succeeded in that way.

WF: props to him for doing a remix contest during the Midnite Vultures release promo cycle and making stems freely available to the internet.