Beck to best

COMMENTARY

A big part of being a writer is pretending you know everything when really, you know nothing.

In this case, I will be perfectly honest: I know next to nothing about Beck.

I recall the US singer-songwriter had a pretty big hit during the 90s era with a song called Loser - "I'm a loser, baby / So why don't you kill me?"

Great tune.

I remember listening to his 1996 release Odelay over and over again at a record store.

I really liked it, but I did not buy it.

I can recall hearing a couple of years back that he released a folder full of sheet music instead of a proper album.

It was called Beck Hansen's Song Reader, and I thought it was a really wonderful idea - get people to play music themselves instead of passively consuming it.

The only other thing I can tell you about Beck is that his latest album Morning Phase is lovely.

I am listening to it as I write this column.

Of course, the reason I am listening to it is that it won the Grammy Award for Album Of The Year a couple of days ago.

It beat out X by Ed Sheeran, In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith, Girl by Pharrell Williams and of course Beyonce's self-titled album.

Morning Phase would not be my choice for Album Of The Year.

For me, Future Islands' Singles, which was not even nominated, deserves the award.

NOT BAD

That said, I think Morning Phase is not a bad choice at all.

It reminds me a bit of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, but even more emo - soft, dreamy, enveloping soundscapes designed to sooth sensitive lads like myself.

A more contemporary point of reference would maybe be The Maccabees' Given To The Wild.

There are those out there, such as the inimitable Kanye West, who will always prefer the blustery bombast of someone like Beyonce.

That is cool. Everyone has their own sense of taste.

What I love about Beck - and I really do think I am gonna hop onto this bandwagon - is that he harkens back to the time when music was more about melodies than marketing.

GENUINE

Say what you will about Beck, but a lot of those artists during his time really were the genuine article.

Is the entity we know as Beyonce a genuine anything?

I am presently listening to Beck's Turn Away from Morning Phase, and the lyrics go, "Turn, turn away / From the sound of your own voice / Calling no one, just a silence".

It is a sentiment that many contemporary artists would do well to take to their heart, even just a little bit.

Beck does not pander and he does not razzle-dazzle.

He just makes lovely sounds.

Of course, you do not have to take my word for it.

His Grammy speaks louder than words.