#216 beck – debra

memories came flooding in when i finally got about to digitizing my old beck cds. i remember listening to brian’s copy of odelay over and over again (i think i hogged it for quite a while before i got my own), and trying to perfect my “sissyneck” whistle. i remember disliking sea change immensely, denouncing it as bland and boring, a view i held until someone told me to give it another shot. it’s one of my favorites now, and exists as a reminder for me to never dismiss anything. in terms of expectation, however, i remember most eagerly awaiting the release of midnight vultures in 1999, for the chance to finally listen to the studio version of “debra”, a song he had been playing regularly at his shows for some years already. up to today, i still love this song to bits, from the soppy horns to the pathetically whining bassline and of course beck’s prince falsetto. it definitely doesn’t compare to the improvised genius of the live versions, but it does still force us to take seriously the limits of absurdity that beck often pushes in his music. classic! – dan.

mp3: beck – debra