Beck is at it again with a new EP called Hell Yes, a blipping, buzzing portent of his upcoming album Guero (which means “white boy” in Spanish). I discovered the EP on iTunes just now, and subsequently freaked out and clicked the “Buy Now” button so quickly that I think I broke some kind of land-speed record. There was a thunderous rumble, and then the sound of breaking glass. I think I may have blacked out momentarily.
If the final sound of the album, due in March, is anything like the four tracks on iTunes, I’m going to totally love it. It’s possible that the four tracks on iTunes are all remixes that don’t resemble the final sound, but I doubt that. I can only guess that Beck must be circuit bending and using emulators, old-school software and other modified equipment to create these sounds, because they are incredibly authentic. I doubt it’s anything like the cover of the EP (on the right), showing a guy plugging his GameBoy into a stack of amps, but it’s a great mental picture. I would love to know how he created those sounds. The interesting thing is that for a couple years now I’ve been considering writing some programs to make exactly this sort of music. This absolutely solidifies Beck as my #1 favorite artist.
Be sure to check out the music video for GHETTOCHIP MALFUNCTION (a.k.a “Hell Yes”) on iTunes. Unless you have epilepsy or react strongly to strobe lights, in which case, steer clear. Seriously.
If I could write a poem about this EP, it would be written in COBOL.
Update: Since so many are googling for it, here’s a direct link to the GHETTOCHIP MALFUNCTION video on iTunes.
