Beercan (song)

"Beercan"
Single by Beck
from the album Mellow Gold
Released1994
Genre
Length4:01
Label
Songwriter(s)Beck Hansen
Producer(s)Carl Stephenson
Beck singles chronology
"Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"
(1994)
"Beercan"
(1994)
"Where It's At"
(1996)
Music video
"Beercan" on YouTube

"Beercan" is a single by Beck, taken from his first major record label release, Mellow Gold. It peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks charts.

Conception and recording

"Beercan" was produced by Carl Stephenson and featured his characteristic layers of sound and bizarre samples: this song in particular prominently features samples from a Care Bears album. The song also samples a small part of the Melvins song "Hog Leg"

As mentioned in the song, Beck once had a job blowing leaves. Beck once reminisced, "There's a leaf-blower contingent. There's no union that I know of so far, but there's certainly a spiritual brotherhood. They are the originators of noise music. It's like a cross between a Kramer guitar and a jet pack."[1][2][3]

Music video

Like Beck's earlier single "Loser", the experimental video for "Beercan" was directed by friend and director Steve Hanft. The video features a group of homeless people destroying a house. A recurring theme throughout the video is the presence of a rainbow, possibly a reference to the Care Bears album sampled in the song. Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne also makes an appearance.

Track listing

  1. "Beercan" - 4:01
  2. "Got No Mind" - 4:22
  3. "Asskiss Powergrudge (Payback! '94)" - 3:06
  4. "Totally Confused" - 3:28
  5. "Spanking Room" - 9:07
    • Contains "Loser" (Pseudo-Muzak Version) as a hidden track at 5:41.

Chart positions

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4][5] 98
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[6] 27

References

  1. ^ "Beercan Information". Whiskeyclone.net. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  2. ^ Hansen, Beck (July 1994). "Spin Magazine July 1994 Issue". Spin Magazine.
  3. ^ Martell, Nevin (October 2001). Beck: The Art of Mutation. Pocket Books. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7434-2448-6.
  4. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 09 Oct 1994". ARIA. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. ^ "Beck—Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2008.