What A Surprise!
I wonder what it must be like to be a person who traumatizes another so deeply that they inspire an entire album born out of heartbreak. And at the moment I’m wondering what it’s like to be the person who traumatized Beck, because whoever that person is, big ups to you! You provided the fodder for some exquisite songs, friend.

Not being a tried and true Beckian, I previously only knew of the funky hits that had him attempting James Brown-caliber gymnastics on stage. Never in my wildest dreams did I think lying in wait underneath the oddball raconteur was such a sensitive soul who’d one day sing about barely getting by, tears and the rays of Heaven. It’s funny, the notion that rock stars get their hearts broken. You would think that they’d be able to get first dibs, the pick of the litter, the creme de la creme. Who would dare cause such heartache and suffering in a person that the general public loves to love?

Rockstars Are People, Too!
Not only is the newest Beck release, Sea Change, a sobering lesson in the realities of stardom (ie, rockstars are people, too, and people get screwed over by other people), I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s the Pet Sounds of his career. It’s so warm and lush, thanks to the production of Nigel Goderich, I want to recline in front of a crackling fireplace on a snowy eve and wrap myself in it, reminiscing about all my unrequited loves... and silently weeping while downing an entire bottle of Merlot.

The irony is there’s beauty in sadness. As much as we love to whoop it up, deep down inside we are sadistically attracted to things that make us want to cry. Perhaps even more sadistically, it’s comforting to know that rockstars have failed love lives, too. Sea Change may be a bit of a downer, but it’s surprisingly reassuring and gorgeous. "Guess I’m doing fine," Beck sings in the song of the same name. I would say so.