Beck - Odelay

When you’re a teen to pre-teen, you have a very different definition of what constitutes “deep meaning” in song lyrics. This album was one of those that young Dave thought was mind-blowingly cool and original and deep - I was probably assuming that many of the nonsensical lyrics were simply nonsensical in order to hide a deeper meaning. Did I understand what Beck meant by “Shine your shoes with your microphone blues, hirsute with your parachute fruits”? Hell no. But did I think I was privy to some level of intellect that was far beyond anything my parents or plebians everywhere could understand? You better believe it.

Beck’s music is indeed inventive and entertaining, and I’m not saying there’s not a deeper level of meaning to it. But this isn’t Shakespeare, and it’s pretty amusing to think back on that time of my life when my view of the broader music world was the size of my bookshelf full of CD’s and my dollar-store headphones. That’s what I hear when I hear Beck, and I hope that never changes.

From the roundup Jamwise #49 - Best of 1996.