Beck recently released a new track, harkening back to his days as a playful pop-funk mixmaster. That comes on the heels of his Grammy win for Best Album for Morning Phase, a somber and elegant meditation on mortality and lost love.
Let’s face it. The man can do pretty much anything. Even Kanye became a fan after initially threatening to protest Beck’s win over Beyoncé
Today’s Random Weekend selection is the title track of Modern Guilt, the 2008 album that found Beck somewhere between those two modes. It’s a little experimental, a little meditative. I’d also place it somewhere in the lower half of Beck’s discography were I ranking his albums, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t damn good.
It just means the rest of his output is damn great.
I feel uptight when I walk in the city
I feel so cold when I’m at home
Feels like everything’s starting to hit me
I lost my bearings ten minutes ago
[Chorus 1]
Modern guilt, I’m stranded with nothing
Modern guilt, I’m under lock and key
Misapprehension
Turning into convention
Don’t know what I’ve done but I feel ashamed
[Verse 2]
Standing outside the glass on the sidewalk
These people talk about impossible things
And I’m falling out of the conversation
And I’m a pawn piece in a human shield
[Chorus 2]
Modern guilt is all in our hands
Modern guilt won’t get me to bed
Say what you will
Smoke your last cigarette
Don’t know what I’ve done but I feel afraid
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I really need to listen to more Beck.