Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, known by his simple stage name of Beck.
With his pop collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and post-modern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being amongst the most idiosyncratic artists of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock.
Beck rose to underground popularity with his early works, which combined social criticism (as in "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack" and "Deep Fried Love") with musical and lyrical experimentation. He first earned wider public attention for his breakthrough single "Loser," a 1994 hit that, at the time, was described as a novelty song. However, Beck was not easily categorized into a single genre. Some have likened the absurdist, free-flowing lyrical style and the lo-fi folk songs of his early career to Bob Dylan, while the Beastie Boys were notable templates for his embrace of hip hop influences. His later eclecticism sparked comparisons to Prince.[4] In several albums beginning in the late 1990s, Beck developed a slower, more melancholy sound, merging his trademark "junkyard" style with psychedelic rock, electronic, Brazilian Tropicalia, and the music of English folk icon Nick Drake and French avant pop star Serge Gainsbourg. He has also cited The Cars, Mantronix, Gary Wilson, Pussy Galore, Willie Dixon, Bill Broonzy, and Sonic Youth among his influences. To most listeners, Odelay (1996) and Sea Change (2002), two of Beck's most popular[5] and acclaimed[6][7] recordings, represent polar opposite musical styles. Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by American magazine Rolling Stone and by UK publications NME and Mojo. Odelay also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album.
+ Background
Beck was born in Los Angeles, California to David Campbell, a Canadian musician, and Bibbe Hansen, a visual artist.[citation needed] His maternal grandfather was Al Hansen, a visual collage artist of the Fluxus school of art. His paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, while his maternal grandmother was half Jewish[8]; Beck himself is a Scientologist, as are his wife and his father. Beck's mother also has Norwegian and Swedish ancestry. When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by that city's diverse musical offerings—everything from hip hop to Latin music and his mother's art scene—all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck traveled and educated himself. During this period, he developed his musical talent through the art of busking. In Germany, he spent time with his grandfather Al Hansen. The late 1980s found him in New York City, involved in the punk-influenced anti-folk music movement.
+ Personal life
From 1991 to 2000, Beck was in a relationship with designer Leigh Limon. Their breakup is said to have inspired his 2002 album, Sea Change. He wrote most of the songs for the album in one week in 2000.
Beck married actress Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi, in April 2004, shortly before the birth of their son, Cosimo Henri Hansen. Ribisi gave birth to another child in 2007.
Beck has been involved in Scientology for most of his life. His wife, Marissa, is also a second-generation Scientologist. Both Marissa and her twin brother, Giovanni, were delivered by Beck's mother, Bibbe. Beck publicly acknowledged his affiliation with the Church of Scientology for the first time in an interview published in the New York Times Magazine on March 6, 2005. Further confirmation came in an interview with the Irish Sunday Tribune's i Magazine on June 11, 2005, where he was quoted as saying, "Yeah, I'm a Scientologist. My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it." When questioned by the interviewer about Scientology's core beliefs, he replied, "What it actually is is just sort of, uh, you know, I think it's about philosophy and sort of, uh, all these kinds of, you know, ideals that are common to a lot of religions. . . . There's nothing fantastical . . . just a real deep grassroots concerted effort for humanitarian causes. I don't know if you know the stuff they have. It's unbelievable the stuff they are doing. Education . . . they have free centres all over the place for poor kids. They have the number one drug rehabilitation programme in the entire world (called Narconon). It has a 90-something % success rate . . . When you look at the actual facts and not what's conjured in people's minds that's all bullshit to me because I've actually seen stuff first hand."
+ MORE INFORMATIONS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beck
Music 4 World - Beck (POP) - Biography - Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, known by his simple stage n
