Beck — Sea Change | The Breakup Album Everyone Misreads

Nate picked it (and is going through a breakup as we record this), Brandon was the engineer on a week of rehearsals with this exact band years ago, and we both arrived at the same hot take: Sea Change is not actually a stripped-down album.This week on Playback: Beck — Sea Change (2002). The breakup record. The eighth Beck album. The one where the goofy Devil's Haircut rapping-in-Spanish funk guy walks into Ocean Way with Nigel Godrich and walks out with a slow, deep-voiced, string-drenched masterpiece. Recorded on the legendary Dalcon console. Mixed with no automation, all hands on the desk. And — this is the part nobody talks about — made by a guy who was ALSO simultaneously starting records with Dan the Automator and probably Guero and The Information at the same time.What we get into:- Sad Beck vs Funk Beck — and the fact that he was making both at once- Why Sea Change isn't "stripped down" — it's secretly maximalist- The Dalcon Feud: Beck, Nigel Godrich and Jon Brion all tried to buy the Ocean Way console, and only one of them got it- Brandon's week in the studio with the band before this episode was ever a podcast- Closer to Neil Young's Harvest than to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks- The "all hands" mix technique — three or four people on the console, mixed as a performance- Paper Tiger as a full-on Serge Gainsbourg / Melody Nelson sound-alike (and the confession that Nate may have oversold this)- Joey Waronker's pocket, James Gadson's funk pedigree, Smokey Hormel (yes, that Hormel) and Roger Manning Jr. (yes, that Jellyfish)- The George Harrison / All Things Must Pass guitar trick hiding all over Sea Change- Favorite vs Best vs Standout — The Golden Age, Lost Cause, Guess I'm Doing Fine are all so good none of us could pick clean- Why Paper Tiger as track 2 is the wrong move- Brandon's hot take: does post-Sea Change Beck dip a toe into the Eddie Vedder / Layne Staley / Scott Stapp yarl-voice pool?- Quote Corner: three Beck quotes that change what you think this album actually meansTell us your Favorite vs. Best Sea Change song — comment on the YouTube version of this episode or email [email protected] the video version on YouTube: https://youtube.com/blackmarketdubPlayback playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2bglGuNFbZwJ7SsGU-QbeBero8j7p7jnSupport the show: https://patreon.com/blackmarketdubBlack Market Dub on Bandcamp: https://blackmarketdub.bandcamp.comEscape Hatch Records: https://escapehatchrecords.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/blackmarket_dub