Beck's Eighth Album Nears Completion
Gordon Lightfoot demands safe return of missing fakebook

We've been practicing our Beck sexx-talk for years now, hoping that the critical acclaim for 2002's Sea Change wouldn't deter Mr. Hansen from returning to the fr33k1ne$$ of some of his previous records. And, while details are still somewhat thin for an album that's scheduled to be released in late November, it looks like it's time to start building up that celebratory stash of hot dogs and No-Doz.

According to scattered reports by NME, MTV and Rolling Stone, Beck's as-yet-untitled new platter is a much more aggressive, guitar-focused affair with tracks produced by the esteemed Nigel Godrich and long-time collaborators The Dust Brothers. However, Dan the Automator, long rumored to be involved... apparently isn't. Or else his cred has dropped so low that nobody but us will print his name anymore.

One highly printable name, however, is Jack White. Beck showed up in The White Stripes' video for "The Hardest Button to Button" last year, and now White has returned the favor, appearing on one of Beck's new songs. Like most of the album, the song is currently untitled and reportedly still being mixed, but we do have a few assorted titles for your scanning pleasure: "Guero", "E-Pro", "Scarecrow" and "Chain Reaction". The album will also contain a song titled "Brazilica", which will continue the man's deep-seated love of Brazil and Brazilian music first explored in "Tropicalia" and "Deadweight".

Beck tends to work non-sequentially, and indeed, some of this material has reportedly been in the works since prior to Sea Change. The long lead time, combined with Jack White's last-minute vocal cameo, has us wondering (in an unsubstantiated X-Files kind of way) whether someone at Geffen is leaning on El Perdedor Supremo to deliver something more MTV-friendly this time around. On the other hand, if you get to shake it like a bra-burning deportee, who really cares how the record got that way?

Lastly: The official Beck website recently (and by this we mean nearly three months ago) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the anti-folk progenitor's 1993 debut, Mellow Gold, with an impressive three-part documentary (which can be streamed via Quicktime, Windows Media or RealVideo), the site documented the history and creation of the album, with live footage and interviews with folks from Beck's storied past, including producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, drummer Joey Waronker, and filmmaker Steven Hanft. The feature is still readily accessible from the site, alongside selected songs from Beck's 1993 and 1994 in-studio performances on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.