Beercan (song)

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"Beercan"
Single by Beck
from the album Mellow Gold
Released1994
Genre
Length4:01
Label
Songwriter(s)Beck Hansen
Producer(s)Carl Stephenson
Beck singles chronology
"Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"
(1994)
"Beercan"
(1994)
"Where It's At"
(1996)
Music video
"Beercan" on YouTube

"Beercan" is a single by Beck, taken from his first major record label release, Mellow Gold. It peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks charts.

Conception and recording[edit]

"Beercan" was produced by Carl Stephenson and featured his characteristic layers of sound and bizarre samples: this song in particular prominently features samples from a Care Bears album. The song also samples a small part of the Melvins song "Hog Leg"

As mentioned in the song, Beck once had a job blowing leaves. Beck once reminisced, "There's a leaf-blower contingent. There's no union that I know of so far, but there's certainly a spiritual brotherhood. They are the originators of noise music. It's like a cross between a Kramer guitar and a jet pack."[1][2][3]

Music video[edit]

Like Beck's earlier single "Loser", the experimental video for "Beercan" was directed by friend and director Steve Hanft. The video features a group of homeless people destroying a house. A recurring theme throughout the video is the presence of a rainbow, possibly a reference to the Care Bears album sampled in the song. Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne also makes an appearance.

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Beercan" - 4:01
  2. "Got No Mind" - 4:22
  3. "Asskiss Powergrudge (Payback! '94)" - 3:06
  4. "Totally Confused" - 3:28
  5. "Spanking Room" - 9:07
    • Contains "Loser" (Pseudo-Muzak Version) as a hidden track at 5:41.

Chart positions[edit]

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4][5] 98
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[6] 27

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Beercan Information". Whiskeyclone.net. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  2. ^ Hansen, Beck (July 1994). "Spin Magazine July 1994 Issue". Spin Magazine.
  3. ^ Martell, Nevin (October 2001). Beck: The Art of Mutation. Pocket Books. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7434-2448-6.
  4. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 09 Oct 1994". ARIA. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. ^ "Beck—Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2008.