Modern Guilt

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Modern Guilt
Studio album by Beck
Released July 8, 2008
Recorded 2008 at Anonyme Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre Alternative rock
Length 33:33
Label DGC
XL (UK, EU)
Producer Danger Mouse, Beck
Beck chronology
The Information
(2006)		 Modern Guilt
(2008)
Singles from Modern Guilt
  1. "Chemtrails"
    Released: June 23, 2008
  2. "Gamma Ray"
    Released: August 11, 2008
  3. "Youthless"
    Released: 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (77/100)[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[2]
The A.V. Club B[3]
Entertainment Weekly B+[4]
The Guardian 2/5 stars[5]
The Independent 4/5 stars[6]
Los Angeles Times 3/4 stars[7]
Pitchfork Media (7.0/10)[8]
PopMatters 6/10 stars[9]
Robert Christgau (choice cut)[10]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[11]
Spin (7/10)[12]
The Times 4/5 stars[13]

Modern Guilt is the eleventh studio album by American alternative musician Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008.[14] The album fulfilled Beck's recording contract with Interscope Records.[15] [16]

Modern Guilt features two contributions by Cat Power[17] and was produced by Beck and Danger Mouse.[18]

A vinyl edition of the album, including download codes for 320-kbit/s MP3s direct from the master vinyl, was released on July 22, 2008.[19]

Contents

Reception [edit]

The album entered both the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart at number four, and gave Beck his first ever Top 10 placing on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine. The album has also been Beck's best charting album in Australia, reaching 13. In the US, the album sold 84,000 copies in its first week.[20] Although successful, this does not match the first week sales of The Information, which were 99,000.[20] In Canada, the album sold over 6,000 copies in its first week.[21]

The album received generally positive reviews upon release, earning a rating of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic.[1] Filter said of the album "Beck is somehow more aware while puffing out his waves of broken poetry as opposed to the casual seed-spitting he has been known to turn to,"[1] and Allmusic said that it was "an effective dosage of 21st century paranoia."[2] Some negative reviews, such as PopMatters, said that the album "lacks the unique resonating timbres one is accustomed to with Beck,"[9] and The Guardian called it "a vanity project".[5] In December 2008, Modern Guilt was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 51st Grammy Awards, but it later lost to In Rainbows by Radiohead.

Accolades [edit]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Q UK 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008 #23[22]
Rolling Stone US 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008 #8[23]
WERS Boston US 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008 #6[24]

Acoustic sessions [edit]

In July through September 2009, Beck uploaded videos on a weekly basis of full band "unplugged" performances of each track on the record. These videos appeared exclusively on beck.com and vimeo.com. These acoustic sessions had been recorded earlier in the year, following Beck's tour of Japan. Four unspecified tracks are to be released on an official limited edition EP.

Release history [edit]

Region Date Label Format Catalog Ref
World July 8, 2008 DGC Digital download — [25]
Argentina CD 1775441
Australia 1775441
Canada B001150702
United States B0011507-02
LP B0011630-01
United Kingdom CD B001150702
XL XLCD369
LP XLLP 369
Europe
CD XLCD369

Track listing [edit]

All songs written by Beck except "Walls" written by Beck, Danger Mouse, Paul Guiot and Paul Piot.
Produced by Danger Mouse and Beck.

  1. "Orphans" (with vocals by Chan Marshall, bass by Jason Falkner) – 3:15
  2. "Gamma Ray" – 2:57
  3. "Chemtrails" (with bass and guitar by Jason Falkner) – 4:40
  4. "Modern Guilt" – 3:14
  5. "Youthless" – 3:00
  6. "Walls" (with vocals by Chan Marshall) – 2:22
    • samples from the track "Amour, Vacances et Baroque", from the 1969 library music album Dance and Mood Music Vol. 4
  7. "Replica" – 3:25
  8. "Soul of a Man" – 2:36
  9. "Profanity Prayers" – 3:43
  10. "Volcano" – 4:26

Extended version bonus disc

  1. "Vampire Voltage No.6" – 2:20
  2. "Bonfire Blondes" – 2:26
  3. "Half & Half" – 3:21
  4. "Necessary Evil" – 3:35
  5. "Gamma Ray" video – 2:54
  6. "Youthless" video – 2:51
  7. "Modern Guilt" video – 3:14
  8. "Replica" video – 3:24

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Modern Guilt Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Modern Guilt - Beck". Allmusic. 
  3. ^ Modell, Josh (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  4. ^ Grenblatt, Leah (2008-07-11). "Modern Guilt Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  5. ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Rob (2008-07-03). "CD: Beck, Modern Guilt". The Guardian. 
  6. ^ Hasted, Nick (2008-07-04). "Album: Beck, Modern Guilt (XL)". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  7. ^ Powers, Ann (2008-07-08). "New CDs: Beck, Kerli and Greg Laswell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  8. ^ Dombal, Ryan (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  9. ^ a b Hauner, Thomas (2008-07-07). "Beck: Modern Guilt". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Beck". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  11. ^ Maerz, Melissa (2008-07-08). "Modern Guilt". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  12. ^ Anderson, Stacey (2008-07-08). "Beck, 'Modern Guilt' (DGC)". Spin. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  13. ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4263402.ece[dead link]
  14. ^ "Beck's Modern Guilt Album Art & Tracklist". Stereogum. Retrieved 2008-06-12. 
  15. ^ "In the Studio: Beck Conjures 1960s Brit-Rock Vibe on Danger Mouse-Produced “Modern Guilt”". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  16. ^ "New Beck Album Due This Summer". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-05-07. 
  17. ^ "Beck Set to Release New Album, Stat!". MTV. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
  18. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2008-03-07). "Danger Mouse producing new Beck album". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
  19. ^ "Beck Announces Vinyl Release, Adds More Tourdates". Tiny Mix Tapes. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-19. 
  20. ^ a b "Beck's 'Guilt' debuts at No. 4". Entertainment Weekly. July 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-11. 
  21. ^ Williams, John (July 16, 2008). "Beck's 'Guilt' makes fine debut". Jam!. Retrieved 2011-04-06. 
  22. ^ Q Jan 09, pg.84
  23. ^ "Albums of the Year : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2008-12-25. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  24. ^ WERS.org
  25. ^ "Beck - Modern Guilt at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved February 27, 2011. 
  26. ^ "iTunes Store - Beck - Modern Guilt (Extended Version)". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 

External links [edit]

Beck
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
Album
Non-album
Featured singles
See also
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