It’s turning out to be a busy week for the multi-platinum, boundary-crossing, genre-bending genius behind the ’90s hit, “Loser”. The legendary artist, Beck, may be on tour in support of his fantastic release from this year, Morning Phase, but that hasn’t stopped him from other ventures. Today, he debuted a new music video for “Heart is a Drum”. The video centers around a mysterious and traumatic event in the artist’s past. Its monochromatic and lo-fi picture, along with the setting, evokes something from a far away past – certainly farther past than Beck has lived. Themes of death, regret, and mourning seem to be ubiquitous in the video, which is fitting given the overall melancholy feel of Morning Phase and it’s companion album from several years ago, Sea Change.
In addition, our favorite “Loser” made an appearance on The Colbert Report last night, with an interview that included a hug from Stephen himself, and a mind-blowingly awesome performance that shattered any doubt that Beck is just as relevant today as he was when his hit single first aired. As if that wasn’t enough, Beck’s Song Reader album, originally released as a bundle of sheet music for other artists to interpret, was given an official recording featuring several big names, including Jeff Tweedy, Jack Black, Jack White, fun., Norah Jones, among others, and one performance by the very man who wrote the music. That album was released today online and in record stores everywhere. See the music video for “Heart is a Drum” and stream Song Reader below; head over to Stereogum for the Colbert interview and performances of “Heart is a Drum” from Morning Phase and “Heaven’s Ladder” from Song Reader.
