Nov 26, 2013 Beck’s Song Reader at the Walt Disney Hall
Beck Hansen has always been an artistic oddity as much a musical chameleon. He writes songs that are both critically acclaimed and loved by the music-loving masses and then changes styles on a dime. Popularizing sounds as quickly as he ditches them, Beck not only challenges his audience’s ears but his own creative limits–not to mention the patience of whatever label releases out his his newest record. The ever-changing, absorbing, and mutating songwriter is a real symbol of Los Angeles’ smorgasbord aesthetic, blending hip hop, low-rider culture, and Tropicalia along with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and firsthand experience with high art.
So his show on Sunday night at the Walt Disney Hall was not only a celebration of last year’s release of new music in sheet music form (thrashing the notion of vinyl as old school) but a study of Los Angeles and its relationship with song as well. As noted by Josh Kun, one of the evening’s many speakers invited to talk about music between songs, musicians don’t write songs to sell music but to sell the city.
Other readings included filmmakers Allison and Tiffany Anders discussing the role of music in movies and in life; food writer and ex-music journalist Jonathan Gold sharing about his departed friend, colleague, and local musical provocateur Jac Zinder; and comedian Tig Notaro telling a story about high school, the coolest kid in school, and The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
Entering the stage, taking off his jacket, and then dropping his trousers, Jack Black introduced the evening of music by describing Frank Gehry’s battle to make the venue. Too many curves, too hard to make, too expensive–just make a building! But the renowned architect persevered and made the crown jewel of L.A.’s architectural landscape. It was perfect place to host a special performance of the Song Reader by the L.A. Philharmonic (conducted by Beck’s dad, David Campbell) and friends.
In addition to Black, vocalists included big-time Brit rocker Jarvis Cocker, multifaceted rapper Childish Gambino, indie superstar Jenny Lewis paired with collaborator Anne Hathaway, rock en español superstar Juanes, and others. The roots trio of John C. Reilly, Becky Stark, and Tom Brosseau also took a turn. So did Beck. The star-studded evening could have easily become a glossy piece of showboating but the tone was always humble, humorous, and genuine.
In the artist’s statement, the composer admitted that the idea of new music being played and sung off sheet music has “inherent old-timeyness” and feared that it can be glossed over as a “gimmick.” But hearing the new music performed in a formal setting without effects, lights, and other trappings of modern pop sounded anything but dusty. The effect was pure, invigorating, and inspiring. At the end of the night, Beck said that the evening was not recorded. It was just one more night of the songbook being interpreted by musicians–although in a bigger room with handpicked players representing the best of his hometown–and the effect was ultimately more humanizing than glamorizing.