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Song Reader
In the wake of Modern Guilt and The Information , Beck’s latest project comes in an almost-forgotten form—twenty songs existing only as individual pieces of sheet music, never before released or recorded. Complete with full-color, heyday-of-home-play-inspired art for each song and a lavishly produced hardcover carrying case, Song Reader is an experiment in what an album can be at the end of 2012—an alternative that enlists the listener in the tone of every track, and that’s as visually absorbing as a dozen gatefold LPs put together. The songs here are as unfailingly exciting as you’d expect from their author, but if you want to hear “Do We? We Do,” or “Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard,” bringing them to life depends on you. Featuring original art from Marcel Dzama (who created the imagery for Beck’s acclaimed Guero ), Leanne Shapton, Josh Cochran, Jessica Hische, and many more. Including an introduction by Jody Rosen ( Slate, the New York Times ) and a preface by Beck. Readers’ (and select musicians’) renditions of the songs will be featured on the McSweeney’s website.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
Hardcover
First published December 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 15, 2020
Read thru it, listened to versions of them, working on learning some of them. Neat as an artifact.
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June 11, 2014http://www.full-stop.net/2013/02/28/r...
Review by Scott Beauchamp
What was most surprising about the response to Beck’s Song Reader wasn’t what people were saying, but who was talking about it. I shouldn’t have to remind you who Beck Hansen is, or why publications like Rolling Stone and Spin would be discussing his latest release. But beyond the music world, Song Reader was also discussed in a literary context: in The Millions, for example — or Full Stop. But even more surprising is how it was lauded as a marketing coup in Forbes, or the discussion of its aesthetic appeal in art-making circles.
So what is it?
Quite simply, Song Reader is an exquisitely packaged portfolio of sheet music. The songs, which number 20 in total, are a sort of Tin Pan Alley pastiche, with titles and lyrics that contain parodically whimsical references to images and sentiments that can safely be labeled nostalgic, though Song Reader itself is not. Here are some other things Song Reader is not: it’s not recorded music for you to passively enjoy. It’s not an album. And it’s not a book in any traditional sense. I’m inclined to think that it’s not some sort of anti-technology statement, either, considering that part of the project is a website where people can upload videos of their own versions of the songs.
It seems, though, that it might be most productive to define Song Reader not by what it is or is not, but by what it can do. So how do we use it?
Read more here: http://www.full-stop.net/2013/02/28/r...
Review by Scott Beauchamp
What was most surprising about the response to Beck’s Song Reader wasn’t what people were saying, but who was talking about it. I shouldn’t have to remind you who Beck Hansen is, or why publications like Rolling Stone and Spin would be discussing his latest release. But beyond the music world, Song Reader was also discussed in a literary context: in The Millions, for example — or Full Stop. But even more surprising is how it was lauded as a marketing coup in Forbes, or the discussion of its aesthetic appeal in art-making circles.
So what is it?
Quite simply, Song Reader is an exquisitely packaged portfolio of sheet music. The songs, which number 20 in total, are a sort of Tin Pan Alley pastiche, with titles and lyrics that contain parodically whimsical references to images and sentiments that can safely be labeled nostalgic, though Song Reader itself is not. Here are some other things Song Reader is not: it’s not recorded music for you to passively enjoy. It’s not an album. And it’s not a book in any traditional sense. I’m inclined to think that it’s not some sort of anti-technology statement, either, considering that part of the project is a website where people can upload videos of their own versions of the songs.
It seems, though, that it might be most productive to define Song Reader not by what it is or is not, but by what it can do. So how do we use it?
Read more here: http://www.full-stop.net/2013/02/28/r...
May 5, 2013
This collection is composed of individual sheet music songs. The artwork is lovely and vintage inspired. Most of the songs are interesting and fun to play. My favorites are "Old Shanghai" and "St. Dude," but each is special in their own way. The packaging itself is creative and whimsical. I waited MONTHS to get my copy on back order and it was well worth the wait!
January 3, 2013
This book of sheet music, put out by McSweeney's is a thing of beauty. Working on learning some of the songs now, but you can check out the versions of others (not Beck) on songreader.com. Best idea in music in recent memory.
May 20, 2013
Perfection in the song writing, physical sheet music production and the wide-ranging masterful interpretations on www.songreader.net. Aside from the main songs, the sheet music ad space includes some hilarious fake song titles and even several partial fake real songs (e.g. Ziz).
April 4, 2013
not so much a book as a portfolio of new songs Beck wrote. Great fun playing them on the guitar and trying to imagine what Beck would do with them.
July 23, 2017
Beautifully packaged, wonderful art, and new Beck songs for one to interpret on their own! Inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews