It's too early to say whether Beck will have a new full-length album any time soon — it's been seven years since he released the Pharell-produced Hyperspace — but he's been showing signs of a real return. In late January, he surprise-dropped an EP of cover songs and long-sought rarities, Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime, and now he's got a brand new single, "Ride Lonesome."
Beck has spent much of the past 30-plus years whipping together a heady, infectious mix of folk and cowboy country, hip-hop, riff rock and dance folly. But he's also shown a quieter, more introspective side on albums like the string-heavy Sea Change (2002) and its close cousin, 2014's Morning Phase. That's the sound we hear on his new cut, "Ride Lonesome." In fact, to record the song, Beck reunited with the same group that worked on Sea Change, including Jason Falkner and Smokey Hormel on guitar, Joey Waronker on drums and producer Nigel Godrich, who mixed "Ride Lonesome."
Beck is an artist who never seems to miss and "Ride Lonesome" is as moving and beautifully produced as any of his most beloved work. It's gauzy and reflective, anchored by an acoustic guitar and full of deeply considered soul-searching.
For this special episode of All Songs Considered, I talked with Beck about how he came to write the song, what he's been up to since his last album, and what he (maybe?) has planned for the coming year. You can hear the full conversation above or via your preferred podcast app. We've included some highlights from the interview below.
On how he came to write "Ride Lonesome"
"It was a bit of a lonely time. It was one of those times in your life when you're taking things in, where you've been and where you're going. You know, when you're going through difficult things, often you have to get through it yourself. You just have to move forward through whatever landscape of your life and circumstances you find yourself in. And I think it's sort of that dark comfort of pushing through the parts of life that are maybe not as comfortable or easy, and having some distant faith that it will pull you through to the other side."
On his lifelong and elusive search for meaning through music
"We were just shooting a little video for ["Ride Lonesome"], and I didn't realize there were all these windmills behind us. And I was thinking of Don Quixote and the chasing windmills aspect of music. I think you're always trying to find that 'unattainable.' And, you know, I think this is just something that will follow you through your life. You just always feel like you're just figuring it out. It's sort of like the kind of gambling instinct, you know, the people who do the claw machine to try to get the prize. That's music for me. I think I get it in the claw, and I'm going to drop it and get the prize. And, you know, it's just always one prize away. You never quite get it. Sometimes it's disappointing. Sometimes it exceeds your expectations. But [my] songs are never quite what I imagined in my mind."
On over-thinking the creative process
"Sometimes [my music] is just a little too clever. I think the ultimate is just writing something simple and universal that doesn't take a lot of trying to decipher. Simplicity is the ultimate. And it's something I didn't always reach. But, you know, it is the ultimate goal. It's kind of a beautiful musical balance. Sometimes you feel like the guy on the beach with the metal detector trying to find a few nuggets buried in the sand. Sometimes it's just for your own comfort or your own benefit. Sometimes you're trying to figure something out or trying to articulate something you don't quite understand. I'll write a song. I have no idea why or why I wrote it, where it came from, until years later. I'll hear it and go, 'Oh, well, it's obvious what that was.'"
On his long break between albums, what he's been up to, and what's next
"I had to wait a couple of years to get back to work [after COVID]. But I've been writing a lot of songs. It's been a very prolific time for me. I did a song with Gorillaz and I did one with Paul McCartney, and we did a fun video together. I helped write a Black Keys album called Ohio Players. I think I wrote like 10 or 12 of those songs. And then I've just been working on my music pretty constantly. I built a recording studio. You know, I've been living life. I've probably made multiple albums' worth of music that probably no one will ever hear, but hopefully it leads to something. I've got lots of things cooking. I've been in the studio a lot on and off the last four years with my band. There's a group of musicians I came up with that were my touring band for a lot of my early records. And everybody's gone off to bigger and better things, but we still get together and we'll find a couple of days here and there and make some music. And yeah, I have a lot of different projects I want to do, so hopefully there's time to get to all of them."
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