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Beck — Earthquake Weather
Album: Guero
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1584









Released: 2005
Length: 4:25
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Spaceships can't tame the jungle
And I feel like I'm giving in
We've been driving through a desert
Looking for a life to call our own

I push, I pull
The days go slow
Into a void
We filled with death
A noise that laughs
Falls off their maps
All cured of pain
And doubts in your
Little brain

Something's coming, sky is purple
Dogs are hounding to themselves
Days are changing with the weather
Like a riptide come rip us away

I push, I pull
The days go slow
Into a void
We filled with death
A noise that laughs
Falls off their maps
All cured of pain
And doubts in your
Little brain

I push, I pull
The days go slow
Into a void
We filled with death
A noise that laughs
Falls off their maps
All cured of pain
And doubts in your
Comments (205)add comment
I cannot rank any Beck songs below an 8. I just cant!
+1 to 8 for me now as I'd like to hear this in 'my favorites' - Long Live RP and short live Earthquakes!!
This was always one of my favourites off of Guero. It still sounds great.
 tonyinnj wrote:

Theodore Sturgeon (aka Kilgore Trout...;-) and L Ron were in a bar complaining about
how little they were paid writing for the "pulp" magazines. L Ron was quoted as saying
that the real money was in religion...L Ron wrote Dianetics, the Bible for Scientology.
It caught on and the rest as they say was a license for L Ron and Scientology to fleece
the rubes...

Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.


The only reason Scientology is recognized as a tax exempt 501(c)3 charitable organization is that over 2000 separate lawsuits were filed in federal courts suing the US government by members of the yet recognized religion. In exchange for dropping the over 2000 lawsuits which would require a considerable application of resources on the behalf of the Department of Justice, the President Clinton bestowed tax exempt status on Scientology. Commandment One of Scientology: Lawyer up.
 konakid wrote:

Nice,Nice,NICE set !!!! Steely Dan, Santana, Beck. Beautifully crafted !

... with a dash of Stevie W
[Edit] Ooops - I missed the 'set', and thought it was a list of influences in the piece!
Good Tune! I like it! Beck is hit or miss for me. This is a HIT!
 wardrivingpimp wrote:

How appropriate! We had an earthquake this morning and we are entering the season




and where are you?
How appropriate! We had an earthquake this morning and we are entering the season
 On_The_Beach wrote:

{#Roflol} L. Ron obviously had some pretty amazing pharmaceuticals.
I'm not a big South Park fan, but their Scientology episode was truly hilarious.
 
Theodore Sturgeon (aka Kilgore Trout...;-) and L Ron were in a bar complaining about
how little they were paid writing for the "pulp" magazines. L Ron was quoted as saying
that the real money was in religion...L Ron wrote Dianetics, the Bible for Scientology.
It caught on and the rest as they say was a license for L Ron and Scientology to fleece
the rubes...

Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.
 azdcryan wrote:

Pretty sure he produces his own stuff as well as many others. He's a genius...like him or not, is up to you I guess.
 

 azdcryan wrote:

Pretty sure he produces his own stuff as well as many others. He's a genius...like him or not, is up to you I guess.
 
8 years late on this reply, but to be clear I REALLY like Beck. Calling him a "rip-off artist with emphasis on artist" was not intended as an insult. I'm a proponent of the free-culture movement in general.
 On_The_Beach wrote:
 LowPhreak wrote:
Hey...you WILL respect L. Ron's AUTHORITAAH. {#Whipit}

 
. . . or the Volcano Aliens will be comin' for me!
 
Or... maybe it will just be some mirage born to a virgin in a manger 2000 years ago.  Who can tell? 
Nice,Nice,NICE set !!!! Steely Dan, Santana, Beck. Beautifully crafted !
It wasn't the Douglas DC-8 that transported millions (not billions) to Earth, as kcar carefully annotated (but just dead wrong) for this song, way back when. But rather the Boeing 707. You can tell because, had it been the Douglas DC-8, Beck would have written about a red sky, not a purple one. All that, and the Boeing 707 was the spacecraft of choice throughout the outer Isleyian Rims when galaxies far far away were accessible by Radio Paradise.
Such a cool song...and so full of tasty samples and borrowings! This always makes me want to hear Smoke City's "Underwater Love."
 WonderLizard wrote:
Yipes! Where do you start? One artifact that pops out is the "Who's That Lady?" (Isley Bros., ca. 1972) guitar tone on this cut. Elsewhere on Guero he cops Prince's tone from "U Got the Look"—simply small quotes from an overflowing cornucopia of rock history. Add cool songs and his swagger at the mike. Wow.

 
Should look over all the comments, because I was not the 1st hear the Isley Bros. guitar sounds.
 Giselle62 wrote:
I like the guitar it sounds like the repetitive African stuff—-not always easy to pull off for skinny white people.
 
I hear some Isley Brothers guitar sounds in this tune.
 LowPhreak wrote:
Hey...you WILL respect L. Ron's AUTHORITAAH. {#Whipit}

 
. . . or the Volcano Aliens will be comin' for me!
 On_The_Beach wrote:

{#Roflol} L. Ron obviously had some pretty amazing pharmaceuticals.
I'm not a big South Park fan, but their Scientology episode was truly hilarious.

 
Hey...you WILL respect L. Ron's AUTHORITAAH. {#Whipit}
Groovy as ef.
 kcar wrote:
Generally I agree with you, but I always start giggling when I read this backstory from Scientology: 

"Among these advanced teachings is the story of Xenu (sometimes Xemu), introduced as the tyrant ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy". According to this story, 75 million years ago Xenu brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The thetans then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today.

You gotta ask: did the thetans hire the dinosaurs to clean up the mess? 
 
{#Roflol} L. Ron obviously had some pretty amazing pharmaceuticals.
I'm not a big South Park fan, but their Scientology episode was truly hilarious.
Beck fan here. As others have noted, he borrows freely, but he does make something new with each song. So I'm cool with it typically.

But when it's too close, it distracts from the song for me... I just can't not hear "The Upper Peninsula' (Sufjan Stevens) in the chorus here...

Which BTW is an awesome (if somewhat depressing) track... something RP might consider for the playlist?
 kcar wrote:
did the thetans hire the dinosaurs to clean up the mess?  

 
Did you ever see a Tyrannosaurus rex try to clean up a broom or a mop?  It's pretty pathetic with their short, little arms.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Yes, "all" was a bit presumptuous. That said, I could care less if Beck is a Scientologist. Most religions are absurd and his is no exception (although to call Scientology a religion is a bit of a stretch, to say the least). Anything faith-based is by definition impossible to prove, so followers of said religions cannot, to use your words, distinguish between fact and fiction (or at least, they choose to believe that which cannot be shown to be true). In other words I have no more problem with Beck or Tom Cruise being Scientologists than I do with U2 or Bruce Cockburn being Christians, which is to say no problem at all.

 
Generally I agree with you, but I always start giggling when I read this backstory from Scientology: 

"Among these advanced teachings is the story of Xenu (sometimes Xemu), introduced as the tyrant ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy". According to this story, 75 million years ago Xenu brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The thetans then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today.

You gotta ask: did the thetans hire the dinosaurs to clean up the mess?  
I don't know Beck's stuff, but I like this.  
 Zoonhollis wrote:
Beck can do no wrong.

 
Except try to sing.
Beck can do no wrong.

This song sounds like uptuned Type O Negative!
Best Beck album to date. (Hell Yes)
 sajitjacob wrote:
I wasn't thinking that.
What I was actually thinking (since you asked): Beck is yet another US based artist, smart enough to do what he does but not smart enough to distinguish fact from fiction.
I took Stingray's shouty warning as ward against respecting Beck for anything other than his music (which is marvelous), 'cause his beliefs are delusional.
 
Yes, "all" was a bit presumptuous. That said, I could care less if Beck is a Scientologist. Most religions are absurd and his is no exception (although to call Scientology a religion is a bit of a stretch, to say the least). Anything faith-based is by definition impossible to prove, so followers of said religions cannot, to use your words, distinguish between fact and fiction (or at least, they choose to believe that which cannot be shown to be true). In other words I have no more problem with Beck or Tom Cruise being Scientologists than I do with U2 or Bruce Cockburn being Christians, which is to say no problem at all.
I wasn't thinking that.
What I was actually thinking (since you asked): Beck is yet another US based artist, smart enough to do what he does but not smart enough to distinguish fact from fiction.
I took Stingray's shouty warning as ward against respecting Beck for anything other than his music (which is marvelous), 'cause his beliefs are delusional.



 
On_The_Beach wrote:

Thank you for writing what we were all thinking.

 


Love it.  
 
As for the Isley Bros guitar rip-off, nah.  The tone's nearly identical, but the notes/melody is significantly different.  So, if he "ripped off" settings for the fuzz, treble, bass, reverb, and what-all-else is in there, well then EVERYBODY'S ripping off someone else in some fashion.
This song, like Beck himself, (and the cover, with its theatrical poses, a Beevis & Butthead figure, and Diego Rivera's disembodied head!) simply defies easy categorization. I say, Bravo, commend his creativity and fearlessness! Like a good artist, he expresses what he feels.
WOW !!!!!!!
                   THIS SUCKS !!!!!! 
 WonderLizard wrote:
Careful: moron!
 
Thank you for writing what we were all thinking.
Cool.  Can this be called genre-bending?
I like what I"ve heard from this album, but the cover art just plain sucks! So sick of artists these days using just plain old sloppy art work and passing it off as 'meaningful'. Just don't get it. Does anyone else?
 Stingray wrote:
CAREFUL!! SCIENTOLOGIST!
 
And?
 azdcryan wrote:

Pretty sure he produces his own stuff as well as many others. He's a genius...like him or not, is up to you I guess.
 
Genius . . . I tend to agree. What great art comes from seeing the world differently than the "norm". Proof . . . check out D.J. Schmolli's mash of Led Zep, Beastie Boys, Beatles, with Johnny Cash on vocals in "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (2006). I appreciate anyone who can see what we cannot. 
 Stingray wrote:
CAREFUL!! SCIENTOLOGIST!
 
Careful: moron!
CAREFUL!! SCIENTOLOGIST!
 Proclivities wrote:


Sampling isn't always necessarily "stealing" - except maybe to corporate, copyright attorneys.

 
I love how often people like to diss the lawyers and that great satan "the corporation" when the interests they are protecting are, ultimately, the artists themselves.    In other words, diss the artists who don't like having their property stolen.  Lay off the lawyers and our system of copyright.  How infuriating.

Just saw him in Napa at a small local theater... first time other then Bridge Benefit......

It was awesome 
f-ing love this song
 Proclivities wrote:


Sampling isn't always necessarily "stealing" - except maybe to corporate, copyright attorneys.

 
Hear hear!

Worth bumping it up from 9 to 10...

Sonic candy
 ziggytrix wrote:

He's a rip-off artist with extra emphasis on "artist".  So rarely is the whole greater than the sum of its parts, but with Beck its actually rare when it is not!

That or he just works with really, really good producers.

Either way, his whole catalog of work is just great!
 
Pretty sure he produces his own stuff as well as many others. He's a genius...like him or not, is up to you I guess.
I hear little bits of Birdy Nam Nam.
 Zigi wrote:
Ewwwwwwww. Beck. {#Sick}
 
Woooooooo!  Beck!  {#Music}
He's definitely the most popular Scientologist on RP...

I'm not a religious person, but I'm still a Beck fan!
The name of this song makes me nervous.

(check my location)

mmmmmm beck... it's been a long time.  picked up this album just after moving to san antonio.  can you say "appropriate"?
Ewwwwwwww. Beck. {#Sick}

Amazing album. Keep waiting for something on par with this from him........


 keller1 wrote:


He steals a lot of it.  I think the guitar here is sampled from the Isley Brothers.
 

Sampling isn't always necessarily "stealing" - except maybe to corporate, copyright attorneys.

This whole album is still amazing!  Reminds me of spring/summer 2005, driving back & forth from San Diego to LA for a class I took for 9 consecutive Saturdays.  Unfortunately the class did not advance my career aspirations the way I had hoped.  But I enjoyed Beck's Guero while I was stuck in LA traffic.........  {#Sunny}
 keller1 wrote:


He steals a lot of it.  I think the guitar here is sampled from the Isley Brothers.
 
He's a rip-off artist with extra emphasis on "artist".  So rarely is the whole greater than the sum of its parts, but with Beck its actually rare when it is not!

That or he just works with really, really good producers.

Either way, his whole catalog of work is just great!

 europlatus wrote:
I love all his work but I'm ready for another Sea Change
 
Well said.

Rockin tune!{#Music}


this song is a masterpiece—i wanna rate it high—ya!
Still cool...........{#Music}
 flatpicker wrote:


How does Beck manage to continually produce such awesome music?
 

He steals a lot of it.  I think the guitar here is sampled from the Isley Brothers.
I love all his work but I'm ready for another Sea Change
I like the guitar it sounds like the repetitive African stuff—-not always easy to pull off for skinny white people.

Love it!

How does Beck manage to continually produce such awesome music?
He keeps sounding better with every record.

GREAT choice and obscure Beck pick.
Beck - always vibrating!
 scraig wrote:

The song played at the exact time the 4.1 quake hit the LA area. Good timing Bill...something you want to tell us?

Earthquake Details

Magnitude4.1
Date-Time
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 22:49:11 UTC
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 03:49:11 PM at epicenter
Location33.933°N, 118.331°W
Depth12.1 km (7.5 miles)
RegionGREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA

 
That's just Bill shaking things up again. {#Jump} 

The song played at the exact time the 4.1 quake hit the LA area. Good timing Bill...something you want to tell us?

Earthquake Details

Magnitude4.1
Date-Time
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 22:49:11 UTC
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 03:49:11 PM at epicenter
Location33.933°N, 118.331°W
Depth12.1 km (7.5 miles)
RegionGREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA

Just had another one in LA.
 davin wrote:
Awesome hook.
  yep
dig it


 brahmwindeler wrote:
One of my favorites from an excellent album. Reminds me a a summer day. If it weren't for the remnants of snow on the ground, I'd head outside and fire up the grill.
 
well, a year later almost, and yet again remnants of snow on the ground, but what the hell, same song.  fire up that grill. drink wine. we are after all a year wiser and richer with experience (maybe....hahaha) 

and that tosser Bush is out of office.

vivakitty wrote:

Heh - I was looking to see if anyone had posted this observation and found my own comment. I concur with my own opinion.


DITTO KIDDO!

You may or may not like Beck. But he is a musician with tremendous integrity and is constantly forging new ground.
 vivakitty wrote:
I like the remix of this on the Guerolito album better than this original version.
 
Heh - I was looking to see if anyone had posted this observation and found my own comment.  I concur with my own opinion.

 99 wrote:
Beck: You either "get" him or you don't. Count yourself among the latter group.
 
You either buy it or you don't.  I'm in the latter group.

 rickhoran wrote:

i love beck, but you have to admit its hard to leave him if you listen to RP. Beck does get played alot, like Peter Gabriel.

 
Much better that it's Beck and not David-Freakin'-Byrne.
secretsauce wrote:
Did I mention I HATED THE EFFING PUPPETS!


QueenLucia wrote:
Wow! I was going to give this a 5, but I'm bumping it down to a 3 after learning puppets were invovled. I don't know why, but puppets freak me out.



Hey ... it's still a good song. But Beck relegating himself to being the accompaniment for a puppet show was a bit too much like shades of Spinal Tap ... except without the humor.{#Arghhh}

<... Speaking of Spinal Tap ... how do I type an umlaut over the 'n'?  (Yes, I know that's part of the joke.)>

notgenius


 iggam wrote:

I don't know if Earthquake Weather is a common expression or slang of some kind. The only context in which I've seen it was the title of Joe Strummer's first solo album from 1989. Awesome album.

This song, it's okay. Beck's alright. He's no Joe Strummer.


 

The term was also used as the title of a pretty good Tim Powers novel. Basically expresses the sense that something bad is coming.

coolpeople_rule wrote:
Beck is Beck, what the heck!! Love him or leave him! He is what he is...
i love beck, but you have to admit its hard to leave him if you listen to RP. Beck does get played alot, like Peter Gabriel.
Beck is Beck, what the heck!! Love him or leave him! He is what he is...
I don't know if Earthquake Weather is a common expression or slang of some kind. The only context in which I've seen it was the title of Joe Strummer's first solo album from 1989. Awesome album. This song, it's okay. Beck's alright. He's no Joe Strummer.
One of my favorites from an excellent album. Reminds me a a summer day. If it weren't for the remnants of snow on the ground, I'd head outside and fire up the grill.
Loads of better Beck songs out there.
*groovin*
That Stevie Wonder-esque (Songs in the key of life-era) break is the shizzle. (Are the kids still saying that)?
I like the remix of this on the Guerolito album better than this original version.
man, my ratings on songs from this album are way too high. what the hell was i thinking? this is a decent song though. *old* beck is still great.
secretsauce wrote:
Did I mention I *HATED THE EFFING PUPPETS*.
Wow! I was going to give this a 5, but I'm bumping it down to a 3 after learning puppets were invovled. I don't know why, but puppets freak me out.
that's not his best work for sure.
Mark1970 wrote:
... the concert was awesome. The puppet show bit was hilarious.
Loved the music. Hated, hated, hated, hated the puppet show. It was cool for the first song ... maybe two ... possibly three. But after the eighth song it became clear that we people sitting in the back were not going to see the band that day ... just a puppet show set to music. Did I mention I *HATED THE EFFING PUPPETS*.
I'm sorry. I'm gonna hafta buy this.
u p g r a d e d !!
coding_to_music wrote:
true dat!
I forgot how much I dig this song...
davin wrote:
Awesome hook.
Sorry? Gentle groove move that keeps the feel, but hardly 'awesome'. Respect.
Awesome hook.
algrif wrote:
I don't really get the high praise for this guy. He's OK and I've given him 6's and 7's mainly. But this, for instance, is not a genius work, it is a mixture of the Doors Light My Fire played slow and something else that I can't quite put my finger on....yet.
Beck: You either "get" him or you don't. Count yourself among the latter group.
I don't really get the high praise for this guy. He's OK and I've given him 6's and 7's mainly. But this, for instance, is not a genius work, it is a mixture of the Doors Light My Fire played slow and something else that I can't quite put my finger on....yet.
Beck is a freaking musical genius.
jbtidwell wrote:
w00t! just got tickets to see him at the Tabernacle in Atlanta!!!!!!!
Was at the show too.... and other than it being 5,000 degrees inside the Tabernacle (what gives with the poor air circulation/air conditioner in that place?), the concert was awesome. The puppet show bit was hilarious.
This was probably my favorite song of 2005.
Beck just answered the question.
Danny_G wrote:
Gorky wrote:
Pardon? Is the carpet warm on that planet?
I can hear that too! and yes, the carpet is plush......
w00t! just got tickets to see him at the Tabernacle in Atlanta!!!!!!!
I have this cd in dvd-audio 5.1 surround and its amazing. When I've listened to it in stereo, its just not the same.
bajafisher wrote:
sounds like Peter Gabriel.
Pardon? Is the carpet warm on that planet?
squidtoad wrote:
I liked him more when he was in the Yardbirds.
That's funny, because when I think of Beck's name, I immediately think "Jeff Beck." Jeff Beck is playing at the Paramount in Oakland soon.
Maybe you just have no Punk, Funk or Soul in ya! quote="Xeric wrote:
I've tried and tried to like this guy. I've failed. Just seems so . . . cheap. That's it. Sort of clever, but mostly by way of cheap (and less than original) tricks. Bah.
Very very creative and each album is based on fresh ideas! Kudos Mr. Hanson! Xeric wrote:
I've tried and tried to like this guy. I've failed. Just seems so . . . cheap. That's it. Sort of clever, but mostly by way of cheap (and less than original) tricks. Bah.
Mari wrote:
... ...
Hi, Mari! How's Australia these daze? pianocomposer loves beck.
I've tried and tried to like this guy. I've failed. Just seems so . . . cheap. That's it. Sort of clever, but mostly by way of cheap (and less than original) tricks. Bah.
constantly innovative
DrLex wrote:
Yes, I have seen him at the 'extension' of the Marktrock festival in Leuven, Belgium, a few years ago. It was not great, it was awesome. Period.
Saw Beck open for the Stones in Columbus - this is a TALENTED guy. Great opening set. Very creative.
dragonfish wrote:
has anyone seen beck live? i'm trying to decide if i want to shell out 55 bucks a pop for a general admission ticket i guess i'm getting old but standing in line for hours, then fighting for a reasonably good seat seems like too much work if it isnt a GREAT show anyone??
Yes, I have seen him at the 'extension' of the Marktrock festival in Leuven, Belgium, a few years ago. It was not great, it was awesome. Period.
dragonfish wrote:
has anyone seen beck live? i'm trying to decide if i want to shell out 55 bucks a pop for a general admission ticket i guess i'm getting old but standing in line for hours, then fighting for a reasonably good seat seems like too much work if it isnt a GREAT show anyone??
I've seen Beck live many times. He's mostly been excellent. Not a big fan though of the Guero tour. Then again, if he came back to my town, I'd buy tickets in a heartbeat again just because of his track record. He must have had a down evening the one time I was disappointed.