"I Think I'm In Love"

I have never been what you could call a Beck fan. (As for Beck's, well, that would be a different matter.) Ever since the day in my freshman year at college when a fellow student told me that I looked like Beck (whom I had not previously even heard of) I have a bit of a jaundiced attitude toward the fellow. And it is ignorance rather than antipathy that most characterises my response to his musical output; beyond the classic "Loser" and the admirable title track from 2005's Guero, I would be hard pressed indeed to name or even recognise a song of his.

I will have to spend some more time with The Information to really call myself of a fan of either the album or the artist. The few listens I have made didn't result in an overwhelming impression of any sort. But the two singles definitely leap out from the crowd, even if you weren't expecting them (as I was). "Nausea" reaches out and demands repeated, even serial listening, and does so more compellingly and smartly than any song this side of Jude's "Rick James" which didn't leave my player for nearly three months back in 1999. And "I Think I'm In Love" is so lackadaisically catchy that it has earned the honour of being the first song loaded to my new mp3 player, where it will probably burn a hole in my head before I tire of its simple pop perfection.

So I like what little I know of this Beck guy and I shall probably make some further effort to hear more of him. There are certainly many artists I would consider it worse to be told I look like.

Tears in my beer

I knew I was dangerously short of sleep when I broke down weeping while reading an article about Leinenkugel Brewing's newest product, a 8.9% ABV India Pale Ale. As exciting as it is that this venerable middle-of-the-road brewery is venturing into some more adventurous and higher-quality territory, it hardly merited waterworks.

When I was a boy I would always sing the old (I believe Hank Williams) song that goes "There's a tear in my beer, 'cause I'm crying for you, dear." That was all I ever knew of the song — presumably there are a few more lyrics — but it held a significant place in my imagination for many years. My grandfather would sometime sing his own version when we were working together in his wood shop: "I've got tears in my ears, from lying on my back while I'm crying for you, dear."

Today's life lesson: Cry into your beer. Don't cry about your beer.