Record Club: Songs Of Leonard Cohen “Suzanne” from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

I don’t know how I missed out on this character. In retrospect, it’s understandable. Growing up in the 90s, my first memorable experiences with music were from the albums my dad played around the house, the pop rock radio stations my mom listened to, and bands my friends and I got wind of that we thought were cool. Thus, my tape cassette collection from that period includes everything from the Offspring, Green Day, Weird Al Yankovic, 311, Bush, Boyz II Men, and Mariah Carey. I was all over the place. I could bob my head to the majestic sounds of the Beatles, rock out to Green Day, geek out to Weird Al, and privately sing Boyz II Men with subtle embarrassment. Needless to say, I didn’t have an older brother to show me the way. On that note, one thing I’m sure said brother would have introduced me to was Beck. I’ve listened to his late-90s album Mutations all week simply happy that my own musical instincts gradually led me to his catalogue.

Well, it’s 2009, and Beck has now been on the scene for quite a while. Rather than rest on his laurels, he’s decided to take on any odd or challenging project he sees fit. We previously announced that he’s writing Charlotte Gainsbourg’s new album which will keep his musical ambitions in check. However, Beck has also managed to create one of the coolest web pages I’ve seen for any musician or band. One section, called Irrelevant Topics, sees Beck chatting it up with Tom Waits and Will Ferrell about various topics. Recently, he’s added a feature called the Record Club where Beck gathers a group of musicians to cover a classic album in one day. Previously, Beck’s cohorts tackled The Velvet Underground & Nico. Now, he’s recruited Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Binki Shapiro from Little Joy, and Brian Lebarton and Bram Inscore from his touring band to channel Songs of Leonard Cohen. The first track, “Suzanne,” has just been posted.

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Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico ‘Waiting for My Man’ from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.