Deadweight (song)

For other uses, see Deadweight (disambiguation).

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|

1997 single by Beck

"Deadweight"

Single by Beck
from the album  A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack and Odelay (Deluxe edition)
Released| October 6, 1997 (1997-10-06)
Genre| Alternative rock[1]
Length|

* 6:12 (album version)
* 4:42 (single version)

Label|

* London
* Geffen

Songwriter(s)| Beck Hansen
Producer(s)| Beck Hansen, The Dust Brothers
Beck singles chronology
| "Jack-Ass"
(1997)  | "Deadweight"
(1997)  | "Tropicalia"
(1998)

|
|

Music video
"Deadweight" on YouTube

"Deadweight" is a single by American musician Beck,[2] released as a single from the soundtrack to the 1997 romantic black comedy film A Life Less Ordinary. The song was nominated for Best Song from a Movie at the 1998 MTV Movie Awards but lost to Will Smith's "Men in Black". The song can also be found on the deluxe version of Beck's fifth studio album, Odelay (1996).

## Background

[edit]

Beck recorded "Deadweight" with the Dust Brothers between Odelay and Mutations. It was released on the soundtrack to A Life Less Ordinary at the end of 1997. In contrast with the buoyant, lively melody, Beck adds his own Gram Parsons-style hard-luck lyrics about gambling, Las Vegas, and loneliness. Beck has mentioned that this song was a part of his "Brazilian trilogy", alongside "Tropicalia" and "Missing". Unlike "Tropicalia", a bossa nova song, "Deadweight" uses its Brazilian influence more as part of a larger funky brew. As Beck said in USA Today, "I'm trying to get to a place where this merging of styles is so fluent and natural that you don't notice the different snippets, a musical consciousness where there's no preconceived ideas". An edited version without the synthesizer noise breakdown coda was also put out as a single.

## Structure

[edit]

Beck recorded most of the song by himself, playing bass, keyboards, drum machine, and all the guitars; though the scratching is uncredited, it was most likely one of the Dust Brothers, who produced the track.

## "Erase the Sun" and "SA-5"

[edit]

The remaining two tracks on the single—"Erase the Sun" and "SA-5"—provide direct links to Mutations with lyrical fragments that would end up almost word-for-word in future songs.[3]

## Music video

[edit]

The song's music video was directed by Michel Gondry. It features Beck—who lives in a paradoxical world—working at a desk on the beach, then going on holiday to an office. He eventually ends up at a movie theatre showing A Life Less Ordinary. The video is intercut with scenes from the movie.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

1. "Deadweight" (edit) - 4:07
2. "Erase the Sun" - 3:16
3. "SA-5" - 1:52

## Personnel

[edit]

* Beck Hansen – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, organ, mellotron, synthesizer, piano, production
* The Dust Brothers – turntables, drum machine, production

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1997–1998)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[5] | 73
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[6] | 18
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] | 60
Scotland (OCC)[8] | 20
UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 23
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 16

## Release history

[edit]

Region  | Date  | Format(s)  | Label(s)  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

United States  | October 6, 1997  | Alternative radio | London | [11]
United Kingdom  | October 27, 1997  |

* 7-inch vinyl
* CD
* cassette

| Geffen | [12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Brian Galindo, Alex Naidus & Ryan Creed (November 5, 2023). "37 Alt Rock Songs You Haven't Thought About Since The Late '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
2. ^ "Beck - Deadweight \- Single - Musicvf". Musicvf.com. November 1997. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
3. ^ "Beck - "Erase the Sun" and "SA-5" \- Review - Billboard". Billboard.com. 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
4. ^ "Beck - Deadweight Official Music Video \- Video - Youtube". YouTube. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
5. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
6. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (20.11.–27.11.1997)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). November 21, 1997. p. 22. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
7. ^ "Beck – Deadweight". Singles Top 100. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
8. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
10. ^ "Beck Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
11. ^ "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report. No. 2174\. September 26, 1997. p. 59.
12. ^ "Reviews – Records Out on October 27, 1997: Singles". Music Week. October 18, 1997. p. 13.

* v
* t
* e

Beck

Studio albums|

* Golden Feelings
* Stereopathetic Soulmanure
* Mellow Gold
* One Foot in the Grave
* Odelay
* Mutations
* Midnite Vultures
* Sea Change
* Guero
* The Information
* Modern Guilt
* Morning Phase
* Colors
* Hyperspace

Remix albums|

* Guerolito

EPs|

* A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight
* Beck
* Paisley Park Sessions

Compilations|

* Stray Blues

Official singles|

| Album|

* "Loser"
* "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)"
* "Beercan"
* "It's All in Your Mind"
* "Where It's At"
* "Devils Haircut"
* "The New Pollution"
* "Sissyneck"
* "Jack-Ass"
* "Tropicalia"
* "Cold Brains"
* "Nobody's Fault but My Own"
* "Sexx Laws"
* "Mixed Bizness"
* "Nicotine & Gravy"
* "Lost Cause"
* "Guess I'm Doing Fine"
* "E-Pro"
* "Girl"
* "Hell Yes"
* "Cellphone's Dead"
* "Nausea"
* "Think I'm in Love"
* "Chemtrails"
* "Gamma Ray"
* "Youthless"
* "Blue Moon"
* "Waking Light"
* "Say Goodbye"
* "Heart Is a Drum"
* "Dreams"
* "Wow"
* "Up All Night"
* "Saw Lightning"
* "Uneventful Days"
* "Dark Places"
* "Everlasting Nothing"

|

Non-album|

* "Deadweight"
* "Timebomb"
* "Looking for a Sign"
* "I Just Started Hating Some People Today"
* "Defriended"
* "Odyssey"

Other singles|

| Promotional|

* "Orphans"
* "Wave"

|

Featured|

* "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?"
* "Heaven Can Wait"
* "The Valley of the Pagans"

Other notable songs|

| As performer|

* "Fuckin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)"
* "Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)"
* "Steal My Body Home"
* "Broken Train"
* "Debra"
* "Diamond Dogs"
* "I'm So Glad"
* "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime"

|

As writer|

* "Feel Good Time"

Other projects|

| Collaborations|

* Record Club
* Song Reader
* Song Reader: The Musical

|

Albums as producer|

* Conquest EP
* Kissin Time
* IRM
* Mirror Traffic
* Demolished Thoughts
* Stage Whisper
* 3 Pears
* Wig Out at Jagbags

See also|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* "Bendin' in the Wind"
* Dust Brothers
* Nigel Godrich
* Danger Mouse
* Deconstructing Beck

Family|

* Marissa Ribisi (ex-wife)
* David Campbell (father)
* Bibbe Hansen (mother)
* Al Hansen (grandfather)
* Giovanni Ribisi (ex-brother-in-law)

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