Beercan (song)
{{Infobox song
| name = Beercan
| cover = beckbeercan.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Beck
| album = Mellow Gold
| released = 1994
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Alternative rock|alternative hip hop|neo-psychedelia}}
| length = 4:01
| label = {{hlist|Bong Load|DGC}}
| writer = Beck Hansen
| producer = Carl Stephenson
| prev_title = Pay No Mind (Snoozer)
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = Where It's At
| next_year = 1996
| misc ={{External music video|{{YouTube|zVay-RfNGv8|"Beercan"}}}}
}}
"Beercan" is a single by Beck, taken from his first major record label release, Mellow Gold. It peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks charts.
Conception and recording
"Beercan" was produced by Carl Stephenson and featured his characteristic layers of sound and bizarre samples: this song in particular prominently features samples from a Care Bears album. The song also samples a small part of the Melvins song "Hog Leg"
As mentioned in the song, Beck once had a job blowing leaves. Beck once reminisced, "There's a leaf-blower contingent. There's no union that I know of so far, but there's certainly a spiritual brotherhood. They are the originators of noise music. It's like a cross between a Kramer guitar and a jet pack."{{cite web | title= Beercan Information | publisher= Whiskeyclone.net | url= http://www.whiskeyclone.net/ghost/songinfo.php?songID=26 | accessdate=January 3, 2009 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081225094644/http://whiskeyclone.net/ghost/songinfo.php?songID=26| archivedate= 25 December 2008 | url-status= live}}{{Cite news
| last = Hansen
| first = Beck
| newspaper = Spin Magazine
| date = July 1994
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9Zg4PvPMtTcC
| title = Spin Magazine July 1994 Issue
| last = Martell
| first = Nevin
| author-link = Nevin Martell
| title = Beck: The Art of Mutation
| publisher = Pocket Books
| date = October 2001
| location =
| pages = 144
| url = http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26314&cgi=biblio&inkey=92-0743424484-0&PID=26314
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 978-0-7434-2448-6 }}
Music video
Like Beck's earlier single "Loser", the experimental video for "Beercan" was directed by friend and director Steve Hanft. The video features a group of homeless people destroying a house. A recurring theme throughout the video is the presence of a rainbow, possibly a reference to the Care Bears album sampled in the song. Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne also makes an appearance.
Track listing
- "Beercan" - 4:01
- "Got No Mind" - 4:22
- "Asskiss Powergrudge (Payback! '94)" - 3:06
- "Totally Confused" - 3:28
- "Spanking Room" - 9:07
- * Contains "Loser" (Pseudo-Muzak Version) as a hidden track at 5:41.