It’s difficult today to imagine a musical universe which doesn’t include Beck – particularly here at KCRW, where the homegrown musical polymath has clocked a record fourteen performances in our studios.
Today we come full-circle to observe the 30th anniversary of Beck’s first appearance on MBE on July 23, 1993. Four months earlier, local label Bong Load issued the first 12” pressing of his soon-to-be anthem, “Loser,” a copy of which found its way to then-MBE host Chris Douridas. Soon thereafter, Beck made his live radio debut on KCRW’s airwaves, just days after his 23rd birthday.
Beck in studio at KCRW in 1993 with then-MBE host Chris Douridas. Photo courtesy of Chris Douridas.
A glance at MBE’s on-air performance schedule for July 1993 reveals a formidable list of heavy hitters: John Martyn, The Verve, The Cranberries, Red House Painters, and The Proclaimers, among others. It would be a daunting precedent for an artist with more fucks to give than Beck, who had already spent years busking on buses and goading audiences in subterranean venues around LA and NYC.
“The first time Beck came in, he had hay bail twine as a guitar strap,” remembers MBE’s Executive Producer, Ariana Morgenstern. “He stumbled out of his car — which I [think] he had been living in — and I wasn't quite sure what to make of him. But I soon became a really big fan because of his work ethic, creative songwriting, and overall talent.”
To commemorate the session’s anniversary, we bring you a newly-remastered version of the performance and interview in full, plus a lyric visualizer of Beck's live performance of “Loser.”
Rather than offer a formal introduction, Beck kicks off the set playing a spoken-word snippet of Woody Guthrie from 1940 and abruptly segues into the freewheeling version of “Loser,” rapping live over Carl Stephenson’s now-iconic backing track. With occasional accompaniment by drummer Dallas Don Burnette, the set also includes the songs “Mexico,” “Whimsical Actress,” “Pay No Mind,” and “MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack.”
Beck has returned to KCRW nearly every year since that auspicious debut. Listen to the remastered 1993 session in the player, and check out an assortment of riches from his KCRW visits over the last three decades below.
Catch Beck live with Phoenix Summer Odyssey Tour on Aug. 7 at the Kia Forum.
Beck Live on KCRW
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 6/19/1996
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 11/24/1998
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 11/3/2000
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 9/24/2002
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 3/31/2005
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 10/31/2006
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 11/18/2008
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 1/27/2010
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 4/23/2014
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 11/7/2017
Beck on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 12/4/2019