Editing Beck (section)

===''Mutations'' and ''Midnite Vultures'' (1998–2001)===
[[File:Oliver Mark - Beck, Hamburg 2000.jpg|alt=Close-up portrait of musician Beck having his eyes closed against an abstract blue background.|thumb|Beck in [[Hamburg]], 2000]]
Having not been in a proper studio since "Deadweight", Beck felt anxious to "go in and just do some stuff real quick", and compiled several songs he had had for years.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck and his bandmates wrote songs in fourteen days, although just twelve made it onto the album, 1998's ''[[Mutations (Beck album)|Mutations]]''.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck hired the producer [[Nigel Godrich]], who had produced [[Radiohead]]'s 1997 album ''[[OK Computer]]''.<ref name="rs98" /> Godrich was leaving the United States for England in a short time, which led to the album's quick production schedule—"No looking back, no doctoring anything."<ref name="rs98" /> The whole point of the record was to capture the performance of the musicians live, an uncharacteristic far-cry from the cut-and-paste aesthetic of ''Odelay''.<ref name=rs98>{{cite news| title=Q&A: Beck| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=November 26, 1998 | author=DeCurtis, Anthony| issue =800| page =39| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Though the album was originally slated for release by Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck's wishes.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |title=Beck on top |newspaper=[[Now (newspaper)|Now]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120212507/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |archive-date=January 20, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847,smith,1349,22.html |title=Beck to the Base |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420172712/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847%2Csmith%2C1349%2C22.html |archive-date=April 20, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and it remains unclear to this day if it has ever been completely resolved.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |title=Beck Battles Labels Over Business, Artistic Issues |publisher=MTV |date=May 4, 1999 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080225173603/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |archive-date = February 25, 2008}}</ref> Beck was later awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for ''Mutations'' at the [[42nd Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181:50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=The Grammys 2000; Other Winners |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 24, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504000917/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181%3A50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT |archive-date=May 4, 2009 }}</ref>

''[[Midnite Vultures]]'', Beck's next studio effort, was originally recorded as a double album, and more than 25 nearly completed songs were left behind.<ref name="p4k11"/> In the studio, Beck and producers studied contemporary hip hop and R&B, specifically [[R. Kelly]], in order to embrace and incorporate those influences in the way [[Al Green]] and [[Stax Records|Stax records]] had done in previous decades.<ref name="p4k11"/> In July 1998, a core group began to assemble at Beck's [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] home: bassist [[Justin Meldal-Johnsen]], keyboardist [[Roger Joseph Manning Jr.]], and producer-engineers [[Mickey Petralia]] and [[Tony Hoffer]].<ref name="rs99"/> Dozens of session players passed through including Beck's father, David Campbell, who played viola and arranged some of the strings. The musicians held communal meals and mountain-bike rides on dusty trails nearby, but remained focused on Beck's instructions: to make an up-tempo album that would be fun to play on tour night after night.<ref name="rs99"/> "I had so many things going on", said Beck of the recording process. "I had a couple of rooms of computers hooked up, I was doing B sides for Japan, I was programming beats in one room and someone would be cooking dinner in the other room."<ref name=rs99>{{cite news| title=Beck: Notes on a Full-Grown Man| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=December 9, 1999 | author=Healy, Mark| issue =827| pages =38–40| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> In November 1999, Geffen released the much-anticipated ''Midnite Vultures'',<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6 |title=Midnite Vultures, Review |publisher=BBC |date=January 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213062052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6 |url-status=live }}</ref> which attracted confusion: "fans and critics misguidedly worried whether it was serious or a goof," and as a result, ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the album "never won the audience it deserved".<ref name="nyt05"/> The record was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "[[Debra (song)|Debra]]", and the touring band was complemented by a brass section.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104050603/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title=Beck Revives Soul of '70s, Singer Keeps Crowd Rocking |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |date=May 8, 2000 }}</ref> ''Midnite Vultures'' was nominated for Best Album at the [[43rd Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|title=The 43rd Annual Grammy Nominations; Grammys Cast a Wider Net Than Usual; Awards * Breaking recent tradition, the academy's nominations are spread out among many acts.|first=Geoff|last=Boucher|date=January 4, 2001|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504001417/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead}}</ref>