Editing Beck (section)

=== ''Modern Guilt'', production work, Record Club and ''Song Reader'' (2008–2013) ===
In 2007, Beck released the single "[[Timebomb (Beck song)|Timebomb]]", which was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.<ref name="nyt08"/> For his next studio effort, his tenth, Beck tapped [[Danger Mouse (musician)|Danger Mouse]] to produce, and the two first met in December 2007 to record. The duo knocked out two tracks in two days, but the notion that the album would be finished in a timely fashion soon evaporated.<ref name=nyt08>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| title=In a Chaotic Industry, Beck Abides| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=July 6, 2008| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Itzkoff, Dave| location=New York City| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=January 18, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118012526/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck had known Danger Mouse casually before, as many of his former musicians ended up working with Danger Mouse's side project, [[Gnarls Barkley]]. Still, the musicians were surprised at how well they got along.<ref name="rs08"/> Following the grueling recording schedule, Beck was exhausted, calling it "the most intense work I've ever done on anything", relating that he "did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night."<ref name="rs08"/> Beck's original vision was a short 10-track burst with two-minute songs, but the songs gradually grew as he fit 'two years of songwriting into two and a half months."<ref name=rs08>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| title=Beck, Danger Mouse Craft '60s-Style Disc| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=May 29, 2008| access-date=July 12, 2013| author=Edwards, Gavin| issue=1053| page=20| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=February 3, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203184758/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Modern Guilt]]'' (2008) was "full of off-kilter rhythms and left-field breakdowns, with an overall 1960s vibe."<ref name="rs08" />

''Modern Guilt'' was the final release in Beck's contract with Geffen Records. Beck, then 38, had held the contract since his early 20s.<ref name="nyt08"/><ref name="rs08"/> Released from his label contract and going independent, Beck began working more heavily on his own seven-year-old label, which went through a variety of names.<ref name="p4k11"/> He focused on smaller, more quixotic projects,<ref name="nym12"/> and moonlighted as a producer, working with artists such as [[Charlotte Gainsbourg]], [[Thurston Moore]] and [[Stephen Malkmus]].<ref name="p4k11"/> Beck worked for five or six days a week at the small studio on his property in Malibu, and founded [[Record Club]], a project whereby an entire classic album—by [[The Velvet Underground]], [[Leonard Cohen]], [[INXS]], [[Yanni]]—would be covered by another singer in the span of a single day.<ref name="nym12"/> Beck provided four songs for the film ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' (2010), each attributed to the title character's fictional band, Sex Bob-Omb.<ref name=ew10>{{Cite news|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|author=Brittain, Jace|title=Beck and Michael Cera team up on ''Scott Pilgrim'' soundtrack|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=July 11, 2013|date=June 21, 2010|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|location=New York City|issn=1049-0434|archive-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200052/http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck also collaborated with [[Philip Glass]],<ref name=collabglass>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| title=Listen to Beck's Epic 20-Minute Philip Glass Remix| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=October 3, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| archive-date=July 13, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713090131/http://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]],<ref name=collabwhite>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| title=Beck to Release New Single on Jack White's Third Man Records, Hear Clips Now| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 23, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706050139/http://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| archive-date=July 6, 2013| df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Tobacco (musician)|Tobacco]] of [[Black Moth Super Rainbow]],<ref name=collab1>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| title=Beck to Guest on New Tobacco Album| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=February 19, 2010| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=June 15, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615185553/http://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| url-status=live}}</ref> Jamie Lidell,<ref name=collab2>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| title=Listen: Beck Remixes Jamie Lidell| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 10, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624184855/http://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Seu Jorge]],<ref name=collab3>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| title=''Red Hot + Rio 2'' Tropicália Tribute Compilation Tracklist Revealed, Collaborations Abound| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 4, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=July 9, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709160539/http://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Childish Gambino]],<ref name=collab5>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| title=Even Beck Can't Save Childish Gambino's Messy 'Silk Pillow'| magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]| date=May 31, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Hogan, Mark| archive-date=June 23, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623011123/http://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| url-status=live}}</ref> and [[The Lonely Island]].<ref name=collab6>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| title=Listen to Beck's Collab With the Lonely Island| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 3, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624224821/http://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Beck at Union Chapel London 2013 (3).jpg|thumb|Beck performing in 2013]]
''[[Song Reader]]'', a project Beck released in December 2012, is 20 songs presented only as sheet music, in the hopes that enterprising musicians will record their own versions.<ref name=srnpr>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| title=Beck Explains ''Song Reader'', An Album Fans Perform Themselves| publisher=[[NPR]]| date=December 29, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=NPR staff| archive-date=July 1, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701014223/http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| url-status=live}}</ref> The idea of ''Song Reader'' came about nearly fifteen years prior, shortly after the release of ''Odelay''.<ref name="nym12"/> When sent a book of transcribed sheet music for that album, Beck decided to play through it and grew interested in the world before recorded sound. He aimed to keep the arrangements as open as possible, to re-create the simplicity of the standards, and became preoccupied with creating only pieces that could fit within the [[Great American Songbook]].<ref name="nym12"/> In 2013 Beck began playing special ''Song Reader'' concerts with a variety of guests and announced he was working on a record of ''Song Reader'' material with other musicians as well as possibly a compilation of fan versions.<ref name="Future Heart">{{cite web |date=November 21, 2013 |publisher=The Future Heart |url=http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |title=Beck Working on "Song Reader" Record; Reveals "Morning Phase" Details |access-date=November 22, 2013 |archive-date=November 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124023659/http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the summer of 2013, Beck was reported to be working on two new studio albums: one a more self-contained acoustic disc in the vein of ''One Foot in the Grave'' and another described as a "proper follow-up" to ''Modern Guilt''.<ref name=rs13>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |magazine=Rolling Stone |title=Beck Planning Two New Albums; Listen to New Song 'Defriended' |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-date=July 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711044222/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck expected to release both albums independently, and released three standalone singles over the course of the year: the [[Electro (music)|electro]] ballad "[[Defriended]]",  the chorus-heavy "I Won't Be Long", and finally "Gimme".<ref name="rs13"/><ref name="rs13.1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=Beck Hands Out New Song 'I Won't Be Long'|access-date=July 11, 2013|archive-date=July 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705040957/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Nephilim |date=September 18, 2013 |title=Gimme: il nuovo sorprendente singolo di Beck (anteprima audio) |trans-title=Gimme: the amazing new single by Beck (Audio Preview) |language=it |publisher=Radio Musik |url=http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |access-date=September 18, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061312/http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2013, Beck signed to [[Capitol Records]].<ref name="Columbia">{{cite web |last1=Itzkoff |first1=Dave |title=Beck to Release New Album After Signing With Capitol Records |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/beck-to-release-new-album-after-signing-with-capitol-records/ |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 4, 2023 |date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>