Nobody's Fault but My Own

Last updated
"Nobody's Fault but My Own"
Nobodysfault.jpg
Single by Beck
from the album Mutations
ReleasedApril 21, 1999
Recorded1998
Genre Psychedelic folk, raga rock, alternative rock [1]
Length4:45 (edit)
5:02 (album version)
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s) Beck Hansen
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich
Beck singles chronology
"Cold Brains"
(1999)
"Nobody's Fault but My Own"
(1999)
"Sexx Laws"
(1999)

"Nobody's Fault but My Own" is a song by American musician Beck. The song was released in 1998 on his album Mutations , and was released as a single in Japan only on April 21, 1999. The CD single came backed with the exclusive tracks "One of These Days" and "Diamond in the Sleaze" as B-sides. The insert features the lyrics in both English and Japanese.

Contents

Background

When asked about the story behind "Nobody's Fault but My Own", Beck said, "Well I went down to my basement. It was raining outside, and I wrote it." [2]

Live performances

On October 12, 2019, Beck performed the song live in concert for the first time since 2005. The performance took place at the Hammer Museum, and featured Chris Martin. [3] [4]

Reception

Danny Wright of The Guardian ranked "Nobody's Fault but My Own" the 5th best Beck song, and wrote that it "is the song you play as you sit in the dark of your room, rueing the day past. Even the title is dripping in introspection." He further wrote that "it's heaviness is leavened by the deftness of the orchestration, Nigel Godrichs' production and the beautifully wistful soundscape." [5]

James Jackson Toth of Stereogum ranked "Nobody's Fault but My Own" the 6th best Beck song, and wrote that it was his "most meritous stab at psychedelia" and also praised Godrichs' production. Toth compared it to Beck's earlier songs "Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997" and "Steal My Body Home". [6]

Covers

The song was covered by Marianne Faithfull on her 2002 album Kissin Time , under Beck's production.

The song was covered by Rising Appalachia on their 2006 album Leah and Chloe.

In 2019, the English psychedelic rock band Syd Arthur released a cover of the song on their EP (with the same name as the Beck song), recorded in a barn in 2012. The cover features the Canterbury jazz group Jack Hues and the Quartet. [7]

The song was used in the 14th episode of the 4th season of the American comedy-drama series Ugly Betty , "Smokin' Hot". It starts playing when Claire Meade (Judith Light) spots her son Tyler coming out on a runway. [8]

Track listing

  1. "Nobody's Fault but My Own" (Edit) – 4:45
  2. "One of These Days" – 4:48
  3. "Diamond in the Sleaze" – 4:07

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beck</span> American musician (born 1970)

Beck David Hansen, known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 14 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.

<i>Odelay</i> 1996 studio album by Beck

Odelay is the fifth studio album by American musician Beck, released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records. The album featured several successful singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution", and peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard 200. As of July 2008, the album had sold 2.3 million copies in the United States, making Odelay Beck's most successful album to date. Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest of the 1990s and of all time.

<i>Midnite Vultures</i> 1999 studio album by Beck

Midnite Vultures is the seventh studio album by American musician Beck, released on November 23, 1999, by DGC Records. While similar to most of Beck's previous albums in its exploration of widely varying styles, it did not achieve the same blockbuster success as his breakthrough album Odelay, but was still critically acclaimed and commercially successful. The album's sound marked a compositional departure from the psychedelic hip hop, alternative rock, and sample-based music in his previous albums towards a funk rock and R&B style.

<i>Mutations</i> (Beck album) 1998 studio album by Beck

Mutations is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Beck, released on November 3, 1998, by DGC Records. Though less commercially successful than the preceding Odelay, it won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

<i>Sea Change</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Beck

Sea Change is the eighth studio album by American musician Beck, released on September 24, 2002 by Geffen Records. Recorded over a two-month period in Los Angeles with producer Nigel Godrich, the album features themes of heartbreak and desolation, solitude, and loneliness. For the album, much of Beck's trademark cryptic and ironic lyrics were replaced by simpler, more sincere lyrical content. He also eschewed the heavy sampling of his previous albums for live instrumentation. Beck cited the breakup with his longtime girlfriend as the major influence on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Godrich</span> English record producer

Nigel Timothy Godrich is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since OK Computer (1997). He has also produced several projects by the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke. He is a member of Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's All in Your Mind</span> 1995 single by Beck

"It's All in Your Mind" is a single by Beck, released in 1995. Although then a non-album single, a later version was recorded and included on his album Sea Change (2002); this recording is more widely known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexx Laws</span> 1999 single by Beck

"Sexx Laws" is a song by American singer Beck, from his album Midnite Vultures (1999). It was released as the lead single from the album in October 1999.

"Broken Train" is a song by the American musician Beck. It was released on his 1999 album Midnite Vultures. The song was composed in the key of D-flat major.

Jeremy Allan Ryder, better known as Jack Hues, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, who is best known for forming and fronting the 1980s English new wave band, Wang Chung. Hues was also a member of the one-off band Strictly Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold Brains</span> 1999 single by Beck

"Cold Brains" is a song by Beck. It appears on his 1998 album Mutations. The song was also released as a single. It was also released in Australia as an exclusive tour EP. Three of the B-sides, "One of These Days", "Diamond in the Sleaze" and "Electric Music and the Summer People", had previously been Japanese exclusives, and as such this EP became a very popular import, especially as those tracks had still not been released officially in the UK, Europe or US as of 2014.

<i>Kissin Time</i> 2002 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Kissin Time is the 16th studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pay No Mind (Snoozer)</span> 1994 single by Beck

"Pay No Mind (Snoozer)" is a song by Beck, taken from his first major label album Mellow Gold and released as its second single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Nobody's Fault but Mine</span> 1927–1928 single by Blind Willie Johnson

"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar. The song has been interpreted and recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin on their 1976 album Presence.

The Hotrats were a cover band formed by Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey as a side-project from their main band Supergrass. The band were named after Frank Zappa's album Hot Rats. The duo recorded a set of covers with producer Nigel Godrich for an album entitled Turn Ons in the vein of David Bowie's Pin Ups which was released in early 2010. They performed a short UK tour which included the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

<i>Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by various artists

Two soundtrack albums were released for the motion picture Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: an original soundtrack and an original score. Music producer Nigel Godrich, film director Edgar Wright, and film producer Marc Platt executive produced both soundtracks, with Godrich also composing the original score. The soundtrack includes music by Beck, Broken Social Scene, Metric, Black Lips, T. Rex, the Rolling Stones, Frank Black and Plumtree. They were released on August 10, 2010; the original score only on digital download. A 2021 re-release saw additional music by Brie Larson added to the soundtrack, and a physical version of the score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syd Arthur</span> English rock band

Syd Arthur were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in Canterbury in 2003 by brothers frontman Liam and bassist Joel Magill, drummer Fred Rother and violinist Raven Bush. Rother was replaced by the Magills' younger brother Josh in 2016.

"Fuckin with My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" is a song by the alternative rock musician Beck. It is the third song on his 1994 first album, Mellow Gold.

"Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)" is a song by the American musician Beck. It was released on his 1994 album Mellow Gold. The song was composed in the key of A-flat major.

"Steal My Body Home" is a song by the American musician Beck. It was released in 1994 on the album Mellow Gold. The song was recorded in 1992 along with Carl Stephenson, around the same time they had been working on Beck's biggest hit, "Loser". Stephenson added rattling percussion and a kazoo solo to the song.

References

  1. https://www.allmusic.com/song/nobodys-fault-but-my-own-mt0017369272
  2. "Beck Song Information - Nobody's Fault But My Own". whiskeyclone.net.
  3. "Hijacked Flavors - Concert Info - October 27, 2005". www.whiskeyclone.net.
  4. "Hijacked Flavors - Concert Info - October 12, 2019". www.whiskeyclone.net.
  5. Wright, Danny (August 19, 2015). "Beck – 10 of the best" via www.theguardian.com.
  6. "The 10 Best Beck Songs". January 17, 2013.
  7. "Interview with Jack Hues from Wang Chung and The Quartet". April 10, 2012.
  8. "ABC.com - Music Lounge Home". Abc.go.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2012-08-13.