Great news, especially given Beck’s run of impressive one-off cuts of late: he and Jack White’s first studio collaboration since 2007 arrives next week as a digital/vinyl single. Last time these former touring partners teamed up was under the White Stripes banner, when Beck produced three B-sides — “It’s My Fault for Being Famous”, “Honey, We Can’t Afford to Look This Cheap” and “Cash Grab Complications on the Matter” — for Jack and Meg’s “Conquest” single. Now they’ve switched places, with White producing “I Just Started Hating Some People Today” b/w “Blue Randy,” Beck’s debut for the Third Man Records Blue Series.
By the way, there’s a lede buried in TMR’s announcement: “Both tracks were recorded in 2011 while Beck was in Nashville working on new material for his long awaited next album.” Emphasis mine! Perhaps that explains the (Music City-recorded) “Heart of Gold” vibe in his recent original tune, “Looking For A Sign.”
While we wait for the follow-up to 2008’s Modern Guilt, hear snippets of these new White-produced Beck tunes thataway and revisit the pair sharing the mic in ’07 below:
The White Stripes feat. Beck – “It’s My Fault for Being Famous”