What do you think?
Rate this book
Throwing Frisbees At The Sun: A Book About Beck
At a time in rock and pop history when almost everything has been done before, few artists have proved as restlessly innovative as Beck. Since bursting onto the scene in 1994 with ‘Loser’, he has zigzagged his way across the contemporary music landscape, consistently remaining one step ahead of expectations and doing things his own way, shape-shifting from indie icon to pop crooner, from folk hobo to Latino-rap hipster, balancing big-budget chart highs with low-key, introspective acoustic albums.
Beck’s early shows saw him clearing the stage with a leaf-blower, and his enthusiasm for the experimental has not diminished with age. In the twenty-first century, he founded the Record Club, which brought together disparate artists to record cover versions of whole albums in a single day for release online. Then he took a troupe of doppelgänger marionettes out on tour and made the brave decision to release Song Reader as a set of sheet music, challenging buyers to record and play their own versions of his new songs.
Drawing on new interviews with friends, family, collaborators, and bandmates—as well as conversations with Beck himself— Throwing Frisbees At The Sun is a carefully crafted, career-spanning retrospective befitting the many twists and turns of this intriguing performer’s path through life and music.
Beck’s early shows saw him clearing the stage with a leaf-blower, and his enthusiasm for the experimental has not diminished with age. In the twenty-first century, he founded the Record Club, which brought together disparate artists to record cover versions of whole albums in a single day for release online. Then he took a troupe of doppelgänger marionettes out on tour and made the brave decision to release Song Reader as a set of sheet music, challenging buyers to record and play their own versions of his new songs.
Drawing on new interviews with friends, family, collaborators, and bandmates—as well as conversations with Beck himself— Throwing Frisbees At The Sun is a carefully crafted, career-spanning retrospective befitting the many twists and turns of this intriguing performer’s path through life and music.
- GenresMusic
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 27, 2016
I generally don't like to read books about artists of any type that I admire, but I consider Beck to be one of those weird isolated peaks of genius around which times diverge and pointlessly erode, that I figured I'd give this book a chance.
Now, one thing to keep in mind is that Beck probably thinks books like this are a bad idea. He is sparse in interviews and doesn't think that anyone should be bothered with details of his private life which are, well, private. So if you come into this wanting to know detailed and probably to us meaningless trivia about Beck, you won't find much. What you'll find are scads of quotes in interviews where he lambasts just such enterprises. You have to admire him for that. As he points out at one point to an interviewer, would you like it if I barged into your house and just started asking questions that have no bearing on anyone except you?
That said, the book is very limited. In fact, after an early section detailing Beck before he became famous, which is great, the book devolves into lists of concert dates and details about Beck recording his albums, the latter being endlessly fascinating. Since he's a musician. That's about it.
The author only interviewed Beck twice so most of the book is culled from other sources. You will learn about Beck the musician and that's about it. There's a lot of fun details about his songs, even his more obscure ones, the B-sides and unreleased stuff, which I find to be his best material.
What you won't find is discussion of his personal life, or Scientology, or any of that, because he doesn't think you should care about that. Good on you, Beck!
Now, one thing to keep in mind is that Beck probably thinks books like this are a bad idea. He is sparse in interviews and doesn't think that anyone should be bothered with details of his private life which are, well, private. So if you come into this wanting to know detailed and probably to us meaningless trivia about Beck, you won't find much. What you'll find are scads of quotes in interviews where he lambasts just such enterprises. You have to admire him for that. As he points out at one point to an interviewer, would you like it if I barged into your house and just started asking questions that have no bearing on anyone except you?
That said, the book is very limited. In fact, after an early section detailing Beck before he became famous, which is great, the book devolves into lists of concert dates and details about Beck recording his albums, the latter being endlessly fascinating. Since he's a musician. That's about it.
The author only interviewed Beck twice so most of the book is culled from other sources. You will learn about Beck the musician and that's about it. There's a lot of fun details about his songs, even his more obscure ones, the B-sides and unreleased stuff, which I find to be his best material.
What you won't find is discussion of his personal life, or Scientology, or any of that, because he doesn't think you should care about that. Good on you, Beck!
May 30, 2015
Robert Jovanovic has very cleverly called this "a book about Beck" rather than a biography, and this should set the reader's expectations.
No, this is not a biography.
Like Julian Palacio's "Beautiful Monstrosity", "Throwing Frisbees At The Sun" (bad choice of title, by the way) relies heavily on articles and interviews, and so the hardcore fans won't find much they don't already know here. That said, Jovanovic - unlike Palacio - managed a phone interview with Beck in 2002 and was able to add a few extra quotes not found elsewhere; he also spoke to various associates to expand on what others had already said in various publications. Add to that that while Palacio's book ends at the start of 2000, this one takes us all the way to the release of Beck's most recent album, "Morning Phase", in 2014, and is therefore the most up to date book about Beck currently around.
On the plus side, the book is written in journalistic style that is easy to read and the author comes across as a long time Beck devotee himself, with appreciation for the man and his work. Research has gone into it, especially for the first half of the book, which is also the most interesting. My favourite part was the chapter on Beck's experience in the anti-folk scene of New York in the late 80s, where Beck arrived at just 18. Here Jovanovic was really able to capitalize on his interviews with musicians from the scene that had met Beck at the time.
When I reached the midpoint in the book and realized we were only 2 years into Beck's 22 year recording career, I knew I was set for disappointment. And I was right. From then on the book continues in the same pattern as an account of recording sessions, releases, reviews, brief overviews of tour dates and a few major radio and TV appearances, and all over again. For fans who have already read it all, heard it all and seen it all, there isn't really any new insight in the whole process, and while it may be of more interest for newbees, the narrative still lacks depth and spark.
Beck's personal life has always been shrouded in privacy and even a bit of mystery, with discrepancies and contradictions, gaps and confusion. This book sheds no light on them, providing only the type of basic information you can find on Beck's Wikipedia entry. Beck's relationship with his parents (especially his father, composer David Campbell) and with his grandfather, Fluxus artist Al Hansen, his love interests (in particular his longterm girlfriend Leigh Limon and their break-up, and actress Marissa Ribisi whom he married in 2004), his affiliation with Scientology... everything is skimmed over pretty quickly, in just a few words. Things like the mystery surrounding the deaths of artists and bloggers Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan, and Beck's links to them isn't even mentioned, let alone explored. It could be that Jovanovic didn't have the means to dig that deep into the life of his subject matter, and perhaps not even the interest, but - with the exception of the first few chapters - the book doesn't really get close to the man, concentrating more on the artist. How relevant this may be depends on what one looks for in a biography, I guess.
There is also the matter of a fair few imprecisions or glaring errors (dates, names, songs debuts...) which is sloppy at best, and personal interpretation of lyrics and songs given as facts. The second part of the book in particular, detailing Beck's later career, feels rushed and at times careless.
In short: if you are new to Beck and would like to find out more, but can't be asked to plough through dozens of interviews, quotes, articles and reviews, Jovanovic has done it for you, and has gathered all the main points here. The many quotes dotted throughout, with Beck's unique sense humour and views of the world, will be sure to entertain you. If, however, like me, you've read, heard and watched already pretty much everything that's out there, there's not much more to discover in this book, and the gaps in the story remain unfilled.
No, this is not a biography.
Like Julian Palacio's "Beautiful Monstrosity", "Throwing Frisbees At The Sun" (bad choice of title, by the way) relies heavily on articles and interviews, and so the hardcore fans won't find much they don't already know here. That said, Jovanovic - unlike Palacio - managed a phone interview with Beck in 2002 and was able to add a few extra quotes not found elsewhere; he also spoke to various associates to expand on what others had already said in various publications. Add to that that while Palacio's book ends at the start of 2000, this one takes us all the way to the release of Beck's most recent album, "Morning Phase", in 2014, and is therefore the most up to date book about Beck currently around.
On the plus side, the book is written in journalistic style that is easy to read and the author comes across as a long time Beck devotee himself, with appreciation for the man and his work. Research has gone into it, especially for the first half of the book, which is also the most interesting. My favourite part was the chapter on Beck's experience in the anti-folk scene of New York in the late 80s, where Beck arrived at just 18. Here Jovanovic was really able to capitalize on his interviews with musicians from the scene that had met Beck at the time.
When I reached the midpoint in the book and realized we were only 2 years into Beck's 22 year recording career, I knew I was set for disappointment. And I was right. From then on the book continues in the same pattern as an account of recording sessions, releases, reviews, brief overviews of tour dates and a few major radio and TV appearances, and all over again. For fans who have already read it all, heard it all and seen it all, there isn't really any new insight in the whole process, and while it may be of more interest for newbees, the narrative still lacks depth and spark.
Beck's personal life has always been shrouded in privacy and even a bit of mystery, with discrepancies and contradictions, gaps and confusion. This book sheds no light on them, providing only the type of basic information you can find on Beck's Wikipedia entry. Beck's relationship with his parents (especially his father, composer David Campbell) and with his grandfather, Fluxus artist Al Hansen, his love interests (in particular his longterm girlfriend Leigh Limon and their break-up, and actress Marissa Ribisi whom he married in 2004), his affiliation with Scientology... everything is skimmed over pretty quickly, in just a few words. Things like the mystery surrounding the deaths of artists and bloggers Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan, and Beck's links to them isn't even mentioned, let alone explored. It could be that Jovanovic didn't have the means to dig that deep into the life of his subject matter, and perhaps not even the interest, but - with the exception of the first few chapters - the book doesn't really get close to the man, concentrating more on the artist. How relevant this may be depends on what one looks for in a biography, I guess.
There is also the matter of a fair few imprecisions or glaring errors (dates, names, songs debuts...) which is sloppy at best, and personal interpretation of lyrics and songs given as facts. The second part of the book in particular, detailing Beck's later career, feels rushed and at times careless.
In short: if you are new to Beck and would like to find out more, but can't be asked to plough through dozens of interviews, quotes, articles and reviews, Jovanovic has done it for you, and has gathered all the main points here. The many quotes dotted throughout, with Beck's unique sense humour and views of the world, will be sure to entertain you. If, however, like me, you've read, heard and watched already pretty much everything that's out there, there's not much more to discover in this book, and the gaps in the story remain unfilled.
March 7, 2020
Jovanovic's book about Beck is a balance of story and catalog, as much as it can be. Beck is sensible and keeps his personal life private. I learned bits about Beck that satisfied my curiosity as to what makes Beck tick, and how he produced his diverse catalog of marvelous music. Beck remains an enigma and it's strangely satisfying to have a favorite artist dwell in mystery. Beck's quotes in interviews made me wonder, swoon and laugh.
I couldn't find Throwing Frisbees At the Sun in the library.
I bought the book. It will be a valuable reference, as I listen to Beck's music and review the history and anecdotes of songs and albums.
I'm wholly happy with this gratifying read.
I couldn't find Throwing Frisbees At the Sun in the library.
I bought the book. It will be a valuable reference, as I listen to Beck's music and review the history and anecdotes of songs and albums.
I'm wholly happy with this gratifying read.
June 3, 2015
Joining his previous biographies on Pavement, Nirvana, and R.E.M. comes Rob Jovanovic's study of genre-bender Beck. Commencing with familial background before the now 44-year-old's birth, the paperback's thoroughness proves its unabashed "fan" perspective. Its first quarter recounts the singer's urban L.A. upbringing amid his Latino stepfamily and Jewish heritage, those geographical and cultural connections elucidating his wide-ranging musical influences. Gripping are tidbits like Beck's per diem jobs (coat checker, ditch digger, leaf blower). Momentum cranks once the Brit veers from book report prose into the more broadly fascinating backstories of the Los Angeleno's recordings and collaborations, like the fluke genesis of 1993 debut hit "Loser," first recorded at Geto Boys producer Karl Stephenson's home studio. Odelay chapters yield insight into that 1996 LP's Dust Brothers production prowess. Throwing Frisbees at the Sun: A Book About Beck also compiles radio, TV, and print pieces. The author's own phone interview with his subject in 2002 could've been overhauled given the bio's 15-year conception. It reads, at times, like a zealous dialogue Jovanovic's having with himself -- though one he's thoroughly enjoying.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/...
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews