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''The Information'' is the tenth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American
musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
, released on October 3, 2006 by
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
. It was produced and mixed by
Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and ...
, with whom Beck recorded ''
Mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitosi ...
'' (1998) and '' Sea Change'' (2002). Recording took place from 2003 to 2006, with Beck concurrently working on 2005's '' Guero'' with the Dust Brothers. The album received positive reviews from
critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
s and made several publications' year-end lists.


Recording

Before its release, Beck said the album was not a "stripped down" record, in contrast with his previous Godrich collaborations, ''Mutations'' and ''Sea Change''. According to Beck, "Nigel odrichsaid he wanted to do a
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
record" before they began work on the album. "And in a way it is, and in a way it isn't. It has hip-hop songs, and my previous work with him was ''Mutations'' and ''Sea Change'', these sorts of introspective records, and so this new one is sort of bringing those two worlds together." In an interview with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, Beck said the album had been "painful" to make:


Artwork

The album was issued with a blank sleeve and booklet and one of four different sheets of stickers for fans to make their own album art. Beck explained to ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' magazine that he wanted no two copies of the CD cover to be the same: "The artwork is going to be customizable. The idea is to provide something that calls for interactivity." However, because the album art concept was seen as a gimmick to bolster retail sales, ''The Information'' was deemed ineligible to enter the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
.


Album title

Beck explained the album title in an ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' track-by-track stating "''The Information'' is the thing that occupies our minds, so we won't have to deal with silence which may make us think. The album was going to be called ''International Dreambag'', but I thought it was too hippy, so at the last minute I named it after this. I generally have a rule against title tracks - I wanted to call it ''Colourforms'', but it was trademarked."


Promotion

A series of low budget videos were made for every song on the album. Beck explained the making of these videos—which would also appear on video-sharing site
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
—to ''Wired'': Beck leaked tracks and videos on his web site months ahead of the album's release. "We're moving into a time when the song and the imagery and video are all able to exist as one thing," said Beck. "It's not even technically an audio thing anymore. It's something else." He also remarked, "I've been trying to do something like this for the last three albums," having released several versions of his previous album '' Guero'' (2005), including a deluxe CD/DVD package and a remix album called ''
Guerolito ''Guerolito'' is the second remix album by Beck, released in the US on December 13, 2005 and in the UK on January 23, 2006. It features all of the songs from regular edition of '' Guero'' in remixed forms by a variety of artists, with the additi ...
'' (2005). "The conventional ways aren't working like they used to, so now there's a willingness to try new things." The first single in North America was "
Nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
", which was officially released to radio on September 5, 2006.FMQB ''Friday Morning Quarterback'' (better known as ''FMQB'') was a trade magazine which covered the radio and music industries in the United States. Its coverage included programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatt ...
"> The song was promoted with an official music video directed by
Patrick Daughters Patrick Daughters (born 1976 in Berkeley, California) is an American music videomaker and commercial director currently signed to Anonymous Content. Daughters is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. While still in colle ...
. The first single in the UK was " Cellphone's Dead", with an official video directed by
Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...
. " Think I'm in Love" went to US radio as the second and final single and became a
Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
and Triple A radio hit, garnering renewed interest in ''The Information''.


Release

Some copies of the album included a bonus
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
of the low budget music videos. On February 27, 2007, a "deluxe version" of the album was released by Interscope. It included a DVD containing all of the music videos, several bonus tracks, all four sticker sheets and a disc consisting of six remixes of three songs.


Reception


Commercial

The album reached number 7 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, number 6 in Canada and number 31 on Australia's
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. As of July 2008, ''The Information'' had sold 434,000 copies in the United States.


Critical

Jon Pareles of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' credited the album's dark themes as a reflection of the world's condition at the time and felt that Beck had made that apparent in the videos released alongside the album. Pareles described the album's approach as being a 1960s pop-infused sound with a more driven message. Mike Driver of '' Drowned in Sound'' suggested that ''The Information'' was a mature and honest attempt at a multiple genre production without recreating what Beck had already accomplished. Driver praised Beck's variation in vocal style, ability to create a logical flow of tracks and the album's reflection of his unpredictable styles. Barry Walters of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' described Beck as being as detached on ''The Information'' as he had ever been and opined that the band was far more energetic than he. Walters noted that Beck's work with Nigel Godrich was more sample-heavy than his collaborations with the Dust Brothers had been and felt that the album ultimately suffered from Beck's disconnected approach. Nate Patrin of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' reviewed the deluxe edition of the album, which he felt was mostly a cash-in on an overlooked album, but praised the disc of remixes, which included mixes by big name performers. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine named ''The Information'' the 24th best album of 2006, while ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' magazine ranked it number 10 on their 40 Best Albums of 2006. Retrospectively, Sean McCarthy of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' felt ''The Information'' suffered from being overly long and was Beck's least interesting album, although he praised "Think I'm in Love," "Cellphone's Dead" and the title track.


Track listing


Deluxe version

Disc one contains the original 15-track album re-sequenced with "New Round" moved from track 7 to 14, "Dark Star" moved from track 8 to 7 and "Movie Theme" moved from track 14 to 8. The disc also includes all three Japanese bonus tracks from above for a total of 18 tracks. The third disc contains the following music videos. Most of them homemade by Beck.


Sample credits

* "The Horrible Fanfare" section uses a sample of "Cellphone's Dead". * "Landslide" section uses a sample from the song "Requiem pour un con" by the French singer
Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...
.


Personnel

*
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
– vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar,
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...
, piano, organ, keyboards, programming, effects, scratching,
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...
, bass guitar, harmonica,
kalimba Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...
, percussion, drums, drum effects,
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
,
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
*
Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and ...
– keyboards, programming, effects, scratching, tambourine, percussion, background vocals, Speak 'n Spell, whistle, Tote-A-Tune, kalimba, drums, Game Boy *
Jason Falkner Jason Falkner (born June 2, 1968) is an American songwriter, musician, and guitarist who was a member of the bands Jellyfish, the Three O'Clock, and the Grays. Since 1996, he has released six solo albums, starting with '' Presents Author Unknown ...
– bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, African bass, Moog bass, background vocals, percussion, drums *
James Gadson James Edward Gadson (born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and songwriter. ...
– drums, percussion, background vocals *
Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He has performed with acts including Beck, R.E.M., Oasis and Roger Waters, and is a member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Back ...
– drums, percussion, background vocals *
Smokey Hormel Smokey Hormel (born circa 1959)Cohen (2017) quotes Hormel as saying he was "4 or 5 ears old when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was "a big hit on the radio"; the song was released in America in December 1963. is an American guitarist ...
– intro sounds *
Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, St. Vincent, Wolf Alice, and Deafheave ...
– intro sounds * Roger Manning Jr. – intro sounds * Alejandro "Alex" Acuna – percussion, background vocals *
Brian LeBarton Brian LeBarton is a musician from Los Angeles, California. LeBarton gained some minor recognition in the 2000s by working for better known artists, including his work as an intern for Beck's Grammy-nominated 2007 self-released single " Timebomb", ...
– Speak 'n Spell *
Justin Stanley Justin Stanley is an Australian musician, producer and songwriter. He has worked with an eclectic range of musicians including Beck, Prince, Jimmy Cliff, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney and Snoop Dogg. Some of the artists Stanley had produced, in ...
– electric guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals, percussion, flute *
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
– keyboards,
berimbau The berimbau (, borrowed from Kimbundu ''mbirimbau'') is a traditional Angolan musical bow that is commonly used in Brazil. It is also known as ''sekitulege'' among the Baganda and Busoga. It consists of a single-stringed bow attached to a gourd ...
, piano, bass keyboard, synthesizer, background vocals, acoustic guitar *
DJ Z-Trip Zach Sciacca (born July 22, 1971), better known as DJ Z-Trip, is an American DJ and producer. He is a pioneer of the mashup movement. He was the 2009 recipient of the "America's Best DJ Award". As a producer he has worked with artists across ...
– scratching *Stevie Black – cello, percussion, background vocals *Lucia Ribisi – girl on "Cellphone's Dead" *Cosimo Hansen – talking *
Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew ...
– drums *Sean Davis – bass guitar *
Rachel Shelley Rachel Shelley (born 25 August 1969) is an English actress, audio producer and model. She is best known for playing Helena Peabody in the Showtime series ''The L Word'' and Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood epic '' Lagaan''. Ea ...
– shipping forecast *Suzie Katayama – strings *
Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat (born March 15, 1963) is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other new age jazz artists. Life and career He was born in Inglewood, California, in 1963 to Palestinian parents w ...
– strings *
Joel Derouin Joel Derouin is a Canadian violinist, concert master, composer and music director. In addition to having worked with many popular musicians, he is also known for his work in film, television and theatre. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ontario, Can ...
– strings *Charlie Bisharat – strings *Larry Corbett – strings *
Roberto Cani Roberto Salvatore Cani (17 October 1967 – 9 April 2025) was an Italian classical violinist based in Los Angeles, where he was concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra from 2011. He gave concerts as a soloist and a chamber musician in E ...
– strings *Gerardo Hilera – strings *Natalie Leggett – strings *Tereza Stanislaw – strings *Josefina Vergara – strings *Armen Garabedian – strings *Rudolph Stein – strings *Brianna Bell – background vocals on "The Information" *Tiffani Fest – background vocals on "The Information" *Sage Mears – background vocals on "The Information" *Kimi Reichenberg – background vocals on "The Information" *Elisha Skorman – background vocals on "The Information" *
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
– talking on "Exoskeleton" *
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...
– talking on "Exoskeleton" ;Technical * David Campbell – string arrangements, conductor *
Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and ...
– producer, mixing, engineer *Darrell Thorp – engineer *Seth Waldman – assistant engineer *Rouble Kapour – assistant engineer *Chris Steffen – assistant engineer *Zach Kasik – assistant engineer *
Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
– mastering *
Mat Maitland Mat Maitland is an English art director and visual artist who lives in London. He is renowned for his photo collage works and for co-creating numerous music campaigns. Career Maitland started his career at WEA (Warner Bros. Records) as a designer ...
– art direction, design, featured artist *Gerard Saint – art direction *Beck – art direction *Jody Barton – featured artist *Juliette Cezzar – featured artist *Estelle & Simon – featured artist *David Foldvari – featured artist *Genevieve Gauckler – featured artist *Michael Gillette – featured artist *Jasper Goodall – featured artist *Mercedes Helnwein – featured artist *Han Lee – featured artist *Ari Michelson – featured artist *Parra – featured artist *Melanie Pullen – featured artist *Gay Ribisi – featured artist *Aleksey Shirokov – featured artist *Will Sweeney – featured artist *
Kam Tang Kam Tang is an illustrator living and working in Brixton, London. His work is described as maximalist.Rivers, Charlotte (2008). ''Maximalism: The Graphic Design of Decadence& Excess'', p.011. . After earning his degree from the University of Brigh ...
– featured artist *Adam Tullie – featured artist *Kensei Yabuno – featured artist *Vania Zouravliov – featured artist *Greg Burne – artist coordinator *Richard Newton – artist coordinator


Charts

The United Kingdom's
Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
deemed ''The Information'' ineligible to chart, as they felt its customizable sticker album art gave it "an unfair advantage" in terms of album sales.


Certifications


References


External links

* *
Video clips for ''The Information''
at
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Information, The 2006 albums Beck albums Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Nigel Godrich Interscope Records albums