Beck certainly isn’t a loser anymore. He ousted God—I mean, Beyoncé—Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran to secure the “Album of the Year” Grammy on Sunday for his tenth major label studio album, Morning Phase.
Rewind back to 1992: Beck, a relatively undiscovered alternative rock artist, received a call from Tom Rothrock of Bong Load Records. Rothrock sent Beck over to Carl Stephenson’s house where the two chowed down on some pizza and Doritos and began experimenting with incorporating rap lyrics alongside slide guitar riffs, sitar guitar sounds, and drum beats. By the end of the night, the rough layout for Beck’s debut hit, Loser, was created.
Bong Load Records did not, however, release Loser until March of 1993. It actually was a rejected demo at first, but by April of 1994, the song charted at the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100—solidifying its success in popular American culture.
Ironically, Beck chose to employ the, “I am a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me” lyric because he believed that he “was the worst rapper in the world.” Although Kanye West might agree with him here, obviously the Recording Academy members, who vote for the Grammy awards, thought he had all of the qualifications of a winner.
Regardless of whether or not Beck should have won this past weekend, Loser is a classic hit and one that deserves to be remembered. So grab some pizza, snag some Doritos, channel your inner hipster and alternative Beck self, and enjoy the track and some of these other 90s/2000s era jams.
“Real World” – Matchbox Twenty
“Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
“Ants Marching” – Dave Matthews Band
“Semi-Charmed Life” – Third Eye Blind
“One Headlight” – The Wallflowers
“No Rain” – Blind Melon
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