"Doggedly researched...a complex portrait of an artist."
—Los Angeles Times
"Riesman gathers an impressive array of interview sources [and] brings a great deal of empathy to her subject as a longtime fan.... Every bit as complex and intriguing as the pop star himself… [A] captivating profile of the Gen X pop sensation."
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Riesman brings passion and investigative grit to this biography… Meticulously researched… a captivating look at an enigmatic artist.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Riesman parses these stories out as both a fan and a diligent reporter. It all adds up to an insightful, never gossipy, and definitely surprising ode to a Gen-X folk hero.”
—Booklist
Description
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Ringmaster and the Hugo finalist True Believer, a propulsive and stylish account of Beck, who was received as a pop messiah in the 1990s, but whose closest friends and most devoted fans never knew his buried secrets.
Once upon a time, there was a man who made himself into a myth.
He went by a single name: Beck. He sang songs that didn’t make easy sense in plain English, but which were somehow undeniable to those who heard them. He mined a dizzying array of musical styles from the past to construct albums that were eminently of the zeitgeist. Before and after the smash success of his 1993 single “Loser,” he was the hardest-working slacker in America. He went platinum multiple times over. And for a time, he was regarded by journalists and devoted fans alike as the “pop messiah”—a title that referred not just to the new energy he brought to the radio and MTV, but to the devotion he inspired.
But something happened to Beck Hansen, right at the dawn of this century. His music, once defiant and bombastic, turned morose and inward facing. Beck destroyed the online forum where his devoted fans had gathered. He cut ties with the small collective of LA-based bohemians he’d come up alongside, surrounding himself instead with sycophants and celebrities. Beck had been born and raised in the Church of Scientology; many in his orbit feared he’d been pulled back to the faith.
Beck’s music has continued to win accolades, including multiple Grammys. But the true story of Beck in the nineties and beyond has never been told.
With sensitivity and an arrestingly original style, New York Times bestselling author Josephine Riesman offers a vivid and multifaceted look at a singular artist and the generation for whom he became a reluctant spokesman. Drawing from interviews with those who’ve been closest to Beck, as well as troves of never-before-published documents, Riesman offers a story about authenticity and irony, paranoia and belief. Situated at the last gasp of the millennium, it’s more than a simple biography—it’s a riveting drama about the blurry lines between fandom and worship; between myth and lies; and between the old world that is dying and the new one that still struggles to be born.
Reviews
"Well-researched and thoughtful... An intriguing portrait of an artist. Smart pop-culture reporting on an especially tricky subject."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Riesman delivers a deep dive into the evolution of pop music and its industry, parasocial relationships, and Beck’s complicated ties to his family, girlfriends, religion, and fans.... Casual Beck listeners will enjoy, while Gen X and elder millennial readers will especially be drawn in."
—Library Journal
“One of the best books I’ve ever read about the forging of an artistic persona—a love story, a ghost story, a family story spanning three generations of bohemia, and a portrait of the artist wrestling the forces of evil in a bozo nightmare.”
—Alex Pappademas, Senior Culture Editor of GQ and co-author of Quantum Criminals
