Beck was the special guest on Colbert Report this week, sitting down to discuss his new album Morning Phase and performing “The Heart is a Drum,” which has a brand new music video out, and “Heaven’s Ladder.”
In the interview, Beck described the “pretty meaty” new album as “a little quiet, a little bit slow, good for massages and aromatherapy.” Colbert poked fun at the more contemplative album asking, “Why Beck sad? Is Beck sad?” to which the veteran singer-songwriter replied, “I just need a hug.” The two shared an embrace before the singer’s performances.
The recently released new music video for “The Heart is a Drum” provided the backdrop to Beck’s live performance of the track. The black and white film depicts Beck wandering around a backwoods old house and encountering familiar faces at every turn. Many of these come from his 1994 video for “Loser,” part of a trend in the singer’s recent revisiting and reimagining of the past including performing the 1994 hit with Jack White earlier this month in support of their collaboration on the newly released Song Reader album. Directed by Sophie Muller, the music video takes us through Beck’s memory in a old- film style dream where he must face the passage of time as he encounters oddball characters and versions of himself through the years.
Visits from Loser’s grim reaper and a childhood Beck leave the contemporary man with a furrowed brow but hopeful eyes, a face that can be seen in his live performance on Colbert, made all the more recognizable by the same wide brimmed bowler hat. The quiet strum and harmonizing vocals of the nostalgic tune capture the sentiment of the entire album.
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