Only 4 days to go 'til Beck's new album

With Beck's newest album, Guero, set to drop in four days, I am feeling strangely compelled to disseminate irrelevant and trivial information about Beck (damn you, obsessive-compulsive tendencies that run in the family). So here it is:

• Beck is married to Marissa Ribisi, the twin sister of Giovanni Ribisi. Giovanni is a close friend of Sofia Coppola. (God, I love Sofia.)


• Issue 9 of Planet magazine (which I bought today at KW Book Store) has Beck on the front cover and an advertisement for Sofia, the alcopop-in-can from from the Niebaum-Coppola Winery, on the back.


• Beck's grandfather, Al Hansen, who was a founder of the Fluxus movement, discovered Yoko Ono.


• Beck's mother, Bibbe Hansen, was part of Andy Warhol's Factory scene (here's a link to a very interesting interview of Bibbe Hansen by Vaginal Davis for index magazine).


• Smokey, who plays bass guitar for Beck, was a member of Cibo Matto, whose drummer was Sean Lennon, John and Yoko's son.


• The video for "E-Pro", first single off Guero, was done by Shynola, a British design team. They are represented in U.S. by The Directors Bureau, which was founded by Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola (her brother), and Mike Mills.


• Guero was produced by The Dust Brothers. Beck and the Brothers (who are not actually brothers) also collaborated on Odelay.


• The Dust Brothers also produced Paul's Boutique, the album that established Beastie Boys as hip-hop gods. Sean Lennon, who played drums for Cibo Matto, which included Smokey, who plays bass for Beck, was signed to Beastie Boys' label, Grand Royale. That is, before the label/magazine went kaput in 2001.

I think that should do for today.