Story Song Structure (3): Loser

Yes, Beck and Loser (link here).

Might seem a jump from Hoyt Axton and Al Green, but I'm still thinking in terms of story structure, and the framing device in story songs in particular.

How does that work with Loser? Well, about that. If you took the verses by themselves, I'd say "stream of consciousness without context". Hanging there, like that, there's no reason, other than Beck playing with images.

The chorus though... I'm not going to claim the chorus will make the verses make sense to you. But I will say that they help for me. They bring the images, the stream, into focus. Mostly because of how I spent time with friends in the early 90s, with the crowd of musicians and artists and writers, some of whom still play or write or make their art, most who don't. For that group, I won't say that Beck describes things in Loser that are universal.

But I will say that he paints a picture some of us can recognize ourselves at a certain time of life in, when sleeping on spare couches, four to a two bedroom apartment in a seedy part of town because it was the only way anybody could afford the rent, gig to gig and cross your fingers and hope... yeah, the story's there, it's not in code, it's just that Beck doesn't feel the need to explain anything.