“10,000 Pesos” is a short little piece Beck recorded for Nacho Libre. It was released on the soundtrack, and is in the film. (I believe these are two different versions, but have to verify.) Does anyone have any connection to the song beyond thinking of the film? Let’s see:

Vitamin.Deb:

This little ditty is very Beck, you know? Whatever that means. It’s got that self-described jankity guitar strum style of his. If I’d gone to see Nacho Libre not knowing that Beck had done some of the music, I’d have suspected it was him even without that minimal humming vocal he put into this. But of course, being one of the uberfans, one of the reasons I went to see the movie was because I knew he’d done some of the music. The only thing I remember about the movie itself is the scene with the corn cob. Good lord, I haven’t thought of that scene in a while. Terrible and hilarious. I know this song was not in that scene so it’s sort of irrelevant, but oh well.

AlmostAGhost:

I actually think this track is sort of, well, not much to think about. “10,000 Pesos” just doesn’t seem to me to have all that much effort behind it. It seems to be what Beck would come up with if you handed him a guitar and said “go!” He’d strum those chords in that beautiful way, hum a little, and his band would help out behind him. But perhaps I am underestimating what it takes to make such a recording. Or perhaps I am overestimating Beck’s creative genius.

Bebo

This is one of those songs that will always be tied to the movie it was in, for me anyways. I can almost see the scene from Nacho Libre playing in my head as this song plays. I believe it is the part where Nacho is sorta dejected and goes out alone into the desert or whatever. I get a feeling of quiet contemplation and acceptance of a somber situation (maybe this is just from the scene in the movie, but I think the music resonates the mood of the scene well). I love the simplicity of this song. The guitar strumming, and finger picking. Beck doing his signature humming in the background. A few other sparse instruments/sounds to add a little bit of decoration. Isn’t really a full song, but maybe phase or mood or snapshot of a moment.

Newtron:

Man, I have no idea what to say about this one. This project is hard.

I just listened to this on repeat a bunch of times, and all I can think of is that 1) it is pretty, and 2) I like Nacho Libre more than most people I think. There are some really great things about that movie, and I dare say some of it is beautiful. Perhaps I’ll expand on that more if I don’t have anything to say about one of the other Nacho songs.

In case you’re wondering:
10,000 Pesos = 1,013.82 U.S. dollars
10,000 Pesos = 1,042 Canadian dollars
10,000 Pesos = 42,725 Rupees
10,000 Pesos = 109,324 Yen
10,000 Pesos = 80,567 Icelandic Krona
10,000 Pesos = 3,586 Shekel
10,000 Pesos = 1,577 Brazilian Real

The madness that is “1000BPM” is next!

This is a new blog series, where a select bunch of Beckfrx will share their reminiscences, thoughts, inspirations, interpretations of EVERY Beck song! How’s that for ambitious? The Beckfrx have all been fans for a long while, we’ve lived with these songs as long as possible, and hopefully have interesting things to say. Please add your thoughts in the comments!

We’re going alphabetically, and yes, we know this will probably take five years to finish.

Today’s first song: the always mysterious “.000.000“!

Newtron:

This has always been one of my favorite Beck songs. In my mind I group this in with ‘Lemonade‘. They were both among the first Beck b-sides I heard (Odelay was my first Beck album, and its singles were my first Beck singles). Both these songs were so different from what was on Odelay — so weird and non-commercial — and listening to them I started to realize that Beck was working on a lot more layers and levels than I had originally assumed. 16-year-old Dave loved it because it was fucked up and different, and 26-year-old Dave loves it because it rocks my ass (gently).

BTW, I pronounce this “zero hundred thousand”. What does everyone else say?

Breathmint:

listening to this song over and over makes it difficult for me to breathe. kind of scary.

Vitamin.Deb:

Funny, and probably somehow appropriate, that we begin with a track that evokes for me the horrors of backwardsness. (Is that even a word? Check the Becktionary.) Looking backwards, trying to live backwards. I’m not someone who knows much at all about the technical aspects of music, but it feels to me like there are one or more elements in this song that were recorded and then inverted, a la the little man in Twin Peaks. Anyway, yeah, so I’ve got someone close to me who can’t get over the past, who is hopelessly mired in it, and this song makes me think about that. Disquieting, cautionary.

Beck:

There were definitely lyrics and they were very meaningful. I think.

AlmostAGhost:

This song will always just be, to me, those nights I’ve spent, sitting in the dark, headphones on, listening to the song in tiny fragments, played over and over, *PAUSE* *REWIND* *PLAY* *REWIND* *PLAY*, trying to figure out what those lyrics are. And never succeeding.

And finally here is an unofficial “inverted mix” of the song, which (ever so slightly) emphasizes the vocals, and has a cool drum sound.

Up next: “10,000 Pesos”!