Beck Poised at Turning Point

This week Beck will release Modern Guilt, his last record under a 14-year-old studio contract—an event that prompted the New York Times to ask him what's next. No idea, Beck said. “I haven’t bothered to plan anything. I don’t know where the record business is going to be in six months. Or three months.”

The album, a collaboration with Danger Mouse, compiles short, catchy, melancholy tunes— but that may not signal Beck's musical direction. “I’m just jealous," Danger Mouse said of Beck's future. "That’s all I’ll really say about that.” A singer of Beck's stature can pick his next move, and record companies are giving him space. “Nobody’s talking to me,” Beck said, “and I’m not talking to anybody.” (More Beck stories.)