Editing Beck (section)

===''Mellow Gold'', and independent albums (1993–1994)===
By 1993, Beck was living in a rat-infested shed near a Los Angeles alleyway with little money.<ref name="rs94"/> Bong Load issued "Loser" as a single in March 1993 on 12" vinyl with only 500 copies pressed.<ref name = "Palacios 77">Palacios 2000, p. 77</ref> Beck felt that "Loser" was mediocre, and only agreed to its release at Rothrock's insistence.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 74</ref> "Loser" unexpectedly received radio airplay, starting in Los Angeles, where [[Campus radio|college radio]] station [[KXLU]] was the first to play it,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Ron |date=March 4, 2019 |title=Beck Producer Tom Rothrock Looks Back on 'Mellow Gold' & Its Unlikely Road to Success |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8500851/beck-producer-tom-rothrock-mellow-gold-loser |magazine= Billboard|location=NYC |access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name = "Palacios 77" /> and later on [[Santa Monica College]] radio station [[KCRW]], where radio host [[Chris Douridas]] played the song on ''[[Morning Becomes Eclectic]]'', the station's flagship music program. "I called the record label that day and asked to have Beck play live on the air", Douridas said. "He came in that Friday, rapped to a tape of 'Loser' and did his song 'MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack.{{'"}}<ref name="lat94"/> That night, Beck performed at the Los Angeles club Cafe Troy to a packed audience and talent scouts from major labels.<ref name="lat94"/> The song then spread to Seattle through [[KNDD]] The End, and [[KROQ-FM]] began playing the song on an almost hourly basis.<ref name = "Palacios 77" /> As Bong Load struggled to press more copies of "Loser", Beck was beset with offers to sign with major labels.<ref name="Palacios 80">Palacios 2000, p. 80</ref> During the bidding war in November, Beck spent several days in [[Olympia, Washington]], recording material with [[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]] of [[Beat Happening]], which would later see release the following year on Johnson's [[K Records]] as ''[[One Foot in the Grave (album)|One Foot in the Grave]]''.<ref name="bb93"/>

A fierce bidding war ensued, with [[Geffen Records]] A&R director Mark Kates signing Beck in December 1993 amid intense competition from [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] and [[Capitol Records|Capitol]].<ref name="lat94"/><ref name=bb93>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| title=Labels are at Beck's call; "Loser" may win deal for new artist| magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| date=November 27, 1993| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Rosen, Craig| volume=105| issue=48| publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]| location=New York City| issn=0006-2510| archive-date=August 6, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806003751/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck's non-exclusive contract with Geffen allowed him an unusual amount of creative freedom, with Beck remaining free to release material through such small, independent labels as [[Flipside Records|Flipside]], which issued the sprawling, 25-track collection of pre-"Loser" recordings titled ''[[Stereopathetic Soulmanure]]'' on February 22 the following year.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name="bb93"/> By the time Beck released his first album for Geffen, the low-budget, genre-blending ''[[Mellow Gold]]'' on March 1,<ref name="lat94"/> "Loser" was already in the top 40 and its video in MTV's [[Buzz Bin]].<ref name=rs97>{{cite news | title=Beck: The Rolling Stone Interview| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=April 17, 1997 | author=Kemp, Mark| issue =758| pages =58–64; 94; 97| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> "Loser" quickly ascended the charts in the U.S., reaching a peak of number ten on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart and topping the [[Hot Modern Rock Tracks|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref name="US charts">{{cite magazine | title= Beck—Artist Chart History | magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | url= {{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beck|chart=all}} | access-date=December 21, 2008 }}</ref> The song also charted in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. Beck's newfound position of attention led to his characterization as the "King of Slackers", as the media dubbed him the center of the new so-called "slacker" movement.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 84</ref> Critics, feeling it the essential follow-up to [[Radiohead]]'s "[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]",<ref name="bb93"/> found vacantness in the lyrics of "Loser" strongly associated with [[Generation X]], although Beck himself strongly contested his position as the face of the "slacker" generation: "Slacker my ''ass''. I mean, I ''never'' had any slack. I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive. That slacker stuff is for people who have the time to be depressed about everything."<ref name="rs94"/>