Beck

Great Xenu's ghost! Didja know Beck Hansen's a Scientologist? That's correct, alt-rock's favorite shabby-chic troubadour is a Dianetics-following, E-meter-reading Hubbardite -- not that it factors into his music or anything. Nope, despite shout-outs to folks like Jenna Elfman or brother-in-law Giovanni Ribisi in the liner notes of Guero, his latest...

By Benjamin Leatherman

October 27, 2005

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Great Xenu's ghost! Didja know Beck Hansen's a Scientologist? That's correct, alt-rock's favorite shabby-chic troubadour is a Dianetics-following, E-meter-reading Hubbardite -- not that it factors into his music or anything. Nope, despite shout-outs to folks like Jenna Elfman or brother-in-law Giovanni Ribisi in the liner notes of Guero, his latest chart-busting album, there's nary any Thetan-worshiping to be found in Beck's catalogue. He might have gone from the cult classic days of Mellow Gold to embracing a full-fledged cult, er . . . religion, but his tunes remain the usual funkdafied pastiche of rambling rhythm and rhyme, heavy on the hip-hop. Throughout the various experimental phases of Beck's recent work -- from the soulful, R&B-laced, sex-charged funk of 1999's Midnight Vultures, to the bizarrely emotional ballads of 2002's Sea Change, right back to the Odelay-channeling sampling and folk-singer aesthetic of Guero -- he's still the same fly white boy, who remains laid-back and chill about his religious affiliation, rarely mentioning it in interviews (unlike a madly-jumping-on-Oprah's-couch-to-emphasize-his-sham-engagement kind of kooky Scientologist who shall remain nameless).

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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