Beck's Sheet-Music Album: A Marketer's Dream or Unsellable Gimmick?

The pros and cons of 'Song Reader'

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From reprogrammed Nintendo cartridges to distribution by balloon, musicians have been endeavoring to release albums in the most novel form possible lately. In the world of slumping CD sales, these efforts have been hit or miss in terms of marketing, but they can all step aside, as the battle for hippest release has just been won by Beck. Combining all his sprezzatura into a carefully perfected cool, he's decided to release his latest album, Song Reader, as nothing but sheet music—with covers for individual songs drawn by a host of popular illustrators, including Marcel Dzama (who created the imagery for Beck's acclaimed Guero), Leanne Shapton, Josh Cochran and Jessica Hische, and available exclusively through postmodern publishing outfit McSweeney's.

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