The Beckpisode from MTV.com
Having already established themselves as the most indie-friendly teen-drama think-tank ever, the makers of FOX's "The O.C." are now deciding to pay tribute to Beck, a dude who was making records back when most of the show's characters were still modeling Prada short pants.
On March 10, five tracks from Beck's upcoming album Guero will make their network TV debut amidst "The O.C." 's palm trees and platinum, on what show creator Josh Schwartz has already dubbed the "Beckpisode."
"After hearing the new Beck album, both [show music supervisor] Alexandra Patsavas and I felt there were too many good songs to choose just one," Schwartz said. "So instead we came up with the idea of a 'Beckpisode' - to premiere multiple tracks from his record in one episode."
The five songs premiering during the episode are the "Qué Onda Guero," "Scarecrow," "Missing," "Girl" and the album's first single, "E-Pro," which rocks a backbeat highly reminiscent of the Beastie Boys' "So What'cha Want." Unmastered versions of all five tracks had already, um, premiered on the Internet earlier this year (see "Finished Version Of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due In March").
But Beck's new tunes aren't the only thing premiering during the night's episode: At 9 p.m., FOX will air the full trailer for "Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," featuring "over two minutes of new footage from the movie," according to StarWars.com.
This suddenly premier-iffic "O.C." centers around all four of the show's main characters hanging at the mall, having adventures - and, presumably, listening to a whole lot of Beck. It's certainly not the first time an episode of "The O.C." prominently featured a musician or band (although it's definitely the first with n honest-to-goodness Star Wars promotional tie-in). An early episode this season revolved around a Modest Mouse concert at local hangout the Bait Shack - basically an indie version of the Peach Pit After Dark, but with hotter bartenders (see "Modest Mouse, Killers, Walkmen To Guest Star On 'The O.C.' ") - and last season, the B-Boys themselves chose to premiere their new single "Ch-Check it Out" during a Vegas-themed episode of the show.
Beck's Guero is due in stores March 29.
- James Montgomery, with reporting by Jennifer Vineyard