Beck - Beercan

What this video is

Released in June 1994 as the second single from Beck's major-label debut Mellow Gold (DGC/Bong Load Records), 'Beercan' arrived at the apex of alternative rock's MTV dominance. The video's lo-fi, guerrilla aesthetic — homeless iconography, property destruction, anti-glamour visuals — directly embodied the slacker-generation ethos permeating early-90s American underground culture. Peaking at #27 on U.S. Modern Rock…

Why it matters

A key artifact of experimental hip-hop and slacker rock crossover, 'Beercan' documents the moment when sample-collage production (Carl Stephenson's Care Bears and Melvins interpolations) met lo-fi visual art filmmaking. Alongside 'Loser,' it established the Beck/Hanft collaborative template that…

The director

Steve Hanft (born May 3, 1966, Ventura, California) is an American music video and film director. He holds an MFA in Experimental Narrative Film from the California Institute of the Arts, where he received multiple grants including the Princess Grace Film…