Song · Beck
“Debra” by Beck
From the album Midnite Vultures (1999)
“Debra” by Beck appears on 5 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2022 and 2026. It was first released in 1999 on the album Midnite Vultures. Its best result is #144 on The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,750 indie & aaa song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Beck - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Debra" finally landed on Beck's 1999 album Midnite Vultures after years as a stage favourite. He'd first tried to cut it with the Dust Brothers for Odelay in 1996, then decided it was too tongue-in-cheek to put out, so it lived on in the live show instead, where by his own account it turned into the centerpiece of his set and drew a bigger reaction than the songs people knew from the radio.
The finished version is a slinky slab of neo soul built on samples of David Bowie's "Win" and Ramsey Lewis's "My Love for You", with shout-outs to the Los Angeles chain Zankou Chicken, a Hyundai and "Sexx Laws", another song on the same record. It's credited to Beck, John King and Mike Simpson, it came out on DGC, and plenty of critics rank it among the best things he's ever done.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 577 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 144 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 274 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2024 | 952 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2026 | 155 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Debra" by Beck.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.