Song · Beck
“Tropicalia” by Beck
From the album Mutations (1998)
“Tropicalia” by Beck appears on 21 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 1998 and 2023. It was first released in 1998 on the album Mutations. Its best result is #49 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #90 alternative song of 1998 and #3,382 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (Dirty Dirty: A Beck Archival Project). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Beck went looking for Brazil on "Tropicalia", the most sun-drenched track on Mutations, his 1998 album, and the UK got it as a single that December. He had loved Brazilian music since he was a kid but said he had to travel to the places it came from before he could make it himself; the tune came to him in the back of the tour bus, and the words followed later.
He doesn't play a note on it. Smokey Hormel's acoustic guitar, Justin Meldal-Johnsen's acoustic bass, Joey Waronker's drums, Roger Joseph Manning Jr.'s organ and synth and David Ralicke's flute and trombone carry the breezy tropicália shuffle, with Nigel Godrich co-producing and mixing. The B-side, "Halo of Gold", radically remakes Skip Spence's "Furry Heroine (Halo of Gold)".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 98 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998 | 107 |
| 1998 | 49 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998 | 91 |
| 1998 | 81 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998 | 106 |
| 1998 | 96 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 | 101 |
| 1998 | 53 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998 | 102 |
| 1998 | 104 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1998 | 107 |
| 1998 | 56 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998 | 100 |
| 1998 | 71 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 1998 | 98 |
| 1998 | 100 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 | 103 |
| 1998 | 95 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 954 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 2007 | 1411 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1487 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1496 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1525 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1594 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1629 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1698 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2021 | 636 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 739 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 716 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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