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"Loser" is a song by the alternative rock musician Beck. The first single from his album Mellow Gold (1994), it is widely considered Beck's breakout hit. It reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks. More recently, it was ranked #200 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was also rated as #22 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.

"Loser" was initially released as a single by indie label Bong Load Records in 1993. After receiving airplay by radio stations, including KROQ in Los Angeles, Beck signed to DGC Records, who re-issued the single in January of 1994. In 1996, parodist Weird Al Yankovic was given permission by Beck to use the chorus of Loser for Al's "The Alternative Polka" from the album Bad Hair Day.

The song

In an early interview, Beck confessed that the song was written spur of the moment after trying and failing to rap in the style of Public Enemy's Chuck D. Beck later recalled that he said to himself, "'Man, I’m the worst rapper in the world—I’m just a loser.' So I started singing, 'I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?'" The rest of the song was largely freestyled around the premise of being an outcast from society. "Loser" was one of Beck's first experiments with fusing different genres of music, which would soon become one of his trademarks.

The song is built around a sample from a cover of the Dr. John song "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" by Johnny Jenkins from his album Ton-Ton Macoute!. The sample features Allman Brothers Band members Duane Allman on dobro, Jaimoe on timbales and Butch Trucks on drums. The Spanish lyric in the song's chorus, "Soy un perdedor", was translated by Moises Ruiz, Jr., and it literally means "I am a loser". (Both Ruiz and Beck were in a band called Loser at the time.)

There is also a sitar that is heard faintly in the background throughout the song.

The lines "I'm a driver. I'm a winner. Things are gonna change—I can feel it" are sampled from Kill the Moonlight, an independent film by Beck's friend Steve Hanft about a down-on-his-luck stock car racer. Hanft and Beck collaborated on the song, and Beck supplied some of the soundtrack for the film. When Hanft directed the video for "Loser", he incorporated segments of the film, namely the race cars.

Track listing

1. "Loser"
2. "Corvette Bummer"
3. "Alcohol"
4. "Soul Suckin Jerk (Reject)"
5. "Fume"

UK Version

1. "Loser"
2. "Totally Confused"
3. "Corvette Bummer"
4. "MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack"

Samples

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External links

• The Greatest Songs Ever: Loser March 2003 Blender article
• Whiskeyclone entry for "Loser"
• Music video for "Loser" on YouTube

• Articles lacking sources from May 2008
• Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2008
• 1994 singles
• Beck songs
• Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one singles