"Gamma Ray" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

. It was released as the second single from his eighth studio album, '' Modern Guilt'', on August 11, 2008. It is seemingly inspired by the

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

songs of the 1960s, but with ghostly moans and lyrics on the state of the world. The title refers to

gamma ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

s, biologically hazardous energy emitted by radioactive decay. Despite its up-tempo beat, the song lyrics invoke

nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...

or apocalyptic themes, including melting ice caps, boredom, burning houses, crowns of thorns, and natural disasters. The song peaked at number 19 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. It was also placed at number 6 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.

Release

The single releases of the song feature a cover of the song by garage punk musician

Jay Reatard James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Reat ...

and a non-album song entitled "Bonfire Blondes" as B-sides, both of which are available on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The song is included as a playable track in the video game ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...

'' and was used in '' Tony Hawk: Ride''. Both the A side and B side album cover arts make use of a Houndstooth pattern.

Music video

The first version of the music video, directed by Jess Holzworth, features actress and style icon

Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny (, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model, filmmaker and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of se ...

. The second version involves scenes of abstract imagery (most in black and white). There is film of Beck standing amidst many people dressed in white with white boxes on the heads. There is also film of mouths and eyes and a woman with an afro.

Track listing

(A) # "Gamma Ray" (2:58) # "Gamma Ray" (2:59) (cover by

) (B) # "Gamma Ray" (2:58) # "Bonfire Blondes" (2:25)

Personnel

*Beck Hansen – vocals, guitars, electric piano, producer, songwriter *Danger Mouse – beats, keyboard bass, producer

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2008 singles Beck songs XL Recordings singles Songs written by Beck 2008 songs Song recordings produced by Danger Mouse (musician) Surf rock songs