Beck's Modern Guilt Released

There are many probable reasons Beck made “Modern Guilt," his concise yet deliberately cosmic collaboration with fellow shaggy pop auteur Danger Mouse. He's finishing up a long contract with his record label; he has two small kids and doesn't want to kill himself with a long, eclectic project; he's 38 and can't break dance anymore.

But let's consider an artistic one: He and the producer also known as Brian Burton share a predilection for a particular kind of sci-fi. This is their soundtrack to a film not yet made -- or maybe, accidentally to one that does exist and already has primed summer popcorn-munchers for Beck's latest explorations of modern consciousness.

“Modern Guilt" is “Wall-E" for anyone who prefers rock 'n' roll to kids' movies. That adorable dinged-up robot lives in the same eternal twilight that Beck and Danger Mouse evoke in their 30-minute drift through space.