New Beck kept off the U.K. charts

It's official: Beck's latest - The Information - hit stores this week. The innovative release proved to be too much for U.K. charts. Here's the story from Beck's people themselves:

BECK
THE INFORMATION
RELEASED MONDAY, OCTOBER 2 IN THE UK
DENIED ENTRY ON UK CHARTS

Beck's The Information was released Monday, October 2 in the UK (and was released yesterday in the U.S.).

Come next week, no matter how high its first week sales, The Information will not be charting in the UK due to a bizarre ruling by the UK's Official Chart Company.

According to the OCC, The Information's packaging innovations--which have drawn early raves such as "Bonus points for the accompanying DVD and stickers that let CD buyers create their own customized covers" (WIRED)--render the record ineligible to chart in the UK.

Ironically, the DVD of homemade videos for every song on The Information and the four random sticker sets designed by artists handpicked by Beck have been construed by the OCC as an "unfair advantage"--rather than what they actually are: unique and forward-thinking additional facets that expand the album experience beyond the purchase of a plastic disc.

Beck is currently on tour in the U.S. through late October.