Beck's "Cellphone's Dead" borrows from Herbie Hancock for its main verse music, and "Dark Star" on the same album (The Information) takes Stevie Wonder's "Have a Talk With God" for a spin (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zseNYzCi1EQ). In both cases, the differences are as interesting as the similarities.
While Stevie Wonder's murky bass line has nearly the same groove and same tempo, to the same drum accompaniment, his song progresses through a 12-bar blues pattern. Beck's bass line holds that original chord through the whole verse, then sinks into pure Beck-ian choruses of echoing singing and curling strings in harmonic minor.
Stevie Wonder's verse vocal is a lively, bluesy delivery embodying the key message of spiritual rejuvination during hard times. Beck's verse vocal is a cool, whisper-rap that delves into its own discussion of spiritual crisis, whithout the easy confidence of the (ironic word choice alert) inspiring work.
Stevie Wonder's lyrics are plain and easy to understand, targeted at a wide audience that he clearly intends to reach and teach. Beck's lyrics are winding puzzles of poetic invention, resulting in maybe a message not so easily digestable, much less preachable (and maybe this is the meaning of why they are so softly whispered), but full of inspired word invention. And when you ask me what "God" is to me, creativity like this comes close without even having to talk about it.
Look at these phrases:
"An indigent mindset of belligerent silence"
"A Judas train wreck, anonymous suspect"
Every line of the second verse:
"Autopilot drivers riding out on the ice age
Infidels swallowed in a vanishing point
Ammunition souls shooting holes in the ozone
Widow's tears washing the soldier's bones
Sterilized egos delirium sequels
Punctured by the arrows of American eagles
Robot to teach you all the rules that delete you
Backspace my brain, my equilibrium guns"
This is from an artist who I would not characterize as a liberal or a conservative. He would probably most identify with the ideology of "musician" above anything, a musical prankster at that. Hey, maybe he'd just go with "loser." And yet, while he chuckles at ideology, he sees true spirutual challenges posed by issues such gun violence, aggressive nationalism, and the dehumanization of technolgy. You can read into it all if you want to, but unlike Stevie Wonder, he won't get in your face. The bass line is free to enjoy for all.