http://www.lermanet.com/beck/
This is where you should do your reading on his involvement with Scientology. In regards to the man himself; I wouldn't want to know him personally, he seems to be a shell of who he was in the 90s, and he knows this more than anyone, which is why all his albums after
Midnite Vultures are depressing and apocalyptic.
Still, I will continue to listen to his old acoustic poppin' and lockin' because it really is good stuff.
Odelay is the musical equivalent of a Manuel Ocampo installation- in particular,
As A Dog Returns To It's Vomit. It's weather-beaten, distorted beauty so attention-grabbing that the artist can hide behind it.