So long, Captain Beefheart

Don Van Vliet, AKA Captain Beefheart, has passed away.

Details.

May he rest in peace.



Post Edited (12-17-10 17:25)

Easily one of the most influential artistes ever.
That's right!
Fast n' bulbous.

I was never a huge fan of the envelope-pushing stuff, but Safe As Milk has always been a favorite. RIP to a compelling and often fascinating member of the popular music family.

Fuck. Is that a tin teardrop running down my cheek?

RIP, Good Cap'n!

Wow ... that leaves me stunned. Yes indeed, may he rest in peace.

Guess I'll be pulling out Shiny Beast, Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crow for some listening time this weekend.

Expect a short but intense flood of tribute albums, and perhaps some remasters. (Start with Lick My Decals Off, baby.)

Daaaaaaaamn!

I'm a big fan, got most of his albums. And I was feeling so Christmas jolly today. To quote one of the Captain's own song titles:

There Ain't No Santa Claus on the Evenin' Stage

"The dust blows forward 'n dust blows back."

Guess that holds true for the ashes as well?

I wonder if there are people on painting bulletin boards at this instant commemorating and commiserating?

He's already truly existed beyond the facts of his own life ... even while he was alive. Not exactly a living legend ... more like a living fable.

To the "F"
To the "N"
To the "B."

...

RIP

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Expect a short but intense flood of tribute albums

Most unlikely artist I've heard cover Beefheart? Buckwheat Zydeco.

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Easily one of the most influential artistes ever.

Was just thinking about this recently whilst listening to This Heat's "Deceit" album - some real Beefheart damage there. Also:

- XTC
- (early) Devo
- Tom Waits
- Zoogz Rift
- The Minutemen

Any other artists/particular songs?



Post Edited (12-17-10 18:39)

"He's already truly existed beyond the facts of his own life ... even while he was alive. Not exactly a living legend ... more like a living fable."

Beautifully put, Kay.

"Beautifully put, Kay."

True dat.

Well, damn. Years ago, there was a promo for MTV that featured one of the Meat Puppets talking about Beefheart over a shot looking out of a car through the front window as the windshield wipers went back and forth. He talked about Beefheart got him to look at everything as possible music, even the rhythm of the wipers going back and forth.

Damned right. I'm actually re-reading a Zappa critical appraisal and just got to the Trout Mask section. Listening to "Diddy Wah Diddy" right now.

Fuck you, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

How much do you want to bet that, now that he's actually dead, CB will be inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame (maybe I'm remembering wrong, but weren't the VU not even considered for induction until Sterling Morrison died?)

I was thinking on the drive home from work ... In a way, it's hard to call his passing a "loss to the music world," since he chose to conclude his involvement with the music world almost 30 years ago. But that could be taken the wrong way, in some circles.

Kay's comment puts it so much more eloquently.

A tin peened reindeer
Metalically hoofed on glass
Scorched cotton snowmen edged the corners
Flesh coloured powder mountains
Yellow lights melts cobwebbed articles
Vague wire tunnels resembling
Peeled flesh caterpillers
Housing very tiny red Christmas tree lights
The Nativity scene
Re-enacted in Ivory soap
A bone shade from age complete
With tiny straw manger
The Christ child its face replaced by an elephant's head
Intricate lace cups each ear and bands the trunk

The market just cries out for a Beefheart Nativity set.

I'm not sure if the VU was considered for induction while Sterling was still alive. (The band was inducted the year after his death.)

Nevertheless, my gut feeling tells me that the good Captain won't be inducted any time soon.

The VU were nominated for several years before they were finally inducted, which did happen immediately upon Morrison's death. Same deal with the Stooges - nominated every year for years, don't get voted in until Ron Asheton died.

I doubt the Captain would be inducted into the thing either, though he does richly deserve to be. However, he does have two things in his favor now - 1. he's dead, which is the only thing that makes edgy artists tolerable to Jann Wenner - he can sort of grasp that concept; and 2. He recorded during the 60s. Once the Hall powers that be have emptied out that decade of anyone more feasible for induction and are faced with the full horror of anyone who began their careers after 76, they'll either induct Beefheart, Love and the 13th Floor Elevators or declare the Hall closed to future inductions and retire to Laurel Canyon amidst mountains of cocaine.

Back around 1988 or 1989 a friend and I went to visit a fellow friend at college. He said that his dorm room would be open and for us to wait for his arrival. I decided to see what cassette was in his tape deck and it was Trout Mask Replica.

I was looking at it and thought to myself, "Orange Claw Hammer? What an odd title for a song." I asked my friend who was waiting with me if he'd ever heard of Captain Beefheart and he replied, "Yeah, that's Mike's weird music." Mike was the guy we were waiting on, and upon his arrival I asked him about the cassette, he said it was great and let me borrow it, and I became a Captain Beefheart fan.

I then played it for my brother who dug it too. Oh well, R.I.P. Don Van Vliet.

An interesting side note--do you remember the Rolling Stone journalist/editor who interviewed Beefheart in 1970, Langdon Winner? He also wrote the essay on Trout Mask for the Stranded book (desert island discs). He disappeared from writing about music but for decades has been a professor at a college 10 minutes from my house (RPI, in Troy, NY). Another senior faculty member is John Tichy, of the original Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. (I know John; never met Langdon). That's a pretty rock & roll college. And that Trout Mask essay was one of the best pieces of music criticism ever, in my mind.

For some reason, the Captain's voice always reminded me of Strother Martin.

"What we have here, is a failure to communicate!"

Last night my wife & I were listening to the Saturday night oldies/classics show on KRCC, and the DJ played "Sweet Sweet Bulbs" as a tribute to Beefheart. My wife has never been a fan; she frowned and said, "I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time considering this to be music."

The next song was the 1972 single "Precious and Few" by Climax. She laughed and said sheepishly, "Well, I have a hard time considering this to be music, too."

This always seemed like a crossover song that didn't cross: [www.youtube.com]

Here's a short film about the man by Corbjin: [www.youtube.com]

Actually made me cry a bit.

I have grown away from Trout Mask Replica over the years, and if I'm not mistaken, it now seems to be decidedly not the consensus that it remains his "essential album," the one you need to get if you get nothing else. Some critics say it is, many say it's OK but not in his top five. Regardless, Lick My Decals Off Baby is my favorite. To me, it's like the Alladin Sane to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, or Never a Dull Moment to Every Picture Tells a Story. That is, it's made from the same mold but it sounds better, tighter, and more refined. About five years ago I finally got a ahold of his last three albums, which get better for me with every listen.

Decals has been unavailable in any format for a long time. I expect that will now change.

willie wrote:

> Decals has been unavailable in any format for a long time. I
> expect that will now change.

What planet do you live on? There's only about 15 million search results on Google, including

[www.ultimatedecals.com]
[www.decalzone.com]

...etc.

Pretty good appreciation on Pitchfork today:

[pitchfork.com]

this is from TP

[www.beefheart.com]

this is winner's

[www.beefheart.com]

my dad went to RPI. my heart went to beefheart.

RIP 4 evs