When I read of the early passing of Captain Beefheart last month, I thought of a friend of mine (you know who you are) who has been one of Beefheart's biggest fans for as long as I can remember, which is at least 40 years. Thinking of him, I came across the following blog by Tom Volk posted on 1/9/2011 and titled 45 Minutes Towards a Better Understanding of Captain Beefheart:
In the wake of the recent passing of Don Van Vliet, better known, if at all, as Captain Beefheart, I was met with a cryptic glances and pained expressions of confusion with basically anyone with whom I tried to engage in conversation with regarding his passing. To the uninitiated his music is as accessible as running through a brick wall, and often as dense. However, if you put in the time you will discover that buried in the off kilter time signatures, stream of consciousness poetry, and ashtray soaked vocals are track upon track of endlessly compelling music.
Steeped in the blues and filtered through his eccentric worldview his recorded legacy has had a subtle influence in almost every genre of music produced in America over the last 40 years. Anyone who has enjoyed a White Stripes record, who has turned a friend onto Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs, who digs the deconstructivist jams so prevalent in Phish’s jamming in 1994-1995, or who is of the opinion that Tom Waits is a genius owes a debt of gratitude to Captain Beefheart.
Volk's blog also had a playlist "meant to serve as a primer to his music and reduce the cryptic looks on the faces of music fans everywhere when his name comes up in casual conversation." If you want to check it out, here is the link - http://www.jambands.com/features/2011/01/09/45-minutes-towards-a-better-understanding-of-captain-beefheart
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