Saturday, December 18, 2010

Beefheart (More)




Another broken promise: here's my eulogy -

Whatever truths, myths, fables, lies about Beefheart's and Zappa's relationship - and I like Zappa, but I love Beefheart - in my cosmology they are bound, and it's apt that Beefheart died during Zappadan.

I love Beefheart, but I love love love Pere Ubu and all the other sounds that wouldn't exist if not for Don Van Vliet. No Beefheart, no Pere Ubu. I can't imagine.

And the uncanniness of serendipity - just as I'm falling in love again with Stanley Elkin, finishing up The Franchiser, the first novel in which he introduces his own battle with multiple sclerosis, Van Vliet's death from MS and the chance to fall in love again again.






4 comments:

  1. Man, I haven't listened to this nut in a ages. Time to rectify such an oversight.

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  2. He and the Magic Band ripped giant oozing lacerations into the pasty jiggling titty-belly of rancid consumerist/conformist complacency, just by being themselves.

    See how easy it is, America? Take notes, it'll be on the final.

    ;>)

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  3. The continuing demise of folks who created truly original things and a (sub)culture along with them makes me wonder yet again why the folks in the general vicinity of Planet's generation aren't doing the same thing. I fail to understand their willingness to remain surrounded by something that can have no real relevance for their lives. The only music in the past 50 years that hasn't been completely derivative is hiphop, and that's getting grey around the edges.

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  4. It's been a rough year. The tally is steep.

    Talk to you after giftmas.

    ReplyDelete