RIP Captain Beefheart

[Otohiko]

Many of you young'uns probably don't even know or care who we lost today, but I can't not post this, so here it is: one of the most important figures in music of the last half-century.

Don Van Vliet, aka. Captain Beefheart, passed away from complications associated with Multiple Sclerosis.

This is a real personal hit for me - the Captain had really opened up my mind to music and made me listen to it in ways I never imagined I could. He's always been really difficult for most people to understand, but to me he was a real shining light, too bright for the industry to handle - a truly weird and remarkable talent. He wasn't producing music in 30 nearly years, but I will miss him regardless ((((

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... 9-20101217

[Enigma]

will give him a listen r.i.p.

[Otohiko]

Beefheart's more outstanding records, by the way, the most notable of which would be Trout Mask Replica, are also known to cause violently averse reactions on first listens. I mostly thought he was hilarious at first. But it really did take many listens for me to really get my mind really blown by them. You have to give credit to his more remarkable band lineups too of course - the whole band would just play on a completely different level of connection that seems arbitrary at first, but if you listen carefully you realize just how carefully arranged and interlocked all the chaos in their stuff is. I know it can be hard to take music as ludicrous-sounding on first listen as this seriously, but I swear to god... once you 'get' it, you really do realize just how monumental Captain's musical achievements were.

[ShatteredFlame]

I always meant to listen to him, RIP

[seasons]

I always meant to listen to him, RIP