"This day's experience, set in order, none of it left ragged or lying about, all of it gathered in like treasure and finished with, set aside." –Alice Munro, "What is Remembered"
Captain Beefheart Dead At Age 69 — Experimental rock legend and visual artist, born Don Van Vliet, died from complications from multiple sclerosis on 17 December 2010. Van Vliet leaves behind a wife, Jan. The two were married for more than 40 years.
I recommended Beefheart and his Magic Band to the adult son of my wife’s sister, a young man who is heavily into music both as a listener and as a working muscian and songwriter, but he would have none of it. In fact, he sent me the CD he bought for himself, so now I have two copies of Clear Spot/The Spotlight Kid, a double-album CD which isn’t exactly hardcore Beefheart but which is a good entry point for people who want to ease into the oeuvre. Cool thing is, I’ve played Beefheart enough around the house and in the car that my fourteen-year-old son is a fan. Maybe that’s the trick: repeated exposure. Or maybe it’s just parental influence/approval. No matter. Whatever it is, BEEFHEART LIVES!
PART 1:
PART 2:
PART 3:
PART 4:
PART 5:
PART 6:
“Rock ‘n’ roll is a fixation, that bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, momma heartbeat. I don’t like hypnotics, you see, I’m doing non-hypnotic music to break up the catatonic state. And I think there is one right now.” — Captain Beefheart