The Official Captain Beefheart Thread

TockTockTock · 03-16-2013, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goofle11

Whilst you will probably end up liking the album, I wouldn't waste too much time if it doesn't seem to be clicking. You might "get" it right now, but just not like it anyway.

This.

Don't force it upon yourself. You might end up enjoying it/appreciating it later. I spent a few months trying to enjoy the Talking Heads' music at one point. It didn't work. However, one day when I was listening to their album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, while I was vacuuming, it clicked and I became a huge fan.

~~Cuthbert~~ · 03-17-2013, 01:45 PM

Thanks guys.

I was trying to get some Pere Ubu albums as well actually.

I will give Beefheart's discog a listen then. Thanks for the help Frownland.

dublin · 04-03-2013, 12:49 PM

A busker I know usually does pretty straight laced music . He did this the
other day and blew my mind . Its about the captain and yer man sounds like his
love child .
I have a few albums Im not a specialist . Plastic factory and apes ma are my favourites .
Im new here am I allowed link it ? Id be interested in what the specialists think.
I just got talking to him one day because he sits where I smoke on my breaks .

**Scarlett O'Hara** · 04-27-2013, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluffy Kittens

Thanks guys.

I was trying to get some Pere Ubu albums as well actually.

I will give Beefheart's discog a listen then. Thanks for the help Frownland.

I've been following these last few pages and I am also grateful for the advice too. I'm also going to listen to Beefheart's discog as I'm really enjoying what I've heard so far.

I feel like there is so much amazing music that I really haven't heard yet and I'm dying to develop my music tastes and get away from a lot of the basic music that I've listened to in the past. One thing about me is that I adapted to a large range different musical styles at a young age which has allowed me now to eventually mature.

TockTockTock · 04-28-2013, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanilla

I've been following these last few pages and I am also grateful for the advice too. I'm also going to listen to Beefheart's discog as I'm really enjoying what I've heard so far.

I feel like there is so much amazing music that I really haven't heard yet and I'm dying to develop my music tastes and get away from a lot of the basic music that I've listened to in the past. One thing about me is that I adapted to a large range different musical styles at a young age which has allowed me now to eventually mature.

I really respect that. If you need any help at all, then just ask.

**Scarlett O'Hara** · 04-28-2013, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cenotaph

[/B]

I really respect that. If you need any help at all, then just ask.

Thanks Cenotaph, I really appreciate your support, I will certainly be going to you for advice. Is there any other artists that I should check out initially?

So far I've got the discog of Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa (

) and A Place To Bury Strangers. All of which I'm really enjoying, I wish I'd gone to them sooner!

~~Lord Larehip~~ · 06-08-2013, 07:07 PM

The first Beefheart thing I ever heard was in 1970 when I was 12, whipped on pot and acid, laying on my bed listening to WABX here in Detroit which was a radical underground station and they played "My Human Gets Me Blues" off Trout Mask and I was instantly hooked--instantly.

I eventually bought the album and played it start to finish several times in a row without pausing. It was like Beefheart was packing notes of different colors into bags and then tossing them from a 100-story window and letting them splatter randomly on the sidewalk and then taking blurry snapshots of what he'd just created.

At first, it seemed to me to be anti-music but by the 10th listen in a row, I was thinking of it more as extremely non-conventionally musical. But was it like a musical version of Videodrome? Ever see that movie about the sexually sadistic pirate TV signal that infects of minds of those who watch it? It was a scathing indictment of television but years before that came out, I was wondering if Beefheart was secretly deconstructing the minds of listeners and putting them back together his own way and what was blatantly anti-music suddenly sounds musical in a totally weird way. Was I infected, I wondered.

At times, the stuff on Trout Mask seemed to approach actual music--like "China Pig" is pretty close to real blues. But I would picture Son House or John Lee Hooker listening to it. What would they think? Was the fact that it was pretty much a straight blues Beefheart's way of saying that blues was already deconstructed and could not be further twisted or modified?

"The Dust Blows Forward and the Dust Blows Back" made me think of those film clips of houses getting annihilated in nuclear bomb blasts. You'd see the dust move one way and then the other and the house, which hung together at first, would burst into pieces. Was Beefheart giving us the music of a post-nuclear war? Some lonely guy sitting out in the desert by himself with no civilization left to get away from singing into a little cassette recorder. And was there a parallel between the destruction of the planet and destruction of my pre-Beefheart musical knowledge and beliefs? "Dachau Blues" seemed to confirm that there was.

Were phrases as "fast and bulbous" some kind of viral code that rewired my brain and was this good or bad? What did this album do to me? Was it like Beefheart's own little MK-ULTRA program? Occasionally, I pull Trout Mask out and listen to it from start to finish. All these years and literally thousands of listenings later, I'm still not sure what to make of it. I probably never will. Did Beefheart even really know what he was creating while he was doing it?

big break · 06-11-2013, 05:50 PM

Start with the plastic factory song and sure nuff yes I do.
Appreciate the poetry. Then go into his other stuff. He had all them minute long songs
on trout mask because he found if the music got too steady and hypnotising
he was playing to the hypnotised. Thats why he changed time signatues
so much , he wanted to make music for people who were awake.
So as soon as you listen to a song and get stuck in the rythemic head nod he changed.
He thought it was cheesy playing to head nodders.
I think you have to get that about him going in.
Im a huge fan but still some of his stuff makes my ears angry.

semiartificial · 06-18-2013, 08:26 AM

I got in via Clear Spot ... Alan Freeman playing it when it was released on his Saturday show ... Big Eyed Beans!

**Frownland** · 07-15-2014, 10:42 AM

What are your favourite Beefheart lyrics? Mine's a toss up between My Human Gets Me Blues and Orange Claw Hammer. Well's pretty good too, as is The Host The Ghost The Most Holy-O.

My Human Gets Me Blues
I saw yuh baby dancin' in your x-ray gingham dress
I knew you were under duress
I knew you were under yer dress
Just keep comin' Jesus
Your the best dressed
You look dandy in the sky but you don't scare me
Cause I got you here in my eye
In this lifetime you got m'humangetsmeblues
With yer jaw hangin' slack n' yer hair's curlin'
Like an ole navy fork stickin' in the sunset
The way you were dancin' I knew you'd never come back
You were strainin' t' keep yer
Old black cracked patent shoes
In this lifetime you got m'humangetsmeblues
Well the way you'd been ole lady
I could see the fear in yer windows
Under yer furry crawlin' brow
Uh silver bow rings up in inches
You were afraid you'd be the devils red wife
But it's alright God dug yer dance
'N would have you young 'n in his harum
Dress you the way he wants cause he never had uh doll
Cause everybody made him uh boy
'N God didn't think t' ask his preference
You can bring yer dress 'n yer favorite dog
'N yer husbands cane
'N yer old spotted dog
Cause in this lifetime
You've got m'humangetsmeblues

Orange Claw Hammer
Uh thick cloud caught uh piper clubs tail
The match struck blue on uh railroad rail
The old puff horse was just pullin’ thru
‘n uh man wore uh peg leg forever
I’m on the bum where the hoboes run
The air breaks with filthy chatter
Oh I don’t care there’s no place there
I don’t think it matters
My skin’s blazin’ thru
‘n my clothes in tatters
‘n the railroad looked
Like uh “Y” up the hill of ladders
Ohe shoe fell on the gravel
One stick poked down
Gray of age fell down on uh pair of ears
An eagle shined thru my hole watch pocket
Uh gingham girl baby girl
Passed me by in tears
Uh jack rabbit raised his folded ears
Uh beautiful sagebrush jack rabbit
‘n an oriole sang like an orange
His breast full uh worms
‘n his tail clawed the evenin’ like uh hammer
His wings took t’ air like uh bomber
‘n my rain can caught me uh cup uh water
When I got into town
Odd jobs mam ah yer horse I’ll fodder
I’m the round house man
I once was yer father
Uh little up the road uh wooden
Candy stripe barber pole
‘n above it read uh sign “Painless Parker”
Lic-licorice twisted around under uh fly
‘n uh youngster cocked ‘er eye
God before me if I’m not crazy
Is my daughter
Come little one with yer little dimpled fingers
Gimme one ‘n I’ll buy you uh cherry phosphate
Take you down t’ the foamin’ brine ‘n water
‘n show you the wooden tits
On the Goddess with the pole out s’full sail
That tempted away yer peg legged father
I was shanghaied by uh high hat beaver moustache man
‘n his pirate friend
I woke up in vomit ‘n beer in uh banana bin
‘n uh soft lass with brown skin
Bore me seven babies with snappin’ black eyes
‘n beautiful ebony skin
‘n here it is I’m with you my daughter
Thirty years away can make uh seaman’s eyes
Uh round house man’s eyes flow out water
Salt water

07-15-2014, 10:42 AM	#10 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	What are your favourite Beefheart lyrics? Mine's a toss up between My Human Gets Me Blues and Orange Claw Hammer. Well's pretty good too, as is The Host The Ghost The Most Holy-O. My Human Gets Me Blues I saw yuh baby dancin' in your x-ray gingham dress I knew you were under duress I knew you were under yer dress Just keep comin' Jesus Your the best dressed You look dandy in the sky but you don't scare me Cause I got you here in my eye In this lifetime you got m'humangetsmeblues With yer jaw hangin' slack n' yer hair's curlin' Like an ole navy fork stickin' in the sunset The way you were dancin' I knew you'd never come back You were strainin' t' keep yer Old black cracked patent shoes In this lifetime you got m'humangetsmeblues Well the way you'd been ole lady I could see the fear in yer windows Under yer furry crawlin' brow Uh silver bow rings up in inches You were afraid you'd be the devils red wife But it's alright God dug yer dance 'N would have you young 'n in his harum Dress you the way he wants cause he never had uh doll Cause everybody made him uh boy 'N God didn't think t' ask his preference You can bring yer dress 'n yer favorite dog 'N yer husbands cane 'N yer old spotted dog Cause in this lifetime You've got m'humangetsmeblues Orange Claw Hammer Uh thick cloud caught uh piper clubs tail The match struck blue on uh railroad rail The old puff horse was just pullin’ thru ‘n uh man wore uh peg leg forever I’m on the bum where the hoboes run The air breaks with filthy chatter Oh I don’t care there’s no place there I don’t think it matters My skin’s blazin’ thru ‘n my clothes in tatters ‘n the railroad looked Like uh “Y” up the hill of ladders Ohe shoe fell on the gravel One stick poked down Gray of age fell down on uh pair of ears An eagle shined thru my hole watch pocket Uh gingham girl baby girl Passed me by in tears Uh jack rabbit raised his folded ears Uh beautiful sagebrush jack rabbit ‘n an oriole sang like an orange His breast full uh worms ‘n his tail clawed the evenin’ like uh hammer His wings took t’ air like uh bomber ‘n my rain can caught me uh cup uh water When I got into town Odd jobs mam ah yer horse I’ll fodder I’m the round house man I once was yer father Uh little up the road uh wooden Candy stripe barber pole ‘n above it read uh sign “Painless Parker” Lic-licorice twisted around under uh fly ‘n uh youngster cocked ‘er eye God before me if I’m not crazy Is my daughter Come little one with yer little dimpled fingers Gimme one ‘n I’ll buy you uh cherry phosphate Take you down t’ the foamin’ brine ‘n water ‘n show you the wooden tits On the Goddess with the pole out s’full sail That tempted away yer peg legged father I was shanghaied by uh high hat beaver moustache man ‘n his pirate friend I woke up in vomit ‘n beer in uh banana bin ‘n uh soft lass with brown skin Bore me seven babies with snappin’ black eyes ‘n beautiful ebony skin ‘n here it is I’m with you my daughter Thirty years away can make uh seaman’s eyes Uh round house man’s eyes flow out water Salt water __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

03-17-2013, 01:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~Cuthbert~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Black Country Posts: 8,827	Thanks guys. I was trying to get some Pere Ubu albums as well actually. I will give Beefheart's discog a listen then. Thanks for the help Frownland.

04-03-2013, 12:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
dublin Groupie Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1	A busker I know usually does pretty straight laced music . He did this the other day and blew my mind . Its about the captain and yer man sounds like his love child . I have a few albums Im not a specialist . Plastic factory and apes ma are my favourites . Im new here am I allowed link it ? Id be interested in what the specialists think. I just got talking to him one day because he sits where I smoke on my breaks .

06-08-2013, 07:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
~~Lord Larehip~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 899	The first Beefheart thing I ever heard was in 1970 when I was 12, whipped on pot and acid, laying on my bed listening to WABX here in Detroit which was a radical underground station and they played "My Human Gets Me Blues" off Trout Mask and I was instantly hooked--instantly. I eventually bought the album and played it start to finish several times in a row without pausing. It was like Beefheart was packing notes of different colors into bags and then tossing them from a 100-story window and letting them splatter randomly on the sidewalk and then taking blurry snapshots of what he'd just created. At first, it seemed to me to be anti-music but by the 10th listen in a row, I was thinking of it more as extremely non-conventionally musical. But was it like a musical version of Videodrome? Ever see that movie about the sexually sadistic pirate TV signal that infects of minds of those who watch it? It was a scathing indictment of television but years before that came out, I was wondering if Beefheart was secretly deconstructing the minds of listeners and putting them back together his own way and what was blatantly anti-music suddenly sounds musical in a totally weird way. Was I infected, I wondered. At times, the stuff on Trout Mask seemed to approach actual music--like "China Pig" is pretty close to real blues. But I would picture Son House or John Lee Hooker listening to it. What would they think? Was the fact that it was pretty much a straight blues Beefheart's way of saying that blues was already deconstructed and could not be further twisted or modified? "The Dust Blows Forward and the Dust Blows Back" made me think of those film clips of houses getting annihilated in nuclear bomb blasts. You'd see the dust move one way and then the other and the house, which hung together at first, would burst into pieces. Was Beefheart giving us the music of a post-nuclear war? Some lonely guy sitting out in the desert by himself with no civilization left to get away from singing into a little cassette recorder. And was there a parallel between the destruction of the planet and destruction of my pre-Beefheart musical knowledge and beliefs? "Dachau Blues" seemed to confirm that there was. Were phrases as "fast and bulbous" some kind of viral code that rewired my brain and was this good or bad? What did this album do to me? Was it like Beefheart's own little MK-ULTRA program? Occasionally, I pull Trout Mask out and listen to it from start to finish. All these years and literally thousands of listenings later, I'm still not sure what to make of it. I probably never will. Did Beefheart even really know what he was creating while he was doing it?

06-11-2013, 05:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
big break Groupie Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 6	Start with the plastic factory song and sure nuff yes I do. Appreciate the poetry. Then go into his other stuff. He had all them minute long songs on trout mask because he found if the music got too steady and hypnotising he was playing to the hypnotised. Thats why he changed time signatues so much , he wanted to make music for people who were awake. So as soon as you listen to a song and get stuck in the rythemic head nod he changed. He thought it was cheesy playing to head nodders. I think you have to get that about him going in. Im a huge fan but still some of his stuff makes my ears angry.

06-18-2013, 08:26 AM	#9 (permalink)
semiartificial Groupie Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 18	I got in via Clear Spot ... Alan Freeman playing it when it was released on his Saturday show ... Big Eyed Beans!