Saturday, December 18, 2010

More on the Passing of Don Van Vliet

Yahoo News has the obit.

"Record producers have always been certain that Don Vliet was just a hype away from the big money," according to a 1970 profile in Rolling Stone. "But Beefheart stubbornly continues what he's doing and waits patiently for everyone else to come around."

By shunning commercial success and a more accessible sound, Van Vliet became a role model for subsequent generations of musicians. His music is cited as an influence on the rise of punk, post-punk and new wave. Beefheart is also claimed as a kindred spirit by free jazz musicians and avant-garde classical composers.

4 comments:

  1. Frankly, I don't know what my life would have been with out the influence of Van Vliet. I heard him when I was 17 and it profoundly influenced the way I listened to music and thought about art.
    As Tom Waits said, "Once you've heard Beefheart, it's hard to wash him out of your clothes. It stains, like coffee or blood."

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  2. Thanks for this, Mike, I didn't know he had passed. :(

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  3. I don't recall the main stream media ever mentioning this guy, therefore he never existed.

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