Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

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Submitted By: jazzfan

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Location: Northern New Jersey

Joined: Sep 8 2005

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Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

Posted: June 29, 2006 - 9:56am

Hey Buddha,

My username might be jazzfan, but you're dealing with one major Captain Beefheart fanatic here. I mean I go way back way with the Captain, as in I even got to see the original Magic Band when I was just a teenager and not by mistake mind you. I went to see the Captain Beefheart open for the J. Geils Band - he was booed off the stage but that didn't stop him from sending Zoot Horn Rollo back out to do a bass solo for an encore. Yeah, you could say me taste for weird runs long and deep.

Anyway more to the point. I don't get the connection between John Prine and Captain Beefheart. My first exposure to Beefheart was through Zappa, ala "Willie the Pimp" (I believe I still have my high school painting of Willie stashed away somewhere) and things have never been the same since. But Prine -> Beefheart???

By the way, I get the Prine -> Parsons connection and all the others.

If you don't already have it I highly recommend Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind by the group Fast 'n' Bulbous, a 2005 release on the Cuneiform label. The Captain's music brought wonderfully to life by Philip Johnston (of Microscopic Septet fame), Gary Lucas and company. And by all means, see this group live if you ever get the chance.

Submitted By: Buddha

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Location: Sin City, baby!

Joined: Sep 8 2005

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Re: Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

Posted: June 29, 2006 - 11:05am

Hola, amigo.

Just part of my odd timeline.

I was listening with a friend whose older brother heard a John Prine cut being played that reminded him of a Captain Beefheart cut. He put on his Captain Beefheart disc, and at first, I didn't hear what he was talking about. Then he drummed along and pointed out the similarities of the bassline and it seemed like the same guys could have been on either disc.

Then, it being a Beefheart album, the music went somewhere else, entirely, but it stayed more interesting than it had been before. I kept finding interesting snippets of things in that music that started to give me those, "Oh, yeah, now I get it," moments.

I wonder if it hadn't been for that day with John Prine, I may have never appreciated Captain Beefheart as much.

Captain Beefheart, I think, really understood composition. Even his visual art is great, to me. He can get more ideas across in one tune than some people do in an entire album.

And, as long as I'm being obtuse, I think I'd lump Guided By Voices into my list of groups I like thanks to Captain Beefheart.

Maybe Flaming Lips, too.

So, anyway, a snippet of a John Prine song accidentally lead me to Captain Beefheart, and I kind of keep Captain Beefheart on my list of everything being related to everything.

Submitted By: jazzfan

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Location: Northern New Jersey

Joined: Sep 8 2005

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Re: Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

Posted: June 29, 2006 - 11:22am

Quote:
And, as long as I'm being obtuse, I think I'd lump Guided By Voices into my list of groups I like thanks to Captain Beefheart.

Maybe Flaming Lips, too.

So, anyway, a snippet of a John Prine song accidentally lead me to Captain Beefheart, and I kind of keep Captain Beefheart on my list of everything being related to everything.

Buddha,

You're not being obtuse at all, since Beefheart is a major and quite unacknowledged influence on many groups from the 1970's right through to today. Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, several European art rock bands who's names escape me and lots of others besides the ones you mentioned. Beefheart isn't just related, he's visionary!

Submitted By: radish

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Location: Eugene, Oregon; USA

Joined: May 12 2006

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Re: Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

Posted: June 29, 2006 - 1:37pm

jazzfan,

This may be of interest to you:

Jazz News: XM Satellite Radio and Concord Music Group Partner to Release "Blistering Licks"
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=10159

And lest you think I'm the latte-sipping, dilettante type of jazz fan, you might want to know that I happily present at this concert back in 1981 in Seattle:

Home Page Replica
http://www.shiningsilence.com/hpr/albums/birthday.php

Cheers,

radish

Submitted By: jazzfan

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Location: Northern New Jersey

Joined: Sep 8 2005

Posts:

Re: Prine -> Beefheart: I Don't Get It

Posted: June 29, 2006 - 2:24pm

Quote:
And lest you think I'm the latte-sipping, dilettante type of jazz fan, you might want to know that I happily present at this concert back in 1981 in Seattle

Hello Raddy,

I'm quite familiar with that bootleg, having owned it for quite some time now. I also had the pleasure of seeing Beefheart several times around that same time period. In fact I saw him in December 1980 right after John Lennon was killed and he did a version of "Nowadays A Woman's Gotta Hit Her Man" dedicated to Lennon which was just out of this world.

As for my thinking that you might be a latte-sipping, dilettante type of jazz fan, please, perish the thought. I don't even know you and so far you've yet to mention "Jazz At The Pawn Shop" or Diana Krall, two things which a sure to put you way down on my list. The Starbucks/XM/Concord CD looks pretty good and seems to have some fairly decent material on it, with a good mix of old and new. I just can't seem to bring myself to spend $2 for a large cup of coffee no matter what fancy name they give it. ("Venti": Italian for 20, the number of ounces in Starbucks' largest coffee and Starbucks even had the gull to trademark/copyright the Italian word!)