Don Van Vliet


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5 Comments.

  • rusty beltway

    Anybody who made it through the rite of passage that is Trout Mask Replica is clogging the message boards and spiking the YouTube stats at this very moment.

    For the uninitiated, the 6 part BBC Documentary is the place to start.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M5YE_a4B1U

    His out-to-lunch musical stylings, and association w/ Zappa, are what put him in the history books. But what really knocks me out are his early A&M sides and his first LP, Safe as Milk. One of the best blues singers ever.

    I must have watched this live version of Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do about a dozen times today. And I think I’ll watch it again.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCSPf5Viwd0

  • Dom

    He was a fucking genious. A mad genious. Possibly the uncrowned king of post-punk, avant-garde, experimental rock, and new wave (that’s right, all of ’em!), but who cares about the labels. Even when he wasn’t doing the howling stuff and the Dadaist lyrics it still was magnificent (see This is the Day and One Red Rose That I Mean by The Magic Band). It’s very hard to believe that one with such a unique, descriptive style of lyrical content, knowledge and different approach to things like history (see Dachau Blues), the arts, etc. never went to school. He spent most his life living in a trailer out in the deserts of Arizona or Southern California. What an inspiration. We’ve lost a true artist. RIP Captain.

  • TeK

    Ride the Clouds Captain……..

  • Len Liechti

    The absolute King Of Crazy and a true original. I’d say he’ll be sadly missed, but I don’t think he’s made any music for a long, long time, concentrating instead on abstract painting. I’ll stick my neck out and say the best thing he ever did (IMHO, of course) was the vocal on “Willie The Pimp” from Zappa’s Hot Rats . . . indispensable.

  • Art

    A under appreciated music pioneer. Surprisingly, I find him tender and heart felt witness “My head is my only house unless it rains”. My personal favourite.

    Rest easy my captain, you will be missed.

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