Like many people, listening to music has always been one of my favorite past times, even though from a technical standpoint, I am at a loss to really understand it as music. I was born with the strange ability of synesthsia, and thus have always described music in terms of textures and colors, pure visual sensation in my mind. It gets to the point where different sets of speakers can affect the colors of the exact same song, this has always been frustrating for me, but underneath that external aspect, the music itself (the structure, as musicians would say) has an integral color and feel, and by those sensations is how I judge them. My favorite songs and compositions are ones that consist of multi-faceted layers of patterns, and colors, or bold strokes. For an example, Scott 4 by Scott Walker is very black and white, whereas anything from The Beach Boy's Pet Sounds is incredibly vivid with color, and something like Wagner is velvety and heavy, almost an oppressive darkness filled with momentary shocking brightnesses. Now, this probably sounds extremely "trippy" to people who do not experience this, but as one acquittance of mine once put it, "It's like you are naturally on drugs"! I can't vouch for that, because I've never been a drug user, but if that is what it does for people then I'll take your word for it.
My taste in music has always been very concise, to me, but the extremes which it encompasses baffles others. Essentially, I've always been attracted to purity, complexity, and things done with obsessive detail and faith. The colors range from everything under the rainbow, it's structure of the colors and textures that make it beautiful, just like a work of art! That said, there isn't one genre of music I haven't attempted to listen to with the intent of looking for beauty. Due to the frustrating conditions at my job, the internet radio has become the ultimate soother of the savage atmosphere of a stressful office in New York. The fact that I can listen to this radio has been a real life saver for me, it calms my perpetually nervous state, I don't think I could make it through the day without it. The wonderful thing about internet radio is that it caters to your taste based on past listening habits, often suggesting similar artists or songs at random. It is the ultimate way to discover new music, because it opens the mind to a continuous flow, without the presumption of who the artist is, what era, it's just pure sounds without the preconceived notions or genres or names. This long winded introduction is necessary, for the artist the radio has specifically turned me onto is to this day one of the most controversial in music history. That's right, I speak of none other than Don Van Vliet, more famously known as Captain Beefheart.
Yes, I'm in love with Captain Beefheart: in love with his sultry voice, his staccato compositions, his ecstatic experimentation, his sensical non-sequiturs, squealed out in his distinctly sensual growl. Strange as it may seem, this man makes me swoon, he upsets my sensational being in frantic nervousness. Wether I am terrified or touched, I tremble most hingedly on his every utterance! Of course, at the moment, I am a bit dazzled by the novelty, but I believe there really is something to be found in this cavernous conglomeration that is his music. (Note, I would like to point out the immense skills of The Magic Band, who due to their introverted natures and humble spirits, often don't get enough credit for their fantastic musicianship.)
Never before has a figure so polarized listeners, he truly is the arbiter of the ambivalent amongst audiences. These intense feelings he stirs in the hearts of listeners is fascinating to me, but not nearly as fascinating as the man himself. My first experience with his music was the infamous Trout Mask Replica, tersely recommended to me by my father. From the first minute, I utterly hated those sounds, especially the voice, of this bizarre musician. Thus, after a short listen of a total of three minutes, my brain immediately judged this as terrible, awful music, and thoroughly overrated. Years later, in fact a few weeks ago, I heard an amazing voice eminante from my speakers at work, and I was shocked to see that is was none other than Captain Beefheart. The song in question is "Zig Zag Wanderer", which I loved, mostly for that incredible voice of his, which I had previously labeled as horrible and grating. Later, I learned that he posses a four-and-a-half octave range, which once you listen to, is immediately noticable, such an incredible range and so filled with spirit and soul, I am pressed to say that it is most expressive voice in all of modern music. It has that wonderful quality that all "untrained voices" have, so rich and commanding, why I was in love with it from that moment on. Safe As Milk is now one of my all time favorite musical recordings, for the beautiful structures of the music, but mostly that incredibly powerful voice, which I feel compelled to listen to, because of its excessive passion and daring soulfulness. "Electricty", "ABBA Zaba", "I'm Glad", and almost all the songs from that album are so passionately delivered and bursting with life.
Van Vliet is such an endlessly intriguing and endearing man. His music is purity and complexity combined, and so innocent, dismissing any pre-conceived notions about what anything has to be, but only what he thinks it should be. The thing that impresses me most about Beefheart is his utter conviction, his passionate belief in his own forms. That same conviction is heard in his strong, visceral voice. I am still listening to his music with awe, my brain cannot process fast enough the complex structures which literally jump three to four times within one short song! It most certainly requires repeated listening, it is like exploring some underground cave which was built entirely differently from our standard dwellings, comprised of obsessively detailed parts to make a truly baffling whole. Lyrics have never been of interest to me, because musically speaking, they do not interfere with the colors or textures of the sound, so to me, a song like "Electricity" is just a beautiful symphony of fantastic colors, and that amazingly textured, powerful voice. However, Van Vliet's lyrics are truly astonishing in their own right. Ranging from complex wordplay ("Ella Guru", "Doctor Dark", "Sun Zoom Spark") to stark sincerity ("Dachau Blues", "Petrified Forest", "Orange Claw Hammer"), he even penned a number of simple, heartfelt love songs ("Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles", "My Head is My Only House Unless it Rains"), a reflection of the enduring love for his wife to whom he is devoted. Van Vliet's lines always seem very purposeful, wether it be mindful insight or poetic ingenuity. His words have a sardonic kind of humor, whilst other moments are blatantly dark, this contrast of the lightness and darkness is what makes his work so strong and life-like. His ability to exist in impossibilities, to be simultaneously melodic and noisy, and humorous but also incredibly bleak, are the essence of the power of his art.
The bold conviction in Van Vliet's music is a revelation of the strength of the faith found in a creative and unbending soul. He does not apologize for his clear, albeit decidedly strange and unique, vision. Van Vliet himself is synesthetic, a fact that makes perfect sense, for he endlessly wanted to create complexities upon complexities, texture upon texture. (He famously gave up music to return to his first love of art, mostly painting, famously declaring "You know a lot of people can't hear my paintings and they should be able to. God knows, they're noisy enough.") Trout Mask Replica is a work of a true genius, a true passionately driven visionary, accepting nothing but perfection of his own work. It is such an intense experience of sensation, that it drives people mad trying to figure it out. Everyone knows the story, in which the band lived in cult-like reclusory confinement for eight months under the concise direction of Van Vliet's artistic tyranny, every note in place until it was perfected exactly as he wanted it. Such dedication and the fact that is was actually executed is inspiring for any artist! While others see this as arrogance, I see it as devotion. Yes, of course, all human beings are flawed, but what good is it to dwell on that? When an artist has the full control to produce a great work, they put out an edited version of themselves, without the flaws. That is what lasts, that is what endures.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not think Van Vliet was an attention hog, nor was he trying to make himself exceedingly strange for the sake of others. He posessed a notoriously nervous disposition, a victim of anxiety and stage fright, never fond of live performances. It shocked me that he blew his big chance at fame whilst walking out of the Monterey Pop Festival due to a fit of nerves, a gig with launched the careers of other much more famous but less talented musicians. It makes perfect sense to me upon reflection, that one who possesses such a deep and moving voice, such an unabashed and uncompromising gift, and for all his charisma and charm, would be a such sensitive soul! Van Vliet is hands down my favorite American musician, he encompasses a condensed version of all the expression of the diversity of American music. To me, this is the culmination of American culture in one condensed form. Is it beautiful? Any music made with such painstaking love is essentially a work of true beauty, despite its daring ambitions and unusual nature. Of course, later on in his career, things changed and evolved, but at the times when he was fully conscious and in control, we see clearly straight down the crossroads into the soul of this phenomenal and frenetic white bluesman. His music is as sparse and pointed as the desert itself, at first seemingly devoid of life, but actually teeming with it.
As far as the word "avant garde" goes, I abominate genres and classifications altogether. I especially hate that phrase, for it quantitates art, which exists solely in qualitative duration. The word "avant garde" is like trying to figure out beauty by mathematical deduction. To me, there is only good music and bad music. There is expression and humanity, and there is deadness and soullessness. I do not care about technically or accessibility, but only heart-filled and lovingly-made works, produced with purity of spirit. If this is what you seek in art, then please study Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band! It's impossible balance of darkness and brilliance, a masterful discombobulation of words and sounds, of impassioned wailing and literate exploration, a true expression of the American soul.
You seem to have a very interesting, intelligent and well written weblog (I have only read the Captain Beefheart piece, but will return). It's not only because you write about the Captain, an artist I love, but also because of the way you look at things and express what you think and feel.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I feel my words didn't do enough justice to Mr. Van Vliet, he's such an inspiring figure to me.
ReplyDeleteI write about things that really move me, in hopes of sharing them with others, as well as inquiries about ideas, to learn more through writing and discussion.