Considerable Sounds: A Sharp Image Of A Fuzzy Subject

Why Is Music Bad Today?

Or

Miss Pop Star, Can I Have Some Fries with that shake?

By DC Music Editor Benjamin New

“The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep.” -Marc Chagall

But what happens if the artists are force fed sleeping pills and Prozac?

Why is popular music in general devoid of quality today?
With only a few rare exceptions popular music stinks.

Phew!

Some say that the 60's were a turbulent time in the U.S. and the world and created a perfect environment and culture for innovative and creative music. But aren’t these days turbulent as well? So where's the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , or Country Joe & the Fish of today to sing about our involvement in Iraq? Or where is the Paul Simon of today to protest the government's stance on stem cell research? Where is the new Bob Marley to lift our spirits and encourage us to “Get up , Stand up”? All we get now is a Paris Hilton CD. Paris Hilton? Isn’t she famous for …what is she famous for? An extremely amateur porn flick? And a few dribbling morons actually gave her CD good reviews.

Before anyone accuses me of painting a broad brush stroke condemning all our current music, let me say that in contemporary times, there has been a small amount of music of quality. Phish, Mars Volta, Midnite, and many more I am overlooking . Even some politically-minded music has surfaced such as U2, or Lincoln Park’s latest, but nowhere near the creative zenith of earlier times. Remember when the Dixie Chicks came out against President Bush and the Iraq war. They paid dearly at the hands of big business for their outspoken views. That's a far cry from the politically-charged days of the 60’s when many artists were speaking out and having an impact.

There are only a few artists or bands that can reliably sell out huge arenas today. These tend to be the icons: The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Police, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Genesis and or Peter Gabriel, and The Eagles. In fact music and tour promoters, large venue owners and ticket companies are all worried about concert sales taking a plunge after these artists stop touring. They know it's going to be hard to sell out big arenas after the dinosaurs become extinct. Who are the artists of today who will reach that status tomorrow? I do not know. But let’s have a look at what is “popular” now compared to previous years.

The top sellers of 2006 (no data for 2007 yet) were:

1. High School Musical, A Disney TV show soundtrack
2. Me and My Gang, Rascal Flatts,
3. Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood,
4. All the Right Reasons, Nickelback,
5. Futuresex/Love, Justin Timberlake,
6. Back to Bedlam, James Blunt
7. B'day, Beyoncé,
8. Hannah Montana, Soundtrack ,
9. Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks
10. Extreme Behavior, Hinder.

Now lets look at the top sellers in 1968:

1. Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced?
2. The Graduate, Simon & Garfunkel
3. Disraeli Gears, the Cream
4. Magical Mystery Tour, the Beatles
5. Waiting for the Sun, The Doors
6. The Who Sell Out, The Who
7. Bayou Country, Credence Clearwater Revival
8. Music from Big Pink, The Band,
9. Beggars Banquet, The Rolling Stones
10. Cheap Thrills, Big Brother & Holding Company (w/Janis Joplin)


I really don’t need to make the comparisons do I? There is more artistic quality in any one song on any one of those albums from 1968 than all releases since 2000 combined. Why? Certainly there is great music being made, there must be. But we are denied the exposure by business practices that are questionable for selling hamburgers, let alone art of any kind.




In an interview with Joe Walsh on Sirius Radio Joe said “there is not nearly as much improvisational rock anymore.” When asked what bands he thought were decent these days, he couldn't think of any for a while, and then finally said he thought the Goo Goo Dolls were good.
Maybe I'm some kind of pitiful aging curmudgeon, but does Kevin Federline really belong in the music industry? His nickname is K-Fed. Well I’m “fed up “. I think K-Fed, J-Lo, X-tina (Christina Aguilera, really, not a joke) and A-Rod all need to hear what real music sounds like and Fed- X themselves to Antarctica to entertain (or annoy?) the penguins.. I mean they might be talented but I don’t hear the evidence of it in their work, I want something more than a decent voice, an empty head and a jiggle or 2. Perhaps a little musical composition and gee wiz, some inspired performance, or maybe a little poetry or at least lyrics that have a little more depth to them then a stick man. Isn’t this supposed to be a creative art form? Where the hell is the creativity? Where is the art?

Where is the art in today's music?

Here are the top 5 recordings right now in the Summer of 2007:
1. T-Pain - Epiphany
2. Fabulous - From Nothin’ to Somethin’
3. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
4. RiHanna featuring Jay Z - Umbrella
5. DJ Khaled - We The Best

Lets see what the top recordings of the summer of 1969 were.
1. Abbey Road -Beatles
2. Three Dog Night
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Tommy - The Who
5. Blind Faith
6. Let it Bleed Rolling Stones
7. Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan
8. Johnny Cash at San Quentin
9. Crosby, Stills & Nash
10. Blood Sweat & Tears
11. In the Court Of the Crimson King - King Crimson
12. Kick Out The Jams - MC-5
13. The Allman Brothers Band (Debut)




And here were the top 5 albums of 2005:

- Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
- 50 Cent - The Massacre
- Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
- Green Day - American Idiot
- The Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business

Here are some of the top albums of 1975:
-Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
- Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
- Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
- Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
- Katy Lied - Steely Dan
- Siren- Roxy Music
- A Night At The Opera - Queen
- Another Green World - Brian Eno
- Young Americans - David Bowie
- Mothership Connection - Parliament
- Live! - Bob Marley and the Wailers
- 10 cc - The Original Soundtrack
- Captain Fantastic - Elton John
- One of these Nights - The Eagles
- Slow Dazzle - John Cale
- Blow By Blow - Jeff Beck
- That’s the Way of the World - Earth Wind And Fire
- Radioaktivität - Kraftwerk





Is it just me, or is there a glaring difference between the 21st Century lists and the 20th Century lists? To be fair, Green Day is a decent band and McCartney’s album shouldn’t count since he’s of the 20th century ilk. Monkey Business doesn’t suck, but does it hold a candle to anything on the ‘75 list? Am I bashing contemporary musicians? Not really. It’s not their fault. The bloody knife rests in the pale bony hands of Captain Commerce.
Applying McDonald’s fast food approach to art has really destroyed the business. Where there once were thousands of small labels owned and staffed by people who genuinely were interested in music choosing artists to record, there now are only a handful of giant corporations with no more interest or knowledge of music than of the cheap toasters they manufacture in countries without labor or environmental laws to impede their profits. It is the music industry itself that has transformed a series of free markets into a giant conglomerate monstrosity uninterested in the music or it’s creators. Only it’s profits.
In their rise to control the industry, they have nearly strangled it. The commerce side of music has changed so drastically that it is barely recognizable. I think that is one of the main reasons there is such a chasm between today's music and the creations of yesteryear. Like sports and medicine, music as an industry has been a casualty of big business and American capitalism.

No longer does the actual music quality drive the industry. Instead, the people with the money and power at the record companies notice some bad music selling to young people , and therefore decide that from then on they're only going to find and promote that type of bad music since it made a few bucks and cost little to produce. They've totally stopped listening to the music and instead only listen to the dollars.

Today's record company executives are clueless about music

No longer does the music they create determine the success of a band. Instead, entertainment conglomerates tell fans what to listen to, and that determines the success. They do this because they have such a strangle hold on the media. We only have the illusion of choice now. A vicious circle has begun where the whole industry is inexorably spinning down, unable to grasp the sides of the toilet they created, circling downward uncontrollably into the abyss of painfully bad music.

Some bands occasionally slip through the vortex relatively intact, sidestepping the institutionalized procedure of "success" set in place by corporate executives. Dave Mathews and Phish are great examples of this. They became hugely successful in spite of the music industry. Because they were so good and so tenacious in touring and jamming, they attracted a large fan base. The industry stepped in to claim a piece of their pie, plain and simple. The fan base Phish developed gave them a power that most artists today can never have. Most other artists have to do what the people with the purse strings tell them to do. And that more often than not, leads to bad music. Another thing that contributes to the poor music of today is technology. These days, Hollywood actors who can't sing can have singing careers. The engineers touch up their voices, and use every digital sound technique there is to make a below average product sellable, just like the magazines airbrush the models and actresses to complete the illusion. Those of us behind the mixing desk refer to this as “polishing the turd”.

Ashlee Simpson is a good example of this. I mean when did lip synching become and art form?
People have lost interest in this kind of nonsense. The industry blames their dwindling profits on file sharing and piracy. To some degree this is a factor, but I suggest not to the extent claimed. The corporate raiders who cooked the golden goose have been watering down the drinks and selling poor forgeries instead of originals. They have filled their art galleries with paint by numbers “Elvis On Black Velvet“, “Dogs Playing Cards“, and “Big-eyed Waifs.” While Van Gogh, Rubens, Goya, Chagall, Rembrandt, and Dali are discarded in the dumpster out back.

Real music is discarded, and meaningless drivel is declared wonderous.

I know that in any era there's going to be silly music acts like Ashlee Simpson, Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton. I realize that during Bob Dylan's time there were lots of feeble yet famous music artists as well. My complaint is that it seems like in any other era there was at least enough really fantastic and original music being created to balance things out.

“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” -Ansel Adams






Duly Consider and Considerable Sounds are TM of this publication and are subject to liabilities thereof

Considerable Sounds: Tropical Hotdog Genius - Captain Beefheart

By DC Music Editor Benjamin New

The Eclectic Electric Music Of Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band

Don Van Vliet, or Captain Beefheart if you prefer, is perhaps the single greatest rock musician in all eternity, ( although Don would say " I 'm not a rock musician, I'm a soft person") and certainly one of the most original and influential geniuses of the 20th century.

He and his Magic Band cohorts completely erased all musical dogmas and reinvented music on their own terms. The Beefheart style blends some deep Delta blues, free-jazz, cacophonous avant garde and rock and roll, but what is unique about Van Vliet's music is the rhomboid, skewed, manic, aleatory and perfectly disturbing structure of his compositions.

The desert (where he grew up) could be a better key to understand his art than any of the influences that one can hear on his albums. Van Vliet also created one of the most original styles of singing ever, one that, again, revolutionized centuries of vocal music. The gruff, abrasive, werewolf-grade, warbling of Van Vliet had Its roots in the blues, but become something else entirely, covering 7 octaves sometimes jumping from the highest to the lowest in a single breath.

If you're new to the Capt., I suggest “Clear Spot “ as a great place to start, It’s one of my favorites and has all the great elements that make his music great but enough “normality” for the uninitiated to cling to. Van Vliet joined the newly forming Magic Band in 1965, and quickly took over as Bandleader. Their early output was rooted in blues and rock music, drawing comparisons to the Rolling Stones of the same time period but gradually adopted an experimental Daliesque approach. The 2 hardest albums to classify in all of rock music are "Trout Mask Replica" and "Lick My Decals Off Baby".

When I first started this story, I thought It would be easy because of my familiarity with the music, but just listing the recordings, and writing a few sentences about them became a bit exhaustive. There can be no short Beefheart article. We merely scratch the surface here and it is still a bit lengthy. We have a couple videos this time out because seeing only one gives a very limited view of the work under review here.

Watching an early performance would lead you to believe the blues was his medium. In a sense he reinvents blues in his own fashion.

Beefheart is also known for his off and on friendship and collaborations with Frank Zappa over the years having known him since high school.

Lets have a brief look at the Captain's catalog:

The Legendary A&M sessions
A fun album to listen to, especially if you are a blues fan. With the great cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy". It is very well produced but sounds "of the era". If you like other music from 1965 this is lots of fun.

Safe As Milk
The first album featuring Ry Cooder on slide guitar. My favorite tunes from this album is "Zig Zag Wanderer" and "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do".

Lyrics: Well I was born in the desert came on up from New Orleans
Came up on a tornado sunlight in the sky
I went around all day with the moon sticking in my eye

Hey hey hey all you young girls wherever you're at
I got a brand new Cadillac I got a Ferrari too
Sure 'nuff baby sure 'nuff 'n yes I do...

video- Live on the beach in Cannes


With that first tune, you know your not in Kansas anymore. This album is steeped in Delta Blues but is uniquely a desert version, a much higher wattage visionary doodad.

In this photo we can see that John Lennon was clearly a fan of "the Capt." as there are 2 of the "Safe As Milk" bumper stickers included with the original release on the wall at his home.

Mirror Man
A 1999 re-issue features massively improved mastering and packaging, and also includes a selection of outtakes.
aA live recording. An interesting album. "Mirror Man, Mirror Dog, Mirror Woman, Mirror Frog... "
Most Capt. Beefheart albums have a healthy dose of humor.

Strictly Personal
I like this but Don hated it. The producers added phasing effects all through it without Don's knowledge or approval. Of course the Capt. was right, the "trendy at the time" (1968) psychedelic production dates what would have been timeless. The Capt. said the "Fizz" they added destroyed his songs. There is a clear distinction between the albums up to Strictly Personal and that which followed. After this point, nothing was to sound quite the same ever again....

Trout Mask Replica
This groundbreaking album has been in every "Top 100" list since it's release in 1969. The sheer audacity to release something like this has no equal in history.
when I bought this double album, I played it once and was so musically offended by it, I literally threw it out the window. Something made me retrieve it and it slowly grew on me becoming an absolute favorite. There is no precedent for Trout Mask. It is quite likely the most completely original explosion of creativity ever captured.

Every preconceived notion of what music is disappears in a wave of dissonant polyrhythmic cacophony. Beefheart's surrealistic lyrics are light, dark, innocent, world weary, spiritual, and mundane simultaneously. Produced by Frank Zappa who captured the band faithfully with no agenda other than creating art, this is the avant garde by which all else is measured . There is not a commercial consideration to be found here, only the artistic vision of a genius. It has no equal.

"Old Fart At Play" by Don Van Vliet 1969
"Pappy with the Khaki sweatband
Bowed goat potbellied barnyard that only he noticed
The old fart was smart
The old gold cloth madonna
Dancin' t' the fiddle 'n saw
He ran down behind the knoll
'n slipped on his wooden fishhead
The mouth worked 'n snapped all the bees
Back t' the bungalow

Momma was flatten'n lard
With her red enamel rollin' pin
When the fishhead broke the window
Rubber eye erect 'n precisely detailed
Airholes from which breath should come
Is now closely fit
With the chatter of the old fart inside

An assortment of observations took place
Momma licked 'er lips like uh cat
Pecked the ground like uh rooster
Pivoted like uh duck
Her stockings down caught dust 'n doughballs
She cracked 'er mouth glaze caught one eyelash
Rubbed 'er hands on 'er gorgeous gingham
Her hand grasped sticky metal intricate latchwork
Open t' the room uh smell cold mixed with bologna
Rubber bands crumpled wax paper bonnets
Fat goose legs 'n special jellies
Ignited by the warmth of the room
The old fart smelled this thru his important breather holes
Cleverly he dialed from within from the outside we observed
That the nose of the wooden mask
Where the holes had just been uh moment ago
Was now smooth amazingly blended camouflaged in
With the very intricate rainbow trout replica

The old fart inside was now breathing freely
From his perfume bottle atomizer air bulb invention

His excited eyes from within the dark interior glazed;
watered in appreciation of his thoughtful preparation."

Lick My Decals Off Baby

Many fans feel this is the finest hour of the Magic Band. It is certainly one of the best, yet has been out of print for some time.The music on this album is intelligent, beautiful, chaotic, complex, VERY AMERICAN and "too much for most mirrors" (Not easily grasped). One company in Germany sells it but they are asking $150.00 U.S. for it. (And I have heard the only ones available on the internet are bootlegs, be skeptical. )

When it finally becomes available in the U.S. again on CD, if you haven't yet heard it, you are in for a real treat if you purchase it. Produced by Don himself, this music is a continuation of the styles explored in Trout Mask Replica but arguably refined. The addition of Artie Tripp (formerly with the Mothers of Invention) on marimba gives the music a great new dimension in sound. Trout Mask and Decals are the most experimental and visionary work in the catalog. A stunning achievement!

The "commercial" Don made to promote this album is absolutely and perfectly obtuse.


"DR. DARK" by Don Van Vliet 1970
Mama, mama, here come Doctor Dark
Horse clippin', clappin' 'n his ol' hooves makin' sparks
Black leather lady Lord carried her bags
The hell horn, hell horn, hell horn
Horn rim crimped
Glasses look out on the pale hell bent
Moon milk run
O' lady go home
Lord they done cookin' done
Black lady
Black leather lady
Done had a white, white, white poor son
Mama, mama, here come Doctor Dark
Horse clippin', clappin' 'n his ol' hooves makin' sparks
Gotta git me who I want to
God, Lord knows I've got to oh see that Doctor Dark
Mama, mama, here come Doctor Dark
Horse clippin', clappin' 'n his ol' hooves makin' sparks
Shed a tear on the meadow lark 'n like
Tear t' drink
T' brush away
'n tear apart 'n black 'n white 'n like
Tear t' drink t' brush away
'n tear apart 'n black 'n white 'n like
The moon a pail of milk spilled down black in the night
Little girl lost a tear
'n her kite
T' the night 'n like 'n light
God, Lord knows I've got to oh see that Doctor Dark

The Spotlight Kid
Spotlight Kid contains some very heavy, slow and spacious blues. Seen as a disappointment by many on its release in 1972, due to its restrained nature, it really shines through today as being another Beefheart classic, containing some of his most beautiful songs, such as Glider and Grow Fins.




Grow Fins 1972 by Don Van Vliet.

"Now here ya come baby
With yer tail draggin' the gravy
Y' know yer P's 'n Q's
What ya don't know baby
Is you givin' me the blues
Ya got juice on your chin
Eggs on the drain-board
Pie on the wall
Dirt on the rug
I come home late
'N I stumbled 'n swore
Ya won't even give me a hug
Ya had my things all laid out by the door
I'm leavin'
I'm gonna take up with a mermaid
'N leave you land lubbin' women alone
'N leave you land-lubbin' women alone
Ya said ya had it together once
Now yer head's around the bend
I'm tellin' ya woman
Ya better get it back together again
I'm gonna grow fins
'N go back in the water again
If ya don't leave me alone
I'm gonna take up with ah mermaid
'N leave you land-lubbin' women alone
'N leave you land-lubbin' women alone
Now here ya come baby
With yer tail draggin' the gravy
Ya know yer P's 'n Q's
What ya don't know woman
Is yer givin' me the blues"

A Live Performance From The Spotlight Kid Era

Clear Spot
A glorious collection of tight punchy songs immaculately recorded by producer Ted Templeton ( Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon , Montrose, Van Halen). There isn't anything particularly odd about them. There isn't anything particularly normal about them either. A great Album. A must have. Mr. Zoot Horn Rollo, Hit that long lunar note and let it float! This will put a smile on the most sullen of human faces. Again if your new to the Beefheartian Universe, this 1972 release is your best entry point. "Big Eyed Beans From Venus" is one of the best rock songs ever! And then there's Golden Birdies...



"Those little golden birdies look at them"

"And the mystic Egypt tossle dangling down
Old sleeper-man shish, don't wake him
Up one hand broom star was an obi-man
revered throughout the bone-knob land
His magic black purse slit creeped open,
Let go flocks of them

Shish look he's singabus
Snored like a red merry-go-round horse
And an acid gold bar swirled up and down,
Up and down, in back of the singabus
And the panataloon duck white goose neck quacked
webcore, webcore"

1972 by Don Van Vliet.

("The Spotlight Kid" and "Clear Spot" are available together on one cd here.)

Unconditionally Guaranteed
This album isn't one that Beefheart fans praise much, as it is not what one may expect the Captain to produce. However, it is an album that has a charm. The Magic Band plays simple love songs, admittedly with none of the twists and curves that you expect with Beefheart's music. Don had a history of bad deals in the music industry and in 1974 producers Andy and Augie DiMartino convinced him that he could be a commercial success under their guidance. The band hated being told what and how to play by the producers whom they felt were amateurs and quit when the album was finished. The Capt. did a tour to support the album with some session players, later referred to as the tragic band. Women seem to like this album more than men. It's got some great stuff on it despite being an attempt at a wider audience. Beefheart at the time said he was ‘selfish’ in the past producing a form of music which was highly elitist, in that few people were able to listen to it. My opinion is this is actually a great collection of songs played by excellent musicians who everyone expects to be strange and are not. It's atypical but has merit.

Moonbeams and Bluejeans
This is the one Beefheart fans site as the worst. I would say you could in fact live without it. There are some good songs and some clunkers, Only recommended for completists. "The camel wore a nightie at the party of special things to do"... hmmm. Not exactly prime beef. Though I know people who like it.

Shiny Beast
One of the best! The Capt. gives up trying to please others and returns to pleasing himself. Which of course pleases his fans as well! A true return to form.
This captures it all. The humor, the unusual approach to songwriting, and the surrealism. A genuine milestone. The addition of Bruce Fowler (Mothers of Invention) on trombone is perfect.



Floppy Boot Stomp by Don Van Vliet released 1978
"The floppy boot stomped down into the ground
The farmer screamed 'n blew the sky off the mountains
Eye sockets looked down on the chestbone mountains
'n the sun dropped down, 'n the moon ran off,
His heels 'n elbows pale as chalk
'n all the comets collided 'n blew t' dust
For fear they'd be seen.
'n the sky turned white in the middle of the night
'n the sky turned white in the middle of the night
'n the big floppy boot stomped down into the ground
'n the red violin took the bow
to do the hoodoo hoe-down
'n the red violin took the bow
for to do the hoodoo hoe-down
The farmer jumped in ah circle 'n flung his chalk right down
Do-si-do the devil sho' showed 'n he broke of his horns
'n fiddled him down the road
through the fork
'n the farmer's floppy boot stomped down
Red tail squirmin' and the hot leg kicked
'n the fire leaped 'n licked
And when the boot came up, the fire went out
And hell was just an ice cube melting off on the ground.
And the bold caught down for to do the hoodoo hoedown
And the bold caught down for to do the hoodoo, the devil hoedown
To the fork, huddlin’ in a hollow, standin’ at the crossroads
With that bunged-up bandaged broken bum that fell in the wrong circle
He had a sole red tail – once went red, now was pale
Fe Fi Fo Fum he was summoned up from hell
Booted down a spell
By a square-dancin’ farmer
By a square-dancin’ farmer, well
That old bum was sticking out his thumb
When the farmer drove up, said
"Listen son", and the horse compared his hooves.
"If you fall into my circle again I’ll tan your red hide
And dance you on your tail, and pitch you from now to now
Pitch you from now to now."
And the hotlick kicked, and the fire leaped an’ licked
And the hotlick kicked and the fire just leaped an’ licked
And the hotlick kickin’ an’ the fire jus’ leapin’ an’ lickin’
And the fire leaped and licked."

Doc At The Radar Station
The Coup de gras! One perfect Beefheart album. I don't think it gets any better, some say it's abrasive. But its songs are far beyond the realms of praise, criticism and condemnation. Robert Palmer said of Beefheart’s music. "The rhythms that disintegrate before your very ears, the xylophone riffs that suddenly appear out of nowhere and cut across the polyrhythms set up by the other instruments, the impossibly dense and atonal chord clusters, all these effects are plotted in advance and painstakingly rehearsed. Casual listeners may still consider Beefheart a wild-eyed primitive, but in fact he's an American maverick composer who has created his own musical idiom - an idiom that's related to blues and rock-and-roll but also problematically tangential to them."


There is nothing that compares to this. It's Capt. Beefheart at his creative best. Another work of swampy surreal genius.

Ashtray Heart by Don Van Vliet 1980

"You used me like an ashtray heart
Case of the punks
Right from the start
I feel like a glass shrimp in a pink panty
With a saccharine chaperone
Make invalids out of supermen
Call in a "shrink"
And pick you up in a girdle
You used me like an ashtray heart
Right from the start
Case of the punks
Another day, another way
Somebody's had too much to think
Open up another case of the punks
Each pillow is touted like a rock
The mother / father figure
Somebody's had too much to think
Send your mother home your navel
Case of the punks
New hearts to the dining rooms
Violet heart cake
Dissolve in new cards, boards, throats, underwear
Ashtray heart
You picked me out, brushed me off
Crushed me while I was burning out
Then you picked me out
Like an ashtray heart
Hid behind the curtain
Waited for me to go out
A man on a porcupine fence
Used me for an ashtray heart
Hit me where the lover hangs out
Stood behind the curtain
While they crushed me out
You used me for an ashtray heart
You looked in the window when I went out
You used me like an ashtray heart."

Ashtray Heart On Saturday Night Live



At the end of Captain Beefheart's performance of "Hot Head", on a Saturday Night Live broadcast, actor Radames Pera can clearly be heard saying "That's shit!" According to Beefheart, the heckler had a conversation with drummer John French about the nature of The Captain's music. He was in the front row of the next gig cheering and became a huge fan of the band and a personal friend of Don.

Ice Cream For Crow
The Swansong. After recording this album in 1982, Don quietly walked away from the music business never to return.
Ever since Don has been painting. His art commands a high price and he is well respected in the art world today. In fact
a new installation of 15 of Don Van Vliet's paintings has opened and runs until the 6th of July 2007 at the Anton Kern Gallery in New York.

Would you like to purchase a Don Van Vliet Painting?

"Men let your wallets flop out and women open your purses"...
here's information about buying Don Van Vliet's magnificent paintings.

Please direct all enquiries to:

The Michael Werner Gallery,
4 East 77 Street,
New York 10021.

Telephone (212) 988-1623 Fax (212) 988-1774

Queries should be addressed to the associate director, Justine Birbil.

Prices start at $12,500 for the paintings, and drawings range from $2,500 to $4,500.

(The Michael Werner Gallery is where the paintings are on the permedent exhibition.)



No self-respecting fan of Don's music would be without these other fine recordings.

1. The Tubes - "Now"
Don plays sax on "Cathy's Clown" and harmonica on "Golden Boy".

2. Blue Collar (original Movie Soundtrack)
Don does the main theme " Hard Workin' Man" and this soundtrack reunites Don with Safe as Milk guitarist Ry Cooder.
(Incidentally "Hard Workin Man" also appears in the film "A Civil Action" starring John Travolta, though is not on the soundtrack album for that film.)

3. The Zappa Collaborations
a. Hot Rats
b. Bongo Fury
(hear a live recording excerpt from Debra Kadabra)
c. Zoot Allures ( Harmonica)
d. One Size Fits All (Don appears as Bloodshot Rollin' Red on "San Ber'dino".)

4. Mallard (Magic Band without Captain Beefheart)
I love these albums. They are very traditional compared to Don's but the songs and playing are really great. They are available together on one CD now after previously being very rare.
a. Mallard
b. In A Different Climate

5. The Magic Band "Back to Front"
( Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons" and huge fan of Capt. Beefheart financed and wrote the liner notes for this great 2003 reunion album.) Also 21st Century Mirror Men, the live album and DVD of the Magic Band's performances in in 2003 and 2004 at the Royal Festival Hall, The Garage, Edinburgh Liquid Room, and the ATP festival in Los Angeles. Includes a bonus DVD.

6. Grow Fins
Arguably the best box set ever put together for fans of a band. The 5 CD box set contains a 112 page hardcover book featuring John French's notes, rare photographs and a wealth of other information. A few videos and a raft of rare previously unreleased tracks. A pirates booty for fans. But a little pricey. Still this is what all box sets should be like, it's lavish.

Capt. Beefheart Quotes

"There's no competition with our music. It can't be compared or impaired, or impaled with points or justifications...It means absolutely nothing, just like the sun."

"I think most people try to get others to see through their eyes. And if you look through enough eyes, like in books, you end up not knowing how to use your own eyes. Then you have to be started by something. It all has to do with The One. People can't realize that a One is really a Zero split in half. It's like splitting the world in two; choosing up sides."

"You can tell by the kindness of a dog how a human should be."

"The past sure is tense."

"I'm like a woman because I have my periods, if you know what I mean. Every once in a while I get the cramps and do something far out. This album needs someplace to go, you know? So I sing with a definite woman in mind, not like those groups that have men on their mind."

(On making the more accessible albums.)
"I would just as soon play the music on the new album because when I see all those people out there taking acid to get into *my* music, then I don't want to play that kind of music. I don't want to make people think they've got to use some sort of elevation to get into what I do. If I did that, what kind of artist would I be? Just another phoney asshole."

"A carrot is as close as a rabbit gets to a diamond."

"The largest flying land mammal is the absent mind."

"My music isn't that much different from the music that's in anyone’s mind. Because I conceive it so naturally, it's bound to be in their minds. Sooner or later, they'll catch on; they'll learn to enjoy it without understanding why. Unless they're so far out they can't get back. I don't really think they are. All tongues are connected, you know - we all drink from the same pond."

"Everybody's colored or else you wouldn't be able to see them."

"I don't want to sell my music. I'd like to give it away because where I got it, you didn't have to pay for it."

"The stars are matter, we're matter, but it doesn't matter."

"I'm not really here, I just stick around for my friends."

"I don’t like marches. I'll tell you why: war. It's very similar to disco."

"I'd always thought music was too formal, and I thought 'well, I'll get into this and fix it'."

"The most widely held misconception about me is that I'm a mystic. I'm not. I believe in black and white, I believe organically."

"I believe in varying degrees of disconnection. I don't believe in insanity."

"I don't look like a desert person because I stay indoors most of the day and fool around at night. That's what the desert animals do - they don't have a tan either."

"I needed to purge myself of all the attention my parents had given me - I wasn't neglected enough as a child."

"With my voice and my band, I can do anything"

Thank you Don. You certainly did.














Duly Consider and Considerable Sounds are TM of this publication and are subject to liabilities thereof

How Not To Argue!

After years as an internet warrior and educator I thought I would give up on anyone bothering to take a course in Critical Thinking or Logic. It has often been futile to try to reason with some people who had no clue there are actual rules as to what is a reasonable argument and what is not. I thought I would propose a common sense list of the most common fallacies and my own simple examples. Keep in mind, though many of these look very familiar and feel comfortable, this is how you "Fail" to be logical, so please don't mistake this as an endorsement of these techniques.

I realize many will think it is intellectual crap and "everyone has a right to an opinion" but this entire list is accepted by all logicians from Aristotle on as the wrong way to argue. It presupposes that "not everyone has a right to an opinion" if there is no sufficient basis.

Please note: We don't use bibles as reference sources for logic. Some of you may chose to print this and use it as a pocket map of how to beat people in an argument. Feel free to do so! If you are one who likes to show people how they are wrong, this should be helpful.

As you listen to those who try to persuade you, remind them that saying it twice, or loudly and stylishly doesn't make them right. If you chose to use the techniques below as a roadmap to winning arguments I make no warranties as to how people will accept them only as to how they are.

Some may consider this academic and some humorous; you be the judge.

Relevance

Appeal to force

-Physical
I will kill you if you don’t give me an A.

-Emotional
I will tell everyone you are gay if you don’t give me an A.

-Appeal to pity
I have only one arm therefore you should give me an A.

Appeal to the people

-Direct
Vote for me and you’ll all get A’s.
-Indirect
Come on, everybody’s doing it.
-Bandwagon
They all voted for me; you should too.
-Vanity
I love a man in uniform. Dress for success!
-Snobbery
My shirt has an alligator on it; yours has "Sears", therefore I’m more stylish.


Argument Against the Person (Ad Hominem)

-abusive
Don’t speak to him; he’s a fag.
-circumstantial
Don’t speak to him; he doesn’t have any money.

-Tu quoque “you too”
You are a murderer. > You are too, so who are you to talk?> So, murder is okay.
-or-

-2 wrongs make a right
You had an affair, so can I.

Accident (Misapplied rule)
Why can’t I play my stereo loudly; it’s a free country.

Straw Man (picking it apart/or attacking something that it isn't)
Jesus wasn’t really perfect; he lost his temper once in the temple; Anger is a sin, so don’t follow sinners like Jesus.

Missing the Point
Crime is going up, so we should put everyone in jail.
or
Bush-There are terrorists, who hate our freedom,
therefore we should give up our right to privacy and free speech.

Red Herring
Students participate in peaceful protest>
Communists participate in peaceful protest>
Don’t protest or you’re a communist.

Weak Induction

Appeal to Unqualified Authority

My preacher said you could get AIDS from kissing.

Appeal to Ignorance/Lack of evidence

He hasn’t proved he is innocent; therefore he is guilty.
or vice versa -
He hasn’t proved he is guilty; therefore he is innocent.

Hasty Generalization

Affirmative Action in 30 years hasn’t solved all the problems of racism over the last 300 years;

therefore, it will never work.

or

Bush- Diplomacy hasn’t worked so far;

therefore, war is the appropriate next step—immediately!

False Cause

He got AIDS because he is immoral and promiscuous.

Slippery Slope (Compounded Exaggeration)

If I join the army, I might kill someone; if that person was working on a cure for AIDS and; as a result of my killing him, he fails; then millions of people will die. Then everyone who didn’t get AIDS will feel so bad they kill themselves.

Therefore, I shouldn’t join the Army.

Weak Analogy

Dogs don’t like cats, so blacks should not marry whites.

Presumption, Ambiguity, Grammatical Analogy

Begging the Question

I am poor because I don’t have any money.

Complex Question/Assumptive
Follow-up Questions Without a Foundation

Have you told your mother you’re gay?

Are you still having an affair with your secretary?

How much pot do you smoke each week?

False Dichotomy

Either you study for this course or you will never finish college.

Suppressed Evidence/Missing/Forced Choice

Situation- John has AIDS. Mary Knows it. Mary tells Susan she should have children with him because he is so smart.

Equivocation (not be confused with “Ambiguous”)

Quarterbacks pass well; therefore, John, the Quarterback will pass his Logic course.

Amphiboly

I saw a man outside.

Meaning- I was in my house when I saw a man outside my window.

0r - I was outside when I saw a man.

Composition (Mixed is as good as separate)

I love pizza and ice cream therefore put some pizza and ice cream in the blender, it should be delicious.

or

Nitric Acid does not explode.
Glycerin Soap does not explode.

Therefore, nitroglycerin would not explode.

Division (Separate is as good as mixed)

A car will get me across the country.
Therefore, a carburetor will get me to Chattanooga.

Definitions of fallacies

Below you will find a few examples of my favorite illogical or easily misunderstood fallacies in the real world.

Senate Doing Nothing Becomes Grand Consolation

Is the Immigration Reform Bill Just Playing Dead?

Amid political warnings the bill could fail,
Reid scheduled a vote on limiting debate
on the measure for Thursday evening,
in a bid to drive the contentious reform
through the Democratic-led Senate.

It is the lack of shots that were heard around the world today as the US Senate failed to shove an incredibly unpopular immigration bill down the American throat.

The bill began with the pretense that the biggest problems involving immigration were legislative and could be solved by simply passing a new law. The law they insisted was coming, amounted to what more than two-thirds of Americans considered immunity for 12-20 million illegal immigrants. The warcry was, "Bring them out of the shadows." But it occurred to most Americans that these workers are nowhere near the shadows as they have been demanding to be treated as US citizens when they are not even here legally.

The Senate pretended they were doing everyone a favor by committing us to trillions more in debt. The House pretended they had nothing to do with it, but those who failed to speak out against the bill are ON THE RECORD having remained silent and they will be held accountable in 2008.

The Senate originally tried to press this through quickly without even discussion, as if the people would not notice and would hail it as "progress". Many publications shed their objectivity and lied to the American public telling us it was a "popular" bill when a full two thirds of Americans ultimately opposed the core points.

One may ask, "who do I vote against in 2008?" Well, a place to start is to become aware of who voted on what. This is difficult as the Senate intentionally tried to keep most of it off the record by making several voice votes which results in our having no complete record of their intentions. The best measure will ultimately be, who spoke agaisnt it from the beginning.

Meanwhile, here is the list of votes leading to the final death of the bill, lest it raises its ugly head again. Maybe now we can get on with enforcing the laws we have and listening to the American people on BOTH sides of the political spectrum.

The voting record regarding the "immigration reform bill"

Read carefully and decide who within and how to punish the Senate for ignoring the American people, or if, in fact, they should be rewarded for trying to ignore the will of the people.

Death of the Health Insurance Industry

(or death of the way things are currently done)



by

Contributor Rebecca Stamm

With presidential elections looming, the debate on healthcare reform is once again in the headlines. Every candidate has their opinion and their ideas of how to reform the system.

American citizens want to be able to choose a doctor they can trust and respect; they also want coverage that is adequate and affordable. With premiums rising between 13-25 % per year, our current system is incapable of providing that. But to understand the debate about reform you need to have some knowledge of the terminology that is being used in these debates. There are a few different systems that are currently being discussed. The first, Private Insurance, is the system that we are on now. The second, Socialized Medicine, is a system where the doctors and the hospitals work directly for the government and are paid by the government. This system is similar to the VA. Another, National Health Insurance or Single Payer, is a system that is managed by the public and the services provided remains in the private sector.

Our current system of spending more for lower quality has left 46 million uninsured and 50 million more with insufficient coverage. Those 96 million people are hard working middle class citizens. Lower income citizens are cared for through Medicare/aid and the higher income citizens can afford to purchase a decent plan. Private insurance has proven itself to be an ineffective means of providing care. They waste money on outrageous executive salaries, they have to worry about profit margins for the stockholders, they maintain very expensive sales and marketing departments, and there is overhead to run the company. Private insurance knowingly drives up the cost for the consumer, while forcing the provider to lower the cost of their services, and pocketing the difference.

Hospitals are forced to maintain a costly administrative staff to deal with the bureaucracy created by the insurance industry. All of these problems (and many more) are eating up a third of the money we spend on healthcare. We spend two times as much on our healthcare (about $7,000 per capita) than other developed nations. In short, the insurance industry is responsible for using up a whopping 30% of our healthcare dollars.

Private insurance has also created much of the mess that is associated with Medicare/aid. Healthy people use very little of the premiums that they pay in and that helps to pay for the sick people. Insurance companies cherry pick the healthy patients and provide them with coverage. Once they become sick, the patients’ premiums sky rocket and they drop out of the plan. This leaves programs like Medicare/aid to cover only the sick people and creates huge deficits in their budgets.


Single payer national insurance will solve these problems. Representatives Kucinich (D-OH), Conyers (D-MI), and McDermott (D-WA) are working on a bill, HR 676, which provides America with an intelligent solution to our health care crisis. The proposal provides all American citizens with a comprehensive medical plan which includes primary and preventative care, inpatient/outpatient services, ER services, prescription drugs, long term care, mental health services, dental coverage (excepting cosmetic), hearing, and vision coverage. It even provides for substance abuse treatments and chiropractic services. There are no deductibles, co-pays or other out of pocket expenses. This plan is also portable and will allow you to see any doctor anywhere in the United States.

It sounds good so far but many will raise the question of how we will pay for such a plan. We all know that nothing is free. The good news is that the majority of the funding is already there. Right now we pay 64% of healthcare costs through our taxes. Those funds cover citizens that are on Medicare/aid, the VA, public employees, and teachers, elected officials, the military, and tax subsidies to employers for offering insurance to employees. The citizens are currently paying 17% for healthcare out of their pockets. Employers that offer insurance pay 19% of the cost out of their profits. In fact, 25% of their payroll is dedicated to the cost of health care.

Under a single payer system, we will be saving the $350 billion dollars wasted by the insurance industry per year. Along with those savings, the payroll taxes for employers will be reduced to about 7% saving them 12% of their profits. Citizens will contribute about 2% of their payroll taxes. The plan actually gives the average citizen a 10% raise. They will increase taxes on personal income for the top 5% of income earners, and place a small tax on stock and bond transactions to accommodate for any differences in funding.

The plan will not affect a doctor’s income. There will be reduced malpractice costs and overhead to run their offices. Licensed practitioners will be paid a fee based on the service that they provide. Some physicians will be paid a salary. Hospitals will be given a budget that will be determined by the regional, state, and national board. The plan will be managed by the National Board of Universal Quality and Access, and will be comprised of elected officials with extensive knowledge of the health care industry.


Private insurance will be allowed to cover anything that the national plan doesn’t. It will, under no circumstances, be allowed to compete with the national plan. Competition from private insurers will create a deficit of healthy people in the national plan. This deficit will cripple the plan and we’ll end up back at square one. The only thing that the current bill doesn’t provide for is the retraining and placement of those currently working in the private insurance sector. This is a serious flaw that will need to be considered before the bill is passed.

Whether we like it or not, the government is determined to overhaul our system of delivering healthcare in this country. There are a number of ideas being proposed that could be devastating to the average middle class family. You have to ask yourself if you want a system like Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R-MA) and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R-CA) that forces citizens into expensive policies that are written by insurance companies. These policies will cost a single person $4,000 per year with a $2,000 deductible including co-payments. This law will fine people a $1,000 and up for not purchasing a plan they’re unable to afford. When you consider that the median income is around $29,000 per year, the cost of a policy like this will be devastating to hard working Americans.

There is little to no regulation written into these types of bills to stop the insurance companies from basing the cost of coverage on risk factors. So, future costs are guaranteed to skyrocket. Is this a plan that will help the citizens or is this a plan that will only serve to make the insurance company stock holders wealthier? With plans like this, we’re still forcing Americans to choose between their health and other basic necessities. A single payer program means death to the insurance industry and I’m grabbing my shovel.

They’ve had a nice run but all profitable things may end. Let's just hope they made enough money to retire gracefully. It’s time to seriously consider a single payer plan. It’s time to consider HR 676.

Sources:
Physicians for a National Health Program
House of Representatives Bill 676
Who's Afraid of Corporate Medicine?

Who's Afraid of Corporate Medicine?

In the most recent Democratic Presidential Debate in New Hampshire, it was said and hardly heard when Candidate Dennis Kucinich screamed the most common sense yet most financially opposed medical plan, the single payer plan. Basically, an extension of Medicare to all Americans, it is a plan that would cut out the middle man, which is opposed by the sacred cows as Big Pharma, the AMA and insurance companies have effectively touted it as a death knell for quality medicine in America.

What they don't point out is that the death knell went in years ago as we are by far the worst quality medical providing nation of all industrialized nations. Yes, the best is available, but only to the rich but the real measure is the availability to all. On this the US loses in every category to countries like Costa Rica (population 3-million; avg. per capita income - $300/month) and Castro's Cuba (recently highlighted in Michael Moore's Sicko). The numbers are clear when by every measure America appears to be a third world nation.

We are 48th in life expectancy and the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies. A little embarrassing to those of us who still care about little things like children and living. Supposedly our constitution guarantees the "inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" ; however, it seems rather difficult to exercise these rights when you are dead.

Of course, many Americans have swallowed hook, line and sinker, the notion that insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and medical professional have a natural right to living like kings on the highest medical profits in the world. It's not hard to believe America falls for it after the billions that are tacked onto our medical care in the form of lobbying and advertising by the monster that our medical establishment has become.

Some facts to consider:

• Medicare spends a lower percentage on administration of medical care than any single provider in the world at close to 1%.
• A record 46.6 million Americans, including 8.3 million children, have no health insurance at all.
• If allowed to actually negotiate with drug providers they could cut drug costs by 48% just as the Veteran's administration does; a fact few realize as our congress pushed this through literally in the middle of the night as Big Pharma twisted arms and threatened political lives during a prolonged vote. That's right; the median price difference for the 20 drugs most frequently used by seniors is 48.2 percent.
  

Some relevant questions:

• If the US offered a free education to those who can perform, would there be any shortage of medical professionals?
• If the US, a country of 300-million people cut out the middle man could we not cut out the middle man and save that 30+% of profit that is tacked onto our medical costs and put that money back in our pockets?
• If we had a single payer i.e simply offering Medicare to all US citizens, couldn't we be at least as efficient as Cuba or Costa Rica?
• If we treated people before they got sick wouldn't we live longer - as "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"?
• Would we really miss any of the doctors, Pharma and insurance executives who might quit if we deprived them of guaranteed 6 figure incomes and replaced them with people driven by a love of helping people?
• Would either doctors or patients miss the current bureaucracy of processing medical insurance claims and the fear that some executive will say, "no" to your life?
• Would it somehow make us less American to get something back for the tax dollars we put in?

To paraphrase our former President, Richard Nixon, "you're not going to have America's healthcare system to kick around forever."

GOP Incumbents Up For Re-election Or Retirement, Double Dems

The composition of the Senate going into the 2008 election will include 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and two independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who both caucus with Democrats). Of the seats up for election in 2008, 21 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats.

Above and Map Source: Wikipedia, 2007

It should be noted that any analysis political scientists do leads to one major conclusion, the Republicans have the most to lose in 2008. Statistically the change in the Senate alone, stands to beat the take over of US Congress by the "Contract of America" led by Newt Gingrich in 1994.

As this is a Presidential election year also, election fund-raising will be spread thinner than perhaps ever in history, as consistently Republicans have to spend almost double the amount spent by Dems in order to win by a thin margin.

With so many running for President as well, the competition for political money is at a fever pitch. And, as never before, middle lass Americans are expected to contribute more money because of the very organized and convenient machines developed for the internet.

As there are no statistical models for us to use in forecasting the cost per vote this time, both sides are in overdrive.

Vermont and Iowa already seem to suggest a huge margin of victory for the Dems in the Presidential races and as history dictates, the congress should follow suit.

Of course people like Tom Delay (disgraced GOP'er) are still gloating about the good ole days, and Newt even says he is likely to run for President in 2008 on 90.9 KCBI's "Jerry Johnson Live". Needless to say, his diehard supporters, all 10 of them, are pumped. We will see what Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have to say about that as Newt doesn't seem to have much chance of attracting anyone other than those who have read Meine Kampf twice, despite Newt's distancing himself from Bush, "Bush reminds me of Carter".

He will no doubt run on "values" despite his forced resignation for hypocrisy while trying to bring down Clinton. Maybe, there will be a new dictionary soon that will help him to redefine what most Americans think "values" are.

As the Dems in congress recently caved on war funding in order to get an increase in the minimum wage, many are accusing them of breaking promises. The real test will be in the next funding round in the fall. If they end this war or significantly pull back to a supervisory role, Dems will regain the faith of those who wanted everything now.