I hate to have to post this during Zappadan… but Captain Beefheart Died Today.

Don Van Vliet was an American musician and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12 studio albums. Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with free jazz, avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition.

During his teen years in Lancaster, California, Van Vliet acquired an eclectic musical taste and formed “a mutually useful but volatile” friendship with Frank Zappa, with whom he sporadically competed and collaborated. He died after many years suffering from multiple sclerosis. He was 69.

Zappa and Beefheart: Orange Claw Hammer, Live 1975.

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From Cruisin’ with Ruben and the Jets…DESERI:

It’s 1968 and Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention are giving us an impression of a classic 50s Rock Band:

John Cleese on Creativity…

Yes, it is a lecture… but it is entertaining and you will learn from it (especially if you are a writer, designer or any kind of creative person.)

(thanks to the StevenHartSite for putting me onto this.)

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From Andrew Leonard in this morning’s Salon:

clipped from www.salon.com   Democrats concede: the tax cut deal passes Angry House members bow to the same political reality that forced Obama to bend the knee…   Pelosi So this is what bipartisan unity looks like. Rush Limbaugh and Nancy Pelosi agree on at least one thing — they really, really didn’t want to pass Obama’s tax cut deal. But in the end, House Democrats bowed to the same reality that brought the White House to the bargaining table — after the thumping of the midterm elections, they had no leverage to cut a good deal.So after a very long day, with the clock about to strike midnight on the east coast, Democrats and Republicans joined together to approve the deal, by a handy margin, 277-148 The final vote was not, however, as overwhelming as the Senate’s 81-19 total. 111 Democrat representatives dissented, and they did not look like happy campers, as the stood, arms folded across their chests, as the final votes were tallied.

Excuse me while I puke… this sucks!

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