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Comment by localghost3000 | Hacker News Reader

You know, I have tried on numerous occasions to get into Beefheart and it never lands. Fans of his stuff describe it as some higher level of musicianship and sophistication but it just sounds to me like a band that can't play and is just kind of owning that.

I watched a Beefheart documentary once where a fan said something to the effect of "It sounds like noise but if you listen closely, each band member is playing a totally different time signature and key". I mean yeah. That's pretty much what it sounds like lol.

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I dare you to try once more with the album Shiny Beast. IMO this is the best starting point in to Beefheart. Fun fact: I never liked rock music, close to hating it. I'm into soul, disco, jazz, hiphop and house. But Shiny Beast is one of my all time favourites.

This is excellent advice. I started off with Trout Mask Replica and thought "hm, maybe this isn't for me", but then I listened to the song "Love Lies" on a whim, then the rest of the album, and was hooked.

Listening now. Will report back!

Ok. Gave a listen to the whole thing. While this is certainly a lot more musical than the other stuff I’ve heard like Trout Mask Replica, it’s still not really for me. The absurdist lyrics are a real barrier as are some of the guitar sounds. That said I like this voice a lot. Has really interesting timbre. I had heard it before but this album does a good job of putting it front and center.

The one — and only time — I heard TMR was probably in the late 90s (98 or 99). Just the name of the album is seared into my brain as some of the most unlistenable garbage that I've ever been assaulted with. To make this clear: I once listened to KUT broadcast analog feedback, one morning, for an hour, which was significantly better than TMR.

In college I held a contest with my friends "The worst band in the world". It was always a conversation starter at gatherings where we could debate the merits of our picks.

We had a few people who really hardcore defended Captain Beefheart. There was never any consensus on the worst (the goal was of course fun conversation not consensus). But if I may provide my own contemporary pick: Blood on the Dancefloor is the worst band in the world. And not just because of the music.

Thanks for the report, I appreciate you gave it a try. Thinking about it I doubt if I would like the album very much if I'd hear it for the first time now myself. But way back when it became an instant classic for me. TMR not so much...

I have heard people describe the experience of "It just sounds like noise, but eventually it just clicks and it is the most amazing thing you have ever heard".

Side note, unrelated: Trout Mask Replica's album artwork features the head of a European Carp and that has always really bugged me. Not even the same order of fishes (cypriniforms vs. salmoniforms).

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