An interesting experiment has turned up on Youtube. Using AI software Ant 2 Man Bee has deconstructed the Trout Mask album. He’s taken each of the songs and isolated each individual track, breaking it down so you can hear Mark’s bass, John’s drums, Bill’s guitar, Jeff’s guitar and Don’s vocals separately. As Ant 2 Man bee explains: I was shocked at how good the neural net was after I tested using Sugar ‘n Spikes. While it isn’t perfect, it is still amazing how quickly the technology evolved when just a few years ago you couldn’t isolate instrumentations from whole songs without having a very goodRead More →

Now here’s a thing … a whole podcast about the Trout Mask Replica album … and not just one podcast but one podcast for EACH track. This is being bought to you by the Prince Track by Track Podcast set up by Darren Husted (see below for more information about the origin of this podcast series). Darren asked some friends if they’d be interested in creating a podcast for a favourite album and Joel Bakker suggested Trout Mask. Joel then set about convincing assorted Beefheart fans to choose a track, and with him hosting recorded their discussion about the track, the album, how they gotRead More →

For many people on the first listen Trout Mask Replica just sounds awful. For those of us that grow to love it, it’s a masterpiece. If you don’t entirely get it yet, this 10 minute feature video from Vox nicely picks apart what’s going on and why so many of us consider it to be uniquely special. If you enjoy this and want something more in-depth then have a look at Samuel Andreyev’s analysis of Frownland and his extended conversation with John French.  Read More →

This release, Vault Package #36, by Jack White’s Third Man Records has caused a bit of a buzz amongst fans not least because of the way it had to be pre-ordered on subscription via the label’s website and at $60 it was not cheap. Understandably the cost put many people off but plenty more battled with the website and signed up for it. Third Man Records blurb: In full partnership with the Zappa Family Trust and to celebrate the relaunch of the seminal Bizarre label imprint, Third Man Records is proud to announce its 36th Vault package focused squarely on Captain Beefheart and the MagicRead More →

Wild life along with my wife I’m goin’ up on the mountain fo’ the rest uh m’ life ‘fore they take m’ life ‘fore they take m’ wild life ‘fore they take m’ wife They got m’ mother ‘n father ‘n run down all my kin Folks I know I’m next Wild life along with m’ wife I’m goin’ up on the mountain fo’ the rest uh m’ life ‘fore they take m’ wild life ‘fore they take m’ wife? wife? ‘fore they take m’ wife Wild life wild life wild life Wild life wild life wild life I’m goin’ up on the mountain alongRead More →

Hoy hoy When Big Joan comes out Her arms are too small Her head like uh ball She tied off her horse ‘n galloped off into the moonbeams She pulled up her blouse ‘n compared her navel to the moon I dig my life for uh while When Big Joan sets up Her hands are too small She’s too fat t’ go out in the daylight So she rolls around all night I’m just sorta thread With uh drooped body I’ll set up with yuh Big Joan I’m too fat t’ go out In the daylight I’ll stay up all night I won’t droop ifRead More →

Light floats down day river on uh red raft o’ blood Night blocks out d’ heaven like uh big black shiny bug Its hard soft shell shinin’ white in one spot well It’s hard place dat I’m livin’ but I’m doin’ well well The white ice horse melted like uh spot uh silver well Its mane went last then disappeared the tail My life ran thru my veins Whistlin’ hollow well I froze in solid motion well well I heard the ocean swarmin’ body well well I heard the beetle clickin’ well I sensed the thickest silence scream Then I begin t’ dream My mindRead More →

I cry but I can’t buy Your Veteran’s Day poppy It don’t get me high It can only make me cry It can never grow another Son like the one who warmed me my days After rain amd warmed my breath My life’s blood Screamin’ empty she cries It don’t get me high It can only make me cry Your Veteran’s Day poppy (1969) Originally made available at Justin Sherill’s Home Page Replica, transcribed by Jonathan MachellRead More →

Sweet sweet sweet sweet bulbs grow in m’ latest garden Warm warm warm warm warm sun fingers wave In m’ latest garden Flowers dance their faces brave Come talk freely in the garden of m’ lady Her hominy smile her hominy snatch Only uh crow would peck n’ uh chicken would scratch Her lips turned up t’ kiss I see yuh Phoebe baby in yer bonnet With the sunset written on it ‘n the shadow of uh tree Curled around yuh knee in color n’ just behind yuh was the sea of negativity Tinklin’ like mercury in the wind Her feet kept by the groundRead More →

Sugar ‘n spikes ‘n neon lights ‘n walks ‘n lights ‘n chains coughin’ smoke whoopin’ hope Cardinal sky rush by falls bark in dark Fall back in dark Pies steam stale shoes move broom ‘n pale Moon in uh dime store sale Sugar ‘n spikes ‘n everything nice ‘n everything nice ‘n crazy That’s what little worlds are made of lady I’m paid up in home in ‘m new Friday’s house There’s no H on my faucet there’s no bed for m’ mouse My punch ‘n grow mind in diamond back time Now it’s king for uh day with my lady look fine Got m’Read More →

Justin Sherill writes: Interestingly, I received an email from a Peter Wray, who might just be the fellow mentioned in the song. Here’s a chunk of his email. “My only claim to fame was being mentioned in one of his songs (Sugar n Spikes). How I got in the lyrics I don’t know except that I met Beefheart on tour in Columbus Ohio in 1968 or 69.” “I remember that one of my friends in college got one of the first issues of TMR – when Warners included the lyric sheet – and came running into my room yelling and insisting that I somehow hadRead More →

The black paper between a mirror breaks my heart The moon frayed thru dark velvet lightly apart Steal softly thru sunshine Steal softly thru snow The wild goose flies from winter Breaks my heart that I can’t go Energy flys thru a field ‘n the sun softly melts a nothing wheel Steal softly thru sunshine Steal softly thru snow The black paper between a mirror breaks my heart that I can’t go The swan their feathers don’t grow They’re spun They live two hundred years of love They’re one Breaks my heart to see them cross the sun Grain grows rainbows up straw hill BreaksRead More →

She’s too much for my mirror She almost make me lose it The way she abuse it make me never wanna use it Well mend yer heart ‘n mind yer soul Ole Chicago she’s uh woman thata Make uh young man uh bum She howl like the wind Make m’ heart grow cold Make me long for that little red fum! She makes things fly ‘n she makes things roll She got me way over here ‘n I’m hungry ‘n cold I remember m’ mother told me I oughta be choosey That was way back when I thought she was m’ friend Now I findRead More →

Pena Her litle head clinking Like a barrel of red velvet balls Full past noise Treats filled her eyes Turning them yellow like enamel coated tacks Soft like butter hard not to pour Out enjoying the sun while sitting on a turned on waffle iron Smoke billowing up from between her legs Made me vomit beautifully And crush a chandelier Fall on my stomach ‘n view her From a thousand happened facets Liquid red salt ran over crystals I later band-aided the area Sighed Oh well it was worth it Pena pleased but sore from sitting Choose to stub her toe ‘n view the whiteRead More →

When she wears her bolero then she begin t’ dance All the pachucos start withold’n hands When she drives her Chevy Sissy’s don’t dare t’ glance Yellow jackets ‘n red debbles buzzin’ round ‘er hair hive ho She wears her past like uh present Take her fancy in the past Her sedan skims along the floorboard Her two pipes hummin’ carbon cum Got her wheel out of uh B-29 Bomber brodey knob amber Spanish fringe ‘n talcum tazzles FOREVER AMBER She looks like an old squaw indian she’s 99 she won’t go down Avocado green ‘n alfalfa yellow adorn her t’ the ground Tatooes ‘nRead More →

Painless Parker Derek Laskie writes: This is a photo of a wooden pail full of teeth which Painless Parker extracted. Edgar R R ‘Painless’ Parker is described: ‘heavyweight champion of tooth pullers died in 1952 at age 80’ The American Dental Association called him ‘a menace to the dignity of the profession’. It seems that he was a bit of a huckster/showman, wearing a necklace of human teeth and making a fortune. I can just imagine the young Don hearing, seeing or reading the obituaries. You can read more about Painless Parker at www.ushistory.org and at Wikipedia. Inspired by Beefheart… Derek Laskie also pointed out that thereRead More →

Uh thick cloud caught uh piper cub’s tail The match struck blue on uh railroad rail The old puff horse was just pullin’ thru ‘n uh man wore uh peg leg forever I’m on the bum where the hoboes run The air breaks with filthy chatter Oh I don’t care there’s no place there I don’t think it matters My skin’s blazin’ thru ‘n my clothes in tatters ‘n the railroad looked Like uh “Y” up the hill of ladders Ohe shoe fell on the gravel One stick poked down Gray of age fell down on uh pair of ears An eagle shined thru myRead More →

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 uhRead More →

Neon Meat Dream of a Octafish as imagined by OpenAI

Originally appeared on Trout Mask Replica Lucid tentacles test ‘n sleeved ‘n joined ‘n jointed jade pointed Diamond back patterns Neon meate dream of a octafish Artifact on rose petals ‘n flesh petals ‘n pots Fack ‘n feast ‘n tubes tubs bulbs In jest incest injest injust in feast incest ‘n specks ‘n spreckled spreckled Speckled speculation Fedlocks waddlin’ feast Archaic faces frenzy Ceramic fists artificial deceased ‘n cists rancid buds burst Dank drum ‘n dung dust Meate rose ‘n hairs Meaty meate rose ‘n hairs Meaty dream wet meate Limp damp rows Peeled ‘n felt fields ‘n belts Impaled on ‘n daeman Mucus mulesRead More →