I bought "How to Write About Music" because I needed help. Turns out it's actually a textbook for a college-level course in Music Criticism -- who knew? And as in any textbook, there are assignments.
The first is to listen to an artist "you are completely unfamiliar with" and write a review. Well, okay, I figured rap/hip-hop is out of my comfort zone, let's start with that. Oops. I remembered some Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre videos from back when MTV actually showed videos, so my son went through his collection and made me a "Best of Death Row" (the label) based on the songs I remembered liking.
Yikes! MTV of course played the scrubbed clean versions. I listened to the uncensored versions in my car on the way to work and felt like I was being assaulted. I liked the musical aspects, but kept coming up hard against the lyrics.
Okay, so Attempt Number Two: Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone sang the praises of "How to Pimp a Butterfly" by Lamar Kendrick (or Kendrick Lamar -- I'm always getting it wrong) so I gave that a try. Made it through the first few songs...
So. Captain Beefheart. This really was cheating: I've heard Captain Beefheart before, even liked a few of his songs. Heck, I even owned a copy of "Clear Spot" which was issued in a clear plastic sleeve! But I never listened to it much, mostly only the song "Too Much Time", which frankly sounds the least like Captain Beefheart than any of his other songs. But I just didn't "get" Beefheart.
Sometimes when I'm exposed to something touted as 'great' and I don't understand it, my initial reaction is "this artist is pulling a fast one" (Yoko One is another example for me.) What am I missing?
My father is currently in a managed care facility after a series of falls at home. With physical therapy, we hope he'll be able to come home eventually, but that seems like a long road. On my days off, I go to see him, and lately I've been listening to Captain Beefheart during the half-hour drive. Why? You'd think I'd listen to something soothing because these visits are sad and disappointing. But the good Captain gives me something to wrestle with, and darned if he isn't starting to make sense. I'll give him a few more listens and see if I can crack this case. (And I hope this will still count for my homework assignment!)
