NO WAY!

That mas was pure genius in music and art in general. No way man! I cannot believe it, but his legacy is here for everyone forever.

Thanks for bumming me out...but at least I have a playlist for the night...nothin but Beefheart and Zappa for me.

Fast and Bulbous!!!

I was shocked and saddened when I heard this. He really deserves all the praise he gets, and I'm only beginning to dive into his discography. Wherever he is now, I hope people understand his music better there than they do here.

Random place to put this but RIP Bob Feller.

Pitchfork has got a couple of videos of the man posted in the news article.
He was ill for a long time, and died of multiple slerosis.
I've been a huge fan for years. Very sad.

He was so reclusive... i haven't heard of him for like years! Only once in a while something new about him came out, whereas terrific things about Safe as Milk, Trout Mask Replica and his other works have been written for like years now! I never knew much about him, not as much as his music, and maybe that was the fun. He looked like a great guy while i was watching his interview to Letterman that Pitchfork posted, but he also had this mysterious air surround him. Wow he was a genius and he'll be missed, but his legacy is here and thank God receiving the recognition it deserves. Look at Nick Drake, the dude was a genius and died without anyone caring and recognition. Suddenly during the 80s and beyond he had became one of the three biggest and best english singer/songwriters of the last 50 years. He didn't live to see that and he knew he deserved more than what he had in the late 60s to the early 70s. It sucks. At least Cap lived to see his records becoming influential and classics on their own, even though i don't think he really cared as much as making art himself.

He most probably did. "Trout Mask" is a commonly used alien slang term for artificial human skin that's especially suitable for hematocryal beings from the southern sphere of the Rothschild system, while "Safe As Milk" hints laughingly towards the upcoming world currency as soon as those squamata bastards will have taken over completely.
A-OK, enjoy our holy cow juice, liztards, and good luck with finding out which one will kick more Anunnaki ass: soon enough our cute earthly "nitrites, nitrates"-gibberish won't sound that nursery rhyme anymore.

You're the Don, Van V133t, keep making love to that vampire in the Absolute, we're taking care of the monkeys instead!

Most male songwriters are ridiculously overrated (sorry guys I have to put Nick Drake on that list even though I LOVE the BANDS that he's influnced, same thing goes for Scott Walker)but I think Beefhert is too unique to be linked with the typical songwriter. Tom Waits is always being compared to him but Beefheart's music is much easier to swallow and what's better is he is actually influecial on female musicians like PJ Harvey who I'll gladly take over any male songwriter on any given day. He was one of the rare male soloist who actually lived up to his hype. Now whenever I listen to the sappy, self loathing, political, lofi hipster bs of every other male songwriter out there it'll only make me realize what a truly remarkable performer the Captain was.

Sad news, indeed. I was funneled through Captain Beefheart through the Frank Zappa connection. As for albums I have purchased/listened to Trout Mask Replica, Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), and Safe As Milk, in that order. They all had really unique qualities. I remember a Frank Zappa book described Trout Mask as album without any definable musical influences (even stating that Captain Beefheart's previous work doesn't serve as a precedent). It truly is its own thing.

For the real fans out there, shat's the next album I should try after listening to those three?

Honestly almost everything the dude has released is worth of the time. Like antonius said: Clear Spot is very accessible and should be the next one to listen. At least it was my third pick after Safe and Trout.

And I've lost my copy of Safe as Milk :( Fortunately, it's available on Rhapsody.

Thanks for the tips.

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7910-appreciation-captain-beefheart/
Another piece on the Captain on Pitchfork