PopKrazy Guide to Pop Culture

1969

Trout Mask Replica:  Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band

Produced by Frank Zappa, Don Van Vliet’s masterwork was created as if it were an ethnic field recording—with the musicians living under cult-like conditions without food or regular sustenance.  The great British deejay John Peel has said it best: "If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is that work.

1973

Jimi Hendrix

This assemblage by Joe Boyd, John Head, and Gary Weis remains the finest rock-bio documentary ever made thanks to the legendary status of its subject, intuitive editing, unbelievable concert footage, and the streetwise comments of those who loved THE immortal rock guitarist.

1977

Marquee Moon: Television

Somewhere between the Ramones street sensibilities and the politics of English punk rested Television in a kind of twilight-zone of angular and jabbing guitarwork inspired by the Beatles, the 13th Floor Elevators, and Bohannon. This masterpiece is best experienced as the 2003 Rhino CD reissue with bonus tracks and outtakes and incredibly perceptive notes by Alan Licht.