Some YoYo Stuff: Don Van Vliet

Don Van Vliet, the subject of Anton Corbijn's short film profile, is probably better known to pop culture fans as Captain Beefheart, leader of the Magic Band and Frank Zappa cohort. Captain Beefheart listeners will expect musician-turned-artist Van Vliet's voice to be gruff, but they may be surprised at the croaking and gasping heard here as his comments are combined with near-static pictures of him in the corner of the screen to underline the artsy-craftsy aspect of this black-and-white outing. A video art/documentary hybrid, Some YoYo Stuff is stylistically of a piece with the artist's body of work, whether music or paintings (i.e., considerably off the beaten path). The chapter "Flying Fish Head" works particularly well as footage shot from a moving car with a fish head held in front of the camera accompanies Van Vliet's various disquisitions relating to the passing desert landscape. Ever the tease, Van Vliet's terse treatment of the chapter titled "Frank Zappa" is sure to annoy those hoping for some insider insights on the late Zappa (of course, provocation has been a theme in Beefheart's music going back to, well, his time with Frank). A curio that will appeal to an admittedly narrow audience, this is recommended for larger music and popular culture collections. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)