Quote:
|
Originally Posted by atsonicpark
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.
|
Again, i think that while Captain Beefheart clearly had a vision that could be described as ambitious, itwas very different to SY's. Captain Beefheart reminds me more of someone like Mark E. Smith or Neil Haggerty in taking an entirely individualistic attitude that had almost no regard for the conditions of popular acceptance. SY on the other hand have from quite early on made it explicit just how important mainstream recognition was for them.
The other problem I think is that ambition seems to take different forms and levels within SY itself. I think it's safe to say that Lee is more musically ambitious than Kim, whose ambition seems more about the role the band can play within popular youth culture. While Thurston's ambitions seem increasingly more focused on ways in which his band can serve as a kind of trojan horse for other less successful (but in his eyes perhaps even more worthy) ones. This in itself makes SY's ambition such a formidable (and admirable) entity.