The eclectic music innovator Eugene Chadbourne made a great impact on me back in the 1980s when I saw him perform twisted country western inversions, avant-garde noisy skronk, topical protest songs, and play an ingenious instrument of his own devising, an electrified (garden) rake! But alas Chadbourne once had a higher profile in the indie music scene, and has returned to be one of the stellar living monuments of a kind of secret neo-avant-garde. (see a recent article on the changing fate of Chadbourne’s reception. This is all crudely put, as Chadbourne is simply far too broad in his interests, inclinations, talents, and collaborative impulses to be categorized neatly. And in many respects, besides the plainly unlistenable cacophony he often produces, alongside beautifully nuanced acoustic soundsthe very multifarious nature of Mr. Chadbourne makes him fairly elusive. Here are a few starting points, in terms of documentary footage, past and present: an interview from PitchforkTV, a short clip shot in London, and another vintage doco. And Chadbourne has collaborated with many fine and unlikely co-conspirators, including: the late great Jimmy Carl Black (best known as the drummer in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention); Texas roots-rock guitarist Evan Johns; John Zorn; and the indie band Camper Van Beethoven (as Camper Van Chadbourne). I am very partial to Chadbourne's record of C & W covers There'll Be No Tears Tonight, but there's so much to choose from elsewhere also, and what's wrong with that? For current info on Chadbourne do check out his eye-burningly psychedelick website House of Chadula (if you dare!).
