Jotie T'Hooft
Jotie T'Hooft (May 9, 1956 - October 6, 1977) was a Belgian writer and poet. His poems often dealt with subjects like death and his various drug addictions. In 1977 he died of a drug overdose. Today he is still seen as a cult figure in Dutch and Flemish literature.
T'Hooft and Zappa
T'Hooft joined the hippie movement and underground culture. He enjoyed various underground and psychedelic rock bands like The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, David Bowie and Frank Zappa. He wrote an article about the history underground rock music and devoted two pages to Zappa whom he called "someone who arrogantly wipes his ass with all this, the Master of the Cynical Text, the Uncrowned Emperor of the Protest Song and the Experiment, the God of Parody: FRANK ZAPPA." 'T Hooft then describes Zappa's records in chronological order and describes them with awe and respect. "He's a very admirable and productive composer, who thru his cynical attitude always went his own way, against any fashion trends, and from whom there is still much to expect." The poet further notes that Zappa's label Straight Records gives other freaky people who are unable to make recordings elsewhere a platform. T'Hooft concludes: "To me, Zappa has always been the symbol of underground, symbol of a wonderful jerk, a genius scoundrel, a criminal guy who had no respect for anything, but still managed to create the most beautiful things. With all these insufficient descriptions I still feel very stupid when I think about the scribbled down poem that I had written on a copy of Absolutely Free: "Zappa, a reality as a cactus flower."" [1].
References
- ↑ "Jotie T'Hooft in: "Een pijl in het Niet: een leven in teksten", Uitgeverij Houtekiet, Antwerpen, 1997, page 76-78.)
