December 14, 2007 05:30 PM
Mid Day Open Thread and interview with Frank Zappa
We're rounding out "Zappadan--the Frank Zappa blogswarm" this week, which began with the anniversary of Frank's death on December 4, and ends with his birthday on December 21. When it comes to Frank's music, I personally can see the point of The Onion, I just haven't heard the right album yet, man. But there is no substitute for FZ's sharp mind and no-nonsense political philosophy. One can only imagine what he would have to say to the current state of things. (He talks a bit about sex in this so no speakers at work. )
Open thread below....
Haven't heard the right album? There's like over 70.
Try Broadway the Hard way. Live show during the Reagan years. If anything you'll get to hear Sting sing Murder by Numbers with his band.
God I miss Frank! "The slime running out from your tv set" How true!
The good die young.... :-(
More times than not he blesses the cd player in my truck.
"Nobody looks good in brown lipstick" FZ
don't get any sploooge on ya...well, Frank always did tell it like it is..someday people will appreciate him more....
check this one out- :)
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1115588035270422761&q=frank+z...
[Off topic]
If Frank Zappa were alive today he'd vote Ron Paul, Zappa was a true conservative, as he says in the video above.
"I am gross and perverted....."
there is always 'Bongo Fury' It has 'Advance Romance' and one of his hottest, beautifully constructed guitar solos on 'The Muffin Man'............Then there is 'Black Napkins', Watermelon In Easter Hay, Stevie's Spanking, Apostrophe, More Trouble Comin Every Day, Hot Rats, ....................................................................................
Oh, and you are missed Frank.
Peaches en Regalia, bluegal on Hot Rats, IIRC...
off to the right side is a advertisement calling for the impeachment of Cheney by Congressman Wexler..........give it a look.
Chunga's Revenge is my personal favorite.
andy @ 8:
Riiiiiiight. So would baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph and Pontius Pilate. But they're not here, so we can't ask. Any of them.
andy @ 8:
I'd take a "true conservative" like Frank over a fake Democrat in a second.
I think I know what Frank might of said about what is going on inside the US. He would of sang " George rammed it, rammed it, rammed it, rammed it up our poop chute"...
Live at the Roxy
The term for what you are describing is "Gatekeeping" and it is the reason we have Britney Spears and Co. instead of music that inspires people
Clinton is still the Jimmy Page of American Politics and still has the chops to be Prez. It's to bad we have two term limits. Gore might make a decent Robert Plant.
Lakeguy @ 16:
-and the Poodles bite,and the Poodles chew it.
Me.....I'm partial to "Bwana Dik" or"Latex Solar Beef" and then there's "Do You Like my new Car?".....but of course there's...The Mud Shark!!!!!
I remember hearing Freak Out! for the first time. Zappa was also one of the first artists who built his own self contained self sustained empire and didn't rely on or sit around waiting for the Major Labels to "discover him".
He was one hard working dude.
FZ`s birthday is 12/21. Broadway the Hard Way is one of his best. The song about Pat Robertson exhibits the Right wing idiocy to the max="Jesus Thinks You`re a Jerk."
Awesome.
Try the Apostrophe/Overnight Sensation combo...
It's delicious!
One day I will move to Montana to be a dental floss tycoon.
The day after I figure out wtf he meant...
disillusioned @ 18:
I believe Zappa called this type of shit(Britney Spears et., al.) product.
I saw Dweezil on tour,Zappa plays Zappa.What a nice reminder of the good old days.
i'm glad to know what bluegal "personally" thinks...what a moron...ZAPPA RULES!
Gee revulver I'm glad to know what you personally think too. I help promote a blogswarm for Frank. I record video blogs in support of the swarm, I write articles and post youtubes to celebrate the great man he was. What have you done for him lately? Send us a link to your blog and we'll pimp ya. - BG
Thanks to YouTube, here are two of my favorites from the early Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.
If you haven't heard these you DEFINITELY have not "heard the right album."
Absolutely 100% as timely today as they were then.
Audio is original from the LPs (what's an "LP" daddy?); video added later.
Frank Zappa - Trouble Coming Every Day
Frank Zappa - Hungry Freaks, Daddy
(hoping I got the hyper-link syntax right; the tag buttons & the preview button are broken)
Know who else is a Zappa fan? Matt Groening
Americans are really suspicious of anything cerebral, and Zappa didn't disguise his intelligence well enough. In addition to being a man of wide-ranging talent, one amazing thing that always struck me about Frank was his melodic dimension ... Frank Zappa was my Elvis."
Flamethrower @ 17:
Is this DVD out yet?.I want it;I want it.Please don`t tell me I can`t have it.
the zappa album for me will always be "we're only in it for the money"
do you think that i'm crazy? out of my mind?
do you think that i creep through the night and sleep in a phone booth?
Hopefully by "open thread" you mean truelly open... if not then sorry for posting out of thread...
Tonight at midnight begins the 2008 Boston Tea Party...
Watch it happen here and even join in!
http://RonPaul2008.com
Watch and learn and feel the revolution...
Revolution part #1
Those that have put their name down to join sunday Decemeber 16th...
Are we angry yet?
True grass roots
Some dont need 20/20 hind sight
Neo Conned! Part 1 of 11
Freedom for all and all men are equal...
We need you all... join us and take control!
One of my all time favorites is "Dumb All Over" from "You Are What You Is". One of my favorite albums as well.
I think Frank Zappa had a baaaaaad attitude.
I pledge allegiance to Frank Zappa
of the United Mutations of America.
And to the Duke of Prunes and Grand Wazoo
for which he stands.
One size fits all, excentrifugal
with Yellow Sharks and Hot Rats for all.
Gerald Gibson @ 32:
At least it's after the fundraising day when Dennis Kucinich is supposed to get his ten million. Why all the Ron Paul spam on the internet? Ron isn't the only one who is against the war, you know. And I'd rather have someone who can strengthen the government in all the right ways instead of dismantling the rest of it under the mistaken assumption that corporations are altruistic and can take care of us all.
If you don't like progressive rock, then I don't see you liking most of Frank Zappa's music. It's not a perfect predictor, but it's damned close. My fourteen year old son, who loves the prog stuff I have from the '70s, recently got into Zappa, starting with "The Roxy and Elsewhere" CD (I have the double album original pressing, too, he said dating himself terribly). He then heard "Apostrophe" and is getting ready to listen to "Absolutely Free."
I think the Zappa albums from the first in 1966 through 1974 are almost all outstanding (a clunker here and there, but there are at least 10 albums from that era). From 1975 on, it becomes hit and miss. Still, the output is prodigious and I remain a reverent Zappa fan.
As for the fellow who says Zappa would vote for Ron Paul, the fellow is dreaming. Zappa had libertarian tendencies, and he was not at all fond of unions. However, he remained a supporter of what are known as liberal Democrats through the end of his life. He would have rolled his eyes about Ron Paul's obsession with the gold standard and destroying government programs that helped the impoverished or most vulnerable.
Hey Frank, if you can hear me....the odd time signatures and the intentional lack of melody, does not mean you're smart, it means you're bored.
What do I think of when I think of Frank Zappa?
Arrogant
Smug
and quite possibly the most over-rated "musician" the world has ever known.
Talk about headache music! Aggg!!!
Thing Fish @ 35:
I absolutely subscribe.Thing Fish was a great "film" about the whole mutation thing.
In terms of statement and musical insanity,we're only in it for the money is my favorite hands down,but for his guitar playing it's apostrophe /overnight sensation. Sheik yerbouti also kicks ass.
I was lucky enough to be at the armadillo for the show that ended up on bongo fury...an amazing night.
"I eat a hot dog...it tastes real good - yummy-yummy-yum"!
I've found Franks music to be very gender split. I have rarely met women who "get" Zappa or like him. So no worries Bluegal, if you don't dig the Zappa, it isn't just you.
Hank @ 38:
I think Frank may have been talking about you when he admonished the crowd at the Whiskey`A Go-Go in 1965: "If your kids ever find out how lame you are,they`ll murder you in your bed."
Frank saved his best for (almost) last.
Yellow Shark was perfect, an album of extraordinary beauty and grace. Outrage at Valdez, and G Spot Tornado are among the finest pieces composed in the twentieth century.
Love him, admire him, or hate him, FZ was a very complex artist. Like Poe and Warhol, he was an American Original, and for that reason alone he deserves to be celebrated.
how pathetic that he has to be bleepin bleeped. you tube sucks
Finding Zappa thru my friends older brothers record collections in jr. & sr. high school (1974- 81) was a bit beyond my comprehension as an early teen, butalong with the VU, Todd Rundgren, and the Who, by the time I hit my later teens and heard Styx, Journey, Boston, et.al, I knew them for the mindless drivel they were. Thank you, Frank, for making me a teenage cynic, and giving me a lifelong courage to question the status quo. And the music was pretty good too!
miss_kitty @ 14:
I'm actually 100 percent sure that Zappa would like ron paul. i think its close minded people that aren't open to ron paul's ideas, he is called the fringe, but there are probably more people like him in the states than not. it is nobodies fault but this administrations, now im not blaming everything on them, but they have done everything and nothing right and i think some shits about to go down and this could be you know, f****** hardcore shit, [Deleted-Sitemonitor], Kennedy, and so on so on, they are connected, because this country has the tendency to be in denial to forget disastrous entanglements in foreign lands WHILE THEY'RE GOING On
Jeez Hank you didn't have to go and say all that..did ya?
I can only imagine how you must feel about Beefheart...another scintillating genius.
Anyway,save your "Brickbats". :)
FYI Frank Zappa was born on Dec 21st not the 22nd
May I suggest Mothermania (an FZ re-compilation of seminal Mothers material), Hot Rats, Roxy and Elsewhere, Waka Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, yes, even Jazz From Hell.... That ain't a 10th of it. Shut up and play yer Guitar, Frank....
And they thought it couldn't happen here!
Cocaine decisions: The man from utopia
Billy the Mountain: Just Another Band from L.A.
I like these today!
I think FZ was a great showman who, if I had met, I probably would not like personally.
He gives some kick ass interviews though.
I am a woman who "gets" Frank Zappa. However, I had a male cousin who indoctrinated me to his music and politics, at a very young age. He started me out on the "funny" stuff, like "Yellow Snow" and then guided my appreciation of some of the more "interesting" stuff, like "Thing Fish".
I have to confess that I am not an afficionado, in that I am not familiar with his entire catalog, but I do appreciate his sense of right and wrong, and can honestly say that I have seen many interviews with him, including his PMRC testimony to Congress, and I certainly agree with him on most of his views. Even on the things I didn't agree with him on, I admired his straightforward and straight shooting attitude toward the truth.
I can remember the Reagan years, when I worked in a record store, and discussions about him and whether or not he was just in it for the publicity. My response was that he was in it for the right reasons...the PMRC were in it for the publicity. I still feel the same. (still have a nagging feeling about the GORES on this one, even though I would probably vote for Gore AGAIN, if he were to run. Oh..and just for historical reference, Al Gore was not always the nemesis of the Right Wing. I remember distinctly when he was looked upon as a serious "centrist" and a uniter within the Senate. Yes, it gives me pause.)
Earlier today mothra gave me the thumbs-up on finishing off the last of whoever's birthday cake was on the middle shelf of my fridge. It was all 'dusty' in there and a light comes on every time you open the door... i'm just sayin.
out through the night in the whisperin breezes .......in a place where they keep the imaginary diseases.................................................................................................................. ... here fido,here fido..............arf,arf,arf.
"...when we jammed at Joe's Garage, we didn't have no dope or LSD, just a coupla quarts of beer..."
The modern day composer shall not die...Long Live FZ!
andy @ 8:
One of the most absurd things I have heard in a long time!
Ron Paul is a freaking stupid assed libertarian. he has no feeling about other humans. he speaks well about the Costitution, but can't seem to remember what what the common good is?
FZ vote for Ron Paul?? Hell, he'd just run again, maybe with Kucinich as his VP...
Great vid. I always love to hear him tell it like it is. Masturbation: there, I said it!
He's harder than your husband.
Harder than your husband every night.
Some people just can't approach Franks' statistical density in its basic form. You dig him or you don't.
Lakeguy @ 16:
I channel Frank.He`s saying:"DICKIE`S SUCH AN ASSHOLE,you too george."
Wait a minute,I think there`s some more for most congressmen/women and most senators: "Fuck you and fuck you,in that order." For Republicans:" If your kids ever find out how lame you are,they`ll murder you in your bed."And finally Frank says:Fuck the USA;oh,never mind your leaders have fucked the USA for decades."
Havent been able to read all the coments.
Listen to "Shut up and Play your Guitar"
It changed my life and everything I ever heard or thought about Frank.
The Idiot Bastard Son By Frank
Satire seldom makes great art, and the fact that it relies on current events usually leads to it becoming quickly dated. A lot of early Zappa, for example, relies on the listener's knowledge of social events of the 1960s in order to be understood.
As far as his guitar playing is concerned, he was stuck with "wah-wah" in the "on" position and that quickly becomes tiresome. Over the 30 years or so of his playing, his style never matured beyond the garage-band "mud shark" persona of 1965. I have several of his albums, that I enjoy occasionally. I don't think he has the staying power of his friend Don van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart. I still listen to the Captain regularly and he hasn't made an album since 1982. If you really want to hear some explosive and daring music, pick up Trout Mask Replica, Spotlight Kid, Clear Spot or (vinyl only) Lick My Decals Off, Baby.
Zappa was an imaginative composer and musician. His technical abilities were, perhaps, not up to his imagination. These days, his music tags along behind memories of his political posturing. Had he not gone toe-to-toe with Tipper, et al, he probably would be recognized as the fringe musician that, in the end, he really was.
Thanks.
mp
Freak Out was one of the most prophetic albums ever made. Listen to the music too. I would say Hot Rats, Uncle Meat, Shut up and Play your Guitar, Guitar, Lumpy Gravy, The Grand Wazoo. Frank's music is complex. If you get moved to tears by Celine Dion or Mariah Carey you won't like him. If you think those two oversing and have an urge to medicate them, then you will like Frank. If you like John Coltran, Charles Mingus, Tori Amos or Joni Mitchell, you may like him.
I believe that some people just don't have the ear for Frank's music. Frank (to me, and many others) put out some of the best jams ever recorded (both live and in the studio). If you don't think you like Frank Zappa give a listen to Black Napkins, or Punky's Whips. Give a listen to the City of Tiny Lights, or anything from the Zoot Allures album. They man was way ahead of his time, his music (for some) is still ahead of it's time and that is what makes Frank great.
I like Coltrane, although he can also go down "busy/over-playing" lane.
I like Nina Simone.
I like the Beatles.
I can't stand Celine, Styx, Kansas, Kanye, or just about anything considered "hip-hop".
There, am I cool enough now to proclaim that Frank Zappa sucked?
It was frat boy music for those frat boys who were bit smarter than the rest, but couldn't deal with melodic music because they were afraid of their feminine side.
Zappa had absolutely nothing to say musically, he was truly bored by music and so he was a bitter, miserable man. Don't believe me? Ask some of his former bandmates.
Seriously, minimizing the contribution FZ made to music (not just popular music)
really belies an ignorance of his work. Plain and simple.
I happen to LOVE his music, but if you don't like it or don't get it,
I could not care less. Go listen to Philip Glass or Lou Reed or Bob Dylan
or some other boring bulls**t.
Did you ever wonder why Zappa people are SO ardent about the music?
There is only one reason.
"Zappa had absolutely nothing to say musically, he was truly bored by music and so he was a bitter, miserable man."
That statement is just about the stupidest thing I have ever read.
I just miss Frank
I miss Frank... who knew Lancaster, CA could spawn such genius?!?! I always recommend 'One Size Fits All', 'Apostrophe' and 'Zoot Allures' to cover the accessible Zappa.
scott @ 69:
Right,
there have been a couple of others....like#64
Frank was a treasure and a necessity for music in the last half of the 20th century. He put his ax down cut his hair and sensibly walked into the lion's den are successfully argued on behalf of creative freedom. Sure, towards the end he chose not to play his guitar....he was a musician. Those of us who are fans it always was either you like him or you don't. There were periods when I wasn't too keen on 'the product'...but I was always willing to support the artist.
Give $100 to Kucinich today: https://services.myngp.com/ngponlineservices/contribution.aspx?X=aDlDFFT...
myshadow @ 72:
Well, at least I'm capable of saying something more intelligent than "anybody who doesn't think like I think is stupid." Too bad you can't say the same.
Frank Zappa was not the greatest musician or composer of the 20th Century. Period. Nor did he singlehandedly reshape modern/20th Century music. Period. If you want to dispute one of my statements, provide something more substantial than "you're stupid." Captain Beefheart was writing and performing "punk rock" 10 years before it even had a name. Neil Young was writing and performing "grunge rock" before it existed as a concept. John McLauglin hammered together electric guitar and jazz in ways that influenced whole generations of rock and jazz players. No such statement can be made about Frank Zappa. He leaves behind a large and occasionally interesting body of work, but it is not one that anyone has or will build upon.
As I wrote already, he was imaginative and creative. I attended three of his live performances back in the day. He was fun to watch, although his guitarplaying was merely competent and his fascination with the wahwah pedal was incomprehensible. I own a few of his albums and, in fact, just ordered Sheik Yerbouti this week (but only because it has Adrian Belew on it). But if I had to choose between him and the Captain for my desert island scenario, the Captain wins hands down.
Thanks.
mp
Ah, Frank...discovered his music in jr. high school through (what else?) "Over-Nite Sensation," HOWEVER I also remember his first three LPs being heavily advertised in, of all places, "Archie" Comics!!!
I got to see the man in person once: Mother's Day 1980, in his (and my) hometown, Baltimore. Fantastic show from the "Joe's Garage" tour, featuring a great extended solo on "Outside Now." (Frank's family used to live on Park Heights Avenue in Baltimore, a few blocks south of Pimlico Racetrack. The rowhouse is almost certainly still there. A neighborhood you most definitely would NOT want to walk through now.)
One of my favorite Zappa cuts is "Yo' Mama" from "Sheik Yerbouti" - even if it is pasted together from three or four different sources.
Most people don't realize that FZ's albums generally are split into two categories: the primarily vocal satirical/funny sets (say, "Freak Out!" or "Sheik Yerbouti"), and the mostly instrumental, guitar-oriented stuff ("Hot Rats," "The Grand Wazoo"). Avant-garde/classical albums such as "Lumpy Gravy" and "Francesco Zappa" form a sub-category, as do the big-band records like "Uncle Meat." (And let us not forget the Mothers' doo-wop LP!) Thus, FZ's catalog is so vast and varied as to be utterly intimidating to the uninitiated. If you're trying to turn somebody on to Zappa, or are interested in checking him out yourself, the best CD to grab is "Strictly Commercial." This music is an acquired taste, so get a mouthful of the "safe" stuff first.
Oh, and Hank: "You're an asshole, you're an asshole - that's RIGHT! You're an asshole, you're an asshole - YES YES!!"
The irony is not missed.
You drool over FZ for being someone you claim stood up for being a maverick and embracing individuality, yet since I don't care for Zappa's music, (and happen to know a few of his x-bandmates who thought he was indeed bored and a jerk), and the response is that I'm stupid. Hilarious.
All I can say is go put on your boring anti-melodic noise, er, Zappa's Greatest S-its, and stay indoors playing Dungeons & Dragons, only coming out next year to vote for Ron Paul.
BTW, I'll take Overnight Sensation by the Raspberries over Zappa's any day.
I view FZ as more of an arranger (brilliant) rather than an original composer. I certainly do enjoy a lot of his music - Freak Out!, Lumpy Gravy, We're only in it for the Money, Absolutely Free, and Uncle Meat are outstanding and I still enjoy listening to them, but a lot of their brilliance is also due to the musicianship of the Mothers. And, he was keen to ripping off direct riffs from a lot of other contemporary classical composers: Stravinsky, Varese, Stockhausen, et. al.
I'm not sure he was such a great guy on a personal level. Too many of his collaborators (original Mothers, Capt. Beefheart, Wildman Fischer, etc.) have mentioned how he basically used them to further his own career ends and then ditched them when they were no longer of any use.
Plus, I don't like the fact that he (and now his estate) have refused to release Beefheart's original "Shiny Beast/Bat Chain Puller", seemingly out of pure spite!
I am absolutely ASTONISHED by some of this.
If you think he wasn't melodic, you're just being stupid. Sorry, there is no other way about it. Blessed Relief, Watermelon in Easter Hay, Orange County (whichever version) Let's Make The Water Turn Black, the two Shark pieces I'd mentioned earlier...
And to Hank (67) have you asked Mike Keneally, or Steve Vai? I'd think, you'd get a totally different story. He had no tolerance for people that showed up drunk or stoned, and he was a workaholic, which some people can't handle. Even those who claimed "he ripped me off" worked with him (see 200 Motels) after they'd left the group. Wildman Fischer was never going to have any career without him. Don Van Vliet had his issues; face it, they were both very stubborn, hard to deal with at times. The best music in his career (short of Ice Cream For Crow) was under Zappa's direct care.
I just returned from the record store where I picked up Yellow Shark.
I would really disagree with those who did not think Franks music was all that, not to prove you wrong I just disagree.
The musicianship of the mothers was only that because of Frank.
His guitar playing was excellent, listen to the solo on the King Biscuit Flower Hour 1977, again I am not saying this to argue it is just mho.
And there are always, 77
Radian Says: and 76
Hank Says:
Who say whatever without really knowing what they are talking about, and his records are still selling, and, after all this time, there are thousands who won't forget him.
78
Sal Says: +1 and Zootallures Intro, killer solo, he could use feedback so well.
Sal @ 78:
Well, I don't think that is strictly correct. It is correct, however, that the Captain was self-indulgent to the point of incompetence when it came to producing his own material. But his songwriting and arranging were brilliant, so even when he went over the top, the material remained powerful.
Final note: you can like Frank Zappa's music without waxing hagiographical about the man. Even if he wasn't God's gift to music, he's a keeper.
Thanks.
mp
You're outta yer mind, son
Michael Powe @ 64:
Hank @ 67:
No one has mentioned "Burnt Weenie Sandwich"!!
thanks for the crossfire video andy!
FZ effortlessly & eloquently drilled loftin into the ground.
mahalos flamethrower@17: black napkins, yea.
"All I can say is go put on your boring anti-melodic noise, er, Zappa's Greatest S-its, and stay indoors playing Dungeons & Dragons, only coming out next year to vote for Ron Paul.
BTW, I'll take Overnight Sensation by the Raspberries over Zappa's any day."
Oh, alright. You're not stupid.
Okey-Doke
"No one has mentioned “Burnt Weenie Sandwich”!!"
So I'll mention it now! That and "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" (I always did like the side one suite on it). I'm holding the original Bizarre/Reprise LP pressings in my lap...
I'm going through an extremely difficult holiday season. I just may slap these on to see if they make me feel better.
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