Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Next month it will be 41 years since the release of Freak Out and 40 years since the release of Absolutely Free. Since the Internet is abuzz with celebrations of the anniversaries of Blonde on Blonde and Pet Sounds, I thought it was high time I started a thread celebrating one of my all time favorite guitar player/composer/classic avatar anti-heroes, the inimitable Uncle Frankie. Favorite albums or songs, concert stories, or anything else FZ related would be cool to read here. I know he's not one of the "towering figures" around these parts (like Dylan, Neil Young, etc.), but his work has been a big part of my life for almost 30 years, and I know some of ya'll like him, so ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Zappa is awesome. I'm a huge fan of We're Only in it For the Money and Hot Rats, but pretty much all of his work is inspired and crazy and entertaining. Frank Zappa on Crossfire for those interested Quote Link to post Share on other sites
owl Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Blow it out your ass, motorcycle man! I mean, I am the Devil, do you understand? Just what will you give me for your titties and beer? I suppose you noticed this little contract here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedling Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I got into zappa late. Being 32 years of age doesnt help, however, I was introduced to "peaches" after eating some "garden vegetables" and was blown away. I couldnt believe I hadnt been familiar to his music. I soon picked up a greatest hits, later to find out some of the songs were cut short. (radio versions or some shit) When I met my wife I was reading his autobio and buying a new record every month. She refers to this as my love affair with zappa. The best story I have involves driving some drunk friends home from the bar one night and on the way home playing "hot rats." Before we got home one of my friends opens the rear door and gets sick....BEHOLD THE POWER OF ZAPPA! If you want to get into his music you better come correct! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 you guys should wait for Scott, or he's going to have a lot of reading to catch up on... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
noyes Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Frank Zappa on Crossfire for those interested classic link. i have WOIIFTM and Bongo Fury.i understand him and Mr. Van Vliet were best friends.i definitely have to listen to his work more. much more. i appreciate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Smith Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I ssaw Zappa twice in one night back in 1980 or 81 or so at ISU. Very interesting performance and what a phenominal guitar player. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 what a phenominal guitar player. I'm quite fond of "Guitar" and also "Hot Rats" his autobiography was pretty good too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Favorite album: Sheik Yerbouti. I picked this album up when I was about 13 years old after having gotten into Zappa with a childhood pal listening to Overnight Sensation and Apostrophe. We loved the goofy innuendos and bazarre attitude that came out in his tunes. Sheik Yerbouti was a defining album in my musical adventures. It remains an all-time favorite album of any of my favorite artists. The same buddy and I wanted to catch Zappa in Hartford on a Barking Pumpkins Halloween tour in the fall of '79 or '80. My old man wouldn't let us go solo, so god love him he took us himself. My dad was (is) a reserved cat: republican,small-town lawyer, laid back. But certainly not into Zappa. We shuffled off to "the bathroom" a few times throughout the night to enhance our young minds for the show. I believe he was onto us as the first stop after the show was to a Friendly's so the two of us young punks could soothe our transformed brains over icecream. I remember the show vividly and was amazed at how he wielded control over his very large ensemble with the mere flick of a baton or flashing of a hand with some digits in the air. The band would take off in another direction to Mr. Zappa's desire. After he died his catalogue was switched over to RykoDisc. I happened to have a good friend working for the small label at the time and he used to send me tons of Zappa discs. The body of work he produced is mind-boggling. I always thought he was underrated in the fact that he has a lot of hard-core fans but seemingly few casual fans. Their loss. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 As someone who is intrigued by Zappa but not really a "fan" yet, I am thinking of checking out one of these Zappa Plays Zappa shows this August. Is this a good idea? Anyone else going to any of these? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 This is THE CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER....it is my responsiblity to enforce all the laws that haven't been passed yet....it is also my responsibility to warn each and every one of you to the potential consequences of various everyday activities you may be currently performing which could eventually lead to ----THE DEATH PENALTY. Or affect your parents' credit rating... When I was in H.S. Shiek Yerbouti, and the Joe's Garage trilogy came out ('79). It warped me for life. More later...llynnowens, you should go see this Z does Z thing. It will be mind-blowing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 In the town (ahem, village) where I grew up - Oak Park, IL - the podiatrist on Lake Street was Dr. Frank Zappa. His receptionist wouldn't give out business cards to anyone who looked like a lousy teenage punk who just wanted one for kicks. But not until they learned the hard way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leo Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Only saw him once -- Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, 1977. He was, and is one of my musical heroes and the show remains a top 10, largely due to Frank and Adrian Belew trading scorching riffs and solos. Because it was me, 19 years old, in Ann Arbor, and it was 1977, I don't recall much more that that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 My Zappa appreciation started when I bought "Freak Out!" and "Joe's Garage" on cassette on the same day in 1988. Watermelon in Easter Hay got a lot of play and even became the subject of one of my drum lessons (figuring out odd time signatures). From there I became obsessed with "We're Only in it for the Money", and now I've accumulated almost all of the albums except for the '80s stuff (Thing Fish, Broadway the Hard Way, Mothers of Prevention, etc.). My Zappa/Mona Lisa poster has been proudly hung in every house or apartment I've ever lived in. I can't say the same for any other posters I've ever had. LammyCat, if you haven't seen "Baby Snakes" movie you'd probably enjoy it. They play a lot of the Sheik Yerbouti material. The Zappa Dub Room Special, which came out a year or two ago is required viewing for any fans of the Roxy and Elsewhere era. (It also has some footage of the Steve Vai era, which I'm not as big a fan of.) There's a new dvd from the Classic Albums series covering the Overnight Sensation and Apostrophe albums. It's on the top of my Netflix queue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 18, 2007 Author Share Posted May 18, 2007 Wow, this really got a nice response. Cool. I got turned on to Zappa largely via AOR stations in the late 70s. There was a great radio special on him that started out something like this (very dramatic voiceover): "He came out of the west in 1965, leading a band of cosmic weirdoes in a frontal assault on the musical sensibilities of the civilized world..." The special included some nice interview segments and a highly diverse selection of his music, with songs like "Cheap Thrills," "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," and "I'm The Slime." I was bowled over by his off-the-wall humor, much as I would be when I first started reading Hunter S. Thompson, but I was also instantly able to put him in the same upper pantheon of guitar players that included Hendrix and Santana. In time, I would grow to appreciate his guitar work even more than anyone else. (He was really more in the same class as John McLaughlin or Alan Holdsworth, but I didn't know that then.) I started obsessively collecting his work, and albums like Overnight Sensation, Apostrophe' and One Size Fits All became major parts of my high school soundtrack. (And I agree with jff about The Dub Room Special... great stuff. I wish I had had it back then.) My parents were a lot like Lammycat's, very conservative and straitlaced, so when I refused to let my mom look at the song titles on Sheik Yerbouti, she marched her defiant 14-year-old back to the store to return the record. I was disappointed, but at least my mom didn't see the title "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes." I, too, only had one opportunity to see him live, but what a show! It was Binghamton, NY, St. Patrick's Day, 1988. Rumor had it that FZ wasn't playing guitar anymore, having taken up composing on the synclavier, so when he strapped on an electric guitar during the opening song and started abusing it, the place went nuts. We were treated to a dream Zappa show, including "Montana," "My Guitar," "Andy," and one of his greatest compositions, "Inca Roads." That same year, I wrote a paper on him for a graduate school class, and got an A on it. I think Frank would have cracked up if he could have seen the lyrics I quoted. He probably would have arched one of those famous bushy eyebrows and said, "You got on A for quoting 'Ram it up yer poop chute?'" Oh yeah, I haven't seen this ZPZ tour, but I heard it's great. If you've got the cash, you should go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 I don't really dig the guy's music, but I love him and wish he beat cancer. He was a force for good. That Crossfire segment is great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darkstar Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 JOE:Fick mich, du miserabler hurensohnFick mich, du miserabler hurensohnStreck ihn ausStreck aus deinen heifien gelockten.Streck ihn ausStreck aus deinen' heinen gelocktenStreck ihn ausStreck aus deinen heiften gelockten schwanzAh-ee-ahee-ahhhhh!Mach es sehr schnellRein und rausMagisches SchweinMach es sehr schnellRein und rausMagisches SchweinBis es spritzt, spritzt, spritzt Feuer!Bis es spritzt, spritzt, spritzt Feuer!Aber beklecker nicht das Sofa, Sofa!Aber beklecker nicht das Sofa, Sofa!Aber beklecker nicht das Sofa, Sofa!Aber beklecker nicht das Sofa, Sofa! Stunned by JOE's command of its native tongue, a gleaming modelXQJ-37 nuclear powered Pan-Sexual Roto-Plooker named SY BORG(previously thought to be the son of the lady who called the Police on cuttwo, side I), spindles over to JOE and says.. SY BORG:Pick me...I'm clean...I am also programmed for conversational English. This stuns JOE, who stands there speechless for a moment. Smitten byJOE's animal magnetism, SY continues... SY BORG:May I have this dance?And JOE, looking sharp in his housewife costume with the napkin onhis head and the yellow chiffon apron, responds boldly by repeating theentreaty originally delivered in Deutsch in its conversational English form,so that his intentions regarding the Appliance will be made perfectly clear... JOE:I've got a better idea...Fuck me, you ugly son of a bitchYou ugly son of a bitchFuck me, you ugly son of a bitchStick it outStick out yer hot curly weenieStick it outStick out yer hot curly weenieStick it outStick out yer hot curly weenieWeenie.. .weenie, weenie, weenie!Make it go fastIn and out,Magical PigMake it go fastIn and out,Magical PigTill it squirts, squirts, squirts, squirtsFireTill it squirts, squirts, squirts, squirtsFireDon't get no jizz upon that sofa, sofaDon't get no jizz upon that sofa, sofaDon't get no jizz upon that sofa, sofaDon't get no jizz upon that sofa, sofa Whereupon, in order to prove to JOE that he is no ordinary Appliance,SY quotes a few lines of traditional American Love Poetry... SY BORG:What s a girl like youDoing in a place like this?Do you come here often?Wail a minute...I ve got it...You're an Italian...What?You're Jewish?Lore your nails..Yon must be a Libra....Your place or mine?Your place or mine?Your place or mine?Your place or mine.See the chromeFeel the chromeTouch the chromeHeal the chromeSee the screamingHot black steamingIridescent naugahyde python screamingSteam Roller! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 18, 2007 Author Share Posted May 18, 2007 SY quotes a few lines of traditional American Love Poetry... What's a girl like youDoing in a place like this?Do you come here often?"Traditional American Love Poetry" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 I'm quite fond of "Guitar" and also "Hot Rats" his autobiography was pretty good too. That book is cool - it is interesting to read the one that goes into all the stuff he left out though. I forget the name of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darkstar Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 "Traditional American Love Poetry" The guy was a friggin' genius as far as I'm concerned Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Awesome Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 You've seen that before, right? He is also in The Monkees movie Head. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 I've heard good things about Head; someday I'll see it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 It's really just a dark take on the The Monkees romps - as they are called. The soundtrack has some great songs on it and - Neil Young on some songs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 One of the great times of my musical life was getting to see FZ. August '84, at a small club in Indy. The tour later was released as "Does Humor Belong In Music?" Anyway, I'm in the front row & Frank comes out & starts the set with a blistering "Zoot Allures". It was a wild night...FZ was making eye contact with us all night. I think he was a little freaked out when we were singing along with "Dumb All Over". One of the things that always kinda irked me was folks thinking that he was just the guy who had a potty mouth & wrote those funny songs. Let me say, the guy had guitar chops like few other people I've ever heard. Anyone who doubts the veracity of that statement proceed directly to "Black Napkins". I've always liked the Mothers material the best. The musicianship wasn't as astounding as it was later, but it was truly groundbreaking. Absolutely Free remains a top 10 LP all-time for me. Weasels Ripped My Flesh is one of the great avant-wierd records.... listen to what he does with tape loops & such... makes the Beatles experiments with sound collage seem like kid stuff. Ike Willis (of the "Joe's" era) & Napoleon Murphy Brock put together a band called Project Object a few years back that does a fantastic job doing FZ's music. I got to see the tour that had Don Preston with them on keys. During a set break, I got to hang with Don for a beer & I told him "Thanks for being such an important part of my severely twisted life" to which he just smiled slyly & said "Glad to be of service!" I really hope that when all is said & done, FZ will be thought of as one of the great American composers. He was truly a genius. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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