Doing a youtubedump thread on what would have been the 75th birthday of my favorite musician of all time. Might be a lonely thread.

Frank wrote Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo when he was confined to a wheelchair, having been pushed off a stage and into an orchestra pit by a crazed fan. He used the time to really explore orchestrated jazz fusion, like the title track of the first of the two albums. The part where the chimes come in at the end is beautiful. The trumpet and Mini-Moog solos are pretty great too. I love a good Mini-Moog.

It's hard to pick a favorite Zappa song because there are so many different eras, but "What's New in Baltimore?" is always in the team photo. You get guitar work from Steve Vai and FZ on this one, in addition to Zappa's trademark marimba (albeit programmed on the Synclavier this time) runs. One of the things people have ragged on FZ for is that his music is somehow dispassionate, too concerned with wankery for you to really feel anything. I won't deny that it's a concern, but when Zappa wanted to make you feel, as he did here, on "Watermelon in Easter Hay," "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk," among others, he could make you feel.

No apologies, this was the first Frank Zappa song I ever listened to, back in my sophomore year of high school. I don't even remember what prompted me to download it, but it was as good a choice as any.

_________________

Zappa is someone I've always respected but whose music never really clicked with me. Here is a story Vai has told many times about his first audition with Frank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6cplMM3d_Q

_________________

Vai should tell the story of a groupie giving him a sphere of shit in a mason jar.

_________________

Last year someone here recommended a Tunein Radio station called Peace Radio--very eclectic with a healthy dose of Zappa. Big hit coming through my beloved Insignia Rock Speakers ($99 for the pair at Best Buy). Nothing from We're Only in it for the Money though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYGyySCI9kE

_________________
Soccer 1,2,3
Spanish Honor Society 1,2,3,4
Forensics 1,2,3,4

"Smiles with Nostrils"

"...no Hmong, go find some blacks"

Frank is in my team photo of favorite musicians of all time. He was a musicians musician & many non musicians hated him and his music because they didnt understand or appreciate it. Sure he was a cranky cantankerous SOB, but Frank was a musical genius & a very under rated guitarist. Gonna listen to some FZ tunes tonight starting with Roxy & elsewhere & Zappa in New York.

_________________
CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

"Outside Now" in its superior Broadway the Hard Way iteration. My favorite song in 11/8 time. I don't know what #2 would be. Ike Willis is my favorite Zappa vocalist for sure.

The theme to Night School, a public affairs sort of TV show that Zappa wanted to do with Dan Schorr but never got around to. This was one of FZ's first Synclavier pieces, I like the way it has kind of a brave-new-world sound to it.

_________________

I don't think "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" is anything but a cartoon song. "Watermelon" is definitely a heartfelt guitar solo if you like that sort of thing. I would say the song "Joe's Garage" makes me feel as much as anything he ever did.

But here's the problem I have with Scorehead's pompous statement above. If people really don't understand Zappa or his music (and I'm not at all convinced that's the case), that's on him. He's the one who has failed to communicate with his audience.

Anyway, I don't think anyone disputes the musicianship of Zappa and his band members. Talk about putting a song across with heart and feeling, not many can do it better than Flo & Eddie, not to mention they just have gorgeous voices. The thing is, with Zappa it always seems like some kind of inside joke. His sense of humor (and it's a weird one) was always going to trump any sincerity or deep feelings he had when it came to expressing himself via music. I think he is a good example of a guy who was simply too smart or had too much thought to be a real great within the context of rock and roll.

_________________
Don't take it personally.

I was thinking of the very end,

And if you don't know by now,
The truth of what I'm tellin' you,
Then surely I have failed somehow

Coming at the end of the album from his final tour, it's the perfect cap to his oeuvre.



Eh. There was a lot that I didn't understand initially, but I came to get it. Zappa is a journey. Same with the Grateful Dead, Phish, and other cult bands with immense discographies that most people hate. I mean, everything can't be three chords and the truth.

_________________

His music made about as much sense as his taste in women:

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Why do you contribute to any conversation I ever have.

_________________

Let's hang out!

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

If it makes you feel any better, his widow who got old and fat died a month or two ago.

_________________

Well,I didn't know that. She must have been something in her prime.

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Hey look,your hero and mine on the same cover:

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

"Trouble Every Day" from the first Mothers album, Freak Out!, has aged quite gracefully. I don't know what's up with Absolutely Free sounding like it was recorded on a telephone; it really ruins "Brown Shoes Don't Make It."

I've always been a fan of these two cuts off lesser-known '70s album Studio Tan, "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra" and "RDNZL." Love the beginning of "RDNZL."

_________________

The Grateful Dead is much different than that. I'm not a big Dead fan, but the band- neither purposely nor coincidentally- ever made me feel like I was missing something or like I was on the outside, and that in spite of a rabid fan base with all kinds of arcane traditions. In the case of Zappa I have no idea whether it's purposeful or coincidence, but as I said, his music often plays like some sort of inside joke. And though I do believe there is nothing more forceful than three chords and the truth, my complaints about Zappa have nothing to do with a lack of appreciation for more complex forms.

_________________
Don't take it personally.

Well, the Dead never felt like an inside joke to me, but the whole Deadhead thing was somewhere between daunting and alienating just because of how established the whole cult phenomenon was. With Zappa, the material itself is the gatekeeper more than the community. Like I've said before, I was so surprised that a lot of Grateful Dead just sounded kinda like CSNY and stuff. I figured it had to be even more abstruse than Zappa.

_________________

Apostraphe
Joe's Garage

I think there's truth in what both CH and JORR are saying.

I haven't explored nearly enough of Zappa's catalog, but will over time. The problem is....a lot of it requires some effort, which is very un-rock-n-roll.

Huge respect for him...truly one of a kind.

_________________

Hot Rats
Apostrophe
Sheik Yerbouti
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Joe's Garage
Guitar
Strictly Commercial
Jazz From Hell

_________________
@audioidkid

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I couldn't agree more. That song could be talking about the unrest of today.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Truth.

Apostrophe

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way