Zappa is a god!

[elfs]

How the hell did I get all the way to being 37 without ever listening to Frank Zappa? I mean, sure, I'd heard Zappa before, a couple of tracks now and then. I've had Sheik Yerbouti on my shelf for years, an impulse buy back when everyone else in college was listening to it back in the late 1980's, but I almost never listened to it. After hearing Bobby Brown Goes Down and Jewish Princess, I kinda thought of him as an intellectual Weird Al, but I never quite grokked what others saw in him.

So this week I've been listening to You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, a live album, and realizing that I've completely missed out on the Zappa experience. He was unimaginably talented personally and his band had such talent, such integration. Listening to him you realize that only Dave Matthews has managedtos put together a popular band quite so good, but Zappa's so clearly have fun, joshing with the audience, feeding their expectations and giving every inch. There isn't a moment of hesitation on the whole CD. When his band gives him a false start he starts laughing and says, "You can't start like that! Try again!" and he's still having fun, and so is the band.

Live Zappa is like good sex. The band came to play; the audience came to listen. Both sides knew what they were there for and there are no illusions, no grandstanding, no superstar tantrums. Zappa knew he was good; he knew his band was quality; the audience knows it too. There's enormous respect on all sides, and I just admire a man and a band that respects its audience so well, instead of being there for the cash and the promotion, which is so clearly the case with most talent.

Comments

[riverheart.livejournal.com]

How *did* you get to be this age without listening to Zappa? I consider him an essential.

Some 24 years ago or so, I had the opportunity to see Frank Zappa in concert at the Berkeley Community Theatre. He played two shows in one night. I had a ticket to the first show. The second show hadn't sold all that well, so he invited all the folks who came for the first show to stay for the second.

The two shows were *completely* different. Not one song was repeated.

It was amazing. That was the only time I ever got to see Zappa; it was a good one, and my, that was a tight band. It was one (well, two) of the best shows I've ever seen in my life, and given that I worked at concerts for 15 years, going to well over a hundred shows every year, that's saying something.

[funos.livejournal.com]

I wholly agree.

"Titties And Beer" done live is a great example of the band having fun.

I got into Zappa initially through the somewhat different "Jazz From Hell" instrumental album.

i followed river here

[urthlvr.livejournal.com]

i'm glad you now grok zappa. my first intro was Sheik Yebouti. then i heard Zoot Allures (sp?) and "the torture never stops" i was never the same again.

don't fool yourself girls
its winkin' at you

[creepingcrud.livejournal.com]

Yes, Zappa is a lot of fun. I was just spinning YCDTOSAM 2 (the Helsinki Concert) the other day, and it's fantastic. If you are interested in picking up more of his stuff, there's a nice career overview that a guy I know wrote that might interest you.

Also possibly of interest, there's a group of Zappa band alumni and younger musicians called Project/Object who tour the US periodically and do a fantastic job of continuing to propagate his music while maintaining a similar attitude toward the joy of performance.

I did get to see Zappa live

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

and had a hell of a good time. It was while he was touring and collecting panties and bras for a quilt. I don't think I was actually wearing any underwear to contribute, alas.

The only thing I didn't enjoy was an absolutely endless drum solo, which bored me to tears. I wished desperately that there was some way I could traslocate to a cosy, silent recliner in the ladies room, where I could take a nap until it was over. I've had more interesting half hours during children's concerts.

[j5nn5r.livejournal.com]

"How the hell did I get all the way to being 37 without ever listening to Frank Zappa?"

I made it to 45, catch up you slacker. :)

Greetings from Maui.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

'course, the flip side of Zappa's respect for his audience is this:

"The crux of the biscuit is: If it entertains you, fine. Enjoy it. If it doesn't, then blow it out your ass. I do it to amuse myself. If I like it, I release it. If somebody else likes it, that's a bonus."

Basically he did it 'cause he LIKED it, and them as liked it too showed up... he wasn't just punching a clock, he was having fun.... which may be the reason Jimmy Buffett is so popular, as he does the same schtick... or Louis Armstrong, for that matter.... Louis once said something like, "They pay me to haul around equipment and set it up and tear it down. Then they let me play some."

No substitute for enjoying the work, regardless.

[talisker.livejournal.com]

When I was doing my master's degree, my boss at the time was an original hippie that never grew up. He'd been a touring jazz musician before his scientific career kinda fell in his lap. Anyway, he'd always be saying "As long as there's Zappa playing somewhere in the world, I know things'll be ok"

Zappa on Zappa

[dion.livejournal.com]

Elf,

If you would like to avail yourself to another side of Zappa, check out "The Real Frank Zappa Book" which came out in 1990, right after the Tipper Gore / PMRC hearings. You do know that part right? Anyway, he has wonderfully ascerbic and dead-on observations about American pop culture, politics, and even puts in a section on parenthood. I consider it essential reading since Zappa was one of the true great unfettered minds of our time. Its also funny as hell to read, with great illustrations.

If this is already well known, pardon my interruption!

-Dave D