It's never over for fans of FZ, for those who play the music, for those who read the magazines and interviews that define the folklore.
It's never over for those old fans waiting for new releases. It's never over for the new ones just getting into it.
It's never over for the family, for the friends, for the musicians that played with him.
It's never over. It just smells funny.
It was good to spend a few moments over these past weeks to point out that fifteen years ago, a man left this earth whose work we enjoy(ed) and wish he still was around. I got a little maudlin here and there but it's expected. December is a shitty month to die in. It's a good month to have a birthday, though. People tend to go apeshit for December birthdays.
Still haven't finished 'Them or Us,' or any of the other books I start and stop. It never ends, y'know?
It'll be around next year. Sweet sixteen. In two years, we celebrate FZ turning seventy. Three years from that, it's the big TWO-OH. Never ends. That's good. Would we want it to?
Read more!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
It's Alive!
Pittsburgh Zappa fans watching The It's Alive Show were treated to a Zappa-reference when the host, Professor Emcee Square, was confronted with his anti-Santa Claus rhetoric by a Kris Kringle representative and an elf with a familiar goatee-imperial. This 'minature Frank Zappa,' delivered the final joke of the evening.
You can watch 'The It's Alive Show' every week, either during the live broadcast or anytime during the rest of the week, each streaming over the internet. I'm a big fan, because it's such a well-written show. Stiffy the Clown has an amazing comedic delivery that's really fantastic. Everyone involved with the show, from Prof to Pointy to each cast member and extra, is a part of a great combination. It's a great piece of entertainment, and they added to Zappadan this year.
They have the best of 'Season 1' available, which I highly recommend. Give them a shot, give them some love.
Read more!
You can watch 'The It's Alive Show' every week, either during the live broadcast or anytime during the rest of the week, each streaming over the internet. I'm a big fan, because it's such a well-written show. Stiffy the Clown has an amazing comedic delivery that's really fantastic. Everyone involved with the show, from Prof to Pointy to each cast member and extra, is a part of a great combination. It's a great piece of entertainment, and they added to Zappadan this year.
They have the best of 'Season 1' available, which I highly recommend. Give them a shot, give them some love.
Read more!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Them or Us. Commercial. Free.
Recently, I bought a copy of 'Them or Us: The Book' from a gentlemen in Utah (no foolin?) and I'm half-way through it. So far, it has tied
The big secret about the book is this - it's a giant script. I hate spoiling it for you kids, but your experience is going to be different. I think the rarity of the book alone keeps it from popping up on torrent sites, or someone would have scanned it and put a .pdf up of it. It's out of print - would it be legal? Maybe. Bringing it back in print would drop the price of the used copies of it on Amazon right now. I'd buy a new copy. Maybe they'd include pictures. A revised version with Ralph Steadman (who did the artwork for 'Have I Offended Someone') would totally be worth the thirty-five or fifty-dollar price tag. I'd pay it gladly. But if it was reissued with what it was, a demented script by a man tying all his work together. Well. I've already paid for my ticket. It's your turn.
It took me about thirteen years of this and that to get all the commercial releases. I never downloaded them, since it seemed kind of foolish. And during that period, the access wasn't there. Today, you can find multiple torrents of differenciating quality of all his work. There are sites offering the bootlegs of all the concerts that DIDN'T get packaged into albums (or, still remain waiting for the ZFT and Vault Records' loving caress.)
I've spent a couple days of this holiday without listening to FZ's music or lighting the candle. It's not out of IR-REV-ERANCE but out of the truth that most of us involved in FZ's work know - every day is Zappadan. There's always a three month period of every year, maybe scattered throughout so it's every other Thursday or alternating weekends where there's a Zappa album on our CDs or mp3 players or turntables. We still check zappa.com for possible new releases or get excited when someone exerts the effort to start a new blog/site that seems different or new. Every one of us gets the shithead idea to possibly write a book about the man (I've said this before, right?) but few do it. Fewer go out and play his music, making such great albums like 'Lemme Take You To The Beach: Zappa Surf Instrumentals." When you've got it bad like I do, you spend your time at Amazon buying all the Zappa TRIBUTE CD's.
That's why I hope that 'Them or Us' stays out of print for a little longer. The new day makes it easy to find stuff, where the idle and the devoted would search the poor, infested p2p networks for anything 'Zappa,' finding the videos of concerts or clips of Frank on Letterman, the SNL appearance or the collection of tv-news obituaties put together when FZ died.
Here's a video of FZ, one of his final interviews with a douche of a reporter pulling that ever fuckin' annoying PREFACE THE QUESTION WITH THREE LINES OF STATEMENT. [TILT HEAD] ASK QUESTION technique for EVERY goddamn thing she asks the dying man.
There's some shit out there you can find that is now available due to all the frightening little skills that science has made available. It robs the new Zappa fan of his or her patience. I've listened to a couple of ZFT releases before I've bought them because I was impatient. Before, I wouldn't have. But now it's a click, and there it goes. Keeping something like books away from the instant gratification makes those who stick around for the long term appreciate their own attendence record, even though such things are completely fucking worthless in the grand scheme. It's a good read. One day, when I put it up for sale, I hope you find me and pay the ticket price and you have the same fun. Or, when my idea gets taken and Ralph pens some illustrations and the movie gets made, we all can enjoy it together and this idea of 'out-of-print' goes away, with patience, with collecting, with the idea of limited-access to information. Absolutely free. Yowza.
Read more!
- Joe's Garage
- One Size Fits All
- Francesco Zappa
- Sleep Dirt
- Studio Tan
- Just Another Band from LA
- Thing-Fish
The big secret about the book is this - it's a giant script. I hate spoiling it for you kids, but your experience is going to be different. I think the rarity of the book alone keeps it from popping up on torrent sites, or someone would have scanned it and put a .pdf up of it. It's out of print - would it be legal? Maybe. Bringing it back in print would drop the price of the used copies of it on Amazon right now. I'd buy a new copy. Maybe they'd include pictures. A revised version with Ralph Steadman (who did the artwork for 'Have I Offended Someone') would totally be worth the thirty-five or fifty-dollar price tag. I'd pay it gladly. But if it was reissued with what it was, a demented script by a man tying all his work together. Well. I've already paid for my ticket. It's your turn.
It took me about thirteen years of this and that to get all the commercial releases. I never downloaded them, since it seemed kind of foolish. And during that period, the access wasn't there. Today, you can find multiple torrents of differenciating quality of all his work. There are sites offering the bootlegs of all the concerts that DIDN'T get packaged into albums (or, still remain waiting for the ZFT and Vault Records' loving caress.)
I've spent a couple days of this holiday without listening to FZ's music or lighting the candle. It's not out of IR-REV-ERANCE but out of the truth that most of us involved in FZ's work know - every day is Zappadan. There's always a three month period of every year, maybe scattered throughout so it's every other Thursday or alternating weekends where there's a Zappa album on our CDs or mp3 players or turntables. We still check zappa.com for possible new releases or get excited when someone exerts the effort to start a new blog/site that seems different or new. Every one of us gets the shithead idea to possibly write a book about the man (I've said this before, right?) but few do it. Fewer go out and play his music, making such great albums like 'Lemme Take You To The Beach: Zappa Surf Instrumentals." When you've got it bad like I do, you spend your time at Amazon buying all the Zappa TRIBUTE CD's.
That's why I hope that 'Them or Us' stays out of print for a little longer. The new day makes it easy to find stuff, where the idle and the devoted would search the poor, infested p2p networks for anything 'Zappa,' finding the videos of concerts or clips of Frank on Letterman, the SNL appearance or the collection of tv-news obituaties put together when FZ died.
Here's a video of FZ, one of his final interviews with a douche of a reporter pulling that ever fuckin' annoying PREFACE THE QUESTION WITH THREE LINES OF STATEMENT. [TILT HEAD] ASK QUESTION technique for EVERY goddamn thing she asks the dying man.
There's some shit out there you can find that is now available due to all the frightening little skills that science has made available. It robs the new Zappa fan of his or her patience. I've listened to a couple of ZFT releases before I've bought them because I was impatient. Before, I wouldn't have. But now it's a click, and there it goes. Keeping something like books away from the instant gratification makes those who stick around for the long term appreciate their own attendence record, even though such things are completely fucking worthless in the grand scheme. It's a good read. One day, when I put it up for sale, I hope you find me and pay the ticket price and you have the same fun. Or, when my idea gets taken and Ralph pens some illustrations and the movie gets made, we all can enjoy it together and this idea of 'out-of-print' goes away, with patience, with collecting, with the idea of limited-access to information. Absolutely free. Yowza.
Read more!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Get Used To It
"Yeah, because failure is the natural state of human nature, y'know. To succeed is the rare thing, y'know. There's nothing wrong with being a failure. You can fail. Get used to it." -FZ
Check this out. I watched it with a comms. major nine years ago. His girlfriend didn't understand why he and this strange, young mutant were enthralled by this foreign language documentary about a dead Italian-American composer from the sixties onward.
Read more!
Check this out. I watched it with a comms. major nine years ago. His girlfriend didn't understand why he and this strange, young mutant were enthralled by this foreign language documentary about a dead Italian-American composer from the sixties onward.
Read more!
BLACK.
Quick note - as since I've chumped on my FZ only audio diet from here until the end of this magnificent celebration, I've tried to incorporate some bands that FZ liked. Though I've lost a lot of the interviews (they're floating around the internet SOME-AH-WHERE) I got from my higher-educational-years of downloading, there is this night that FZ hosted a radio program, spreading his OWN musical message and playing other music as well.
From memory - "I don't care what anyone says. I still like BLACK SABBATH."
Of course, Black Sabbath gets a mention in '200 Motels,' and hey - FZ digs the Sabbath. Henry Rollins suggested instead of naming hurricanes after people, we call them 'The First Four Black Sabbath Albums' and I tend to agree that quartet of releases can really MESS YO' ASS UP.
Anyway, during my HIGHSCHOOLTEENAGEYEARS, the folks running THE BIG DANCE at the end of the year were soliciting musical suggestions. Having a radical family that seemed to support my wishes despite not knowing terribly WHAT or WHY I was getting into, my Grandma had hooked me up with SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH a prior Christmas. Despite its cover of a tortured soul on a bed with SIX-SIX-SIX carved into the headboard, the album has a really nice song on it called 'Fluff,' something I thought would THRILL my TEENAGE peers.
Of course, when providing the CD for review, the head honcho looked at the demonic front cover, probably noticed that all sexual characteristics (primary AND seconday) had been blurred to strike away the women's nipples and the men's PACKAGES. And that it was called SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH - I was SHOT. DOWN.
Shot down without them even listening. 'Fluff' is a decent peice and would make a grand addition to any other teenage HOP. But that's what you get when your cover is evil looking.
Listen to Black Sabbath. 'Master of Reality' is my favorite. And then get out of the seventies.
Also, FZ said he liked the UK Subs song 'I live in a Car' as well as the Stranglers. So he liked some punk. FLOWER, PUNK.
Read more!
From memory - "I don't care what anyone says. I still like BLACK SABBATH."
Of course, Black Sabbath gets a mention in '200 Motels,' and hey - FZ digs the Sabbath. Henry Rollins suggested instead of naming hurricanes after people, we call them 'The First Four Black Sabbath Albums' and I tend to agree that quartet of releases can really MESS YO' ASS UP.
Anyway, during my HIGHSCHOOLTEENAGEYEARS, the folks running THE BIG DANCE at the end of the year were soliciting musical suggestions. Having a radical family that seemed to support my wishes despite not knowing terribly WHAT or WHY I was getting into, my Grandma had hooked me up with SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH a prior Christmas. Despite its cover of a tortured soul on a bed with SIX-SIX-SIX carved into the headboard, the album has a really nice song on it called 'Fluff,' something I thought would THRILL my TEENAGE peers.
Of course, when providing the CD for review, the head honcho looked at the demonic front cover, probably noticed that all sexual characteristics (primary AND seconday) had been blurred to strike away the women's nipples and the men's PACKAGES. And that it was called SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH - I was SHOT. DOWN.
Shot down without them even listening. 'Fluff' is a decent peice and would make a grand addition to any other teenage HOP. But that's what you get when your cover is evil looking.
Listen to Black Sabbath. 'Master of Reality' is my favorite. And then get out of the seventies.
Also, FZ said he liked the UK Subs song 'I live in a Car' as well as the Stranglers. So he liked some punk. FLOWER, PUNK.
Read more!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Waas Zappenin'
MOD-o-fied the prior post, for a little bit of clarity. If things get a little too deviant, I'll let you know. We should be good.
I shouldn't be burnt out on FZ's music but I started ripping it in late November, and listening to it a week before Zappadan started. So, like anything else, I'm failing on my FZ-only diet. He doesn't do anger that well. It's hard to get pissed at the world while listening to well orchestrated music. An oboe fails to convey a man's rage.
The oboe is a great instrument, though. I fucking love the oboe. And the cello. Low sounding instruments are fantastic. Bass. WE MUST HAVE BASS. LOUDER. WHAT ARE WE? ARE WE GODDAMN OLD LADIES?
Remember, the kids of today should protect themselves from the seventies.
Read more!
I shouldn't be burnt out on FZ's music but I started ripping it in late November, and listening to it a week before Zappadan started. So, like anything else, I'm failing on my FZ-only diet. He doesn't do anger that well. It's hard to get pissed at the world while listening to well orchestrated music. An oboe fails to convey a man's rage.
The oboe is a great instrument, though. I fucking love the oboe. And the cello. Low sounding instruments are fantastic. Bass. WE MUST HAVE BASS. LOUDER. WHAT ARE WE? ARE WE GODDAMN OLD LADIES?
Remember, the kids of today should protect themselves from the seventies.
Read more!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
An Alternative to College
Frank Zappa got me into college. His own view on higher education was unfavorable, at least to him. Going to the library was enough, but FZ was an autodidact. Others, like myself, needed the evacuation capability that secondary education provided. For some, the money spent on tuition could be used for a second-hand car and the security deposit on an apartment (and I assure you, that's just as much part of any stable person's cirriculum as ANYTHING).
But no, when you're saddled in the middle of a mountain town, there's really no plausible way that getting a job, an apartment and spending your free time to your art would yield anything but frustration and a drinking problem. Seen it happen.
Thankfully, I'm not the first one to notice and my high school had a guidance counselor that went BONGO FURY every September with the new senior class. It was warfare for this guy and I appreciate it. There was a strict time-table - do the SAT's, even if they're bullshit; send away for info. Dude hooked me up with some North East colleges. I don't think anyone in our class got into someplace with PRESTIGE. He knew out reach.
One of the entrance essays involved YOUR HERO. Colleges always wanted to find out about who the kids idolized. Must be a weeding method. Being that I went for the all blobulous field of ENGLISH, with that CREATIVE bent, it probably didn't matter who my HERO was so long it wasn't Ted Bundy.
Mutant I was, I penned out how FZ influenced me at the early age. It was true, since I found him when I needed a weird role model, someone with odd hair and strange music that seemed both in tune with my natural growth but distorted enough for my own individual set-up. I made that known in the third paragraph, how FZ taught me it was okay to disagree with your heroes (a lesson I treasure to this day.) Back then, I had different views about the merits of church and religion - we agree that manipulative behaviors preying upon the easily influenced are POOR, if not TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS. But I've always had some sense that there's some goodness to this whole GOD thing, even if it wasn't completely known. It's probably one of those strange things - having someone to teach you how to think for yourself.
Essays written, checkes cut and applications filled out, my chances were bet and mailed. Strange enough, I ended up getting into the handful I applied, thanks to a decent standardized score and enough personality to charm my way into the ACCEPTED pile on the registrar's desk.
My NUMBAH ONE school, which I admit was that because it offered a SPECIFIC 'creative writing' major for the undergraduates, surprised me. The other schools send congratulation letters. 'Congratulations, Strange Jason. You didn't chump it and we want you to SHOW UP if you want to.' But this place had a hand-written note on the margins.
Be still my heart.
I'm a fan of higher education, having liked it so much that I did it twice. I would reccomend it to anyone who has some interests. FZ didn't SCREW AROUND when it came to life and I think college is a way to specialize those interests you KNOW you want to follow all your life.
This central Pennsylvanian school was a strange experience. I got into the radio station since MUSIC IS THE BEST and opened every show with 'Rubber shirt.' Came up with a cheesy radio DEEJAE name and rocked it. Found some bands that I liked so much, I still listen to them today. Got kicked off of my radio show for calling Pat Buchanan a 'Nazi-rat bastard.' When we left the freshmen dorm, my roommate and I unscrewed the back of the mirror and wrote messages for the future. Ugly as I was, I put down the MUSIC IS THE BEST credo. Information is not Knowledge. Knowledge is not Wisdom. Truth is not Beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. MUSIC IS THE BEST.
Bought 'Broadway the Harday' in Pennsylvania because I couldn't stop listening to 'Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk,' downloaded off of one of the Naspter clones that floated around the place. WinMX or AudioGalaxy. Those odds and ends p2ps were nice because I could find odd things mislabled and wrongly tagged. I heard the version of 'King Kong' from 'Tis the Season to be Jelly,' thinking it was just a live bootleg I would never find again when my computer shat the bed.
When the writing department, the TWO whole professors (one poet, one writer) turned out to be shitheads, and the bills started to pile up, I moved back home and finished the degree at a state university. The Pennsylvania school did do something very important - I met a Pirate Queen lit professor who taught english comp. with a collie (NOT a poodle,) and who saw that I had this flair for writing. She did her best to encourage me to follow it. In the first creative peice, I had FZ and a version of me shooting the shit in whatever constituted heaven I had back then. Everyone didn't know that these bodies were floating in space and wondered when I did a 'flip' if I was doing any of that DOPE FIEND behavior. There were High School teachers who helped me get my start, but back then, I didn't trust anyone in high school. It took that first college professor to tell me that I wasn't full of shit and that I should keep going to help me out. FZ didn't need that since he had the WILLPOWER and confidence that it didn't matter if he got approval or not. Maybe he getting in touch with Varese over that phone call was enough. Maybe Varese was the Pirate that FZ needed.
Read more!
But no, when you're saddled in the middle of a mountain town, there's really no plausible way that getting a job, an apartment and spending your free time to your art would yield anything but frustration and a drinking problem. Seen it happen.
Thankfully, I'm not the first one to notice and my high school had a guidance counselor that went BONGO FURY every September with the new senior class. It was warfare for this guy and I appreciate it. There was a strict time-table - do the SAT's, even if they're bullshit; send away for info. Dude hooked me up with some North East colleges. I don't think anyone in our class got into someplace with PRESTIGE. He knew out reach.
One of the entrance essays involved YOUR HERO. Colleges always wanted to find out about who the kids idolized. Must be a weeding method. Being that I went for the all blobulous field of ENGLISH, with that CREATIVE bent, it probably didn't matter who my HERO was so long it wasn't Ted Bundy.
Mutant I was, I penned out how FZ influenced me at the early age. It was true, since I found him when I needed a weird role model, someone with odd hair and strange music that seemed both in tune with my natural growth but distorted enough for my own individual set-up. I made that known in the third paragraph, how FZ taught me it was okay to disagree with your heroes (a lesson I treasure to this day.) Back then, I had different views about the merits of church and religion - we agree that manipulative behaviors preying upon the easily influenced are POOR, if not TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS. But I've always had some sense that there's some goodness to this whole GOD thing, even if it wasn't completely known. It's probably one of those strange things - having someone to teach you how to think for yourself.
Essays written, checkes cut and applications filled out, my chances were bet and mailed. Strange enough, I ended up getting into the handful I applied, thanks to a decent standardized score and enough personality to charm my way into the ACCEPTED pile on the registrar's desk.
My NUMBAH ONE school, which I admit was that because it offered a SPECIFIC 'creative writing' major for the undergraduates, surprised me. The other schools send congratulation letters. 'Congratulations, Strange Jason. You didn't chump it and we want you to SHOW UP if you want to.' But this place had a hand-written note on the margins.
'I didn't know people your age were into Frank Zappa.'
Be still my heart.
I'm a fan of higher education, having liked it so much that I did it twice. I would reccomend it to anyone who has some interests. FZ didn't SCREW AROUND when it came to life and I think college is a way to specialize those interests you KNOW you want to follow all your life.
This central Pennsylvanian school was a strange experience. I got into the radio station since MUSIC IS THE BEST and opened every show with 'Rubber shirt.' Came up with a cheesy radio DEEJAE name and rocked it. Found some bands that I liked so much, I still listen to them today. Got kicked off of my radio show for calling Pat Buchanan a 'Nazi-rat bastard.' When we left the freshmen dorm, my roommate and I unscrewed the back of the mirror and wrote messages for the future. Ugly as I was, I put down the MUSIC IS THE BEST credo. Information is not Knowledge. Knowledge is not Wisdom. Truth is not Beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. MUSIC IS THE BEST.
Bought 'Broadway the Harday' in Pennsylvania because I couldn't stop listening to 'Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk,' downloaded off of one of the Naspter clones that floated around the place. WinMX or AudioGalaxy. Those odds and ends p2ps were nice because I could find odd things mislabled and wrongly tagged. I heard the version of 'King Kong' from 'Tis the Season to be Jelly,' thinking it was just a live bootleg I would never find again when my computer shat the bed.
When the writing department, the TWO whole professors (one poet, one writer) turned out to be shitheads, and the bills started to pile up, I moved back home and finished the degree at a state university. The Pennsylvania school did do something very important - I met a Pirate Queen lit professor who taught english comp. with a collie (NOT a poodle,) and who saw that I had this flair for writing. She did her best to encourage me to follow it. In the first creative peice, I had FZ and a version of me shooting the shit in whatever constituted heaven I had back then. Everyone didn't know that these bodies were floating in space and wondered when I did a 'flip' if I was doing any of that DOPE FIEND behavior. There were High School teachers who helped me get my start, but back then, I didn't trust anyone in high school. It took that first college professor to tell me that I wasn't full of shit and that I should keep going to help me out. FZ didn't need that since he had the WILLPOWER and confidence that it didn't matter if he got approval or not. Maybe he getting in touch with Varese over that phone call was enough. Maybe Varese was the Pirate that FZ needed.
Read more!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
That's It.
"I don't care whether I'm remembered. As a matter of fact,uh, there's uh, there's a lot of people who would like to forget about me as soon as possible. And I'm on their side, y'know? Just, hurry up and get it over with.
I do what I do because I like doing it. I do it for my amusement first. If it amuses you, then fine. I'm happy that you, uh, participated in it.
But uh, after I am dead and gone -there's no need to deal with any of this stuff because it is not written for future generations. It is not performed for future generations. It is performed for now. Get it while it's hot, y'know? That's it."
Frank Zappa
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Audience Participation
Tomorrow marks the start of this fake holiday, but really, tomorrow marks fifteen years that the world has gone without Frank Zappa. I'm already exhausted. Listening today to 'Nap Time' from the Everything Is Healing Nicely release captured a mood that's been brewing all year. I'm worn out. 2008 has been a mixed bag. But all the good and all the bad each have this in common--it's been exhausting. I think it's fitting that the 15th anniversary of FZ's death should come in this year. There's highs, lows, and in the end, all the tolerance for bullshit has been rubbed away, leaving this resilience marked with skepticism, tempered with the desire to LET ME DO MY OWN THING.
I had plans to do something of a write-up of every album. The first attempts at posts here featured a graphic for something called the 'Zappa Index Project,' but every Zappa fan feels inclined to offer her or his own two cents about the significance of each and every album, this ZIP would only add to the HEAP. Besides, seems that Calvin Wazoo over at Frank Zappa's Revenge is doing everything that Barry over at Kill Ugly Radio and his Wiki Jawaka could do. Between the two of these sites, added with St. Alphonso's Pancake Homepage, you really don't need me telling you what's what. I'll chime in with what I think are FZ's stronger and weaker points, sure. But I don't have the energy or enthusiasm to get up and go down the list.
What gives, Jason? Why chump out? Well, son, it's easy to chump because it's been fifteen years. Fifteen years and my god, fifteen years. Fifteen years since episode 523 and playing Doom 2 to 'Fine Girl,' trying to turn on your best friend at the time to FZ only to hear him ask during 'Peaches en Regalia,' "Does this song have any singing?" Fifteen years of successfully turning on not one, but at least five - Murray, James, Jon, Dan, Wally - onto the music, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not.
No joke - I made this mixtape for this friend of mine named James. I included the :57 version of 'Holiday in Berlin' sung by Roy Estrada in there. :57 was all it took to turn this guy onto it. Of course, James was a hell of a musician, a bass player of no equal, a wicked guitar player. Haven't talked to him in about five to eight years. He became an Uncle and might still be up in the Mountain town where we all grew up in. Little houses, y'know.
Fifteen years. Never knew Frank, never saw him live. I still have my Dad, I can only imagine how his kids feel (and write about it, see below.) It's fifteen years, fifteen years. It's time to be tired, to grab a beer and listen to some music for a couple of weeks.
There are things we can do to try and participate. I tried to do these things - eat FZ themed foods (burnt weenie sandwiches, slices of watermelon in easter hay, uncle meat, easy meat, penguin in bondage, sleeping in a jar, would you like a snack?, eat that question, white port and lemon juice, the poodle chews it, titties and beer) but damn, no. Maybe one day, maybe when it's sunny. This time of joy is best for warmer weather, better for California, for San Ber'dino, for Sun Village. It's cold here. It's December. Tomorrow is the 4th of December.
I thought about making a Zappa-themed-menora of sorts, a forteen candle configuration in a giant Z. But that was too much, couldn't be done in the way I would like it. So I spent the buck-fifty for this tall candle, printed out a picture at work and scotch-taped it to the glass.
I think I did a pretty decent job for all things considered. Next year, as I'm sure I'll be doing this next year, I'll print it out on a label and avoid the tape. I wanted to get a picture of Frank smiling, since there's plenty of pictures of him not. I wanted this memorial of a bit of laughter, a bit of happiness. Here, you see him standing at a podium with a mic in his hand (and a wrench in his pocket.) Telefunken-U47. Just a few questions. Packard Goose talking to the rock and roll writers, the worst kind of sleaze.
I wanted a smiling FZ picture for the same reason my Dad cut the picture of a laughing Jesus out from the Sunday program back when we used to go to church. We wanted a representation of happiness in those who brought us joy. My Dad has been a decent man who hasn't thumped a bible but has been sincere about his relationship with GAWD and the afterlife. I don't think Jesus thinks him a jerk, but who knows? Who knows?
Smiling Frank with a microphone, too far back to know that fifteen years after your death, some strange kid (no longer a kid) would write about you, not in a way to eulogize or bury you but too tired to dig you up from your grave. Fifteen years. It was a crappy time when you left. It's crappy now. Fifteen years. Where does the time go?
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I had plans to do something of a write-up of every album. The first attempts at posts here featured a graphic for something called the 'Zappa Index Project,' but every Zappa fan feels inclined to offer her or his own two cents about the significance of each and every album, this ZIP would only add to the HEAP. Besides, seems that Calvin Wazoo over at Frank Zappa's Revenge is doing everything that Barry over at Kill Ugly Radio and his Wiki Jawaka could do. Between the two of these sites, added with St. Alphonso's Pancake Homepage, you really don't need me telling you what's what. I'll chime in with what I think are FZ's stronger and weaker points, sure. But I don't have the energy or enthusiasm to get up and go down the list.
What gives, Jason? Why chump out? Well, son, it's easy to chump because it's been fifteen years. Fifteen years and my god, fifteen years. Fifteen years since episode 523 and playing Doom 2 to 'Fine Girl,' trying to turn on your best friend at the time to FZ only to hear him ask during 'Peaches en Regalia,' "Does this song have any singing?" Fifteen years of successfully turning on not one, but at least five - Murray, James, Jon, Dan, Wally - onto the music, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not.
No joke - I made this mixtape for this friend of mine named James. I included the :57 version of 'Holiday in Berlin' sung by Roy Estrada in there. :57 was all it took to turn this guy onto it. Of course, James was a hell of a musician, a bass player of no equal, a wicked guitar player. Haven't talked to him in about five to eight years. He became an Uncle and might still be up in the Mountain town where we all grew up in. Little houses, y'know.
Fifteen years. Never knew Frank, never saw him live. I still have my Dad, I can only imagine how his kids feel (and write about it, see below.) It's fifteen years, fifteen years. It's time to be tired, to grab a beer and listen to some music for a couple of weeks.
There are things we can do to try and participate. I tried to do these things - eat FZ themed foods (burnt weenie sandwiches, slices of watermelon in easter hay, uncle meat, easy meat, penguin in bondage, sleeping in a jar, would you like a snack?, eat that question, white port and lemon juice, the poodle chews it, titties and beer) but damn, no. Maybe one day, maybe when it's sunny. This time of joy is best for warmer weather, better for California, for San Ber'dino, for Sun Village. It's cold here. It's December. Tomorrow is the 4th of December.
I thought about making a Zappa-themed-menora of sorts, a forteen candle configuration in a giant Z. But that was too much, couldn't be done in the way I would like it. So I spent the buck-fifty for this tall candle, printed out a picture at work and scotch-taped it to the glass.I think I did a pretty decent job for all things considered. Next year, as I'm sure I'll be doing this next year, I'll print it out on a label and avoid the tape. I wanted to get a picture of Frank smiling, since there's plenty of pictures of him not. I wanted this memorial of a bit of laughter, a bit of happiness. Here, you see him standing at a podium with a mic in his hand (and a wrench in his pocket.) Telefunken-U47. Just a few questions. Packard Goose talking to the rock and roll writers, the worst kind of sleaze.
I wanted a smiling FZ picture for the same reason my Dad cut the picture of a laughing Jesus out from the Sunday program back when we used to go to church. We wanted a representation of happiness in those who brought us joy. My Dad has been a decent man who hasn't thumped a bible but has been sincere about his relationship with GAWD and the afterlife. I don't think Jesus thinks him a jerk, but who knows? Who knows?
Smiling Frank with a microphone, too far back to know that fifteen years after your death, some strange kid (no longer a kid) would write about you, not in a way to eulogize or bury you but too tired to dig you up from your grave. Fifteen years. It was a crappy time when you left. It's crappy now. Fifteen years. Where does the time go?
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Frank about Frank
I have a couple people to blame for me getting into Zappa. My Dad was tossing his name around one time and it stuck with me, with heavy textures of the "Z" and the double "P" sounds. WIZN, local classic rock station known for it's 'Glow In The Dark Radio' and nightly 'Power Plays,' a half-hour's worth of music of a single artist, played 'Joe's Garage' one night while my family and I drove home from some late winter, social activity. I don't remember hearing much of it, thanks to the blaring hum of the car's poor heating system.
Dad's strange experiment of enrolling me in the Columbia House music club would pay-off. He wanted me to build a music library, and my pre-Zappa picks of the FREE 13 CDs I was allowed upon signing up have all whittled away. Too many unknowing guesses, too many bad choices. It was in July of 1994 that I really got to hear 'Joe's Garage,' and how fucking weird it was.
But besides both those strange and paternal sources, there's one other source I mainly accredit for what has been a fourteen year long tenure as a fan: Kevin Murphy. Particularly, Kevin Murphy and Mystery Science Theater 3000. In particular of the particularly, episode 523, 'Village of the Giants,' original air date 1/22/94.
Being young in the mid nineties with basic cable and a basement meant watching MST3k was not a probability but a fated event, one that would leave irreparable scars on what was my foolish, teenage mind. At the tail end of what was a crappy movie about Ron Howard enlarging a bunch of go-go mod preppy types was interlaced with a story involving the dismissal of MST3k character 'TV's Frank' by his employer, 'Dr. Forrester.'
Their tribute song, Frank about Frank, played twice in the episode. The first was with clips of TV's Frank's exploits through the season; the second time ran over the credits, with the final note fading out on a black and white picture of a man holding a guitar, the words FRANK VINCENT ZAPPA 12/21/40 - 12/4/93 underneath.
Kevin Murphy has been a confirmed Zappa fan, and as both voice of the character of 'Tom Servo' on MST3k as well as a writer, he's been able to slip in numerous Zappa references throughout the series. Of course, I'm sure that most of the guys on the place (Joel, Mike, Trace, etc.) were also Zappa fans as well, but I peg Kevin Murphy as the main force behind the Zappa-MST3K connection. Plus, Tom Servo delivered a lot of the lines I remember. It's fun to go back, retroactively spotting the references when watching the old episodes.
I'll admit, I had this really harrowing feeling seeing the tribute picture form on that old television, having it fade out to the noise and color of what was the Comedy Central call-logo animation that accompanied every show during then. Someone who I had heard about had been confirmed dead and I kind of thought, almost sorta knew, that this dead guy with the funny name was important.
It would take a music class where I did a report on some famous musician (got a A+ on it, I might add) where I learned that Frank Zappa 1) named his kids weirdly, 2) did some weird music and 3) stood up for free speech. Being a teenage freakshow myself, those were three points that automatically confirmed that Zappa was someone I could get into. I did a report on the man without hearing any of his music. The piss-poor mountain town didn't do shit for Zappa on rotation. Strange to think that fifteen years ago, mp3s didn't exist in any way, shape or form. Downloading? Beyond the imagination. It took 'Joe's Garage' the following summer and 'Strictly Commercial' the next Christmas to seal the deal.
Writing in 'The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing colossal episode Guide," Kevin Murphy states, in penning the reflections on show 523, "Village of the Giants":
Read more!
Dad's strange experiment of enrolling me in the Columbia House music club would pay-off. He wanted me to build a music library, and my pre-Zappa picks of the FREE 13 CDs I was allowed upon signing up have all whittled away. Too many unknowing guesses, too many bad choices. It was in July of 1994 that I really got to hear 'Joe's Garage,' and how fucking weird it was.
But besides both those strange and paternal sources, there's one other source I mainly accredit for what has been a fourteen year long tenure as a fan: Kevin Murphy. Particularly, Kevin Murphy and Mystery Science Theater 3000. In particular of the particularly, episode 523, 'Village of the Giants,' original air date 1/22/94.
Being young in the mid nineties with basic cable and a basement meant watching MST3k was not a probability but a fated event, one that would leave irreparable scars on what was my foolish, teenage mind. At the tail end of what was a crappy movie about Ron Howard enlarging a bunch of go-go mod preppy types was interlaced with a story involving the dismissal of MST3k character 'TV's Frank' by his employer, 'Dr. Forrester.'
Their tribute song, Frank about Frank, played twice in the episode. The first was with clips of TV's Frank's exploits through the season; the second time ran over the credits, with the final note fading out on a black and white picture of a man holding a guitar, the words FRANK VINCENT ZAPPA 12/21/40 - 12/4/93 underneath.
Kevin Murphy has been a confirmed Zappa fan, and as both voice of the character of 'Tom Servo' on MST3k as well as a writer, he's been able to slip in numerous Zappa references throughout the series. Of course, I'm sure that most of the guys on the place (Joel, Mike, Trace, etc.) were also Zappa fans as well, but I peg Kevin Murphy as the main force behind the Zappa-MST3K connection. Plus, Tom Servo delivered a lot of the lines I remember. It's fun to go back, retroactively spotting the references when watching the old episodes.
I'll admit, I had this really harrowing feeling seeing the tribute picture form on that old television, having it fade out to the noise and color of what was the Comedy Central call-logo animation that accompanied every show during then. Someone who I had heard about had been confirmed dead and I kind of thought, almost sorta knew, that this dead guy with the funny name was important.
It would take a music class where I did a report on some famous musician (got a A+ on it, I might add) where I learned that Frank Zappa 1) named his kids weirdly, 2) did some weird music and 3) stood up for free speech. Being a teenage freakshow myself, those were three points that automatically confirmed that Zappa was someone I could get into. I did a report on the man without hearing any of his music. The piss-poor mountain town didn't do shit for Zappa on rotation. Strange to think that fifteen years ago, mp3s didn't exist in any way, shape or form. Downloading? Beyond the imagination. It took 'Joe's Garage' the following summer and 'Strictly Commercial' the next Christmas to seal the deal.
Writing in 'The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing colossal episode Guide," Kevin Murphy states, in penning the reflections on show 523, "Village of the Giants":
"Frank Zappa died in 1994. It saddened me. He is one of my great heroes of American culture. When all his tapes are played and his music is studied, I'm guessing he'll go down as one of the finest composers and performers of the century. And God, was he ever funny. Sometimes embarrassingly preachy, but always calmly polemical, like and advocate for reason in a world gone mad and stupid. I think he had no time for stupid people. No one believes me when I tell them how normal the guy was. But he was beautifully normal, and a brilliant rock-and-roll man, and I'll miss him."I've found others who say Episode 523 turned them onto Zappa, though few that they might be. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more who did some research into who this guy was and what he may have done to issue a tribute from what was a beloved television comedy involving puppets and bad movies. Considering his fondness for cheapnis, and how MST3k even did a version of 'It Conqured the World!', I think it's a method most fitting for Frank.
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