Imaginary Diseases: The Frank Zappa Thread
- Thread starter GhostofKinski
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GhostofKinski
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GhostofKinski
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I’d never seen it either. I also don’t care for it very much.
GhostofKinski
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Y’know Zappa didn’t use drugs.surely you know that drugs have been a big part of virtually every kind of popular music
and as far as "zero content, zero musicianship" - you're also a fan of punk, right?
as far as content, all music is content if someone feels something from it - even sabrina carpenter's pop music made from completely unaltered loops from splice - not saying you gotta like it or get it or understand what other people get from it
and the "substance" in dance music isn't really in the lyrics, or the lack thereof - not gonna get into the history of disco though
Also, you might be familiar with the punk "this is a chord, this is a chord, and this is a chord - now form a band" from the punk zine sideburns in 1977.
Well, techno outpunked punk
Aside from nicotine & caffeine.
He liked to front that he never read. Idk if that’s true. He was warning the hippie’s about
LSD being a CIA sponsored experiment and handgranade being used (successfully) to fragment the youth movement in regards to Vietnam/Cilvil rights. Every 60’s hipster/pop star laughed in his face.
Now it’s common & in controversial knowledge. He also was asking (and writing albums/songs) around the proposition that AIDS was being targeted at certain segments of the population and in the book ‘A Higher Form of Killing’br R.Harris & J. Paxman from 1982 includes a closed congressional minutes/log of an un-named Government Intelligence Officer requesting funds for what he describes as Ethnic Bio/Chem warfare.
That was found in the archives from the mid-late 1970’s
GhostofKinski
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Thing-Fish - Wikipedia
One of the details that makes this interesting is the records (box set) was released in 1984. President Reagan did not make a public comment about HIV/AIDS until 1985
GhostofKinski
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JWC
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Who gives a shit? Musicians, ugh 🤢
GhostofKinski
Well-known member
I only go when something hurts, but next time I go to the dentist (she’s super cool) I cordially invite all my Dessensus jungle/electro/industrial disco fans to join me.
You can snort all the powdered detergent you want and ‘dance’ to real music. The sound of the dentist drill.
You can snort all the powdered detergent you want and ‘dance’ to real music. The sound of the dentist drill.
It doesn't matter if an individual musician or listener of said musician doesn't do drugs - it's that drugs have been a part of virtually every form of popular music so knocking people for using drugs in music scenes that you don't grok is, well, kind of lame.
GhostofKinski
Well-known member
I like drugs and music!
Although, I do think that certain genres of music, especially if it is the only genre one feels is valid, then, with or without drugs it’s just musical wallpaper to reinforce the illusion of who you THINK you are.
Murphy
cat malogen
Dissensus hates Zappa
A fixed rigid boundary found early in any posting career. Luka may find a way to set the thread on fire or have it Swatted, digitally speaking. Zero elasticity except from a few people who think him an ok mix of composer (where would any Zappa track be without its various playerss?), nerd chord groover and a bit of a hypocrite re-money
Found him a distinct phase in life eg early to mid teens, looking for “weird’ sounds when not forsaking playing your own music (or traded between friends) for the sake of a fingerbang sesh, the age of eating too much hash.. When you think you’ve found the lost chord sequence scarlet eyed at 5am His sound was helped hugely by high calibre of supporting cast players eg George Duke to Ruth Underwood who take the piss with ability. Some times it clicks, others it doesn’t and where that line exists shapes any Zappa discussion
A fixed rigid boundary found early in any posting career. Luka may find a way to set the thread on fire or have it Swatted, digitally speaking. Zero elasticity except from a few people who think him an ok mix of composer (where would any Zappa track be without its various playerss?), nerd chord groover and a bit of a hypocrite re-money
Found him a distinct phase in life eg early to mid teens, looking for “weird’ sounds when not forsaking playing your own music (or traded between friends) for the sake of a fingerbang sesh, the age of eating too much hash.. When you think you’ve found the lost chord sequence scarlet eyed at 5am His sound was helped hugely by high calibre of supporting cast players eg George Duke to Ruth Underwood who take the piss with ability. Some times it clicks, others it doesn’t and where that line exists shapes any Zappa discussion
Murphy
cat malogen
YT makes digging easy but even the once mighty o.g Our Price was guaranteed to stock his lp’s. He had great taste in trousers when dressing like a twat was a thing but anyone who enjoyed cigarettes as much as he did (thus dying still pretty young) maybe could have toned down an overt anti drugs stance
King Kong both from Uncle Meat and an early bbc performance found on YT, Orange County Lumber Truck, Toad-T Line pick of black face Joe’s Garage, Montana (live versions, Teenage Wind rips into atypical shambolic Grateful Dead hippy concert goers, errrr except out of 32gb x 2 mo3-players only OCLT (occult) is listed and the last time played was prob doing The Ton Rite. Long work hours don’t help and trying t wind down to FZ or any Mothers of Invention sounds is too much
Summary - bit played-out at this stage of life for my own ears, once the chords and tempo jump around beyond a certain point tend to lose focus because = Zappa and, after over deluging as a youth, it’s lost its punchy zing, focus and novelty value chord sequences wondering “why so many notes, Frank ? did it always have to fall within a certain stylistic remit?”
Few threads converge on all/some/none of this post’s contents
King Kong both from Uncle Meat and an early bbc performance found on YT, Orange County Lumber Truck, Toad-T Line pick of black face Joe’s Garage, Montana (live versions, Teenage Wind rips into atypical shambolic Grateful Dead hippy concert goers, errrr except out of 32gb x 2 mo3-players only OCLT (occult) is listed and the last time played was prob doing The Ton Rite. Long work hours don’t help and trying t wind down to FZ or any Mothers of Invention sounds is too much
Summary - bit played-out at this stage of life for my own ears, once the chords and tempo jump around beyond a certain point tend to lose focus because = Zappa and, after over deluging as a youth, it’s lost its punchy zing, focus and novelty value chord sequences wondering “why so many notes, Frank ? did it always have to fall within a certain stylistic remit?”
Few threads converge on all/some/none of this post’s contents
GhostofKinski
Well-known member
Thanks for the well thought through post.
You list me about 2/3 the way through but I appreciate you taking the time to think about it. Zappa’s abhorrence to drugs has many reasons. In the early days, when it was just the mothers of invention (not FZ & the MOI) he’s talked about how the band tried to give him an ultimatum: you need to take acid and go to Big Sur or this ain’t gonna work.
He got sick of that shit. Simple as that.
He was a workaholic. There is a funny anecdote about when Flo & Eddie who were the most dynamic vocalists he had up until that time. They were perpetually fucked up.
He reportedly asked them “why do you guys keep doing drugs while we are trying to work on some pretty complex pieces?”
One of them replied: “well it helps magnify our personalities” Zappa retorted “ But you are assholes”, lol!
He was a bit of a douche as a boss. But if you listen to people who worked with/for him.
The only real criticism is that when you came to play, be ready to play.
He self produced (paid out of his own pocket) 90% of his output. One reason he gave for this, beyond the obvious of playing what he wanted was a story he told about being on a bill of some festival and witnessing Duke Ellington (the legend) begging the promoter for a $5 advance because he hadn’t eaten & the promoter refusing, telling him you get payed after you play(!) FZ was like fuck this.
I’ll never put myself in that position.