Man, where do I begin?
The term "Behemoth" would be applicable to this monstrosity. Yes, it's long. Very long.
Baby Snakes is the perfect exemplar of his 4th band's power, yet it drags along with pointless moments that seem to take forever to end. First, let me address to Roy Estrada problem. Who is Roy Estrada you might ask? Answer: You don't want to know, you really, really don't want to know.
Ok, I'll give it a shot. Roy Estrada is some really weird dude who somehow conveniently, almost by divine providence was in the Mothers before Zappa joined. If you can believe this. That Zappa would stumble upon an already freaky band before defiguring it into the Mother(fuckers) seems almost inconceivable. It truly was an act of some rock and roll deity. I don't believe these deities have been too kind to us as of late, but anywhoo.
Yes, Roy Estrada was some really weird guy. Weird and achingly disturbing. For instance, on the cover of "We're Only In It For the Money" he's dressed in a yellow lace moomoo staring at the freak who just bought the album with some emotionally ambiguous expression, pouting his lips into a thin, straight watchamacallit while staring with his eyebrows lowered like some angry hawk...I don't know. I can't describe superhuman emotions. ...and that's what this guy is. Anyone who can conjure up performances as Roy does is something more than human in my book.
But lets look at the movie. It starts off well and then we find out that the first third of the three hour epic is an artsy collage of weirdness. Bruce Bickfords disturbing animation, Zappa being a jerk, and some music. Enter Estrada. Yes, this is where the man makes his stamp on the film. Out of the various footage are scenes recorded back stage with the band fooling around. One of the most scarring of these backstage freak outs are a series of weird performances by Estrada...and a blow up doll. Of course Zappa needs to incorporate conceptual continuity. So what do we get? Roy Estrada molesting a blow up doll in all too many inconceivably dark ways with a (sexually aroused) gas mask. Fit with his usual demented singing, shouting, and dare I say it... phony vomiting, you'll be asking yourself if this is Zappa's artistic masterpiece or a high school film made by teenage Zappa and his classmates. Actually it's a bit of both. Terry Bozzio entertains by making allusions to his prettiness (which he really is), telling the camera that Zappa's bodyguard Smothers wants to rape him. Etc, etc. The real music doesn't actually really take off ti'll the first hour mark. It starts off slow with a few highlights. Adrian Belew is of particular note with his great acting, humor, and singing. He would later take much of the style he developed here and develop it with Crimson pieces like "Indiscipline".
The highlight of the film, bar none, unsurprisingly feature Bozzio. Man can that guy drum, and sing, and melt our eyes away. With "Titties and Beer" he thrashes through the performance of the Devil, making great theater and hard hitting rock and roll. However nothing can prepare the viewer for the assault of "Punky's Whips". Oh man, I've really gotten to the good stuff. To put this performace simply: it rocks, it has soars, and it's sexy as all hell. Forget Led Zeppelin, the Zappa concerts are where the action is! Ok, I'll give details. Essentially this is a song about Terry's lust for a boy, yes I said boy, named Punky Meadows from a glam band Angel. This is why this song rules. You've got an already pretty "Angelic" drummer, who can pound his drums like an animal and can sing like the devil, singing about another angelic boy, with the most erotic lyrics Zappa has ever written. Can anyone see how this is unusual? This is Zappa! The freak master of ugly music and ugly people! What are we getting here? A musical peep show with "ugly" Zappa on guitar and providing the lyrics. To boost, the performance is killer! This among the best rock performances I've heard or seen since Led Zeppelin's Albert Hall concert. No note is wasted and every note is indulged with rabid homo erotic lust. That's the thing. This is a song that above any other, truly and majestically celebrates gay lust, and it's still satire/parody, but nowhere does Zappa snear at the concepts presented here. It's almost as if he wanted to have a little gay moment. This duality of parody and celebration of homo eroticism, coupled with the overall killer performance of the piece is what makes this song great. Watch the end however, Bozzio gives the viewers a surprise. (Yes, when I said this was a peep show, I really, honest to God meant it.)
And that pretty much sums the film up. It quickly ends after that number.
Watch it if only for Punky's Whips. Oh, and Zappa totally lets loose on that one.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Man From Utopia Review
Ugh. Really? Do I really need to explain?
To sum this album up...
WHY FRANK? WHY?
Ok, compared to Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, this album has somethomomh hpomh for it. It's fun. It rocks. ...and, dare I say, there is a sense of telos to the album. Where Ship mostly felt like a weird joke, Utopia feels like Frank actually composed an album that went somewhere. To start off, nothing grabs me more than the opening of "Cocain Decisions" with it's crustal clear sound, Frank in a syruppy voice yells "Chapa Lie Now" or something of the like. Cocaine Decisions is in fact a great song! It rocks, Frank is funny, and musically it's pleasant. The same cannot be said of "SEX" which sounds good a first but descends into redundancy far too quickly. ...and yes, Frank does HAVE to make fat/skinny jokes. But.. it gets better. "Tink Walks Amok is a great jam, reminiscent of some of the more succesful improvs from Crimson's '74 tour. Good. Next... oh boy. "The Radio is Broken" sounds like Roy Estrada doing his schtick once again as he had on Ship. Roy Estrada seems to be only funny in performance, or at least when you can understand the "jokes" he's making. Here it's just incomprehensible noise.
The next number features some godd jamming, but it's just good, and almost a bit corny. Still, there is a sense of progression going on. Dangerous kitchen is really stupid and really great! It's a well written, catchy and ridiculous song. The imagery it spurs is nothing short of horrendously camp, but as an actual song, i'd have to say it's one of my own favorite Zappa numbers because of it's camp value. Of course, now here comes "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats". What the he...
Why Frank Why?
Surprisingly, this little dirtt was recorded in '78. nefore Sheik Yerbouti! How is this possible? I'll admit that it's actually a hilarioys song, especially if one wants to have a laugh with friends, but it's horrendously disgusting and stupid. Essentially it's Zappa singing like a dumber version of Roy Estrada's doo wop mockery about how two members of his band, one of which has been confirmed to be Tommy Mars, sniffing girls underwear. Yes, and Frank even goes to the effort to describe how his bandmates sniffed "the morsels attached", why, and what those morsels looked like. "The stuff in the bottom was like PUNCHING AN ECLAIR!" and "They were sniffing the FUDGE and the GLUE!" It's truly revolting. I kist hope it wasn't Belew who was the accomplice of Mars in this story, or else I'll never look at my Crimson collection the same again. Yes it's funny, but yes, this guy is 39 when he performed this. To think this was a live, yes LIVE improv is even more disturbing. I feel pity for those who shelled out their money to go see the Freak legend Frank Zappa, only to be subjected to this horror of scatology.
There is however a tremendous up to Utopia, the final track Moggio is beautiful. Ethereal and powerful, the piece is on of the better moments of Zappa's "serious" style. A motherly snort finishes off the album. Pverall, Utopia ffels like an album, but it's truly mired by averageness. Why listen to this when I have Apostrophe? Oh right, cause I wanna have a chuckle with songs like Party Hats and Danhderous Kitchen - the only truly memorable numbers.
To sum this album up...
WHY FRANK? WHY?
Ok, compared to Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, this album has somethomomh hpomh for it. It's fun. It rocks. ...and, dare I say, there is a sense of telos to the album. Where Ship mostly felt like a weird joke, Utopia feels like Frank actually composed an album that went somewhere. To start off, nothing grabs me more than the opening of "Cocain Decisions" with it's crustal clear sound, Frank in a syruppy voice yells "Chapa Lie Now" or something of the like. Cocaine Decisions is in fact a great song! It rocks, Frank is funny, and musically it's pleasant. The same cannot be said of "SEX" which sounds good a first but descends into redundancy far too quickly. ...and yes, Frank does HAVE to make fat/skinny jokes. But.. it gets better. "Tink Walks Amok is a great jam, reminiscent of some of the more succesful improvs from Crimson's '74 tour. Good. Next... oh boy. "The Radio is Broken" sounds like Roy Estrada doing his schtick once again as he had on Ship. Roy Estrada seems to be only funny in performance, or at least when you can understand the "jokes" he's making. Here it's just incomprehensible noise.
The next number features some godd jamming, but it's just good, and almost a bit corny. Still, there is a sense of progression going on. Dangerous kitchen is really stupid and really great! It's a well written, catchy and ridiculous song. The imagery it spurs is nothing short of horrendously camp, but as an actual song, i'd have to say it's one of my own favorite Zappa numbers because of it's camp value. Of course, now here comes "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats". What the he...
Why Frank Why?
Surprisingly, this little dirtt was recorded in '78. nefore Sheik Yerbouti! How is this possible? I'll admit that it's actually a hilarioys song, especially if one wants to have a laugh with friends, but it's horrendously disgusting and stupid. Essentially it's Zappa singing like a dumber version of Roy Estrada's doo wop mockery about how two members of his band, one of which has been confirmed to be Tommy Mars, sniffing girls underwear. Yes, and Frank even goes to the effort to describe how his bandmates sniffed "the morsels attached", why, and what those morsels looked like. "The stuff in the bottom was like PUNCHING AN ECLAIR!" and "They were sniffing the FUDGE and the GLUE!" It's truly revolting. I kist hope it wasn't Belew who was the accomplice of Mars in this story, or else I'll never look at my Crimson collection the same again. Yes it's funny, but yes, this guy is 39 when he performed this. To think this was a live, yes LIVE improv is even more disturbing. I feel pity for those who shelled out their money to go see the Freak legend Frank Zappa, only to be subjected to this horror of scatology.
There is however a tremendous up to Utopia, the final track Moggio is beautiful. Ethereal and powerful, the piece is on of the better moments of Zappa's "serious" style. A motherly snort finishes off the album. Pverall, Utopia ffels like an album, but it's truly mired by averageness. Why listen to this when I have Apostrophe? Oh right, cause I wanna have a chuckle with songs like Party Hats and Danhderous Kitchen - the only truly memorable numbers.
Sheik Yerbouti Review
In my opinion, this is Frank's best album.
Why? Because it rocks, consistently, continuously, and hard! This album is a twsited frenzy of unrelenting, never ending power. From song to song the album flows without a single moment of filler. From the start, a drum beat kicks of "I Have Been in You" on a hilarious and Motherly note. This is Frank Zappa at his most cynical, angry, and punk. Not since the Mothers has he been this much of a rock star. With his new, younger band, Frank is free to express himself in most his most truthful way - as a theatrical weirdo. I Have Been in You" explodes into "Flakes", a longer piece that is saved by soon to be member of Crimson, Adriand Belew. Belew performs a ridiculously funny rendition of Zappa's attempt at singing while playing the guitar, essentially comparing him to Dylan in some perverse way. "Broken Hearts are For Assholes" is yet another great number! Almost every song on Sheik is among Frank's best - catchy, rockous, and funny - the mark the first moment since Freak Out! where all the way through the album there is a feeling of accessibility and fun.
"Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" is a great rock number with gritty guitar lines and deliciously disgusting lyrics from Zappa himself. Next "I'm So Cute" comes roaring in, both rejoicing in and ridiculing punk. Terry Bozzio takes center stage and sings as powerfully as he can. On the vinyl, this track continues into a demented fury of sonic noise and wild screaming and drumming. Very punk and very very good. Jones Crusher is a good number but Rat Tomago is stypendous, probably hallmarking Frank's best recorded solo (perhaps apart from his playing on Lather or in Baby Snakes). Bobby Brown is a naughty little piece that is instantly catchy in its humour and simplicity. City of Tiny Lights is a stunning song with Belew on vocals in possibly one of his best performances of his career. Dancing Fool and Jewish princess are also great and funny, but Wild Love takes the gold medal for musicality. With it's catchy chorus and strange Elvis singing about getting "a penis or two", the song hits both marks of pleasant listening and clever thinking. Yo' Mama is a clever, snarky end to the album featuring a both dissonant and beaitiful solo from Frank.
To sum it up, Sheik is non stop rock ride. It's highly accessible yet highly clever. It's also true to Frank's personality - angry, punkish songs fraught with equally angry and disgusting lyrics. There is a tremdous flow from the first track to the last. It twists and turns and often punches you in the face when you least expect. Only Freak Out! can match its sense of urgency and rock ethos.
Why? Because it rocks, consistently, continuously, and hard! This album is a twsited frenzy of unrelenting, never ending power. From song to song the album flows without a single moment of filler. From the start, a drum beat kicks of "I Have Been in You" on a hilarious and Motherly note. This is Frank Zappa at his most cynical, angry, and punk. Not since the Mothers has he been this much of a rock star. With his new, younger band, Frank is free to express himself in most his most truthful way - as a theatrical weirdo. I Have Been in You" explodes into "Flakes", a longer piece that is saved by soon to be member of Crimson, Adriand Belew. Belew performs a ridiculously funny rendition of Zappa's attempt at singing while playing the guitar, essentially comparing him to Dylan in some perverse way. "Broken Hearts are For Assholes" is yet another great number! Almost every song on Sheik is among Frank's best - catchy, rockous, and funny - the mark the first moment since Freak Out! where all the way through the album there is a feeling of accessibility and fun.
"Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" is a great rock number with gritty guitar lines and deliciously disgusting lyrics from Zappa himself. Next "I'm So Cute" comes roaring in, both rejoicing in and ridiculing punk. Terry Bozzio takes center stage and sings as powerfully as he can. On the vinyl, this track continues into a demented fury of sonic noise and wild screaming and drumming. Very punk and very very good. Jones Crusher is a good number but Rat Tomago is stypendous, probably hallmarking Frank's best recorded solo (perhaps apart from his playing on Lather or in Baby Snakes). Bobby Brown is a naughty little piece that is instantly catchy in its humour and simplicity. City of Tiny Lights is a stunning song with Belew on vocals in possibly one of his best performances of his career. Dancing Fool and Jewish princess are also great and funny, but Wild Love takes the gold medal for musicality. With it's catchy chorus and strange Elvis singing about getting "a penis or two", the song hits both marks of pleasant listening and clever thinking. Yo' Mama is a clever, snarky end to the album featuring a both dissonant and beaitiful solo from Frank.
To sum it up, Sheik is non stop rock ride. It's highly accessible yet highly clever. It's also true to Frank's personality - angry, punkish songs fraught with equally angry and disgusting lyrics. There is a tremdous flow from the first track to the last. It twists and turns and often punches you in the face when you least expect. Only Freak Out! can match its sense of urgency and rock ethos.
Freak Out! Review
What a great debut! The Mothers explode onto the music scene in full blast. From the very start, Hungry Freaks, Daddy catches one's attention with it's near proto punk anthemous style. The guitars are rough and Frank sings in a truly "ugly" style, mostly shouting. Who Are the Brain Police starts what would later be called "Metal" with it's grungy, sludgy bass and guitar lines while the Mothers scream and make a mess of things. Motherly Love is a hilarious catchy number with full of wit and even self irony, deliberately inferring the band's lust for groupies.
Of particular note is the beautifully evocative piece "I'm not Satisfied" with it's catchy melody and composition - the soaring first section where Frank beautifully laments his personal status and the cathartic "I'm not Satisfied" section. Stunning lyrics and singing on the part of Frank.
You Didn't Try to Call Me is a complex piece full of twists and turns. It's catchy and clever. One of the facets that defines Freak Out! is that it has solid songs. Interesting enough since Frank was not the greatest song writer. Trouble Every Day is an instant classic, epitomizing the notion of the "alternative Anthem". Trouble is truly the first blast and fusion of rap and punk. The song soars majestically. Frank sounds totally frank and passionate in the rant he raps. Trouble Everyday is among only a few of instant classic songs. Others that follow in the same vein are King Crimson's Schizoid Man and of course Nirvana's Teen Spirit.
Help I'm a Rock is werd number that shows the band playing catchy hip hop like beats. The ending of the album is twisted, but absolutely necessary. It was this album that freaked out the world and jump started the whole tradition of "alternative music".
Of particular note is the beautifully evocative piece "I'm not Satisfied" with it's catchy melody and composition - the soaring first section where Frank beautifully laments his personal status and the cathartic "I'm not Satisfied" section. Stunning lyrics and singing on the part of Frank.
You Didn't Try to Call Me is a complex piece full of twists and turns. It's catchy and clever. One of the facets that defines Freak Out! is that it has solid songs. Interesting enough since Frank was not the greatest song writer. Trouble Every Day is an instant classic, epitomizing the notion of the "alternative Anthem". Trouble is truly the first blast and fusion of rap and punk. The song soars majestically. Frank sounds totally frank and passionate in the rant he raps. Trouble Everyday is among only a few of instant classic songs. Others that follow in the same vein are King Crimson's Schizoid Man and of course Nirvana's Teen Spirit.
Help I'm a Rock is werd number that shows the band playing catchy hip hop like beats. The ending of the album is twisted, but absolutely necessary. It was this album that freaked out the world and jump started the whole tradition of "alternative music".
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Zappa!
Here it is, my blog on the one and only Frank Zappa!
Here you will find notes, commentaries, and reflections on Zappa, his music, and the Concordia FFAR course. What will also be discussed is the broader cultural tapestry that Zappa helped forge, as well as the world that lead up to Zappa. The bigger picture is key to understanding not only Zappa, but his place in history and his importance as a figure.
Notes on the first few lectures:
I've been a long time Zappa fan, well maybe not for a long time, but I've been heavily into his music since the summer 0f '08. I found a lovely torrent of all his albums between 1966 and 2005 covering his entire career and then some.
What interests me about Zappa is that his music is primarily intellectual, yet it still rocks. Being a die hard fan of King Crimson, Zappa appeals to me on the same level as does Crimson. It's hard rocking intellectual music, progressive as well, yet both Crimson and Zappa have a strong punk ethos. Unlike their contemporaries, they are not out to wow audiences with fast licks, psychedelic stage shows, or flamboyant - over the top playing. Both Zappa and Crimson started genres we take for granted today - Zappa jump started the 1960s counter revolution, but was undeniably at the forefront and did not cater to the mechanization of his movement. Neither did Crimson and Fripp who jump started the progressive/art rock scene. While Yes and Genesis copied their style and were prolific is distributing 'art rock' en mass, Crimson stood by the sidelines reinventing themselves constantly and popular music as well. In that sense, both Crimson and Zappa while 'progressive' acts, were/are undeniably alternative bands/artists.
Today alternative rock has almost lost all meaning. In the wake of Nirvana, anything that sounds post-80s and 70s is deemed alternative. I disagree. Alternative is first and foremost a method of music and creative performance. It implies consistent rebellion and creative leisure from the mass. Zappa stood outside the status quo and remained able to do as he wished musically, always thinking rationally and freshly towards music like a true composer. Crimson were equally able to have this control, as did Nirvana who I believe marked the climax and shift in the rock market. Nirvana were special because they were a wholly alternative band - they had the punk ethos, the originality, the creative liberty to create what they wanted, the intellect necessary to write with wit, vigor, and even grace, and the balance brought forth from Kurt's years of appreciation of old records. They were in their totality a true classic band with honesty and alternative wit, not too distant from the likes of Zappa and his mothers or King Crimson, and yet they were the most popular band of the 1990s, way after the height of rock and roll.
What remains fascinating is that there are common treads underpinning the bands of some of the greatest musical thinkers of the last century. Zappa, Fripp, and Cobain were all musicians who seemed possibly more skilled in language, philosophy, and rhetoric than music per se. Even when listening to Zappa's famous solo styling, one can hear the phrasing of his guitar picking like the way one would speak. To cut to the basics, these three composers had something to say, opinions to voice, ideas to discuss, and a life to mock, that which their music came to aid them in their voicing.
Here you will find notes, commentaries, and reflections on Zappa, his music, and the Concordia FFAR course. What will also be discussed is the broader cultural tapestry that Zappa helped forge, as well as the world that lead up to Zappa. The bigger picture is key to understanding not only Zappa, but his place in history and his importance as a figure.
Notes on the first few lectures:
I've been a long time Zappa fan, well maybe not for a long time, but I've been heavily into his music since the summer 0f '08. I found a lovely torrent of all his albums between 1966 and 2005 covering his entire career and then some.
What interests me about Zappa is that his music is primarily intellectual, yet it still rocks. Being a die hard fan of King Crimson, Zappa appeals to me on the same level as does Crimson. It's hard rocking intellectual music, progressive as well, yet both Crimson and Zappa have a strong punk ethos. Unlike their contemporaries, they are not out to wow audiences with fast licks, psychedelic stage shows, or flamboyant - over the top playing. Both Zappa and Crimson started genres we take for granted today - Zappa jump started the 1960s counter revolution, but was undeniably at the forefront and did not cater to the mechanization of his movement. Neither did Crimson and Fripp who jump started the progressive/art rock scene. While Yes and Genesis copied their style and were prolific is distributing 'art rock' en mass, Crimson stood by the sidelines reinventing themselves constantly and popular music as well. In that sense, both Crimson and Zappa while 'progressive' acts, were/are undeniably alternative bands/artists.
Today alternative rock has almost lost all meaning. In the wake of Nirvana, anything that sounds post-80s and 70s is deemed alternative. I disagree. Alternative is first and foremost a method of music and creative performance. It implies consistent rebellion and creative leisure from the mass. Zappa stood outside the status quo and remained able to do as he wished musically, always thinking rationally and freshly towards music like a true composer. Crimson were equally able to have this control, as did Nirvana who I believe marked the climax and shift in the rock market. Nirvana were special because they were a wholly alternative band - they had the punk ethos, the originality, the creative liberty to create what they wanted, the intellect necessary to write with wit, vigor, and even grace, and the balance brought forth from Kurt's years of appreciation of old records. They were in their totality a true classic band with honesty and alternative wit, not too distant from the likes of Zappa and his mothers or King Crimson, and yet they were the most popular band of the 1990s, way after the height of rock and roll.
What remains fascinating is that there are common treads underpinning the bands of some of the greatest musical thinkers of the last century. Zappa, Fripp, and Cobain were all musicians who seemed possibly more skilled in language, philosophy, and rhetoric than music per se. Even when listening to Zappa's famous solo styling, one can hear the phrasing of his guitar picking like the way one would speak. To cut to the basics, these three composers had something to say, opinions to voice, ideas to discuss, and a life to mock, that which their music came to aid them in their voicing.
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