Frank Zappa was rock's closest thing to a true renaissance man, a true Artist. He has been acclaimed as a genius for his versatility. He was a brilliant guitarist, a superb composer, a matchless bandleader, a movie producer, a record company executive, a human rights activist and an incomparable social satirist. He started out in the 60's as the leader of the zany avant-rock pioneers the Mothers of Invention. His subsequent solo work encompassed everything from jazz-rock to orchestral pieces, always delivered with Zappa's trademark humor. He succumbed to cancer in 1993, but the mind-boggling prolific workaholic left behind a staggering body of work. Genius is an overused word in music, but it applies to Zappa in spades. We will always miss you Frank.
Pretty sure I was listening to an old interview the other day an an interview said he started a renaissance and he didn’t like that term and denied that
@@byHexted You're probably right. Frank was very modest in ways. When asked once in an interview, he said that when he dies, he didn't care if he was remembered or not.
""Family" has become a nostalgia word. "Tree" will be like that one day." 29 years after his death, Frank Zappa interviews still go harder than almost anything you can watch on the internet.
@@louismarinrenaud416there ARE clear correlations between smoking 🚬 AND prostate cancer......... Don't know if at this point it would have mattered much; don't know the details, though.
It's been written thousands of times and probably stated millions more: I wish I could hear Frank's take on the events that've occurred since he's passed.
I've have about a 100 hours of Zappa on vhs. He would have been an Athiest social and a "realistic" fiscal libertarian. (That's what I am.) He would never have voted for the republicans after Eisenhower. He would out 🦊 the dim witted fox talking heads (Chris Wallace, Shepard Smith and pre 2000 version of Geraldo Rivera would be would "get" him.
@@RebuttalRecords On one hand, he would probably hold CNN in a bit of disdain for becoming an analysis channel, compared to the "pure news" format of it's past, but I'm sure he would praise the very conservative Washington Free Beacon for first commissioning the "Steele Dossier". I'm sure he would have run against Clinton and Trump in 2016, had he been alive, and he would have won.
Truth is truth and will ALWAYS ring true. It is timeless. Frank spoke it unabashedly, as did George Carlin, Krishnamurti, Alan Watts & other courageous souls. God bless them all!
I love his music 48 years now and I have the same illness he had I am not in pain his music keeps me going Oh and the staff of Tallaght Hospital a great crew rock on✌️♥️😎🇮🇪
It might sound like bandwagon stuff but I am similarly afflicted. Keep going - I was supposed to be dead by now according to what I was told at the time but I've never felt more alive despite what's kicking in the background. Oh, and if I were to idolize someone it would be very hard to think of anyone better than this man. Frank, you rock!
Simon McNamee he was yes, but Society took decades to catch up to what he is talking about in this interview. I worked in TV and some of what he is talking about i had no idea about...
Frank Zappa was a complete man of great cultural value who knew what he was always talking about when it came to the world of music,popular culture,human rights,social justice,and more than anything else,made an incredible body of musical genius that will always stand the test of time,and we will always love him for it.Thanks,Frank!!!
The look on Zappa's face at 28:00 while watching the news coverage is priceless. It's like the personafication of every satire he's written about society, I love it.
Thx.balezs zap exemplifies modern intellect which transcends primal instinct as a civilization propels our reason's mutate to fit in our narrow perception,, t hi x
If you are interested in the man, you might like 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa 1968-1971' that gives Frank's home life not shown in other books, from getting up to going to bed, composing and rehearsing with the Mothers, visiting rock stars, freaks, family squabbles, and more.
I absolutely LOVE this interview. I could literally listen to him talk all day. Thank you! His new doc is fantastic, as well. A short life for such an incredible person. So unfair...
“These shows that we watch are part of the reason the way we are...the scared, bumbling society that we are...the content is embarrassing”. Still as accurate today 30 years later.
This is what I think happened with the internet. It feels like in a very short amount of time we fell of a cliff and went insane. Shootings way up, everyone's sick and mentally ill... I blame the internet for that 100%. You have a whole generation of kids plugged in all the time and it's totally ruining them. A lot of people have walked away from that and have seen dramatic improvements in their lives. He was right then and the message is more relevant now than ever.
What's sad about this interview comes at around 18:45, where Frank talks about his go-to channels. For younger viewers, this was when CNN and Headline News were a thing; it's not what you're watching now, where CNN is all about false equivalencies, and Headline News has been shortened to HLN so that you don't realize what it once was - now it's a bunch of oatmeal slathered across a generous helping of crime show reruns. It's a shame that Frank is no longer with us, but here, almost 20 years later - with the exception of the CNN thing I mentioned above - he was right on the money!
True CNN was much different back then, but so was Fox. Their equivalent of Headline News was a far cry from the echo chamber it is now. You could watch both channels and get a pretty good idea of what the actual story was, Neither channel is worth anything as a news organization any more.
i think he would love the internet for sure. its basically everything he always wanted. he would have loved streaming too, in his book he talked about an idea he had that was basically the blueprint for music streaming
Truth is always relevant...and always.....They shall try to prevent it from being spoken....thank you Frank...if you only knew how few of us are still here...am kinda glad you don't have to be as disapointed as I am with the submissive and dumb USA...( not everyone, y'all)....
@Greg Walker No, you just have the internet now and enough human mass on the planet for us to see over the curve of the horizon, flat earth notwithstanding - if this was the case back in the 60's we would not be having this conversation, EVERYONE would already be living a great life of actualization and hopping around grabbing up the rest of the people who hadn't been actualized and enabling them to protect their own right to make their own decisions and while we won't be happy we'll at least be practical enough to stop wholesale death and hopefully the paths that lead directly there as well.
like ME. I am early GenX. But hey man, at least we worked out that heavy metal thing and it seems to be catching on with angry kids all over the world, so there's that too. :-)
"Because I‘m am an amateur sociologist...." what a revealing statement from such an advanced mind who found an inexhaustible reservoir of cultural, political, economical facts, going astray that he had to preserve his sanity with a stellar dark humor which was unmatched ever since..... Frank was and will be unique forever!!
His interviews seem like integrations, where he is defending fundamental rights of freedom. Specifically, free thought. The interrogator comes off as the voice of the mainstream social construct. Zappa was like a whistle blower for the entertainment industry.
The one person society can't grab and crush into a fine paste: The Loner. The lonely free-thinking kid who feels shunned from society and lives in the reflection of a world that has passed him by.
Underrated comment. I feel what you think: In my room I have the Led Zeppelin 4 hermit illustration on a wall, and Zappa with a red jacket and the Jimi Hendrix burnt strato on the other wall. Long live to the outsiders and freethinkers!!!
The interviewers question “Do you think Americans will watch less television or move to something else” 91, they were literally in the last hours of the pre-Internet era and had no clue what was looming over the horizon, crazy.
Just want to add I am a 29 year old second generation Zappa fan, grew up in the death throes of the 20th Century and have literally watched what Frank was talking about come true for all of my conscious adult life! Grateful to have parents that opened my eyes to how f*cked up the world really is, and what a sham the media is at a very early age, saved me a LOT of grief. ✌🏻
RUclips honestly completely destroyed network TV. Alot of the big networks are buying people off of RUclips ( Hot Ones, Old Smokey etc ) Most RUclipsrs who are relatively popular are making more money off of revenue and sponsors than they would make starting out on mainstream television. Mostly only people still watching are older generations and to think about how much it truly has diminished within the past 15 - 20 years it's insane. I still have cable cause it's bundled with my internet and because some shows I watch aren't on streaming platforms in the US or I watch the local news every now and then but I guarantee within this decade major network TV or cable will become obscolete. Personally, 90% of what I watch is on RUclips, about 8% on streaming platforms and 2% on cable TV and alooot of people in my age bracket are the same ( 25 - 30 Y/O ). It does suck that RUclips has been cracking down so hard the past few years on censoring content creators, but it's still way better and more raw and true than the over produced crap on TV.
Absolutely, he’s way ahead of his time, even with stuff like business thinking! btw did you create a great book of Moog Grandmother patch charts? If that was you, thank you very much - one satisfied customer here!
I remember reading an interview where he said sometimes everything gets to him so much he can't even work and goes straight back to bed. Made me feel less insane.
He must have had some sort of cockeyed optimism hidden somewhere- he stuck around to father 4 kids! It couldn't all have been his widow Gail doing it by herself...?
Frank Zappa was prescient. He always managed to keep his cool even on Crossfire and Senate hearing, able to logically express his views and make strong persuasive arguments based on fact. A great mind, and oh so entertaining.
People should study FZ's interviews, whether you agree with him or not. Hear how someone can make their points and have a discussion in a civil adult manner as opposed to today where people only know how to insult and shout down anyone who doesn't subscribe to their agenda.
Bernard O'Connor A good starting point would be the documentary “Eat The Question”. There is a plethora of interview clips on YT. For so many reasons I find his communicative style appealing, entertaining and erudite. Oh well....
He did some much music and so many different styles of music. I guarantee you there is some of his music you would fall in love with no matter what your tastes and interests are, but you would need to be directed to the right songs and instrumentals that would be closest to your preferences.
As a 13 yr. old, I was changed in 1966 by "Freak Out". Frank saw the American horror tsunami coming. He would not be surprised by today's crumbled America.
Frank Zappa was politically involved - which he disliked and considered a waste of his valuable time - because of what happened in 1980. The election of Reagan was a horror show to smart people who knew what he was about - like people from California. Which is where FZ lived. Those same people were shocked and uneasy when Reagan was elected Governor of California in 1966.
Revisiting this a year or so later and it is really striking how great this interview is. You ask excellent questions that interweave with Franks thinking. Thanks.
When you watch somebody with an original mind actually analyze the world and think independently, you realize logic weaves in and out between the "left wing" and "right wing." He criticizes how TV portrays father's/men as complete morons, causing resentment between the genders and alienation with the children. He also disliked feminism, and called it a "fleeting trend." But then he turns around and talks about how the moral "family" market is xenophobic, and nothing more but a front for fundamental Christianity. Guys like Zappa completely shatter the political illusion with pure, uncensored truth.
The way he equates all religion to fundamentalism, and all religious people to victims of scam artist televangelists seems a bit intellectually dishonest to me. It's kind of like equating all recreational drug users to crack and heroin addicts or wife beating alcoholics.
@@TheDogPa Your post is a good example of the problem with modern day atheism. Back in the day you at least needed to be able to critically think in order to independently "cast off the chains" of religion so to speak. Now it's just another blind belief system that people are unconsciously guided into via pop culture without going through the growing pains. What you end up with is a group of people who embody the very same ignorance and fundamentalism that they claim to vehemently oppose.
@@TheDogPa You sound like me when I was 14. It's kind of sad. You've established that you don't like religion. That's great. Do you have anything original to add to this conversation?
A prophetic and realistic narrative of the world as it still turns and the mapulitive umbrella we are all very plugged in to , also a well conducted interview....hats off to Geoff. ⏮⏯▶⏩
"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater. " Anyone think we're close to seeing this brick wall? Shit is getting weird.
@@TheChristafershawn - Naa-ah - they both would complain angrily, and say, "I'm Fuckin DEAD! You're not supposed to be able to bring me back! Everything is just like I said, but it's WORSE!" And then rush out into traffic and try to get hit by a bus.
Even the chair he is sitting in is epic. Look at that thing. I want a chair like that. Man, I wonder who has that chair now. If I find that chair at some sale somewhere I am buying it! Sorry, rant over. I miss you Frank.✊❤
That was amazing to watch, i'd love to see any other footage you have of him! it's not often you get to see this genius discussing his ideas in a long form discussion like this with minimal amounts of editing!
I thought I'd seen everything Zappa. What a joy to come across this little gem. As an Aussie, I recognised the Kiwi accent right away and then noticed the blurb at the top of the page. Well done Geoff. I wonder what Frank would have to say about Family Guy.
Thank you for posting this. Frank’s observations and opinions of the state of affairs offer unique insight into the role of media and entertainment in shaping American and global society -and to me- explain so much of what has happened in the interim from when this was filmed all the way through the strange times we are living through today.
Ah what a great man old Frank was. I still have the 10 LP''s he signed for me but better than those are all the videos from him just talking. Frank on a Podcast would have just been heaven
J'ai 63 ans; J'ai tous les vinyles de Zappa et l'ai vu 3 fois en concert en France. Je le trouve fabuleux...malheureusement, si pour les textes de chansons on peut prendre son temps, traduire et comprendre,mon niveau de langue ne me permet pas de comprendre cet interview, pas plus que d'autres qui pourtant ,vraiment me passionneraient. Je souhaiterais tellement que des traductions permettent à tous de comprendre ce qui les intéresse. Pourquoi pas une traduction systématique proposée dans quelques langues clefs?
A Zappa interview is always edifying. I don't always agree with his points of view but he makes you think. When speaking about Zappa I never use past tense because he's as relevant today as when he was alive
zuckerberg what? Anyone who says something that stupid does not have the qualifications to be a comedy critic. Both men were brilliant minds. Both men were hilarious pioneers
20:00 - A harbinger of all 21st century American popular music. 21:56 - a harbinger of 21st century American culture. Sad that nowadays no one points out what FZ said then, because the more technology has created “choices” for us, the worst things have gotten on every level of measurement. It’s also true what FZ says at 23:26. I work in television. Trust me if you don’t already know: US television content formats have been sold all over the world to the point that now instead of merely exporting our shitty tv products, we export both the product AND THE FORMAT for the product. Do you love our “show x”? Well now you can not only have our “show x” broadcast in your own country, you can make your OWN “show x”. Of course, your “show x” must air on the network we own in your country. ...And people wonder why there seems to be so much conformity in the world... One last point: it’s important to understand what happened in this culture in the 80s. Don’t dismiss it as an “unwoke” era just because of the way people were depicted on tv based on their race. How they were and are depicted is only the most superficial component of all this. Like FZ says, you have to learn how to “read” the imagery presented on television.
so insightful, and its accurate. It applied to society today as well. nothing has changed. i just love Frank Zappa his voice and thought process is so reassuring I could listen to him all day.
Man the two people we need right now more than ever are Frank Zappa and George Carlin! Both were extremely intelligent, Visionary artist, Philosophers and above all told the absolute Truth with no shits given what so ever.
Gee whiz Geoff!! What a wonderful gem you have been hiding all these years! Thank you so much for sharing this. Boy the world has changed so much since then, digital recording formats, hard drive storage, the internet! and yet it remains so similar and familiar and even more capable of being manipulated. Cheers, and thanks for all you have done over many years for NZ film and culture.
“because I’m an amateur sociologist” is such a beautiful, humble answer. It reframes all his previous, rather grand statements and qualifies his ideas without any narcissistic claims to unique insight or revelation.
Frank was one of the first popular musicians to use studio technology, video recording, synthesisers and computers for music, and he proposed a way of delivering his music on demand through customer’s TVs (OK he wasn’t completely right, but pretty close). He was multi-media savvy, voracious at recording the world around him, and I haven’t even mentioned the genius of much of his music. He’d been around the world, and had seen cultures different to the US and, being Frank, he took it all in.
Frank Zappa was rock's closest thing to a true renaissance man, a true Artist. He has been acclaimed as a genius for his versatility. He was a brilliant guitarist, a superb composer, a matchless bandleader, a movie producer, a record company executive, a human rights activist and an incomparable social satirist. He started out in the 60's as the leader of the zany avant-rock pioneers the Mothers of Invention. His subsequent solo work encompassed everything from jazz-rock to orchestral pieces, always delivered with Zappa's trademark humor. He succumbed to cancer in 1993, but the mind-boggling prolific workaholic left behind a staggering body of work. Genius is an overused word in music, but it applies to Zappa in spades. We will always miss you Frank.
All points are right. But I miss ONE Point: Frank would love to support the work of Donald J. Trump!
@@Broeseler very unlikely tbh
@@Broeseler if you really believe that you're not listening to him.
Pretty sure I was listening to an old interview the other day an an interview said he started a renaissance and he didn’t like that term and denied that
@@byHexted You're probably right. Frank was very modest in ways. When asked once in an interview, he said that when he dies, he didn't care if he was remembered or not.
""Family" has become a nostalgia word. "Tree" will be like that one day."
29 years after his death, Frank Zappa interviews still go harder than almost anything you can watch on the internet.
Says the person watching this interview on the internet
Sniff Sniff
At that time he had terminal cancer and yet he was so clear minded and insightful, it's amazing how strong and brave this man was.
Aaaand still smoking
He had prostate cancer though...Unless he smoked cigs with his ass I doubt it’d have made a difference had he quit
@@SUdatsthecalloftheWU He used to play with mercury as a kid, his father use to bring home , much likely he got it from that
@@louismarinrenaud416still rippin’ butts *
@@louismarinrenaud416there ARE clear correlations between smoking 🚬 AND prostate cancer......... Don't know if at this point it would have mattered much; don't know the details, though.
It's been written thousands of times and probably stated millions more: I wish I could hear Frank's take on the events that've occurred since he's passed.
I'm pretty sure he'd stop watching CNN.
he would be considered alt-right by cnn and radical left by fox xD
I've have about a 100 hours of Zappa on vhs. He would have been an Athiest social and a "realistic" fiscal libertarian. (That's what I am.) He would never have voted for the republicans after Eisenhower. He would out 🦊 the dim witted fox talking heads (Chris Wallace, Shepard Smith and pre 2000 version of Geraldo Rivera would be would "get" him.
@@RebuttalRecords On one hand, he would probably hold CNN in a bit of disdain for becoming an analysis channel, compared to the "pure news" format of it's past, but I'm sure he would praise the very conservative Washington Free Beacon for first commissioning the "Steele Dossier". I'm sure he would have run against Clinton and Trump in 2016, had he been alive, and he would have won.
Everything he just said fits perfectly with COVID19. It's the most successful psy-op of all time.
Truth is truth and will ALWAYS ring true. It is timeless. Frank spoke it unabashedly, as did George Carlin, Krishnamurti, Alan Watts & other courageous souls. God bless them all!
I love his music 48 years now and I have the same illness he had I am not in pain his music keeps me going Oh and the staff of Tallaght Hospital a great crew rock on✌️♥️😎🇮🇪
Stay strong brother
I hope you feeling better !!!
Hope you’re kicking it’s ass. Also keep in mind, in the very worst case scenario, it’ll be a draw.
It might sound like bandwagon stuff but I am similarly afflicted. Keep going - I was supposed to be dead by now according to what I was told at the time but I've never felt more alive despite what's kicking in the background. Oh, and if I were to idolize someone it would be very hard to think of anyone better than this man. Frank, you rock!
Hope okay now?
Frank was so far ahead of his time. A true genius who never compromised...
I think he was thoroughly in his time, actually, hence his topical commentary...
Simon McNamee he was yes, but Society took decades to catch up to what he is talking about in this interview. I worked in TV and some of what he is talking about i had no idea about...
Frank created the times, that’s why it appears that he was ahead of the mediocre crowd.
SeaLisa frank didn’t create the times. He was just a very astute observer who wanted to bring attention to it. From the first album he was onto it
@@demonsbutterfly society NEVER caught up. The government just got better at dissuading them from caring.
Frank Zappa was a complete man of great cultural value who knew what he was always talking about when it came to the world of music,popular culture,human rights,social justice,and more than anything else,made an incredible body of musical genius that will always stand the test of time,and we will always love him for it.Thanks,Frank!!!
The look on Zappa's face at 28:00 while watching the news coverage is priceless. It's like the personafication of every satire he's written about society, I love it.
Just by listening to Zappa speak you notice where the complexity of his music comes from. This man was a genius.
He's spot on the money , and this was almost 30 years ago
Because this has all been upchucked for eons
This is probably the most fascinating material I've found on RUclips in years. Hoping for seeing more wise men speaking to us from beyond the grave!
George Carlin, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, just pick anyone from the 60'
Thx.balezs zap exemplifies modern intellect which transcends primal instinct as a civilization propels our reason's mutate to fit in our narrow perception,, t hi x
If you are interested in the man, you might like 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa 1968-1971' that gives Frank's home life not shown in other books, from getting up to going to bed, composing and rehearsing with the Mothers, visiting rock stars, freaks, family squabbles, and more.
I absolutely LOVE this interview. I could literally listen to him talk all day. Thank you! His new doc is fantastic, as well. A short life for such an incredible person. So unfair...
“These shows that we watch are part of the reason the way we are...the scared, bumbling society that we are...the content is embarrassing”. Still as accurate today 30 years later.
This is what I think happened with the internet. It feels like in a very short amount of time we fell of a cliff and went insane. Shootings way up, everyone's sick and mentally ill... I blame the internet for that 100%. You have a whole generation of kids plugged in all the time and it's totally ruining them. A lot of people have walked away from that and have seen dramatic improvements in their lives. He was right then and the message is more relevant now than ever.
It requires a certain amount of INTELLIGENCE to research AND comprehend what is ACTUALLY TRANSPIRING in the world 🌍🌎
""the family is an endangered species "' Frank at his best
He should know. He was screwing groupies in his house while his wife cared for the kids.
Frank is illuminating, clairvoyant and prophetic as ever. Thank you Geoff, for this excellent footage.
Happy Mothers Day Frank
What's sad about this interview comes at around 18:45, where Frank talks about his go-to channels. For younger viewers, this was when CNN and Headline News were a thing; it's not what you're watching now, where CNN is all about false equivalencies, and Headline News has been shortened to HLN so that you don't realize what it once was - now it's a bunch of oatmeal slathered across a generous helping of crime show reruns.
It's a shame that Frank is no longer with us, but here, almost 20 years later - with the exception of the CNN thing I mentioned above - he was right on the money!
Very ture.
True CNN was much different back then, but so was Fox. Their equivalent of Headline News was a far cry from the echo chamber it is now. You could watch both channels and get a pretty good idea of what the actual story was, Neither channel is worth anything as a news organization any more.
Bernard O'Connor Exactly
Zappa would've had a RUclips channel that was banned already.
i think he would love the internet for sure. its basically everything he always wanted. he would have loved streaming too, in his book he talked about an idea he had that was basically the blueprint for music streaming
Thank you for sharing this. It's quite telling how much of this is relevant today.
Except MTV. Lol
@@napoleoninrags1346
His viewpoint on it is relevant, to the extent that they show any form of music video at all.
Truth is always relevant...and always.....They shall try to prevent it from being spoken....thank you Frank...if you only knew how few of us are still here...am kinda glad you don't have to be as disapointed as I am with the submissive and dumb USA...( not everyone, y'all)....
A very original mind. I really miss him.
Me too. I've been a major fan of FZ's music (and Beefheart, of course) for over 45 years.
A very dead mind
@@danielkirby8355 Says the nobody
@@danielkirby8355 listen to Dumb All over and your remark is explained
You sally n nancy 25/8 too..fo Quality. Feel ya
"What'd I tell you?" F. Zappa, 2020
@Greg Walker No, you just have the internet now and enough human mass on the planet for us to see over the curve of the horizon, flat earth notwithstanding - if this was the case back in the 60's we would not be having this conversation, EVERYONE would already be living a great life of actualization and hopping around grabbing up the rest of the people who hadn't been actualized and enabling them to protect their own right to make their own decisions and while we won't be happy we'll at least be practical enough to stop wholesale death and hopefully the paths that lead directly there as well.
like ME. I am early GenX. But hey man, at least we worked out that heavy metal thing and it seems to be catching on with angry kids all over the world, so there's that too. :-)
Back when CNN was markedly less corporate and shitty.
@@russellzauner
I think you make some sense, but your style is more than a bit convoluted.
Did you hear what he said???
The world is a poorer place since Frank left us. I honestly feel that. Soulless men rejoiced.
"Because I‘m am an amateur sociologist...." what a revealing statement from such an advanced mind who found an inexhaustible reservoir of cultural, political, economical facts, going astray that he had to preserve his sanity with a stellar dark
humor which was unmatched ever since..... Frank was and will be unique forever!!
His interviews seem like integrations, where he is defending fundamental rights of freedom. Specifically, free thought.
The interrogator comes off as the voice of the mainstream social construct. Zappa was like a whistle blower for the entertainment industry.
The one person society can't grab and crush into a fine paste: The Loner. The lonely free-thinking kid who feels shunned from society and lives in the reflection of a world that has passed him by.
Underrated comment. I feel what you think: In my room I have the Led Zeppelin 4 hermit illustration on a wall, and Zappa with a red jacket and the Jimi Hendrix burnt strato on the other wall. Long live to the outsiders and freethinkers!!!
I've seen plenty of them turned into "fine paste" in a different way from all the dumb conspiracy nonsense they've exposed themselves to.
@@Dr170 *yawn*
@@noklarok We got one!
@@Dr170 have you even listened to ThingFish?
The interviewers question “Do you think Americans will watch less television or move to something else” 91, they were literally in the last hours of the pre-Internet era and had no clue what was looming over the horizon, crazy.
Like watching live concert footage from December.
@@Jonathan-gi8kw Evening news broadcasts from 9/10/01 are really trippy to watch back now too, a lot of unintentional foreshadowing in them.
Just want to add I am a 29 year old second generation Zappa fan, grew up in the death throes of the 20th Century and have literally watched what Frank was talking about come true for all of my conscious adult life! Grateful to have parents that opened my eyes to how f*cked up the world really is, and what a sham the media is at a very early age, saved me a LOT of grief. ✌🏻
@@RosebudKane41 Me too Molly I woke up at 11 yr old to it all. 46 yr ago......
RUclips honestly completely destroyed network TV. Alot of the big networks are buying people off of RUclips ( Hot Ones, Old Smokey etc ) Most RUclipsrs who are relatively popular are making more money off of revenue and sponsors than they would make starting out on mainstream television. Mostly only people still watching are older generations and to think about how much it truly has diminished within the past 15 - 20 years it's insane. I still have cable cause it's bundled with my internet and because some shows I watch aren't on streaming platforms in the US or I watch the local news every now and then but I guarantee within this decade major network TV or cable will become obscolete. Personally, 90% of what I watch is on RUclips, about 8% on streaming platforms and 2% on cable TV and alooot of people in my age bracket are the same ( 25 - 30 Y/O ). It does suck that RUclips has been cracking down so hard the past few years on censoring content creators, but it's still way better and more raw and true than the over produced crap on TV.
I almost enjoy Frank's interviews as much as his music!😁
What a gift this is. He was a genius on so many levels. I miss him ❤️☕️
Absolutely, he’s way ahead of his time, even with stuff like business thinking!
btw did you create a great book of Moog Grandmother patch charts? If that was you, thank you very much - one satisfied customer here!
@@MrMusicbyMartin Yes! That was me! Thank you for the kind words! Truly appreciated!
@@LisaBellaDonnaMusic oh what is this book and would the settings work on a moog vst? (software)
Absolutely, need more people like that today.
I’ve watched a ton of zappa interviews and I gotta say this one is really good. Hope there is more. Thank you
FZ was sharp and cynical and saw things as they are. This must've been a burden.
I remember reading an interview where he said sometimes everything gets to him so much he can't even work and goes straight back to bed. Made me feel less insane.
You are mistaking factualism for cynicism.
He must have had some sort of cockeyed optimism hidden somewhere- he stuck around to father 4 kids! It couldn't all have been his widow Gail doing it by herself...?
It is a burden. Cause everyone thinks your mad. Then a year later the info comes out and im still the mad man.
And his wife went completely nuts before she died. She kept Franks family from ever talking to him.
Frank Zappa was prescient. He always managed to keep his cool even on Crossfire and Senate hearing, able to logically express his views and make strong persuasive arguments based on fact. A great mind, and oh so entertaining.
People should study FZ's interviews, whether you agree with him or not. Hear how someone can make their points and have a discussion in a civil adult manner as opposed to today where people only know how to insult and shout down anyone who doesn't subscribe to their agenda.
Bernard O'Connor A good starting point would be the documentary “Eat The Question”. There is a plethora of interview clips on YT. For so many reasons I find his communicative style appealing, entertaining and erudite. Oh well....
@@sealisa1398 Yes that's a great film. I also read "The Real Frank Zappa Book" every couple of years. It never gets old.
Bernard O'Connor Don’t know that book...is it an autobiography?
@@sealisa1398 Yes. It was written 1989 I believe.
A good time is now to listen to "Trouble Every Day" Freak Out. Frank always had his finger on the pulse of society.
The concept of the Thing Fish album is interesting as well.
@@cbly i always love the script (and most of the music) of Thing Fish, fits also with covid
we can argue about his art, but his interviews are amazingly truthful, and aware of the dangers of the present and future to come, just a genius guy
This Man is straight forward and honest. So talented with Music 🎶 well never forget Zappa RIP Frank Zappa!
One of those people who's well worth listening to, even though one might not agree with his views. Articulate and thought-provoking to the end.
I didn't care for his music, but I loved his intellect and worldviews. A fascinating man!
He did some much music and so many different styles of music. I guarantee you there is some of his music you would fall in love with no matter what your tastes and interests are, but you would need to be directed to the right songs and instrumentals that would be closest to your preferences.
"'Family' has become a nostalgia word... 'Tree' will be like that one day."
damn...
a real the glass is half full guy huh???
Love of the greater number will cool off!
And tiger. And freedom. And clean water and air...
book
Define "family".
As a 13 yr. old, I was changed in 1966 by "Freak Out". Frank saw the American horror tsunami coming. He would not be surprised by today's crumbled America.
That's my favorite next to Hot Rats. Two completely different records, that's why he was so great.
All world powers fall! Nothing is new under the sun!
Frank Zappa was politically involved - which he disliked and considered a waste of his valuable time - because of what happened in 1980. The election of Reagan was a horror show to smart people who knew what he was about - like people from California. Which is where FZ lived. Those same people were shocked and uneasy when Reagan was elected Governor of California in 1966.
@@markdemell3717
Nature Show: There are Gnu, under The Sun.
suzie? suzie cream cheese
Man, I wish he’d lived to see the current dumpster fire we’re living in right now.
Why? So he could be miserable too?
@@lastnamefirst4035 No. So he could offer intelligent commentary on why it is happening.
@@andrewcrocker-harris4830 I think we have got that covered
@@lastnamefirst4035 You hadn't.
@@andrewcrocker-harris4830 "not that it means a heck of alot of difference to ya"
Frank's disgusted face watching the Pulsa diNura bit is priceless.
Oh my God he was such a Genius on so many Levels
I miss him soo much
such a wise man.i would really like to have met him
Revisiting this a year or so later and it is really striking how great this interview is. You ask excellent questions that interweave with Franks thinking. Thanks.
When you watch somebody with an original mind actually analyze the world and think independently, you realize logic weaves in and out between the "left wing" and "right wing." He criticizes how TV portrays father's/men as complete morons, causing resentment between the genders and alienation with the children. He also disliked feminism, and called it a "fleeting trend." But then he turns around and talks about how the moral "family" market is xenophobic, and nothing more but a front for fundamental Christianity. Guys like Zappa completely shatter the political illusion with pure, uncensored truth.
The way he equates all religion to fundamentalism, and all religious people to victims of scam artist televangelists seems a bit intellectually dishonest to me. It's kind of like equating all recreational drug users to crack and heroin addicts or wife beating alcoholics.
@@MrFreeGman Religious people can be nothing but victims of scam artists...or other equally delusional victims.
@@TheDogPa Your post is a good example of the problem with modern day atheism. Back in the day you at least needed to be able to critically think in order to independently "cast off the chains" of religion so to speak. Now it's just another blind belief system that people are unconsciously guided into via pop culture without going through the growing pains. What you end up with is a group of people who embody the very same ignorance and fundamentalism that they claim to vehemently oppose.
@@MrFreeGman And you represent what, other than the dark ages and the manipulation of the masses for financial gain? Josephus was brilliant.
@@TheDogPa You sound like me when I was 14. It's kind of sad. You've established that you don't like religion. That's great. Do you have anything original to add to this conversation?
A prophetic and realistic narrative of the world as it still turns and the mapulitive umbrella we are all very plugged in to , also a well conducted interview....hats off to Geoff.
⏮⏯▶⏩
"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.
"
Anyone think we're close to seeing this brick wall? Shit is getting weird.
"When the going turns weird, the weird turn pro." -Hunter S. Thompson
They actually are talking about converting people into the Matrix, more or less.
This election garbage might be the curtain call you speak of.
It's more like Pink Floyd's wall, the projected wall of our own making.
@@chipper442 What election garbage, exactly?
No one has ever pointed out the absurdity of American society better than Frank. A true master of his trade .
and now the absurdity has leaked and poisoned maybe half the world...and so be it...we shoulda been a little more intelligent about the goings on
bin simply proving hydrogen is not the most plentiful element in the universe, ITS STUPIDITY.
Mark Twain did a good job pointing out the absurdity of humans everywhere,in his time.
George Carlin did a pretty good job too.
Brilliant interview. This is now in my Top 5. Thanks for posting!
Thank you very much for filming this and sharing it with us, Geoff. I really appreciate it. You did an excellent job.
The truth is always timeless.
Very true. Imagine if he and Carlin could come back from the great beyond and do a podcast together. Imagine.
@@TheChristafershawn - Naa-ah - they both would complain angrily, and say, "I'm Fuckin DEAD! You're not supposed to be able to bring me back! Everything is just like I said, but it's WORSE!" And then rush out into traffic and try to get hit by a bus.
Always hilariouscerbically insightful. A true hero of mine. RIP, Mr. Zappa.
Thank you very much for sharing this! I could listen to him talking for hours and hours. What a clever man.
I think "...tree will be like that one day" has such a broader meaning here. Great interview, wish there were more around.
Even the chair he is sitting in is epic. Look at that thing. I want a chair like that. Man, I wonder who has that chair now. If I find that chair at some sale somewhere I am buying it! Sorry, rant over.
I miss you Frank.✊❤
Everything in that studio was sold at an estate sale about 4 years ago. I bought one of his tour road cases.
Lucky you. Was there a lot of stuff left or did you just want the case? Obviously the chair was gone or you didn't see it.😏
The man is irreplaceable. We need him more than ever today.
So intelligent...who cannot love this man!
More people need to hear this nowadays, we need to bring back common sense
Frank Zappa ♥️♥️.
That was amazing to watch, i'd love to see any other footage you have of him! it's not often you get to see this genius discussing his ideas in a long form discussion like this with minimal amounts of editing!
21:59 - "more choice means more of the same."
How very true!
Thank you for uploading. Frank is still making me crack up even from the grave. Also close to tears every time I see his death date..
This is great. My dad Vito was friends with Zappa in Hollywood in the 60's. Good stuff, thanks for posting.
No way, you're Vito's daughter!
Yes, did you know my dad?
The Vito that Frank talks about in a 7 part interview?? Vito who was doing crazy stuff and people were joining?? THAT Vito?
I lived in cotati for many years. I remember vito well. He is listed on franks first album along with carl, who is in the roxy movie
@@mr.internationaldumbass1686 yes, that's the one!
I thought I'd seen everything Zappa. What a joy to come across this little gem. As an Aussie, I recognised the Kiwi accent right away and then noticed the blurb at the top of the page. Well done Geoff. I wonder what Frank would have to say about Family Guy.
I love the look Frank gives while watching the news on the 'curse'
The rediculous line by the reporter along with franks 'can u believe this shit?" stare, haha
He looks like he took a bite out of a shit sandwich.
Thank you for posting this. Frank’s observations and opinions of the state of affairs offer unique insight into the role of media and entertainment in shaping American and global society -and to me- explain so much of what has happened in the interim from when this was filmed all the way through the strange times we are living through today.
Frank is my spirit animal. I miss this guy so much.
So wise, so clever ! What he was talking about in this interview is still totally relevant and applicable today ! Vive Frank Zappa !!!
Thank you for posting this, Steven.This video shows Frank's X-ray vision he had from society : l
Thank you Geoff for sharing this priceless interview with Frank Zappa.
Ah what a great man old Frank was. I still have the 10 LP''s he signed for me but better than those are all the videos from him just talking. Frank on a Podcast would have just been heaven
Frank Zappa was brilliant he was a great musician. and he knew how this Country was and is falling on it's face.
This is the best interview about television in USA he really looks though the underlying thinks. It's really a pleasure to hear him.
One year before I was born. What a genius! R.I.P
This was recorded in the 1990's, but Zappa had this country's number back in the 50's, and maybe even the 40's when he was a schoolkid.
J'ai 63 ans; J'ai tous les vinyles de Zappa et l'ai vu 3 fois en concert en France. Je le trouve fabuleux...malheureusement, si pour les textes de chansons on peut prendre son temps, traduire et comprendre,mon niveau de langue ne me permet pas de comprendre cet interview, pas plus que d'autres qui pourtant ,vraiment me passionneraient. Je souhaiterais tellement que des traductions permettent à tous de comprendre ce qui les intéresse. Pourquoi pas une traduction systématique proposée dans quelques langues clefs?
Where are we all going? It's been 30 years and nothing has changed.
Things have changed. We have the internet now and trolls fueling right wing hatred!
Shut up, moron.
I would say that the system's self question is how to keep the game the same....
There are changes, you wouldn't trade today for 30 years ago, even with a pandemic. But people are still people.
De- evolution
Chills up and down my spine just how much of what he's saying still stands true today - even more so.
A Zappa interview is always edifying. I don't always agree with his points of view but he makes you think. When speaking about Zappa I never use past tense because he's as relevant today as when he was alive
A genius ahead of his time and a wonderful amazing human being
Bravo Geoff! Thank you for sharing!
I listen to Zappa all the time, his interviews and commentary, rarely his music.
Please listen to his music. It brings another world to your ears and mind
@@mixbaal0 i do, trust me i do...
I get a George Carlin vibe from Frank Zappa.
Fuck yeah ! Except for the drugs...
@vattelaapia ndercu En Français peut-être !?
Tengo Na Minchia Tanta !!!
All carlin did was yell cocksuckers and reiterate what Zappa was already saying. The absolutely free album is funnier than Carlin's entire career.
zuckerberg what? Anyone who says something that stupid does not have the qualifications to be a comedy critic. Both men were brilliant minds. Both men were hilarious pioneers
20:00 - A harbinger of all 21st century American popular music. 21:56 - a harbinger of 21st century American culture. Sad that nowadays no one points out what FZ said then, because the more technology has created “choices” for us, the worst things have gotten on every level of measurement. It’s also true what FZ says at 23:26. I work in television. Trust me if you don’t already know: US television content formats have been sold all over the world to the point that now instead of merely exporting our shitty tv products, we export both the product AND THE FORMAT for the product. Do you love our “show x”? Well now you can not only have our “show x” broadcast in your own country, you can make your OWN “show x”. Of course, your “show x” must air on the network we own in your country.
...And people wonder why there seems to be so much conformity in the world...
One last point: it’s important to understand what happened in this culture in the 80s. Don’t dismiss it as an “unwoke” era just because of the way people were depicted on tv based on their race. How they were and are depicted is only the most superficial component of all this. Like FZ says, you have to learn how to “read” the imagery presented on television.
catothewiser Couldn’t disagree more, but then again my understanding of both figures is completely different than yours.
so insightful, and its accurate. It applied to society today as well. nothing has changed. i just love Frank Zappa his voice and thought process is so reassuring I could listen to him all day.
He is sorely missed.
Frank was not only a great musician but also a thinking person, which is usually so rare among 'artists'. Miss him big time!
I can't believe the wokeness of this guy, it's like he's right here un 2020
2021
Thank you for this - love any interview with Frank. A voice we need bad now.
Wowie Zowie.
Thanks for sharing!
I always liked that Frank leaned Left and Right depending on the subject. He had a strong belief in family and a disdain for organized religion.
Man the two people we need right now more than ever are Frank Zappa and George Carlin! Both were extremely intelligent, Visionary artist, Philosophers and above all told the absolute Truth with no shits given what so ever.
Thanks so much for this. Boy, we could use him now! His views cut to the heart of things.
Gee whiz Geoff!! What a wonderful gem you have been hiding all these years! Thank you so much for sharing this. Boy the world has changed so much since then, digital recording formats, hard drive storage, the internet! and yet it remains so similar and familiar and even more capable of being manipulated. Cheers, and thanks for all you have done over many years for NZ film and culture.
Just watching this now 2021. We don't have 50 channels in Australia now. Great interview.
Ooooh somebody dug up a new zappa interview, what a treat
“because I’m an amateur sociologist” is such a beautiful, humble answer. It reframes all his previous, rather grand statements and qualifies his ideas without any narcissistic claims to unique insight or revelation.
Priceless footage of the FZ philosophy Bravo & Cheers 🤘🏼🎼🤘🏼
My dad raised me on frank zappa I'm very thankful for this man and his time on this great but troubled earth...
He was such a brilliant person, we would need him now.
totally truth, in terms of Music, thinking, knowledge and creativity
@@javierrodriguez5577 yes, thats even more important, it was not just his music, it was the whole person in all aspects.
But we have Jordan Peterson, you know... the Aristotle of the age ;)
@@PK-re3lu Yes, Jordan Peterson is a great guy, I read his book, a brilliant mind.
Thanks for sharing, best Franky interview I've seen, he was of course a genius.
I'm an old lady now. Frank Zappa is my spirit animal.
Frank was one of the first popular musicians to use studio technology, video recording, synthesisers and computers for music, and he proposed a way of delivering his music on demand through customer’s TVs (OK he wasn’t completely right, but pretty close). He was multi-media savvy, voracious at recording the world around him, and I haven’t even mentioned the genius of much of his music.
He’d been around the world, and had seen cultures different to the US and, being Frank, he took it all in.