Frank Zappa- Cosmik Debris (REACTION//DISCUSSION)
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
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Song Link: • Frank Zappa - Cosmik D...
Also major shout out to the ever outstanding Ruth Underwood on xylophone on this. She accentuates the comedic transitions on this song.
Babe Ruth
Hate to come across as nitpicking...but it's a marimba Ruth's playing....🚬😎
@@craigfazekas3923 and Ruth also plays Frank's vibraphone, both cousins of the xylophone, but both have tubes mounted under keys for richer and longer tones. Marimba has wooden keys, vibraphone metal, FWIW! The video of Inca Roads from A Token of My Extreme shows how extensive her percussion set up was, and at the end of the song, the final flourish, has her go from Marimba all the way through all of it, quite a feat!
"Apostrophe" my favorite Frank Zappa album with "Over-Nite Sensation" close behind.
That first guitar solo through a stuck wah pedal was glorious.
The story in Cosmic Debris is basically Zappa making fun of the "Guru" trend that started happening among recently rich artists from music (mostly rock) or other arts in the mid 60's/early 70's after the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi got notoriety due to his involvement with the Beatles. Frank treats the whole guru enlightenment discovery as a shtick, a gimmick, devised to make some fast cash by fooling inexperience kids who find themselves now flushed with cash. I personally enjoy the humor in the lyrics that essentially boils it all down to cosmic garbage (debris). Which is not to say that I myself believe that any and all searches for personal betterment, be it via an actual guru or any other means, to be all a joke. But in this song it is.
But, I got a crystal ball! :D
@@jonp4846 Lol!🤣🤣🤣
Yes, George Harrison was especially influential in bringing eastern mysticism and musical influence (unreal how many bands used a sitar around this time) to the music scene but he wasn't the only one and it's hard for those not around at the time to realize how pervasive the guru influence was. Probably never had a Hare Krishna try to sell you flowers at an airport. After exploring other forms of eastern religious culture George wound up as a life long Hare Krishna convert, which you can hear in his hit, "My Sweet Lord" (many Christians had a rude awakening when they listened to the words more carefully). John McLaughlin also followed another guru (as did Carlos Santana), Sri Chinmoy, for a time and is why he named himself and his band "Mahavishnu".
That blender full of snarky genius,still lights my way! Take everything and nothing seriously! Peace.
The reason Tina Turner and The Ikettes are not credited on the album is because Ike Turner, a true shithead if ever there was one, decided he didn't get what Frank was doing, and didn't want his name associated with the recording, so no credit and no money for the girls. Like I said, a true shithead. But the song is excellent, as are most of Frank's compositions.
That is the most perfect description of Ike Turner.
@@HakanTunaMuzik just 180 or so bucks for 7 hours, I have seen the receipt!
There are so many tracks from Zappa that combine great musicianship with biting satire.
Case in point: The Illinois Enema Bandit :-D
Love Zappa, always unique combinations of notes and musical instruments, mixing styles and changes. Love to hear more Zappa reactions.
Justin - I always thought these lyrics were poking fun at the New Age / Eastern Mysticism that was popular among hippies in the late 60s. This guy is trying to sell Frank on his potions and meditations and he's got a crystal ball and some kind of wizard's robe, etc. - and Frank just says "Who you jivin with that Cosmic BS" (basically). He spent a lot of time in his early career mocking hippies, so this seems to be in line with that. I may be wrong though.
That is exactly my take on the song, as well!
Makes sense! Ty Mike :)
@@JustJP you’ll hear the same kind of lyrical theme in “Camarillo Brillo” from the previous album, but it’s a woman trying to seduce him “she had a snake for a pet / and an amulet / she was breeding a dwarf / but she wasn’t done yet”. 😂
man, you need to watch the live version of this music
The World needs more Zappa! What more to say? Thanks!
There is this guy named Dweezil and he is said to have quite the hot little band.
Absolutely some of the best musical arrangements you will hear!!
Today I found your analysis to be particularly nice again - thank you. Maybe you can add "Fifty Fifty" from the album Over-Nite Sensation to your todo list? The whole album is awesome, by the way.
Yeah, 50/50 is a great song. Distressed vocals and burning solos all wrapped up in a headlong musical rush. What are the chances Justin will review it? I think you know the odds.
You really should try out his album The Grand Wazoo sometime. It's just pure jazz fusion without the comedy. I think you'd dig that side of Zappa a lot more.
One of his best - "Blessed Relief" is pure mellow jazz.
My fav Zappa album
Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo are the two major studio albums in which Frank Zappa is working with a big band style of arrangements. He did a short tour with this huge band that he dubbed The Grand Wazoo Band. However it was too expensive to maintain which forced him to cut the group down considerably for a second mini tour, dubbing the ensemble The Petite Wazoo Band. Over a decade after his passing, there have been some excellent official releases of certain live recordings of these ensembles, well worth looking into as well.
Hot Rats does it for me.
_The Grand Wazoo_ is great, but I wouldn't say it was without comedy. _Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus_ is possibly the funniest instrumental track I've ever heard.
Love the whole Apostrophe album. And Cosmik Debris is amazing.
“Now who you jivin’ with that Cosmik Debris?”
Looking forward to "Uncle Remus" if you carry on with this album .. one of my favourites 🙂
Tip: when you start side two, Excentrifugal Forz bleeds right into the title track, so you should play them as Excentrifugal Forz/Apostrophe (').
Will do!
Ahh...Frank Zappa...a musical rabbit hole of his own making! Love It. Try "Montana" if you get the urge...another Classic Zappa musing. I believe the word you are hunting for is "ZAPPAFIED"! hahaha
Ty Rick! That was actually the first song I head from him :D
Usual superb music from Rank. He mirrors the actions in the lyrics. For example "the top popped open" and "foaming goo". Frank does this throughout the album. Sheer brilliance.
Remember this was the hallucinogenic era... what might have been in the box then?
Maybe zappa was commenting on how so called gurus used what were quite ordinary objects and said they were essential spiritual devices
One of my favorites. This one got more air play than most. :)
I love all the "mickey mousing" touches throughout, from the violin squiggles under "fidget around a bit," to the mini how blast for "ram it up your snout." All the key verbs in the story are portrayed by some non-traditional instrumental noise.
It's the details. And Zappa voiced his arrangements so cleanly. Every little thing has it's perfect sonic space, so nothing gets lost in audio mud. He's like the anti-Phil Spector in that way
Didnt realize you were doing the whole album...the next 2 songs will knock you out haha
Blues and R&B were huge influences on Zappa and they remained a big part of his music throughout his career, side by side with the crazier stuff
In fact they should be heard together because EF is very short. There is a vid on youtube that is both songs together
Zappa music is timeless; it never goes out of style and it never dates itself. That's the mark of true originality.
Ah Fridays. Fun and freaky. Constantly surprising and entertaining. My time wasn't wasted.
Always a surprise :D
I also love how the Ikettes have been chipmunked in the last vamp section. I always admired his use of the fact that you can speed up and slow down tape.
Thanks for this one. Next Zappa, do the first few tunes from Joe's Garage album....what a hilarious story unfolding. Cracks me up every time I dust off the turntable and put it on.
I would suggest he go in the other direction: grand wazoo, RDZNL, Black Page, Sleep Dirt, etc
@@timcardona9962 so would i
Jack Bruce on bass parts of that album, and the b.g. vocals by tina turner and the turnerettes. Awesome musiciums on this special vynil.
My son just called from his store to tell me they had a vinyl copy of Apostrophe. We are fans of Zappa here and I have most of the collection on either vinyl or cd or both. Although I have this album on cd I have not seen my lp since the 80’s. Furthermore I really dug the lp in the 70’s, but have very rarely listened to it since. Now having said all that I was prepared to truck on down by foot to snatch it all away from them outta sight. My son then informed me that someone had just purchased it. : ( 0 )=
Many like only hearing Frank speak his razor sharp wit and others only wished he shut up and play his guitar. Dirty Love (from Overnight Sensation) is a great one for Astounding Frank vocals. Anyway, as soon as I got off the phone with my sadistic son I find this video jumped up into my box. There ain’t nothing my box won’t do…
I've got the Shut Up And Play Your Guitar box set on vinyl :-)
@@gregall2178, Damn you for that Greg : ). I have pretty mint copies of them or us and 200 motels OG vinyl and many more. Pick one and I will toss in my box cd set of suapyg. Doesn’t hurt to ask or Dream Large. On second thought, I am withdrawing 200 motels.
I've had mine since it came out. Even managed to get a large point of sale poster of Apostrophe (album cover). Looks like it was never used!?! On it, it sez, Would you buy an album from this man? You would if you heard it.
Oooo Justin....we used to listen to a lot of Zappa (thanks to my brother) and joyously laugh and laugh. He had such a great sense of humor. The added pleasure was whoa the musical talents Zappa had alongside him were off the chart.
Note: Zappa is not for everyone.
But boy did we have a blast with Frank. Looking forward to side II.
Nice! My favorite album and song is "Joe's Garage"
Also, now I'm going to have "But I said
look here brother,
Who you jivin' with that Cosmik Debris?" stuck in my head 😁
My favorite Zappa tune. Simply Groovy
Frank uses esoteric euphemisms that bring big smiles to his diehard fans.
"is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
I poked and stroked until my wrist got numb, an applied rotation on her sugar plum....
"Here Fido!"
Another Classic. Zappa at his peak. Been twenty years or so since I listened to it, and it is still special. Thanks Bro!!
At the time of release, there was a slew of guru cults. One Maharaj Ji, was 15yr old with Rolls Royce’s and a “secretary” who was in 20s he married.
Good thing you're doing the one you can pronounce JP! And I think the Mystery Man is just a snake-oil salesman.
Spot on! This song expresses Frank's feelings about "new age mysticism" charlatans. Also a tidbit here and there criticizing rank commercialism (Now is that real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?)
That's Tina Turner and the Ikettes singing backup (uncredited). This album (and his last album) were recorded at Ike Turner's studio, and the deal was for a little extra money, he'd throw in Tina and the Ikettes......as long as you didn't credit them. So that's Tina Turner singing on this, and "Montana" and "Dinah Moe Hum", "I'm The Slime", etc.... Fun reaction video!
Is that a real pancho or a Sears pancho? It's hard telling how many times I've asked that question. I'm guessing over a 1000.
It's the little things in life.
I’ve gotten some odd looks when I’ve asked that.
@@robynsmith3040 lol
Same
Arf, she said.
I'm sorry you gotta head like a potato.
Ralph Humphrey plays drums on this and the yellow snow suite. Johnny Guerrin only plays on Excentrifugal Forz.
The drummer is Ralph Humphrey in this one
Finally.. someone has the cahones to react to Cosmik Debris, and JP, I must say, you are the man to do it.. Great reaction!. Your approach is remotely analytical, but creatively lighthearted.. Excellent.. Now for some bizarre humor, try "Camarillo Brillo".. or "Dirty Love"..
Appreciate that a lot 4tune!
@@JustJP Your welcome.. keep up the cool selections and great reactions.. have you done Tommy Bolin, "Wild Dogs" yet?..
Totally forgot how much I dig this track.
Who you jivin’ with that Cosmic Debris? Love Frank.
Johnny was an A-list studio drummer of the time and his presence here as well as on the work of Joni Mitchell and many, many others is only awkwardly equated with the "featuring" so common today. New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles relied very heavily on a reliable set of go-to session players known to be able to "deliver" any time of day or night and John Guerin was one of them. The most famous of the L.A. contingent have come to be collectively known as "The Wrecking Crew" though I don't know that Guerin might not been a little after their classic period in which they were the actual musicians on nearly EVERY song to make the radio for a period of close to a decade. Johnny may possibly have come just after that.
Meanwhile: "Zappa's been pretty good so far, I think I'm warming up to 'the Zapp"?! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! After listening to endless Genesis and (yuk!) late Yes you still have yet to find out about one of the maybe half dozen authentic music geniuses of the 20th century but are still just "warming up" to him?! I'm sorry, but music's been lost on you if you're only just finding out and are still exploring 80's "prog", which isn't particularly "progressive" at all, much less worthwhile music. PLEASE go listen to Zappa's first decade of music before getting back to us. Thanks.
Love the Zappa humor in this track, both vocally and with the musical instruments responding to the lyrics. Zappa made fun of people and here it's '60s and '70s gurus peddling various forms of enlightenment.
Interesting that you mention Canterbury. Zappa once said any band could open for The Mothers of Invention except The Soft Machine.
Zappa inspired music appears on the self-titled Hatfield & The North album. Uncle Meat type motifs.
digging that disco version of closer at the beginning lol
Yup, we can see that you're "Warmin' up to the Zap." Love it.
Don’t try to figure Zappa out. His music is fun to listen to. Just enjoy it.
At one point, I was chatting with James "Birdlegs" Youman here on RUclips (former Zappa bassist). Very cool, low-key & approachable dude !!
🚬😎
And now... listen to "Crazy Little Jewish Princess"... by Zappa.
"She had a garlic aroma, that could level Tacoma...." ;-)
Try a deep dive on the bassist Leland Sklar. He's probably played with as many artists as Carol Kaye. Carol is also in a league of her own.
And Carol played acoustic guitar on Freak Out. But of course she did.
Now, is that a real poncho or a Sears poncho?
"Now what kind o gu-ruu are you anyway??"
100% authentic traditional hand woven Peruvian alpaca wool poncho (made in China).
Yay Zappa! Genius composer. You ought to react to Bolero by Maurice Ravel. :)
Apostrophe is another classic. Waka Jawaka & Hot Rats smoke on a jazz tip. Sick. As a teenager, I always wanted Zappa & George Clinton to collab. I've seen both of their live shows 🤯 They at least would've pulled a historic, super eclectic crossover crowd as a double bill tour. Imagine what the opening bands in all the cities would be like for a tour like that! Hats off to a true music legend, as well as an extremely proactive, freedom of speech activist. Mr ZFG personified! Btw, I'm a big fan of Todd Rundgren's more vituoso, instrumental heavy, prog project, called Utopia. Have you reacted to them yet?
**** FZ was a master as were all of his musicians. Check out Tina Turner and the Ikettes who are the featured female singers.
Mmm that hits the spot, it's gonna be a great Friday night!
The story seems pretty straightforward in this one. Frank is approached by a "guru" who offers to help him reach enlightenment for a fee, but Frank doesn't fall for the con and tells him off. The guru is taken aback but persists and tries to sell Frank on some "mystical" snake oil to cure all of his ills, which Frank similarly rejects. The guru finally pulls out a crystal ball and offers to tell his future, but Frank turns the tables on him, makes his own fake turban out of newspaper, "hypnotizes" and scams the guru out of his own money & possessions, and tells hims a future prediction that's actually just an insult ("the price of meat has just gone up and your old lady just went down", i.e. "your wife just gave some other guy a blowjob"). Frank concludes by making fun of his outfit and telling him to give up his con.
“Zappafied” is the term you were looking for.
Thats it!
The soulful female singers were Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis, and Tina Turner. A particular vintage of "the Ikettes". Zappa talked about how hard they worked and Ike Turner had it in a contract that he couldn't pay the ladies more than $25 per song, since that's all Ike would pay them. Didn't want them getting a taste of better treatment.
Frank and Joanie were next door neighbors in Laurel Canyon
It takes a while to get used to Zappa's silliness factor, but if you manage to keep an open mind long enough, eventually you start to realize that it's not a bug, it's a feature. He's playing with sounds that most rock musicians were too afraid to touch, and that's part of what makes it his. The raunch factor is a different story altogether though, I'm still not 100% comfortable with it (though fortunately the music is amazing enough that I'm willing to tolerate the filth).
For another great Zappa "demented blues" number, check out Penguin In Bondage, another of my all-time favorites
Can't wait for Apostrophe.
The studio version of the title track is a jam session with Jack Bruce on bass, which JB claimed to not remember. But knowing FZ, there ain't no way he gave JB credit on that song if it WASN"T JB playing. It is like his bass is at war with FZ's guitar, I dare you to find another song that the bass is so off the wall, it really is a filthy good jam!
in context of the story
in this time Frank was pretty outspoken against religion and gurus, the story is basically a skeptic debunking a new age guru type person,gurus were popular to a lot of his contemporaries in the music industry so he was probably poking a lil fun at them as well as the gurus.
If he were alive, Zappa could make a good song about the confusion between Cosmic Debris and Excentrifugal Forz.
Love Zappa! Saw him twice, he was amazing.
Once you get past the weirdness, the jazz comes to life. Jazz life. It's where you want to be. Go to where the flavor is. Wawa coffee.
Good flavor!
I have little Zappa knowledge. This was entertaining. I enjoyed your reaction. It was a hoot! Zappa making fun of con artist gurus.
You must look into the Swampers. They helped shape the sound of the sixties and seventies.
Zappa just hadn't met my guru, Baba Rum Raisin or his associate Rama Llama Ding Dong.
I bought 'Apostrophe' when it first came out in the 70s...My take on Cosmik Debris is that is was an anti-drug anthem and ridiculed the dealer selling all kinds of drugs and associated paraphernalia. It was perhaps also the nascent forerunner to hip hop, given the rhyming couplets and clever play on words. One of my Favorite Zappa tunes nonetheless...."Shaaanti...!"
He's just telling you a story bro, in a really fun way. After learning the parts, he would ask the musicians to, "Now, put the eyebrows on it," i.e., Zappa-fy it, ha ha.
Tina Turner and the Ikettes on backing vocals!
You should use your "Frank" voice more often, it fits you well.
You should strap on We're Only In It For The Money LP - but it needs to be done side to side as everything runs together. Listen to a piece of music (pretty much any piece) by composer Edgar Varese, he was an early and major influence on Frank. Frank and the original Mother's of Invention performed some of his music in the early years. It will help you get the "drift" of a lot of Frank's musical construction.
Carry On!!
this is my jam,,, yes can't get enough Zappa,,, my holy trinity is Frank Zappa, Kate Bush and Robert Fripp
In a long tradition of spoken storytelling over dirty blues, Zappa'd as you say. LOve it. Kevin Ayers, Little Feat, they all had a take.
Justin you should check out the album Overnite Sensation. The song Dynamo Hum. Cool tune!
it is
I sang the karaoke version to an age mixed crowd of my fellow workers, male and female and their spouses at a company Christmas party. None of them had ever heard it before. They'll never forget it.
@@nj1639 Lol! That's awesome. 🤣
ah,you're getting there JP....nice one bud :)
Ty Ken :)
You love you some good drums. Zappa always had the best. And even when he was being completely off the wall, as with "Inca Roads" where the lyrics question if certain places weren't built for UFO's to land.
The song then breaks into an iconic Zappa guitar solo. This song is sublime. SUBLIME I tells ya! It should be a high priority. "Apostrophe" is kind of considered his one big commercial hit. It got radio play. Didn't happen a lot for Frank as you can imagine.
"One Size Fits All" would be a very worthy and educational dive for you and Frank.
Trust me. Saw the guy live four times, every show totally unique, with different bands, including seriously old Mother's members. Trust me. I've got the "good stuff" when it comes to this guy.
I Don't know if you know this Leo, but at the time of "one size fits all" there was a big interest in the possibility that the huge atacama desert "pictures" were signposts for aliens to land. Eric von daniken wrote "chariots of the gods" about this and related stuff e.g statuettes of what looked like astronauts found in mayan/aztec ruins. It was huge for a while and very 1970s.
Actually, looking at your post again you probably do know this. Sorry, wasn't meaning to patronise.
@@gerardodoherty9178 I actually read "Chariots of the Gods" as an eight year old shortly after it came out. I'm still deeply interested in the truly ancient megalithic sites around the round. The Nazca plains are still a huge question mark.
@@leoscone4036 as you say, still huge questions about their purpose. One of my favourite books from that time was one which put forward the idea that there's a huge hole in the Arctic circle leading to a parking lot for alien space ships. Obviously the governments of the world are covering this up. Wish I could remember the name of it.
I enjoyed... maybe a little too much debris, a little too much flotsam and jetsam swirling
around, but solid instrumentation. I recommend Camarillo Brillo (with a reprise of the "Sears Poncho".)
ps, continue on with Joe Jackson? The next song is Is She Really Going Out with Him? JJ may win you over with this one...+ Happy Loving Couples is wonderful.
Zappa, for many, is an acquired taste. New listeners are usually a bit overwhelmed by his 'style' with things like shifting tempos and utilizing multiple genres into single songs. By the sound of your reactions so far, and especially with this one, you are starting to get what he is doing. As you experience a few more songs your appreciation should grow. If you are going to continue through this album, the song you couldn't pronounce (Frank will clear it up when you hear it) Excentrifugal Forz MUST be played in combination with the title tune, Apostrophe. Like the Yellow Snow suite, these two songs meld into each other, otherwise the former ends abruptly, and not in a good way. Just saying...as I expect most other Zappa fans would agree.
Arf, she said.
Ty Peter! Will definitely do those two together
Live live live! Do Cosmic Debris live!
Selling 'spiritual enlightenment' for a service charge would be something that Zappa simply would not tolerate. I love the call and response of statement and sound effect that he uses here. As you say, it would sound silly in other hands, but here he makes it work. Zappa is very hard to take out of context, but as you can see, he really is truly brilliant. For jazz fusion, title track of Grand Wazoo is recommended, but you sort of have to be in an energized mood for it.
Hey Justin. Have you checked out NIN's cover of Dead Souls by Joy Division. It's from The Crow soundtrack. Heard you sneaking in Closer at the beginning
Time for you to listen to Zappa’s “Dirty Love” & “Dinah Mo Hum” and try not to laugh 😂
Like Close to the Edge, Apostrophe` should really be taken whole as the concept album that it is. Think about it.
Ralph Humphrey is the summer on this track
Zappa is(was) a genius. This is a great song!
This whole period of his is great. Love that nasty, dirty guitar tone of his. Have you done Inca Roads yet?
He did do Inca Roads, 7 months ago. And it went completely over his head. I thought he would get it, considering his great analytical skills, but alas...
@@SpaceCattttt, He is still pretty young. But some of us were younger…then.
@@SpaceCattttt I think it was his first, a lot for a newbie to digest for the first time.
@@Peter-K I believe he did "Montana" on his other channel. And his response was pretty much the same. Which is why I think he might enjoy Frank's more serious work more.
Zappa was anti-hippie drug scene, anti- mystics, anti Beatles (to an extent)....anti alot of the stuff that came out of the 60s. Zappa said once that the youth of the 60s were trying to change things for good but they will probably mess it up (and he was right). Drugs and self indulgence killed a lot of the hope, peace and love, changes that the 60s hoped to promise.
Frank really was NOT an admirer of esoteric movements... so, that was his take on that topic^^
It's a slight on Guru's, which was a big thing in the 70's.
How did I miss this upload??? Wth
🤭
This is a 1975 version of a SPAM alert!!
After years removed from listening to Zappa religiously I now have mixed feelings about whether his music has survived and holds up well in the 21st century. Everything he does musically is done to perfection. But I don't find his little novelty songs as amusing as I once did. And even back then in my youth, I realized that Zappa was a great social critic with no social solutions. He was also homophobic by today's standards and misogynistic. My favorite albums by him today are One Size Fits All, Chunga's Revenge, Hot Rats, The Grand Wazoo, and Apostrophe (the best of his novelty material). I also love the material from his never released album, Lather (which was release decades later by Rykodisc). The portion of that material released as Zappa in New York by Warner Bros was exceptional. His guitar playing was iconic and never really copied. I had the same music theory professor as he did who also gave me some insights into Zappa's most serious musical goals. Great stuff, but the satirical material has become a little old with me.
You just got old and lost your sense of humor, Frank was a master of the absurd with his lyrics. When the anti-defamation league complained about Jewish Princess, his answer was pure Frank. "Unlike the unicorn, such creatures do exist - and deserve to be 'commemorated' with their own special opus" Maybe the world has just gotten a little too PC.
@@Peter-K Maybe, only thing I know for sure is that I grew up. And I remember all of press surrounding the Jewish Princess controversy, as well as his modern electronic music performance (other people performing) that turned out to be a cassette tape playing which was a big trick played on the music critics. Interesting guy, I just don't think "all' of his material holds up so well nowadays.
@@eximusic of course not, much of it was tied to the era it was written in. Disco Boy was highly relative in the 70s, but that fad passed and so did the relevance. But there is a lot of stuff that holds up just fine, I don't love, or even like, everything he did, but I can appreciate the sheer vastness of what he accomplished as a whole. There are music schools teaching students his music as way to train them to play more complex musical arrangements. I think eventually he will be recognized as one of the greatest modern composers of all time. I have noticed that over the last few years he is showing up everywhere with a lot of new listeners, and he should.
I have seen this live and they jam their asses off there is one on you tube for free you should check it out it is much better than the studio version.
JP - do yourself and your ears a favour, sit back with headphones and listen to the "Waka Jawaka" album.
Hi, Justin! I think you mentioned sometimes that you don't see your own videos. I can inform you that through the different reactions to Zappa you have been ambivalent so far, this being the most positive. But, still you are concerned about the text and the "meaning". Through the first albums, from "Freak Out" to the "We're only in it for the money" you have lyrics with at least some sort of meaning. "Troubles every day" (sometimes claimed as the first rap song, which of course is not true - there is always something older) about the Watts riots is more in line with other music. In later songs, with a few exceptions, the lyrics is something else - a part of the art - but more related to John Lennon's "I am the walrus" where the intention was to have no meaning. Zappa frequently explained that his intention was to entertain. If you try to "understand" in the first place, you will get lost. As several people already suggested: try some of the instrumental pieces from "The grand Wazoo" or "Waka/Jawaka" albums. You have now showed that you have the preconditions to really appreciate Zappa's music!
What is your conceptual continuity?
I think it's about dealings with a "spirituality vendor" of some kind (for instance a snake oil salesman) - and then about that form of con artist in general, by implication. So if what the snake oil salesman makes no sense, that's perfect. It makes the point. These con artists never actually make sense. There are people out there who can say less than nothing (as in you'd have to assign it to a negative number if numbers were your thing) very quickly, and very convincing, and fool people into parting with real things like money for fake things like fortunes read or anointments with ointments you wouldn't handle without a hazmat suit if you knew what was in them.
It might even be some scorn to spit onto a certain kind of preacher. Or maybe you could put someone like old Sigmund Fraud into the trickster role in the story. It's broad enough to be reporpoised (just like the otherwise useful word, "porpoise" can be reporpoised).
And then as usual, completely off the point, the news that mr Brown (I think last time I wrote that, I misspelled it as "Mr Brown", with an offensive capital M) has produced a recorder based (so somewhat medieaval) cover of *Everything is Easy* ruclips.net/video/99B2CFtRmTg/видео.html
(You might enjoy comparing it to the effects version that goes with this, and with the original. And with the piano cover you can find elsewhere, too.) Cost: about 3:33.
George Duke's ornaments are the best. Only exceeded by his Rhodes work.
Check out "Big Swifty" live. No lyrics, just jamming out: ruclips.net/video/aYu33fmeyLc/видео.html
Frank the rock rapper.