just listened to Hot Rats all the way through - i have a recentish memory of mark s telling me it's no good but MAN IT IS GOOD
peaches en regalia somewhat aside (sorry zap-hedz) it is one stonking hard jam after another. some of zappa's best solo playing. and the drums! even son of mr green genes somewhat improbably becomes amazing after a typically fussy "here comes the king" intro
the gumbo variations in particular is just magisterial and stands out as ultra-funky relative to zappa's often stiff-backed steez - i can actually imagine playing it for a dancefloor
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:39 (six years ago) link
of course there's a library music version of mr. green genes (xref: library music thread):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwhYLwrDN_w
here's a high school jazz group playing excerpts from hot rats in 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Gr1KS05qs
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:41 (six years ago) link
hot rats is great. his court appearances challenging censorship are classic as well
― kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:43 (six years ago) link
just picked up an old vinyl copy of Absolutely Free to add to the collection as my son has been wanting to check out some of our old timey Zappa albums
― Moodles, Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:44 (six years ago) link
yeah i heard hot rats for the first time recently and was amazed by how much i dug it.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:44 (six years ago) link
i should have put my post here!
teaching mark s a *LESSON* response one: ZAPPA
well, now they're CONNECTED and it's all right
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:48 (six years ago) link
I heard Waka/Jawaka for the first time last week, that's another one I need to get eventually
― sleeve, Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:50 (six years ago) link
add Grand Wazoo to that list too, if you haven't already
― Moodles, Saturday, 17 February 2018 22:57 (six years ago) link
Hot Rats fans, seek out both mixes (1969, 1987) -- they're like 2 different albums, both great.
― WilliamC, Saturday, 17 February 2018 23:00 (six years ago) link
dont trust mark s!!
― Algerian Goalkeeper (Odysseus), Saturday, 17 February 2018 23:08 (six years ago) link
the vinyl mix is nice. i like the omission of the first three and a half minutes of the "gumbo variations" jam. the "little umbrellas" mix also has way more bass in it and is really good.
also worth finding: the radio ads by david ossman (firesign theatre) for the album. one of them actually has an unreleased frank zappa song ("passacaglia", track 6 of "the artisan acetate") in the background.
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Saturday, 17 February 2018 23:17 (six years ago) link
oh, and there's a great 12 minute jam on "sharleena" from the "hot rats" sessions closing out the "lost episodes" cd.
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Saturday, 17 February 2018 23:18 (six years ago) link
I've got the vinyl! never knew there was a difft version of gumbo variations
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 17 February 2018 23:50 (six years ago) link
they're all bad not good
― mark s, Sunday, 18 February 2018 11:49 (six years ago) link
(xp) One feels like it lasts 10 years, the other is longer.
― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 18 February 2018 11:58 (six years ago) link
My gateway into moderate Zappa fandom (strictly 60's MoI tbh). The drums as noted above are great and the guitar showboating actually works (eg Willie the Pimp ios pretty badass). Also love the overlooked angular jazzy closer It Must be a Camel
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Sunday, 18 February 2018 14:02 (six years ago) link
classic clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgAF8Vu8G0w
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 26 April 2018 08:42 (five years ago) link
I just had the realization that Zappa if alive today would totally go on the Joe Rogan podcast
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 12:29 (five years ago) link
He'd not just be a guest, he'd be a regular.
― EZ Snappin, Tuesday, 20 November 2018 13:27 (five years ago) link
He'd have gone into an incoherent apoplectic rage when we invaded Iraq and burned himself out of any creativity or coherence he might have had left. Now, in his late 70s, he'd tell anyone calling on him to fuck off and let him die in peace.
― I hear you've been having trouble with pigs and ponies. (WmC), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 13:35 (five years ago) link
His whole persona is like the template for YouTube guys, like sarcastic, know it all, vaguely libertarian, "people today are too easily offended/controlled by the government/corporate media", misogynistic, casually racist
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 13:35 (five years ago) link
― I hear you've been having trouble with pigs and ponies. (WmC)
he'd have gone into an incoherent apopleptic rage over napster and would've spent the last twenty years suing his fans
politically he's a pretty clear forerunner of today's social media assholes but he probably would hate them just as much as he hated everybody else
― dub pilates (rushomancy), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:12 (five years ago) link
Eh, ultimately, I think he cared more about music than any of that. Maybe he'd be programming with Max/MSP and doing TED talks on Varese idk.
― Locked in silent monologue, in silent scream (Sund4r), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:20 (five years ago) link
Oh god yeah Napster/streaming would have drove him nuts
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:24 (five years ago) link
That one I could maybe see.
― Locked in silent monologue, in silent scream (Sund4r), Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:25 (five years ago) link
he probably would've done a "Macarena" parody in like...2004
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:28 (five years ago) link
All of you otm. He’d also be prime material for a WTF sit down with Marc Maron
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 21 November 2018 08:48 (five years ago) link
― frogbs
look he wasn't "shitty weird al yankovic", his being old and out of touch manifested in other ways. he'd probably be making fun of, like, jerry garcia's od (timeline works out: made fun of hendrix's death in 1984, elvis's death in 1988). that's another thing: he loved to make fun of people for dying, and as far as i can tell, nobody ever died as a result of the macarena.
but of course most of his "satire" in 2004 would likely be taken up with songs attacking george w. bush and islam in roughly equal measure.
he probably would have had his own porn site.
― dub pilates (rushomancy), Wednesday, 21 November 2018 09:30 (five years ago) link
lol just thinking about him releasing an album called "Shiek Yerbouti" in 1979
― frogbs, Wednesday, 21 November 2018 15:04 (five years ago) link
TED talks on Varese
<3
― timellison, Wednesday, 21 November 2018 17:55 (five years ago) link
Zappa in New York is being blown out to a 5CD set in March.
http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/zappa_ny3600.jpg
Limited edition 5CD set in an embossed tin box
CD 1 – The Original 1977 vinyl mix1 Titties & Beer 5:012 I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth 3:313 Big Leg Emma 2:174 Sofa 3:165 Manx Needs Women 1:346 The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1 4:067 Black Page #2 5:428 Honey, Don’t You Want A Man Like Me? 4:169 The Illinois Enema Bandit 12:4110 The Purple Lagoon 17:12
CD 2 – Bonus Concert Performances – Part One1 “The Most Important Musical Event Of 1976”2 Peaches En Regalia3 The Torture Never Stops4 Black Page #25 Punky’s Whips intro6 Punky’s Whips7 I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth8 Honey, Don’t You Want A Man Like Me?9 The Illinois Enema Bandit10 “Two For The Price Of One”11 Penis Dimension12 Montana
CD 3 – Bonus Concert Performances – Part Two1 America Drinks 4:522 “Irate Phone Calls” 1:373 Sofa #2 3:044 “The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For” :585 I’m The Slime 5:386 Pound For A Brown 4:507 Terry’s Solo 2:478 The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1 3:539 Big Leg Emma 2:1910 “Jazz Buffs and Buff-etts” 1:5111 The Purple Lagoon 17:0012 Find Her Finer 5:2213 The Origin Of Manx 1:4814 Manx Needs Women 1:3715 Chrissy Puked Twice 6:4016 Cruisin’ For Burgers 9:56
CD 4 – Bonus Concert Performances – Part Three1 The Purple Lagoon/Any Kind Of Pain 4:252 “The Greatest New Undiscovered Group In America” 2:183 Black Napkins 28:334 Dinah-Moe Humm 6:165 Finale 4:40
CD 5 – Bonus Vault Content1 The Black Page #2 (Piano Version) 3:162 I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth (Alternate Version) 3:553 Chrissy Puked Twice4 Cruisin’ For Burgers (1977 Mix) 9:085 Black Napkins (c)1976 10:566 Punky’s Whips (Unused Version) 10:557 The Black Page #1 (Piano Version) . 2:13
There's also a 3LP version with a much shorter track listing:
Side A1. Titties N Beer2. I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth3. Big Leg Emma
Side B1. Sofa2. Manx Needs Women3. The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #14. Black Page #2
Side C1. Honey, Dont You Want A Man Like Me?2. The Illinois Enema Bandit
Side D1. The Purple Lagoon (Side B)
Side E1. Black Napkins2. Cruisin For Burgers (1977 Mix)
Side F1. The Black Page #2 (Piano Version)2. I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth (Alt. Version)3. Punkys Whips (Unused Version)4. The Black Page #1 (Piano Version)
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 30 January 2019 23:36 (five years ago) link
What's the deal with Orchestral Favorites?
I recently found a CD I barely remember owning or playing. Coincidentally there seems to be an expanded reissue in the works.
Was it from a concert or not? Some kind of contractual obligation thing? Anyway, glad I dug it out of that box.
― Invisible (Noel Emits), Thursday, 4 July 2019 10:03 (four years ago) link
Another early attempt he made at getting his "orchestral" music recorded with a pickup orchestra (really mostly an expanded version of the Grand Wazoo big band). It's OK, and it's nice to hear Emil Richards playing Zappa's stuff, but it's still probably the weakest of his "orchestral" works. It was another one that came out of the material intended for Läther (learned how to type umlauts on a US keyboard this week)
― Quilter Ray (rushomancy), Thursday, 4 July 2019 12:55 (four years ago) link
is that the same as the Revised Music for a Low Budget Symphony Orchestra -Live at Royce Hall 75
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 4 July 2019 14:25 (four years ago) link
I believe so, yeah.
― Manfred Hemming-Hawing (WmC), Thursday, 4 July 2019 15:20 (four years ago) link
Anyone who hasn't heard the original Music for Low Budget Symphony Orchestra on Jean-Luc Ponty's album of Zappa compositions should do, it's nice!
― Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Thursday, 4 July 2019 16:35 (four years ago) link
Thanks rushomancy et al. Just the kind of context I was hoping for.
― Invisible (Noel Emits), Friday, 5 July 2019 14:35 (four years ago) link
I think this was partly opaque to me because the inlay on the (1991) CD says "Recorded at Royce Hall, LA, September 1975" but also, "originally released in LP format, May, 1974" (impressive!), while the artwork is dated 1979.
― Invisible (Noel Emits), Friday, 5 July 2019 14:44 (four years ago) link
My friend and I improvised a Zappa song the other day. It was this big, heavy pentatonic scale riff, then after a few runs through the riff he leaned over to his keyboard and dooped out a crazy cartoon-random mallet percussion part while I intoned in some ironic narrator voice. "Meanwhile, back stage, the group was engaged in sexual proclivities of a sort that would make you blush..." And then back to the riff. It was called, iirc, "Dwarf Athlete."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 5 July 2019 14:51 (four years ago) link
― Invisible (Noel Emits)
The 1974 date is a typo.
― Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Friday, 5 July 2019 18:46 (four years ago) link
My friend and I improvised a Zappa song the other day.
― Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 5 July 2019 18:48 (four years ago) link
lol @ Josh I can hear it in my head
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 5 July 2019 19:01 (four years ago) link
Is that Zappa in NY album considered a classic or something to get a 5 CD treatment? I listened a bit and really dug the brass on "Titties & Beer" and the moody angular vibe throughout.
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 8 July 2019 12:16 (four years ago) link
"Titties and Beer" not widely considered a classic, no. Also, there's "The Illinois Enema Bandit", which is hands down the vilest piece of shit Zappa ever wrote, and there's some pretty fierce competition.
― Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Monday, 8 July 2019 13:49 (four years ago) link
Really don't dig Zappa, but if I recall correctly I had a copy of this LP, which might be the only place to get, or for the long time was the only place to get, "The Black Page?'
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 8 July 2019 14:07 (four years ago) link
I still get more pissed off about "Jumbo Go Away"
― frogbs, Monday, 8 July 2019 14:10 (four years ago) link
Is that Zappa in NY album considered a classic or something to get a 5 CD treatment?
Well they just had lots of unreleased tapes. Anyway the market for such boxes isn't that big so they're limited editions that sell out quickly and get deleted. Both the Roxy Performances and Live in NYC Deluxe boxes are now deleted. The good thing is that there's an official Zappa channel on YouTube where you can stream both (and much more).
There's also a sneak peak of the new release: Revised Music For Low-Budget Symphony Orchestra (Live At Royce Hall, 9/18/1975)
― EvR, Monday, 12 August 2019 10:06 (four years ago) link
I was under the impression we were getting a Hot Rats box this year
Zappa in New York box is great
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 12 August 2019 10:22 (four years ago) link
It was my most listened to Zappa back when I, well, listened to Zappa.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 29 August 2019 05:26 (four years ago) link
The expanded Orchestral Favorites is a lot of fun. The orchestra sounds under-rehearsed on a lot of it, as was usually the case with FZ and orchestras and chamber groups until Ensemble Modern, but game to give anything a try.
― WmC, Thursday, 19 September 2019 17:15 (four years ago) link