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I don't know his stuff too well, but I do like two of his songs.
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01-02-2012 01:27 AM
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Genius, very odd music to the people who listen to mainstream stuff. Just look at some transcriptions of his stuff. Amazing really, he once said something like "The stuff I write is so complex that no musicians can even play it." And he was in charge of his tours, arranging practice and rehearsals, in charge of all the $.
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Yeah dude. He's got 80+ albums out, there's stuff of his for basically EVERYONE.
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There's nothing wrong with Zappa, it just smells a little funny.....
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I've listened to every Zappa album. He's got some awesome comedy ones, but my favorites are his instrumentals. Especially waka/jawaka and the grand wazoo.
Also check out the enormous double album 'joes garage' perfect blend of instrumentals, comedy and everything really!
Roxy and elsewhere is a live album and also onemof his great ones perfectly blending awesome instrumentals with some really funny songs as well.
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"Don't eat yellow snow."
Very wise words.
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Hot Rats, Burnt Weenie Sandwhich and Grand Wazoo are the best places to start, IMHO, for great instrumental Zappa.
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My favorite album is his last, "Yellow Shark". The tunes on that album are compositions for orchestral music. Here's the finale:
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I'd say listen to Hot Rats then if you don't know the genius and are into jazz, as it is a jazz-rock album (with a fairly good balance between jazz and rock).
Here are two interesting videos about Zappa imo:
- Zappa's thoughts on the decline of the music business
- Steve Vai remembering his audition with the master:
Unlike Sandor I enjoy and would encourage you to check Zappa's "joke songs", as the guy was pretty funny and it can't hurt to have a laugh while listening to a tune from time to time. It's very rare to see actually a musician so inclined to include humor in music.
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Originally Posted by Sandor
Frank was an amazing musician with integrity and vision, and a great guitar player.
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Zappa was God, and I'm not biased or anything ...
Check out the "Shut up and play yer guitar" series (three albums); all instrumentals, and some of the best wah-wah playing ever.
Frank didn't consider himself a "jazz" musician, so there's really no point in discussing him as such. His autobiography is up there with Miles' autobiography as far as being entertaining and informative, so it's a must-read.
I saw him live several times, and the shows were always incredible.
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I chose my moniker in homage to Cosmik Debris. It defines part of the cosmic gumbo legend. Thank you, Frank.
Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 01-03-2012 at 01:08 AM.
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Is there a link or a post on the Showcase section to your playing, Coz? I'm interested in hearing your sound and style.
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I too think Frank was a genius. There are at least 3 interviews on this site, here is one-
http://weirdovideo.com/wv68/content/...tional-tv-1973
Cosmik Debris could have been written about a old friend of mine;
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Joe's Garage is awesome. Frank is one of those guys in a league of his own.
He Like Fripp Pioneered many of the sounds and approach's, some say they were both doing fusion before Miles went electric, that are Fusion all the way.
I never cared for Frank's silly albums, but there are some real gems in his repertoire. He was a Genius plain and simple. I have read he never did drugs. Hard to believe. What a Free Spirit.
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Originally Posted by brwnhornet59
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Agreed. The only reason I mentioned it is because how bizarre some of his music and thinking was.
Drugs and alcohol suck. They kill creativity as well as us.
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Originally Posted by brwnhornet59
I think, as far as how he comports himself in interviews, I would say the closest to Zappa, or the English equivalent, would be Pete Townshend. Critical of hippie culture, critical of establishment, tough on other rock stars, etc. They also both have shitted on their respective groups, The Mothers and The Who.
I have read he never did drugs. Hard to believe.Last edited by Smelodies; 01-03-2012 at 09:00 PM.
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Originally Posted by reventlov
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i first took notice of one of my now-favorite musicians, george duke, when he played with frank zappa.
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Insightful interview with an ailing Zappa. Kind of reminds of me Christopher Hitchens's interviews in the past two years. Frank answers the important questions with dignity, but you can see some fear and knowledge that he was facing death.
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Spot on melissa536,that's Frank in a nutshell!
cheers Yorg from aus as well.
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My wife is a huge Zappa fan, and had the sad honor of interviewing him on her radio show shortly before he passed away.
I find his stuff musically great for the most part, but lyrically, I have trouble channeling my inner 8th grader enough to enjoy that aspect.
Just my opinion.
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He seemed like a cool, down-to-earth guy. He probably had a bit of arrogance, but I guess that comes with being that awesome. I also heard that he was a workaholic who would stay up for 2 days at a time. I don't know how he did that without crashing. I love the rhythmic approach towards his guitar solos too...so yeah.
Last edited by Astronomer; 01-07-2012 at 09:25 PM.
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Originally Posted by patskywriter
Last edited by bobby d; 01-07-2012 at 09:55 PM.
Used Henriksen or Mambo amp
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