Oldfag here: We were aware of him, but most had never actually heard him, every random chucklefuck would bellow "don't eat yellow snow!!!" like a retard, but couldn't identify the actual song. I had an older cousin introduce him to me, and I felt alone and isolated being a fan until college, when more people were aware of him.
He also got a HUGE spike in popularity when Valley Girl came out - and then the PMRC bullshit, he was on any news show that would have him to talk about it. And, guitar magazines referenced him a lot.
But I never heard Zappa on the radio ever until I got XM. But MTV showed one of his Halloween shows from NYC, that I taped. I remember having to special order 200 motels and some of his other tapes, because nobody stocked them - then I learned you could call or write Barking Pumpkin in LA and buy direct from them.
But yeah, you had to seek him out in the 80's and 90.
He was arguably more popular and culturally relevant in the 80s than any time before. He basically became the face of the anti-PC movement when the republicans were the ones doing the pearl clutching.
Boomer critics only stopped taking him seriously after the 60s because they could no longer easily peg his music to an identifiable and "important" counterculture movement.
>he vanished
A diet of cigarettes and coffee tend to build up toxins in the body.
>He was arguably more popular and culturally relevant in the 80s
True. With the PMRC freak show he got a lot of airtime on TV. I'd love it if he was still here today. He would have lots of things to say about cancel culture, tranny's and the general distopian circus that modern society has become. I agree with OP. Wish he was here.
He made some great music in the 80s into the early 90s.
He was always on the fringes of the mainstream but Valley Girl and the PMRC saga really thrust him to the center. He was suddenly on the radars of normies everywhere and even his kids became minor celebrities. It’s surprising to me that anyone wouldn’t be at least somewhat aware of that period in his career.
His own. He hated hippies, and started out as part of the "freak" scene in LA, with bands like Alice Cooper, but went on his own trail after that.
The best label is the one he gave himself: a Dadaist. If you learn what Dada is, Frank's work makes a lot more sense.
Don't let his hate of hippies fool you, he was absolutely one of them, at least in the 60s. The freak scene he was a part of is pretty much just cynical hippies.
Nah. Read his books, and the other books about him. He was briefly part of the Strip scene, after his soul band era, and then when the Mothers got signed, he moved to Laurel Canyon and hermited there - then moved to NYC from 66-68, and was having out with the art crowd there. His association with the hippy scene on the Strip was VERY short lived. He went from trying to do doo wop to the Mothers, and from that point on was pointedly disconnected from any of the hippie shit.
You can't call yourself a Zappa fan if you don't understand that 'We're Only In It For The Money" was a huge middle finger to the hippy movement. He didn't hang out with them, had no use for them, and lampooned them constantly. During the "Summer Of Love", he released Hot Rats.
If you think he was part of the hippy scene, with the exception of the groupies he was fucking, you know nothing about Frank.
to be fair a fuckton of them are live albums and half of his discography was junk released after he died. sticking to the mother of invention/solo studio albums is the norm. i don't really care for listening to comps or live stuff
>My ancestry is Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French. My mother's mother was French and Sicilian, and her Dad was Italian (from Naples). She was first generation. The Greek-Arab side is from my Dad.
>Joe's Garage and Apostrophe were just compromises to fund actual passion projects down the line. >Your favorite Zappa track, would of never been Zappa's pride.
Fillmore East, June 1971 [Bizarre, 1971]
The sexist adolescent drivel that hooks these moderne mannerisms should dispel any doubts as to where Big Mother finds his market--among adolescents and sexists of every age and gender (bet he gets more adults than females). It must tickle Frank that a couple of ex-Turtles are now doing his dirty work. Probably tickled him too to split the only decent piece of rock and roll (or music) here between two sides. C-
Chunga's Revenge [Bizarre, 1970]
Like Bobby Sherman, Zappa is a selfish exploiter of popular taste. That Bobby Sherman wants to make money while Zappa wants to make money and emulate Varese is beside the point--if anything, Zappa's aestheticism intensifies his contempt for rock and its audience. Even Hot Rats, his compositional peak, played as much with the moods and usages of Muzak as with those of rock and roll. This is definitely not his peak. Zappa plays a lot of guitar, just as his admirers always hope he will, but the overall effect is more Martin Denny than Varese. Also featured are a number of "dirty" jokes. C+
Just Another Band From L.A. [Bizarre, 1972]
You said it, Frank, I didn't. C
Over-Nite Sensation [DiscReet, 1973]
Oh, I get it--the soft-core porn is there to contextualize the serious stuff. Oh, I get it--the automatic solos are there to undercut the serious stuff. Oh, I get it--the marimbas are there to mock-trivialize the serious stuff. But where's the serious stuff? C
Sheik Yerbouti [Zappa, 1979]
If this be social "satire," how come its sole targets are ordinary citizens whose weirdnesses happen to diverge from those of the retentive gent at the control board? Or are we to read his new fixation on buggery as an indication of approval? Makes you wonder whether his primo guitar solo on "Yo' Mama" and those as-unique-as-they-used-to-be rhythms and textures are as arid spiritually as he is. As if there were any question after all these years. C
He would make hyperpop nowadays
Oh boy we really dodged a bullet there.
He was making hyperpop in the 60s
tfw no xylophone hyperpop
yuuup. it would be heckin zappa esque to say the least
had no idea he died in the mid 90s... always thought he died in the mid 70s because he became so culturally irrelevant after that
I thought so too, was surprised to find out he actually lived through the 80s, did people just forget about him after apostrophe?
Oldfag here: We were aware of him, but most had never actually heard him, every random chucklefuck would bellow "don't eat yellow snow!!!" like a retard, but couldn't identify the actual song. I had an older cousin introduce him to me, and I felt alone and isolated being a fan until college, when more people were aware of him.
He also got a HUGE spike in popularity when Valley Girl came out - and then the PMRC bullshit, he was on any news show that would have him to talk about it. And, guitar magazines referenced him a lot.
But I never heard Zappa on the radio ever until I got XM. But MTV showed one of his Halloween shows from NYC, that I taped. I remember having to special order 200 motels and some of his other tapes, because nobody stocked them - then I learned you could call or write Barking Pumpkin in LA and buy direct from them.
But yeah, you had to seek him out in the 80's and 90.
He was arguably more popular and culturally relevant in the 80s than any time before. He basically became the face of the anti-PC movement when the republicans were the ones doing the pearl clutching.
Boomer critics only stopped taking him seriously after the 60s because they could no longer easily peg his music to an identifiable and "important" counterculture movement.
>he vanished
A diet of cigarettes and coffee tend to build up toxins in the body.
>He was arguably more popular and culturally relevant in the 80s
True. With the PMRC freak show he got a lot of airtime on TV. I'd love it if he was still here today. He would have lots of things to say about cancel culture, tranny's and the general distopian circus that modern society has become. I agree with OP. Wish he was here.
He made some great music in the 80s into the early 90s.
He was always on the fringes of the mainstream but Valley Girl and the PMRC saga really thrust him to the center. He was suddenly on the radars of normies everywhere and even his kids became minor celebrities. It’s surprising to me that anyone wouldn’t be at least somewhat aware of that period in his career.
>an identifiable and "important" counterculture movement.
What movement was Zappa part of? He wasn't a hippie. He was just a weirdo.
The Zappatista movement.
He hated hippies.
His own. He hated hippies, and started out as part of the "freak" scene in LA, with bands like Alice Cooper, but went on his own trail after that.
The best label is the one he gave himself: a Dadaist. If you learn what Dada is, Frank's work makes a lot more sense.
Don't let his hate of hippies fool you, he was absolutely one of them, at least in the 60s. The freak scene he was a part of is pretty much just cynical hippies.
somewhat true, zappa didn't do drugs but he was still an L.A. weirdo who hung around hippies who did
Nah. Read his books, and the other books about him. He was briefly part of the Strip scene, after his soul band era, and then when the Mothers got signed, he moved to Laurel Canyon and hermited there - then moved to NYC from 66-68, and was having out with the art crowd there. His association with the hippy scene on the Strip was VERY short lived. He went from trying to do doo wop to the Mothers, and from that point on was pointedly disconnected from any of the hippie shit.
You can't call yourself a Zappa fan if you don't understand that 'We're Only In It For The Money" was a huge middle finger to the hippy movement. He didn't hang out with them, had no use for them, and lampooned them constantly. During the "Summer Of Love", he released Hot Rats.
If you think he was part of the hippy scene, with the exception of the groupies he was fucking, you know nothing about Frank.
i guess you forgot about valley girl and the name of zappa's kids being the subject of ridicule
I don't really get why people like zappa
He was completely irrelevant after The Mothers of Invention.
why couldn't this dude just leave behind a comprehensive discography of 10-14 albums
why did he have to make 800 albums for me to sift through
He did it to piss off you specifically
sure seems like it
to be fair a fuckton of them are live albums and half of his discography was junk released after he died. sticking to the mother of invention/solo studio albums is the norm. i don't really care for listening to comps or live stuff
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>When the world needed her music the most she vanished
He died nearly 30 years ago
He would’ve gotten cancelled 10 times over and then he’d have to explain he’s not actually white to everyone.
Greeks are white n-word
>My ancestry is Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French. My mother's mother was French and Sicilian, and her Dad was Italian (from Naples). She was first generation. The Greek-Arab side is from my Dad.
He was a mutt.
A med mutt ie white adjacent
That's not true, if he were alve he would be telling you to go get vaxxed and advocating for trans rights
Bullshit
Zappa knew the score
>Zappa knew the score
And the score was do what your spook handlers tell you to do.
Zappa exposed the hippy movement as a glowie psyop negro
>Joe's Garage and Apostrophe were just compromises to fund actual passion projects down the line.
>Your favorite Zappa track, would of never been Zappa's pride.
POO-POO
PEE-PEE
*xylophone*
people buy things
(drawn-out whiny voice) peeeeeople buuuuy things
wtf I love boris mancho
[log in to view media]
Fillmore East, June 1971 [Bizarre, 1971]
The sexist adolescent drivel that hooks these moderne mannerisms should dispel any doubts as to where Big Mother finds his market--among adolescents and sexists of every age and gender (bet he gets more adults than females). It must tickle Frank that a couple of ex-Turtles are now doing his dirty work. Probably tickled him too to split the only decent piece of rock and roll (or music) here between two sides. C-
Chunga's Revenge [Bizarre, 1970]
Like Bobby Sherman, Zappa is a selfish exploiter of popular taste. That Bobby Sherman wants to make money while Zappa wants to make money and emulate Varese is beside the point--if anything, Zappa's aestheticism intensifies his contempt for rock and its audience. Even Hot Rats, his compositional peak, played as much with the moods and usages of Muzak as with those of rock and roll. This is definitely not his peak. Zappa plays a lot of guitar, just as his admirers always hope he will, but the overall effect is more Martin Denny than Varese. Also featured are a number of "dirty" jokes. C+
Just Another Band From L.A. [Bizarre, 1972]
You said it, Frank, I didn't. C
Over-Nite Sensation [DiscReet, 1973]
Oh, I get it--the soft-core porn is there to contextualize the serious stuff. Oh, I get it--the automatic solos are there to undercut the serious stuff. Oh, I get it--the marimbas are there to mock-trivialize the serious stuff. But where's the serious stuff? C
Sheik Yerbouti [Zappa, 1979]
If this be social "satire," how come its sole targets are ordinary citizens whose weirdnesses happen to diverge from those of the retentive gent at the control board? Or are we to read his new fixation on buggery as an indication of approval? Makes you wonder whether his primo guitar solo on "Yo' Mama" and those as-unique-as-they-used-to-be rhythms and textures are as arid spiritually as he is. As if there were any question after all these years. C