I'm listening to Frank Zappa's 'Overnight Sensation'

Kiss my aura Dora

But I'd like to know more. What's the most accessible album I can try? I like 70's progressive rock (Genesis, Floyd, King Crimson, etc.) and 60'-70's Folk/Freedom Rock (Traffic, Dylan, Neil Young, etc.)

Thanks!

david

Work yer way up to Beefheart, tho. I still can't hack "Trout Mask Replica." Eek!

Thanks!

david

...most DUers would like, IMHO.

The album was recorded live, with lots of overdubs. In one sequence he tells the audience:

"Remember there's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over."

I'd go Freak Out!! for accessible or We're Only in It for the Money

I find it very accessible.

Great 70s prog/rock/jazz/thingy. And great sense of humour.

You might want to try Hot Rats. If you want a CD that has a good mix of "Comedy Music" and more serious stuff, Sheik Yerbouti is a great choice.

They both have some easier to get tunes, and some really good jams

is my favorite so far. However, I hear a lot of people talking about how great "Joe's Garage" is.

and it gets too graphic from there for me to continue without verifying yer age. ;-)

you want some mora? right here on the floora?

we've got to re-arrange the whole DJ thing now...

I don't have anything of his anymore (No vinyl) but I had quite the collection growing up
200 Motels, Hot Rats, Just another band from LA, Live at the Fillmore and other stuff I can't remember Oh yeah this one, Overnight Sensation
I had that compilation with the GTOs, Wild Man Fischer, Captain Beefheart you could get with a dollar and a coupon cut out of an inner Zappa liner

:evilgrin:

can you sit through "Trout Mask Replica" in it's double-album entirety without jabbing sharp things through your eardrums? 'Cause THAT'S, like, seriously kinky. ;-)

I would hazard a guess and say it's more likely I could play it over and over again than not. I have wide-ranging taste in music.

:P

is by thinking about it as cubism for your ears. The same way that Picasso fractured the picture plane, made each cell a semi-independent viewpoint of the same subject from a different angle, that's what Beefheart is doing to what is at root the blues.

And actually, Beefheart even admits this, sort of: in "The Blimp," he announces, "This is recorded through a fly's ear, and you have to have a fly's eye to see it!" Remember that flies are known for compound eyes... Ironically enough, this is one of the few songs where the Magic Band is not playing; that background vamp (which repeats a whole lot more than any of Beefheart's own tunes) is a Zappa riff, played by the 1969 Mothers.

So instead, take a song like "Ella Guru," and concentrate on it, four bars at a time. You'll observe that each bit contains what might have been an entire Muddy Waters song, and then gets dropped as soon as it's made its point-- except for the big chords behind the chorus, which at that point you're so happy to hear any familiar musical material :-) that it feels like coming home, in the manner of all really good blues. Ultimately you'll get familiat with the whole album, and then all of it will feel like coming home, only at warp speed.

As you can tell, I'm a partisan. (I borrowed my DU screen name from Zappa's last cat.)

hey! i was an art student for years (still am really) and a Zappa fan from a tender young age. that's why I think I could take it. That, and Edgar Varese.

:evilgrin:

with a pedigree like that.

Once you wrap your ears around Varese, you can hear a lot of where Zappa himself is coming from. There are a few others that figure in, that you can hear echoes of in the 200 Motels orchestra segments. Stravinsky and Webern he's admitted to, and I think I also hear Penderecki and Ligeti. And of course on We're Only In It for the Money he was doing heavy duty tape manipulations like Tod Dockstader.

Actually when you get to Trout Mask you may find it less of a problem, because the sources are all pretty much blues. The contrasts tend to be in the density of how many distinct blues fragments are going on at one time, and how long each fragment lasts-- as opposed to Zappa's sound world, where he was perfectly equipped to conclude a Varese pastiche with the chord change from "Louie Louie" :-)

It's hard to think of stuff that's more concentrated and intricate than Zappa in full force. (I've been trying to nerve myself up for Civilization Phaze III for months now.) But some of the more extreme serialists fill the bill: Schoenberg's last quartet and his Orchetral Suite Op. 31, and guys like Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt and Pierre Boulez. I don't have the attention span for that stuff any more (as opposed to when I was out of work and irresponsible, when I could listen to anything) but I do still enjoy Varese, and the serious tape composers: Dockstader, Charles Dodge, Morton Subotnick and Ilhan Mimaroglu are some of my old favorites.

Actually I'd like to find some young musicians I could really get into on that scale. It sucks that so many of my heroes are retired or dead.

and I would be forced to put you on my buddy list(I don't actually have a buddy list,but if I did):hi: Civalization Phaze III has been sitting on my stereo for a couple of weeks(I'm waiting for the right chemical ballance in my head I guess)I've only listened to it a few times and don't really know it yet.Out of couriousity what musician nowadays excites you?

He was Frank's stunt guitarist in the 1988 big band, and stayed with the Zappa organization long enough to play in the Zappa's Universe tribute, as well as Dweezil and Ahmed's band Z. He started making his own records in 1992, and they're really quite stunning: the same breadth and scope as Frank, but a much more nuanced and friendly approach to pop music-- you can hear influences of XTC and Steely Dan and Yes in his work. (And to be fair, he's not as fearless rhythmically as Frank, but arguably his harmonies are richer, in almost a Brian Wilson direction.)

I have just discovered that some of Ani DiFranco's records reward close attention. But not all of them, and it's not easy to tell which.

I'm sure there's other stuff out there I'll love, but I don't know how to cut through the radio rubbish to find the good stuff.

t. Did Mike sing "Dirty Love" at the tribute concert,I saw a video of that with Dweezil?Your name reminds me of the May Blitz(1971)song SQUEET "SWUeeeeeeeet!all over THE WoRrrRrrRrrLD!"I put on Frank's Zappa's Civalization III it's just some fine ear candy,in my opinion Mr.Zappa was the pinnacle of Audio production.MMM MMM GOOD :beer:

Peaches en Regalia? It's INSANE! Insanely Beautiful!

I almost learned it once. (I'm the worst sight-reader in the world.)

Meet the worst sight-reader...:hi:

Consistent Cs in sight-singing class. My voice was OK, but I had to get someone to play the notes on the piano so I could figure them out. Pathetic.

is tripping wildly, but then maybe that explains my possibly-overly-harsh reaction to it.

:shrug:

Fragmenting your consciousness so you can apprehend the fragmentation of riffs and motifs.

Personally I found Panama red to be a great comprehension aid, back in the day.

fill in hear with the wild earworm that follows!

Put it on your steaks - Cleans nylons - Small craft warnings - Use it in the home - The office - ON FRUITS!

...was my all-time favorite. Live in New York was a close second. Hell, I like almost all of his stuff.

Just the mere mention of that name will lodge the song "My Name is Larry" in my brain for at least a week. Now I've gotta find that song again in .mp3 format.

round

That's MY Wildman Fischer earworm

I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set

And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help! No one will heed you!

Your mind is totally controlled
You have been stuffed into my mold
And you will do what you are told
Until the rights to you are sold.

... in 1973 and I still do. Frank had it figured out way before his time. :)

Bupbahdupbahdupbuh!Bupbahdupbahdupbuh!Bupbahdupbahdup Bup Pahdupadupa DUPAA!!!! (sorry,it's the best I could do with this keyboard.)

They all seek for shelter when I come chargin' out!

And don't try to remain aloof, fella.

You wannum?Wheres Zomby Woof?I myself was just listening to The Mothers Freakout (1966) Mr. America walk on by,your schools that do not teach.Mr.America walk on by,the minds that won't be reached.Mr America try to hide,the emptiness thats you inside.
But once you find that the way you lied,and all the corny tricks you tried,will not forestall the rising tide of
HUNGRY FREAKS DADDY!!!

I saw a French percussion group perform FZ music for an hour and a half on Friday. They played BSDMI ans lots of other jucy songs. Pure heaven.

Just to raise me up a crop of
Dental Floss

Raisin' it up
Waxen it down
In a little white box
I can sell uptown

By myself I wouldn't
Have no boss,
But I'd be raisin' my lonely
Dental Floss

Raisin' my lonely
Dental Floss

Well I just might grow me some bees
But I'd leave the sweet stuff
For somebody else...but then, on the other hand I'd

Keep the wax
N' melt it down
Pluck some Floss
N' swish it aroun'

I'd have me a crop
An' it'd be on top (that's why I'M movin' to)

Movin' to Montana soon
Gonna be a Dental Floss tycoon (yes I am)
Movin' to Montana soon
Gonna be a mennil-toss flykune

I'm pluckin' the ol'
Dennil Floss
That's growin' on the prairie
Pluckin' the floss!
I plucked all day an' all nite an' all
Afternoon...

I'm ridin' a small tiny hoss
(His name is MIGHTY LITTLE)
He's a good hoss
Even though
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
Any way

I'm pluckin' the ol'
Dennil Floss
Even if you think it is a little silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks

I'm gonna find me a horse
Just about this big
An' ride him all along the border line

With a
Pair of heavy-duty
Zircon-encrusted tweezers in my hand
Every other wrangler would say
I was mighty grand

By myself I wouldn't
Have no boss
But I'd be raisin' my lonely
Dental Floss

Raisin' my lonely
Dental Floss
Raisin' my lonely
Dental Floss

Well I might
Ride along the border
With my tweezers gleamin'
In the moon-lighty night

And then I'd
Get a cuppa cawfee
N' give my foot a push...
Just me 'n the pymgy pony
Over the Dennil Floss Bush

N' then I might just
Jumb back on
An' ride
Like a cowboy
Into the dawn to Montana

Movin' to Montana soon
(Yippy-Ty-O-Ty-Ay)
Movin' to Montana soon

And makes reference to this with the line "She said her stereo was four way" I had a four way stereo,and I bought this quadraphonic album.

"Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho, or a Sears poncho? Hmmm, no foolin'?"

...Here, lemme sterilize 'em.
Gimme your lighter.

The're great. Napoleon and Ike are the main guys in it. Just saw them again last month.

Check out

http://www.projectobject.com/

fixed link...I think.

Don't know how it went since it was a working weekend. :grr: