Zappology

A Detailed Listen to the Music and Lyrics of Frank Zappa

by Chris Federico

"I'm glad you enjoy the music so much. Kick-ass book!" - Jimmy Carl Black
"Well done book. Good job." - Arthur Barrow
"A very good account. Nice site!" - Billy Mundi

Hi there. This is a book called Zappology, as you can see from the Big Internet Letters above. It was going to be made available as a book that you could hold in your hands while reading, just like in the old days, but the few publishers who considered it said that I'd have to seek permission to keep the lyrical quotes. Rather than undertaking the daunting task of trying to contact the Zappa Family Trust, I've just continued allowing the book to be freely read, in its entirety, on this site. It wasn't a project started for financial reasons in the first place; the process of writing it was just as much fun as I'd anticipated. Each chapter deals with a different album; a link to each is provided below.

Certain releases were chosen for exhaustive exploration, based on the following criteria: Does this album contain music that, when considered alongside the others, provides an expansive representation of Frank's many different styles (and combinations of such)? How much of its musical and lyrical material allows cross-reference to other albums or pieces, so that the implications made by the conceptual continuity permeating it can be researched and explained?

If you're disappointed that a particular album doesn't have its own chapter, rest assured that there are probably so many references to it and explanations about it within the extant sections that it doesn't need everything repeated in a segment of its own.

Most of Frank's orchestral music (the LSO albums, The Perfect Stranger, The Yellow Shark, etc.) is not discussed. My reasoning is twofold. There aren't enough researchable concepts or intentions, nor sufficient connections to other works, to warrant a Zappologist's scrutiny; more importantly, this breathtaking, pioneering music was composed not so that some author could inflict his own words upon it, but rather to be listened to in a linear fashion -- taken in and relished from the first note to the last, in that order, with no structural analysis or school-of-thought subtext clouding the air being sculpted. It's enough to inform the reader that The Yellow Shark from 1993 and the following year's Civilization, Phaze III, both completed shortly before the composer's death, were probably the albums that he was most pleased with. Their stories are best gathered through the ears without intrusion from the eyes.

I should point out that the original version of each album is discussed (i.e. the MGM/Verve, Bizarre or DiscReet record). A more recent mix or package will be mentioned if significant to the particular chapter's observations.

So you've basically found a ridiculously thick online book that features extensive examination of FZ's music, with biographical info added only when necessary (there are other books if you want a complete story of Frank's life). Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

--Chris Federico

P.S. Keep in mind that although this stuff's copyrighted, you have my full permission to print it out if you like reading that way more.