Frank Zappa had been referred to as a lot of things throughout his thirty year career – some complimentary (genius, iconoclast, family man) and some not so complimentary (misogynist, anti-semite, misanthropist) – yet all one need do is listen to some of the myriad of interviews Zappa gave during his life (beginning with an excerpt from the Mark Radcliffe BBC Radio 1 Interview, above) and evidence becomes overwhelmingly clear: besides being a musician and composer, Zappa was a life-long cynic, satirist, and a social anthropologist: (more…)
Admittedly, there are some Frank Zappa fans who do not enjoy his 80s material quite as much as his music which came out of the 60s and 70s. That said, I really enjoyed compiling this mix together. At first, I thought I wouldn’t have enough tracks, yet, as you will soon see for yourself, Frank Zappa’s 80s set lists were just as varied as those from any other era of his career, and just as intriguing, both musically and satirically.
Dated October 12, 1980 and recorded in Albuquerque at Johnson Gym. October 12, 1980. The clip shows “Harder Than You Husband” with Jimmy Carl Black, and “Bamboozled By Love” with Ike Willis.
Jimmy Carl Black was living in Albuquerque at the time of this concert. This video was personally authorized by Frank Zappa, it was shot to document Jimmy’s performance.
Recorded August 25, 1985, here’s yet another classic Zappa TV appearance that takes us back to the days of the PMRC and “porn rock”. Part one consists mostly of introductory stuff, so let’s skip right to part two:
