Author: Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Outside Now

Depending on how well you know me, it may or may not come as a surprise to you dear reader, that this is where Kill Ugly Radio ends.

There are quite a few reasons why I decided today was a good time to put this old and rusty site to rest, but I won’t go into that. Instead, allow me to say it has been an honor and a pleasure to host KUR during the past 11 years. I’ve learned so much from your comments and emails, laughed my ass off at some of them, and believe me when I say that without KUR, I would have never met some of the brightest people within the Zappa community. I’m proud to say some of them remain close friends to this day.

I hope KUR has been a source of fun, discovery and inspiration over the years. Perhaps it gave you a chuckle, or perhaps you became acquainted with music you’d not heard before, perhaps you engaged in, or read some really erudite discussion on a variety of topics. A huge thank you goes out to fellow contributors Balint, Urbangraffito, Dr Sharleena, SOFA, Magicfingers and Alex — and to you silly people for having been with us all these years.

If you’re reading this, pride yourself in knowing you were once part of…

It’s been a pleasure talking to you — and don’t forget to register to vote.

Today’s Ear Worm: The Game

Das Pop are a Belgian band who first became known through their victory in the 1998 edition of Humo’s Rock Rally. I never really thought much of them though I did buy their debut album “I Love” when it first came out, which left me underwhelmed.

Fast forward to the here and now, and Das Pop have a new album out called “The Game”. I haven’t heard the full album yet since I’ve been a little busy kicking my friends butt at solitaire for money, but the title track I must say is an absolute gem. The retro-style introductory vamp, the vocals, the guitars, the production: this is as close as a pop song gets to being perfect.

Don’t take my word for it though — check out the official video (which itself isn’t too shabby either!):

Update: For those who cannot view the above video, Urbangraffito has provided this Grooveshark link.

Have an ear worm to share yourself? Do tell.

Frank Zappa: A Study In Gesture

Paul Carr just posted slides from his talk on Frank Zappa & Gesture.

Here is a powerpoint presentation which looks at an approach to using an artist as a musicological case study. After explaining some potential generic approaches, it looks at Frank Zappa as a case study.

Grab Bag

Zappathon, 2011 Edition

This just in from our pal Bill Amutis, aka Ol’ Baggy Eyes:

We have yet to learn our lesson, apparently, because we, the beknighted diehards at WUSB-FM are once again hosting an on-air Zappathon. Meaning: 12 hours of Frank Zappa, on air, webcast all over the globe and beyond.

This Zappathon is being co-ordinated by John Tabacco with assistance by me, Kevin Kovarik, & Nigey Lennon (I hope). WUSB-FM broadcasts from Stony Brook University out of Stony Brook, NY at the frequency of 90.1 FM. We also webcast at wusb.fm. This way the whole world will once again be swathed in the piquant tones of Echidna, Evelyn, & T’Mershi to name a few.

Hurrah! If you’re on Facebook, here’s the event page.

Zappathon 2011

Previously…

You’ve Got Mail!

I’ve been rather busy outside of this website as of late, and wouldn’t you know it: that’s when people start sending in all sorts of interesting stuff hoping I’ll relay that stuff here. Without further ado…

  • Regyptian Strut guitar solo tablature as notated by Mark Hawling who says: “I just get sick of seeing them doing nothing on my HDD when there must be some nutter out there interested in something like this.”
  • “Waltz For FZ”, as featured on Utopianisti. Says Markus Pajakkala: “I’m a composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer from Finland.”
  • From Ab Stammehaus: “Warren Cucurullo’s new band Chicanery with new album coming up: listen to edited preview songs on the website.” (They’re also on MySpace)
  • Lee Mezcallo raves about the Genkin Philharmonic and hastens to add: “they’re quite good“…

Sunday Big Note — Listening Session #20

I was first introduced to the music of Astor Piazzolla on a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, back in 2005. Almost instantly, I realized that I had stumbled upon something incredibly powerful. Filled with melancholy, and while rooted firmly in the traditional Argentine tango genre, Piazzolla’s work is at the same time intensely influenced by North-American jazz and modern classical music. As with Frank Zappa, Astor Piazzolla’s music defies categorization.


Continue reading “Sunday Big Note — Listening Session #20”

The Scott Thunes Effect Reloaded

Ever since The Scott Thunes Effect (later known as Bass Notation), went offline, I’ve received numerous requests of people asking if I or anyone else could provide them with Thunes’ bass transcriptions for many of the ’88 band’s tunes, as they were originally listed there.

Today I’m happy to report that we’ve managed to salvage 44 pages of transcripts (with a couple more to follow). A huge thank you goes out to Stewart Cable, who had downloaded the transcripts back when they were still available. He was more than happy to email them to me, so that I could share them with you – so cheers Stewart!

Without further ado, here’s where you can now once again view and/or download these files:

Note: by putting this material online, I am not claiming any authorship and/or copyright. If not for Steve D who did the original transcripts, these files would not even exist.

And finally, as Steve noted in this AFFZ thread with regard to Scott Thunes:

… He’s a big scary man who shouts at people who displease him, so I don’t want him thinking i’m a stalker or anything…

Mr Thunes, if you’re reading this: I second that emotion…

Kentucky Fried Dupree

Brandon Coleman writes:

I just graduated with my bachelors in Jazz Guitar from Morehead State University in Kentucky. Wonderful music program there, with lots of great musicians to play with. For the guitar ensemble, I arranged one of my all-time favorite Zappa tunes, “Dupree’s Paradise”. We even opened up the middle section with some free improvisation. This video is from our Fall 2008 concert, a lot of the guys you see have graduated and went on to make great music.