I have some friends that say “Zappa’s not rock and roll”. Now that is mostly true as we all know there was much more to Frank, but he did produce some of the most smoking rock and roll out there. I want to put together a playlist to prove it to my buddies. So I need help in naming the all time best pure rock and roll songs that FZ or the MOI did.
Troops? Rally!
First song that pops into my head is Apostrophe’
Can’t Afford No Shoes
Tell Me You Love Me
Magic Fingers
I’m The Slime
Why Don’tcha Do Me Right?
Willie The Pimp
My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
Tell Me You Love Me
Road Ladies
Dirty Love
Fifty-Fifty
Zomby Woof
Cosmik Debris
Po-Jama People
Florentine Pogen
San Berdino
Andy
Advance Romance
Muffin Man
The Illinois Enema Bandit
Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?
Bamboozled By Love
.
.
.
Stevie’s Spanking
Magic Fingers
If the question had been where to start with Zappa I may have said Overnight Sensation & Apostrophe (‘)Apastrophe but since your friend seems a bit lost on what defines Rock & Roll may I suggest attempting to get your friend to actually listen closely to every Official CD & DVD starting with Freak Out.
If after the first note of Hungry Freaks, Daddy your friend still insists Zappa is not Rock & Roll I can only say your friend is nothing more than an unedgumacated shit head. you can educate him by spending time with him by not only listening but by also using reviewing much of the documented song analysis created over at the Information Is Not Knowledge website http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/songs/index.html
If somehow he actually makes it past that first note he actually has a chance. He needs to be willing to dilate his eyes and ears past Commercialism.
Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Pygmy Tylyte
Village Of The Sun
(More) Trouble Everyday
Wind Up Working In A Gas Station
I remember think when I first heard Yellow Snow that it was one if the funkiest lil’ things I’d ever heard.
Do Whipping Post, Purple Haze & Stairway count?
Rat Tomago
Beat It With Your Fist
For The Young Sophisticate (LÄTHER)
On The Bus
Filthy Habits…
…
.
Chunga’s Revenge (CR album)
Plastic People, Torture, Oh No from YCDTOSA 1 :)
The Gumbo Variations!!!!
Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin!!!!
Who Are The Brain Police?
I Don’t Even Care
The Mammy Anthem
. . .
wait there’s more
Dog Breath
My Guitar
Tell Me You Love Me
WPLJ
Jelly Roll Gum Drop
Son of Suzy Creamcheese
Junior Mintz Boogie
Sharleena
…if Zappa’s not rock ‘n roll then I’m a vegetable (preferably a prune)
oh, yeah!
Duke of Prunes
Willie the Pimp
and
My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama,
nuff said.
Help, I’m a Rock!!!
“a special type of entertainment for a specialized audience,
most other rock and roll has no information content in it.â€
–FZ
you’re wondering now
Is everybody happy?
knock, knock, knock, knock
You can’t come in
knock, knock, knock
You can’t come in
You’re wondering now,
What to do, now you know this is the end
You’re wondering how,
You will pay, for the way you did behave
Curtain has fallen,
Now you’re on your own
I won’t return,
Forever you will wait
You’re wondering now,
What to do, now you know this is the end
Curtain has fallen, now you’re on your own
I won’t return, forever you will wait
You’re wondering now, what to do,
Now you know this is the end
You’re wondering how, you will pay,
For the way you did behave
You’re wondering now, what to do,
Now you know this is the end
You’re wondering now, what to do,
Now you know this is the end.
To rip off Gertrude Stein, Frank Zappa is Frank Zappa is Frank Zappa is Frank Zappa. One of the first meta-rockers (or possibly the first), introducing meta-rock as an element into the rock lexicon, thus creating an infinitely recursive structure. Zappa wasn’t rock; rock was merely food for his all-devouring musical pseudopodia. Blah blah blah Adorno quote blah blah blah Foucault Plato blah blah Sex Pistols blah blah bourgeoisie.
FZ is/was/will always be FZ. A genre onto himself.
When most of the group considered to be “rock groups” started
such as the beatles and rolling stones etc, they were considered “Pop”
as in Popular.
Janet: “How woulld you like to strap on a Pop Star and he wants to stick a penis in you?”
It took a while for it to be called Rock music.
Rock and Roll referred to groups like Bill Haley and the Comets.
I agree with Urbangr.:
” FZ is/was/will always be FZ. A genre onto himself.”
One rocker I tend to forget is I Don’t Wanna Be Drafted. Probably because it’s not on an album before Buffalo, an awsome version.
If youth knew, if age could. ( OK, this is the title.)
Back to basics. Elementary, dr. Watson.
1. ZPZ = son D pays the music of his father, F. . You get what you hear and the other way around. That’s the sel limiting thought.
2. FZ positioned himself as a present day composer, currently active in rock & pop business.
Two starting points.
Makes a judgment all the more easy.
“Joe’s Garage”, anybody?
yes!!!! of course
Help, I’m a Rock!!!
Help, Frank Zappa is a Rock, and also a roll!!!
Zappa is a Rock and roll KING!!!
carlos ZZ zerpa
Uh…
“Why Doncha Do Me Right?”
“Easy Meat”
“Wino Man”
“Sharleena”
“Well” (Playground Psychotics)
“Mystery Roach”
“Dead Girls Of London”
“Disco Boy” (Zoot Allures or Baby Snakes versions)
“Trouble Every Day”
“St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast”
“City Of Tiny Lites”
“I’m So Cute”
“Flakes”
“The Underground Talent Scout”
“Baked Bean Boogie”
“SEX”
“The Mammy Nuns”
“In France”
“Teenage Prostitute”
“Stuff Up The Cracks”
“Flower Punk”
“Tell Me You Love Me”
“Transylvania Boogie”
“Road Ladies”
I’m not sure if you could really call this person a friend if they’re not convinced after hearing ANY of this.
All the early albums (Freak Out, Absolutely Free, Uncle Meat, Chunga’s Revenge, Cruising With Reuben and the Jets, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, We’re Only In It For The Money — the vinyl version at least) were loaded with pure rock and roll comedy music. The best rock and roll has always been comedy music: Little Darlin’, Stairway to Heaven, anything by The Grateful Dead.
Among my favorites from those early days:
How Could I Be Such A Fool
The Orange County Lumber Truck
Trouble Coming Everyday
Brown Shoes Don’t Make It
Dog Breath
My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
Peaches en Regalia
Willie the Pimp
I’m Not Satisfied
King Kong
Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin (for Gail, I believe)
How Could I Be Such A Fool
The older I get, I find myself growing increasingly affectionate for the most obnoxious versions of his music. I find Frank’s complete commitment to unmitigated audacity the best thing that happened to this planet since the cave paintings. Their creation, not the discovery by recent idiots.
I couldn’t agree more, Sargeant Barry Pepper.
Frank is Rock.. and Classical, and Jazz-Rock, and Jazz, and Blues.. and Hard Rock, Soul, kinda Punk and sometimes even FUNK! (And even that’s not enough to describe his music!)
“Not Rock ‘n’ Roll” ?! How’s about:
‘Stevie’s Spanking’
‘Ya Hozna’
‘Tell Me You Love Me’
‘Willie the Pimp’
‘The Mammy Anthem’
‘Easy Meat’
‘Magic Fingers’
‘My Guitar..@
‘ZombyWoof’ (’82 band live version)
etc, etc, friggin’ etc!!
Jones Crusher
The Sheik Yerbouti Tango
Hog Heaven
Dirty Love
Valley Girl