No particular reason - I just miss Frank Zappa, and I thought I’d see how many dopers out there have a favourite song, album, quotation, incident…
It’s better to have something to remember, than nothing to regret. FZ
I became a fan early on, picking up all the early Mothers albums. Loved “We’re Only In It for the Money,” and I used the opening music from “Lumpy Gravy” as the opening theme for my college radio show.
I’m also loved 200 Motels
My favorite Zappa album is Hot Rats. Some fantastic guitar work there- and the back-up musicians are pretty good too!
Paging Momma Zappa…
Pretty obvious what my fav song is, I guess.
I saw Zappa with the Mothers in London in 1969 or 1970 (my head’s very vague with dates for that period.) Never forgot the show though. I’d been hooked on the Mothers of Invention since their Freak Out album and it was incredible to actually see them live. (I seem to remember that their lineup had changed and they had a couple of ex-members of the Turtles with them when I saw them.)
No doubt about it, Zappa was a bona fide musical genius.
So, you watched Zero Punctuation’s new video today too?
The first Frank Zappa album I ever owned was a “Best of” CD. The CD featured 25 blank tracks, then an entire Korean pop album on track 26. Given Zappa’s reputation, I was initially uncertain if this was intentional or not.
Favorite song, overall is “Montana.” Dunno why, something about the pygmy pony I think. Favorite album overall is “Apostrophe.” Something about the one-celled Hammond organism just makes me giggle every time I hear it.
I was cruising around on the UHF channels late night sometime in the mid-70’s and caught some no-name music show (probably on “The Perfect 36” out of San Jose) which featured Zappa and a few other musicians just playing like a bunch of maniacs, no vocals, just instrumental–seriously, I have never, before nor since, seen fingers flying faster on the frets than he was going. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and without missing a note in the crazy complicated riff he was playing he took it out of his mouth, tucked it under one of the strings on the head of the guitar, finished the passage, then put it back in his mouth–never missed a note. He doesn’t get credit for being such a guitar wizard, I think, for the same reason many wizards don’t–he made it look easy. No posturing, no grimacing, no flashy moves, just incredibly precise and perfect playing that looks like he’s just jerking it off.
Amazing guy, incredible musician, does not get one millionth the credit he deserves.
I took the plunge with Uncle Meat. It was 1970, I was 14, and I was just starting high school. On the first day of school, I sat next to a girl in my English class who was carrying a copy of Mothermania. I’d been curious about the Mothers for a long time, having seen the bizarre album covers (with no song titles listed on the backs, which seemed vaguely sinister, like they were hiding something) and read a few tantalizing snippets in rock books and magazines. I asked the girl, who called herself Sadie, if this band was really good; she replied, “They’re fantastic.” I didn’t need any more convincing.
I don’t remember if it was that very day, but certainly within the week I was at the Fedco department store with my mother (appropriately enough), deciding which Mothers album to buy. The one with the teeth on the cover looked like the best bargain: 2 LPs and a booklet for the price of a single LP. While mom went on to the grocery store, I sat in the car poring over the song titles and the weird illustrations. Then, when I got home, I slipped the first disc onto my green plastic Emerson portable stereo.
Holy Christ.
I had never heard any chamber music before. Nor had I ever heard any free jazz, 12-tone, or “classical” electronic music. I had heard a little doo-wop, so I was able to latch onto the '50s parodies pretty easily. But this music was WAY over my head. And that’s half the reason I was hooked. I knew I had to dig deeper. Thank you Sadie, wherever you are.
My first Zappa show: Saturday, March 24, 1973 at the San Diego Sports Arena. The Sports Arena holds about 16,000; it was not filled that night. According to a newspaper review the following Monday, the crowd numbered only 5,000. Opening acts were Ruben & the Jets (who sang “Dedicated to the One I Love”–that’s about all I remember from their set) and the Doobie Brothers. The Doobies were not too well known at the time (even though “Listen to the Music” had already been a hit), as evidenced by the people near me who said “This is the Doobie Brothers? I thought that other group was the Doobie Brothers…” Finally, it was time for the main event. The band was FZ, Ruth Underwood, Ian Underwood (clarinet & sax, no keyboards), George Duke, Jean-Luc Ponty, Sal Marquez, Bruce & Tom Fowler, Ralph Humphrey, and Don Preston, who wasn’t actually in the band at the time, but sat in for the second half of the show, sharing George’s keyboard setup.
Frank began by welcoming us to “the Sports Aroma” and asking: “Are you the kind of audience who likes THE SHOW the way we rehearsed it…or would you rather hear something weird?” After a big cheer for the latter, Zappa replied, “Good…that’s the kind of audience I like.” The music began with a medley of “Exercise Four,” “Dog/Meat” and “50/50” (instrumental). This medley included the only previously released music that was played all night (except maybe for the encore). The performance was primarily instrumental, heavy on improvisation. At one point FZ conducted the audience. The sounds we were told to make included “your favorite note in an Eric Clapton guitar solo–you know, the real high one that goes WEEEE” and “a sound of great gastric relief…yes, this is a farting noise, ladies and gentlemen!” At another point, Frank went off into an improvised rap about the laboratories where they create “imaginary diseases.” I also remember Frank joining Ruth on percussion. The only actual songs that I can remember were “Montana” and “Cosmik Debris.”
C’mon Barfko-Swill, let’s have a CD of San Diego '73! I know you’ve got it in the vault!
I saw FZ at the Birmingham NEC in 1988 (I think).
I bought a poster for £1, had it glassed & framed (£50) and it hangs proudly in my living room. The poster is of Frank’s moustache etc. painted onto a monochrome of the Mona Lisa.
When I checked out the provenance of this item here (about halfway down) it’s obviously the same print as the subject of the query.
Oh, and move back up the article several inches and there’s a contribution from none other than Biffy the Elephant Shrew.
I came relatively late to Zappa - mid nineties was when I bought my first record, and then about five years ago I got hooked again and started getting as much as I could. I think my favourite all time record of his is ‘Absolutely Free’ - it always seems to me to be the same as ‘WOIIFTM’, but with better songs. I’m also enjoying Mystery Disc and Lost Episodes.
I’m not such a fan of the mountain of seventies records, but I still turn to ‘The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life’ every now and again.
I loved his “Live in New York” CD as that was the first one i picked up just a year ago- The Illinois Enema Bandit blew my mind with how awesome it was. That and Terry Bozio as the Devil doing Titties and Beer. Great stuff in that album, and it’s probably my favorite- but I’ve also picked up the first album “Freak Out” which was great with the crazy drums at the end, and the “Hello, Susie Creamcheese…”, and I too still give “The best band you never heard in your life” a whirl here and there, along with the zappa plays Zappa DVD.
But my ALL TIME favorite song- Is the Black Page part 1 and 2.
I have no idea why. But I LOVE it.
Probably has something to do with its massive quantities of concentrated awesomeness.
I first got into Zappa in the eighties (of all decades) , with Over-nite Sensation, Apostrophe, One Size Fits All and Bongo Fury. Although the period of massive output from the lates 70s-early 80s is not without its charm. Modern musical peaked at Watermelon in Easter Hay IHMO
An absolute giant. I was just talking yesterday with a friend about our top 5 musicians, all time, and Zappa made my list. As a guitarist, as a lyricist, as a cultural and social critic, as a pop music historian, as a band leader, as a public figure…the list goes on and on. He could do it all, and do it all superbly. Can’t believe he’s been gone for so long.
get him back to normal before Zappa finds out, and steals it, and makes him do it for the movie! It’s too late for me. I don’t even remember what my first Zappa record was…maybe Montana…I remember it being a big hit around '73. I saw Zappa perform at the Arena in St. Louis sometime around 1976 or so. I think I was high. 
I actually just got into Burnt Weeny Sandwich about a month ago. I think I like him best when he’s doing (relatively) straightforward genre pastiches, like “Valerie” and the cover of “WPLJ,” rather than the dick-around noodle stuff.
Joe’s Garage, anyone?
My favorite is probably “Just Another Band From LA”
I saw him a couple of times. The first time was at Winterland, a week after the show that Biffy went to in San Diego. (The opening band was Foghat!) Years later at Stanford, he had to tell the pogo-ing crowd to cool it–the stage was shaking so much he was worried the lighting rig was going to come down on top of them.
My first record bought with my own money was FZ’s Apostrophe, at a local cheap five and dime, tossed in there with the usual dreck. As a young innocent teen-y girl in the South, I just liked his face on the cover.
That was really a life-changing day. It made me a much weirder, better man.
I really wish he had lived into our current times… love to have heard his take on the Cheney administration.