Aunt_Acid Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 What's the big deal? A bunch of marimba with no tonal center in 11/16, and some static. And he's a musical genius? Give me a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 For me, he's really hit or miss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Kat WQAQ98.1 Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 The Mothers of Invention was one of the best backup bands in the day, even if you couldn't tell from some of the more popular Zappa songs. The best song to listen to them on is Joe's Garage. Take a listen again to it. I think the draw of them was that they could write a song about almost anything... and weren't afraid to do the wierd and obscue, like Yellow Snow and Let's Make the Water Turn Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt_Acid Posted July 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 So? Anyone can be nonsensical. He wasn't clever. Montana. Oh, hahaha he's talking about horses and dental floss in a goofy voice, and there's some xylophone. Bravo, Mr. Zappa, Bravo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakin Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Don't feel bad, I never got it either. My old roommate was a die-hard Zappa fan, he tried a few times to get me to listen to it, and to me it always just sounded like garbage. Who knows, I suppose there's always going to be someone out there who'll listen to your garbage, but why he's a "genius" I'll never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Chris and Batman...I'm a lot older and was around for some of the beginnings of Zappa. You're both right in a way in my opinion. Zappa was big with a lot of acid-heads back then for obvious reasons. But with the "music people in the know" he really is supposed to be a genius. I mostly appreciated him for bringing his friend Don Van Vliet and Beefheart to the forefront, and the tracks they did together are very different. A lot of Zappa's stuff is really poetry, and if you take the goofy music away, the lyrics can be thoughtful. I also think a lot of his "genius" lied in engineering and producing....doing stuff with a lot of symphony orchestras,and just going off in weird ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakin Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Yeah, but that's like saying those greeting cards that play music when you open them are genius.. Sure, to the card marketers "in the know" they might seem that way, but most people who receive them just cringe when they hear that tinny junk coming from a birthday card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 WOW, you guys were bitten in the ass by genius and didn't know it. Go figure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakin Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 Oh, and one other thing.. "You take the goofy music away..." Isn't that part of the whole point? The music is goofy, it's not genius.. It's just kind of annoying. I don't know about you guys, but I qualify genius in music as someone who blends music and lyrics in a way that you don't want to take either away. If I just wanted lyrics, I'd go to a poetry reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 I like his greatest hits CD. I don't think there's any problem with weird music, but being weird doesn't make you a genius. I love Primus, and they may be the weirdest band I've ever heard, but I wouldn't call them geniuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Here's a clue as to what makes one a genius at music. INNOVATION! To introduce musical/artistic nuance and instrumentation which is followed/copied by subsequent artists. Blending of lyrics, instrumentation and voice do not make genius. Those qualities make for good music, no doubt. The genius is in the creating of something never done before through experimentation and production. To fully appreciate the talent of Zappa I suggest you research the early days of The Mothers Of Invention and The Fugues (that's pronounced Fugs for you non-New Yawkers) back into the late fifties/early sixties. Also....One thing you may not know about Bob Dylan. He was a giant among folk singers and was highly regarded and respected in that genre. When he decided to "go electric" it was decried by folk purists as blasphemy. But his blending of folk/electric and rock paved the way for groups like The Byrds, CSN&Y and anyone known as folk/rock artists including individual artists. His storytelling paved the way for modern rock music. Before his innovation rock was either rockabilly or R&B. Not much else. Whether you find their music pleasing to the ear is not the basis for defining genius. If you're really interested in this subect do some research on the artists in question. The internet is a cornucopia of biographies and discographies. Find out why the musicians you enjoy have "studied" the likes of Zappa and Dylan (two artists who couldn't be more different). The next time genius up and bites you in the hiney maybe you'll feel it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Here's a clue as to what makes one a genius at music. INNOVATION! So right... Zappa, Dylan, King Crimson, Pink Floyd and others... you may like them or not but they opened the doors to all you´re listening today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Oh, and one other thing.. "You take the goofy music away..." Isn't that part of the whole point? The music is goofy, it's not genius.. It's just kind of annoying. No, I was repeating you....It is genius, in my opinion, if not my taste always. It's all in the eye (or ear)of the listener! Read Uncle joe...he much more expressive than I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyguitar Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Well....I think 'Apostrophe' is genius throughout. Hot Rats...pretty damned good...Jazz from Hell...pretty challenging....and seeing him live was awesome, probably the best musicians in the world all in one band (Steve Vai on rhythm guitar :...all in all...yup, a genius. IMHO :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielj Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 Chris, you say anyone can be non-sensicle. You call yourself a Pink Floyd fan man!? Syd Barrett was very much as non-sensicle as Frank Zappa, they are both genius. Hot Rats is pure musical genius, as is Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. It's called serious psychadelia, get in our out Chris no need to be hypocritical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 Daniel, as usual the voice of reason...and intellect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazooka Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 Zappa's work with The Mothers of Invention is not the only avenue to judge the sum and total of his talent as a composer. This Wikipedia article offers some insights about his reputation, and a lot more of his highly regarded work to explore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now