"Zappa's lyrics were ultimately unimportant; it is the music that will last."
Miles, p. 235.
jeudi 7 avril 2011
The Performer.
To go back a little on what I have briefly mentioned on my previous post, I would like to take a minute and talk about Zappa as a performer...
He often said that he nearly despised his fans, accusing them of not truly understanding the satirical critical aspect of his work or not being interested in his more 'serious' music, which is to say his compositions. He thought of them as ignorant, pitiful drug abusers and did not think much of them.
But! He did wanted to give them the best show possible every night. For him, it was a question of giving the best service to someone buying a good. They were buying tickets to his shows, therefore he needed to provide them with the best entertainment possible. On this basis of commodity exchange, Zappa developed, from the early days of the first Mothers, a passion for performance on stage.
Soon enough, the shows became little theatrical performances of their own rather than a mere succession of songs played on stage.
The first Mothers of Invention were truly the most entertaining musicians Zappa had, and they were building performances around inflatable animals balloons, girls dancing on stage, and whatever else they could think of. "Kids go to see their favorite acts, not to hear them... We work on the premise that nobody really hears what we do anyway (...)" (Miles 185) he finally dismissed the original MOI.
After a few years came the second band Zappa formed, the Flo & Eddie band. New comers were introduced to the band but Volman and Kaylan (ex members of The Turtles) were truly the most theatrical of the group, participating in the creation of sketches with Zappa. "Mark and Howard brought a different, younger, dumber, more sexually explicit humor to the group." (Miles 202) A formula of 30 minutes sketches were brought into the shows. Volman: "We existed in that band of humor, but not necessarily for the audience's humor, but for Frank's humor." (Miles 204)
After rather comical and theatrical performances, Zappa went on tour with his 'Wazoo' lineup and was rather disappointed by the dullness of it all. "This was not a theatrical group." (Miles 238) Fans too, who were expecting something like the previous shows, ended up being disappointed.
Frank was getting older, and his fans too. He wasn't into the same kind of 'show humor' anymore... He took a more satirical approach to lyrics and songs, parodying voices and gestures on scenes with his lead signers such as White or Ike, but it was never the same thing as the MOI or Flo & Eddie tours. Ultimately, Zappa introduced more and more guitar solos into his performances, and even if he never truly got the 'performer' out of the stage, since his music and lyrics were all about impersonation and social criticism, he never reacheived the level of pure entertainment first introduced in his early career...
He often said that he nearly despised his fans, accusing them of not truly understanding the satirical critical aspect of his work or not being interested in his more 'serious' music, which is to say his compositions. He thought of them as ignorant, pitiful drug abusers and did not think much of them.
But! He did wanted to give them the best show possible every night. For him, it was a question of giving the best service to someone buying a good. They were buying tickets to his shows, therefore he needed to provide them with the best entertainment possible. On this basis of commodity exchange, Zappa developed, from the early days of the first Mothers, a passion for performance on stage.
Soon enough, the shows became little theatrical performances of their own rather than a mere succession of songs played on stage.
The first Mothers of Invention were truly the most entertaining musicians Zappa had, and they were building performances around inflatable animals balloons, girls dancing on stage, and whatever else they could think of. "Kids go to see their favorite acts, not to hear them... We work on the premise that nobody really hears what we do anyway (...)" (Miles 185) he finally dismissed the original MOI.
After a few years came the second band Zappa formed, the Flo & Eddie band. New comers were introduced to the band but Volman and Kaylan (ex members of The Turtles) were truly the most theatrical of the group, participating in the creation of sketches with Zappa. "Mark and Howard brought a different, younger, dumber, more sexually explicit humor to the group." (Miles 202) A formula of 30 minutes sketches were brought into the shows. Volman: "We existed in that band of humor, but not necessarily for the audience's humor, but for Frank's humor." (Miles 204)
After rather comical and theatrical performances, Zappa went on tour with his 'Wazoo' lineup and was rather disappointed by the dullness of it all. "This was not a theatrical group." (Miles 238) Fans too, who were expecting something like the previous shows, ended up being disappointed.
Frank was getting older, and his fans too. He wasn't into the same kind of 'show humor' anymore... He took a more satirical approach to lyrics and songs, parodying voices and gestures on scenes with his lead signers such as White or Ike, but it was never the same thing as the MOI or Flo & Eddie tours. Ultimately, Zappa introduced more and more guitar solos into his performances, and even if he never truly got the 'performer' out of the stage, since his music and lyrics were all about impersonation and social criticism, he never reacheived the level of pure entertainment first introduced in his early career...
Zappa the Bitter/Sweet.
Zappa is honestly one of the most complicated artist that I've been asked to study. It seems that everything revolving around him is in a constant, never ending duality. Not that he contradicts himself per se, but he seems to be very keen on certain principals that he does not even follow himself.
I realize that by now this blog is nearly all about these constant contradictions surrounding his life, but it is what I find the most interesting about the man himself. How can a figure be so mysterious and yet express his opinions in dozens of forms (interviews, music, film, etc.)? How come nobody agrees on who truly was Zappa?
Here's a couple of examples of how this duality plays out concretely:
- Frank not liking his fans but wanting to create the best show and best material for their money value.
- Frank choosing to make commercial albums to self-finance his 'serious' orchestral music.
- Frank appropriating ideas from his band members but composing his material exclusively to fit their capacities (and push them to the limit).
- Frank not spending time with his family but stating that he is a family man.
...
The mystery of the man will probably forever stay hidden though, as nobody seems to be able to truly size who was that man, who was the composer, who was Zappa. Like any individual, he has his qualities and flaws, his personality traits and his preferences... But his mythical status affect our judgment and memories. I don't know how much of every testimony I should believe. Everybody Zappa met could have a reason to detest the man as much as loving him. Nobody seems to be interested in presenting his true portrait. Or rather, nobody knew enough of Zappa to present his true self.
Here's a couple of examples of how this duality plays out concretely:
- Frank not liking his fans but wanting to create the best show and best material for their money value.
- Frank choosing to make commercial albums to self-finance his 'serious' orchestral music.
- Frank appropriating ideas from his band members but composing his material exclusively to fit their capacities (and push them to the limit).
- Frank not spending time with his family but stating that he is a family man.
...
The mystery of the man will probably forever stay hidden though, as nobody seems to be able to truly size who was that man, who was the composer, who was Zappa. Like any individual, he has his qualities and flaws, his personality traits and his preferences... But his mythical status affect our judgment and memories. I don't know how much of every testimony I should believe. Everybody Zappa met could have a reason to detest the man as much as loving him. Nobody seems to be interested in presenting his true portrait. Or rather, nobody knew enough of Zappa to present his true self.
mardi 5 avril 2011
jeudi 31 mars 2011
Zappa, the Family Man?
It seems that these last few weeks I'm mainly focusing on Zappa's dark side rather than anything else he did.
I could talk about his musical creativity.
I could talk about the entrepreneur he was, investing all his earnings in other musical projects.
I could talk about his great sense of satire...
No.
Instead, I'm talking about the 'Man'. What seems to interest me the most is the 'Frank' rather than the 'Zappa', and I must say there are loads of material for discussion on that topic only.
Today, my concern is on his family. In interviews and in his own biography, he shouts to anyone willing to hear him that his only true friends were his family. Nobody else. Althought it needs to be taken as a rather radical comment not exactly reflecting the truth, Zappa was indeed not famous for his attendance at parties and his social abilities.
But further readings of Miles' biography leaves me, once again, quite perplex towards this statement. I'll throw my questions to the open.
How can a man consider himself as a 'family guy' if he works more than 14 hours a day locked up in a recording studio?
How can he be a 'family man' if he does not respect his wife and collects sexual adventures?
How can he see his kids grow if he's on tour for 6 months, then back in a studio for the rest of the year?...
Moon Unit and Gail have commented on the fact that nobody was aloud in Frank's office located in the basement (although that Lennon kid lived there for more than a month). Moon also adds that their biggest fear was to disturb their dad while he was working (which is... always!).
Maybe I'm not far enough in my reading of his biography to truly understand the 'family guy' he was. Maybe his cancer changed things. Maybe, as he grew older by the end of the 80's, he was more present in his children's life. But I'm not to that point of his biography now, and I must say that from what I've read so far, I have quite a negative view of Frank as a 'man'.
But this opinion is just like my blog: in constant evolution. In two weeks time I'll probably say just the opposite of what I've just written. Man, I love contradictions!
I could talk about his musical creativity.
I could talk about the entrepreneur he was, investing all his earnings in other musical projects.
I could talk about his great sense of satire...
No.
Instead, I'm talking about the 'Man'. What seems to interest me the most is the 'Frank' rather than the 'Zappa', and I must say there are loads of material for discussion on that topic only.
Today, my concern is on his family. In interviews and in his own biography, he shouts to anyone willing to hear him that his only true friends were his family. Nobody else. Althought it needs to be taken as a rather radical comment not exactly reflecting the truth, Zappa was indeed not famous for his attendance at parties and his social abilities.
But further readings of Miles' biography leaves me, once again, quite perplex towards this statement. I'll throw my questions to the open.
How can a man consider himself as a 'family guy' if he works more than 14 hours a day locked up in a recording studio?
How can he be a 'family man' if he does not respect his wife and collects sexual adventures?
How can he see his kids grow if he's on tour for 6 months, then back in a studio for the rest of the year?...
Moon Unit and Gail have commented on the fact that nobody was aloud in Frank's office located in the basement (although that Lennon kid lived there for more than a month). Moon also adds that their biggest fear was to disturb their dad while he was working (which is... always!).
Maybe I'm not far enough in my reading of his biography to truly understand the 'family guy' he was. Maybe his cancer changed things. Maybe, as he grew older by the end of the 80's, he was more present in his children's life. But I'm not to that point of his biography now, and I must say that from what I've read so far, I have quite a negative view of Frank as a 'man'.
But this opinion is just like my blog: in constant evolution. In two weeks time I'll probably say just the opposite of what I've just written. Man, I love contradictions!
mercredi 16 mars 2011
Infiltration.
During a guest lecture he was hosting at the London School of Economics, Frank gave his idea on how individuals should think of changing the world...
"The best way to achieve lasting results is to infiltrate where you can. People should go into the communications and the military and change them from the inside. I'm afraid that everyone will have a revolution and make a mess of it. (...) The only way to make changes that will last is to do it slowly. (...) You have to use the media. The media is the key and you have to use it."
Zappa, as written in Barry Miles' biography. (p. 191-192)
dimanche 13 mars 2011
And Perplexity Continues!
I'm getting more and more confused, I must say.
Maybe I'm becoming a victim (as I wrote earlier) of Miles' 'negativism' in relation to whom he thought Zappa was as a man.
Or maybe, after all, Miles was right to write all these rather harsh, or at least direct comments towards him.
My father (who first introduced me to the Man) always depicted him as the Family Guy par excellence, loving his children and wife very much, respecting them and seeing them as his only true treasure in his life. I even wrote a short post about his relationship with Gail...
I already knew, when I wrote it a couple of weeks ago, that Frank cheated on her in many occasions while on tour. But I'm now seriously doubting of the true sincerity and integrity of Zappa towards his family, particularly towards his wife. I mean, how can you represent a perfect couple when the man is running around with any groupie he can find, or with any girls at all? His story with Nigey Lennon is quite disturbing, I must say, especially since Gail had already given birth to two kids, and that Nigey was more than 10 years younger than Zappa (oh, and as a minor side fact: a MINOR). What is even more intriguing is to read Nigey's comment on Frank sexual preferences... which, true or not, I'm not going to quote here.
I understand that a couple can be open-minded, that a guy (or a girl) can make mistakes and realize the importance of his family. I also know that Zappa always said that a healthy sex life would heal America of its impotence and depression and that his only true love was with music... But how far are you willing to go, really?
Miles writes that Gail seemed to be really annoyed by his husband running around. I wonder if something will make him change, will make him go back to his family for good.
I haven't read that part yet, and I'm really wondering what will come next.
Maybe I'm becoming a victim (as I wrote earlier) of Miles' 'negativism' in relation to whom he thought Zappa was as a man.
Or maybe, after all, Miles was right to write all these rather harsh, or at least direct comments towards him.
My father (who first introduced me to the Man) always depicted him as the Family Guy par excellence, loving his children and wife very much, respecting them and seeing them as his only true treasure in his life. I even wrote a short post about his relationship with Gail...
I already knew, when I wrote it a couple of weeks ago, that Frank cheated on her in many occasions while on tour. But I'm now seriously doubting of the true sincerity and integrity of Zappa towards his family, particularly towards his wife. I mean, how can you represent a perfect couple when the man is running around with any groupie he can find, or with any girls at all? His story with Nigey Lennon is quite disturbing, I must say, especially since Gail had already given birth to two kids, and that Nigey was more than 10 years younger than Zappa (oh, and as a minor side fact: a MINOR). What is even more intriguing is to read Nigey's comment on Frank sexual preferences... which, true or not, I'm not going to quote here.
I understand that a couple can be open-minded, that a guy (or a girl) can make mistakes and realize the importance of his family. I also know that Zappa always said that a healthy sex life would heal America of its impotence and depression and that his only true love was with music... But how far are you willing to go, really?
Miles writes that Gail seemed to be really annoyed by his husband running around. I wonder if something will make him change, will make him go back to his family for good.
I haven't read that part yet, and I'm really wondering what will come next.
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