Results for Frank Zappa

Confusing yet brilliant, classical yet rock: Frank Zappa's work defies a "black & white" categorization. "For each type of music," he once said, "there are listeners who think the reviewers don't know what they're talking about. These listeners, when excited about a certain group or style of music, will fight for it in their hometowns. These are the people who have made it possible for me to stay in music through the years and I thank them for it." Renowned for a talent that fused a myriad of musical genres and instruments, Zappa's first band evolved into The Mothers ["of Invention" was a record company addition] and with them, with others and solo he created a career of clever, sometimes crazy, absurd and seamlessly crafted songs and albums. Zappa's legend is mystical and he left behind, at the too-young age of 53, a style often emulated but never re-created....more

  • Cover This: What Makes for a Definitive Version?

    by Denise SullivanMarch 12, 2008Comments (12)

    When I set out to take on the matter of cover songs, I thought I'd be seeking uncomplicated answers to simple questions like: Is there such a thing as a definitive version of a song? Who decides these things? And why do we care? (read more)

  • Zappa en Regalia

    by Braden TowneJanuary 16, 2008Comments (5)

    With an utter strangeness matched only by his prolificacy, Frank Zappa cut a totally unique swath in the fabric of music history. His career began before the Beatles stormed the beaches at the Ed Sullivan Show and persisted for more than 30 years, unassisted by any psychotropic substances (read more)

  • Going Down Memory Lane with Jenny Fabian

    by Tom HibbertOctober 17, 2007Comments (0)

    Originally published in Mojo, July 1997 Jenny had co-authored a novel, you see. It was called Groupie, was loosely-based on the exploits of Fabian herself, and was to cause shock-waves around the known universe (sort of). (read more)

  • Frank Zappa: Frank Generation

    by Richard GehrOctober 10, 2007Comments (13)

    If I may be so crass as to adjudge a rock icon by his fans, I'd say Frank Zappa might have a demographics problem. Admittedly, the lines to the gentlemen's lounges were incredibly long last Thursday at the Beacon, where he performed one of his first shows after a four-year never-going-to-tour-again hiatus. (read more)

  • Thank God For Mental Illness: Wild Man Fischer vs. Daniel Johnston

    by Brian BrownOctober 10, 2007Comments (6)

    Psychologist Carl Jung and his mentor Sigmund Freud had a falling out over a woman who was confined to a cell in a madhouse. Freud claimed she was incurable and, furthermore, ugly, and could not understand Jung’s fascination with her. For Freud, she was a hopeless case. (read more)

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