Did Frank Zappa suck?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Did Frank Zappa suck? (Page 1 of 4)

Posted: 1/27/2011 6:55:15 PM EDT

I think so.

Many friends, at the time, tried to explain that he was a genius...I thought it sucked then, as it does now!
Montana

Posted: 1/27/2011 6:58:07 PM EDT

[#1]

Zappa isn't for everyone.

Pretty much a love or hate divide.

Personally, I enjoy Zappa. The wife questions my sanity on this matter.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:00:40 PM EDT

[#2]

No.

What are you some kind of appliantologist?

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:01:45 PM EDT

[#3]

k

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:02:27 PM EDT

[#4]

He and his son Dwezil both.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:03:04 PM EDT

[#5]

Zappa Rules.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:03:18 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Zappa isn't for everyone.

Pretty much a love or hate divide.

Personally, I enjoy Zappa. The wife questions my sanity on this matter.

Perfect reply. +1

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:05:17 PM EDT

[#7]

Anyone that would name their offspring Moon Unit, Dweezil and Ommit is a tool.

Yeah, I get it - you're edgy. Don't dump that crap on your kids though.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:05:56 PM EDT

[#8]

You'd have to ask his BF.

I keed, I keed....

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:06:02 PM EDT

[#9]

Zappa definitely did not suck. He was a very talented musician, but his music was so far from the mainstream that the common reaction to it is "I don't like it, so it sucks."

Does Steve Vai suck? Assuming that you know the correct answer, ask yourself whether he would happily play for Zappa if Zappa sucked. I think that those who are not quite sure whether or not Zappa sucked can safely rely on Vai's opinion here.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:06:05 PM EDT

[#10]

Zappa was that special kind of crazy, the good kind. Ted Nugent is as well but not to the same degree.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:06:21 PM EDT

[#11]

I like his stuff, it is not for every one as noted above, kinda like Primus, whom I also enjoy the hell out of.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:07:06 PM EDT

[#12]

I think of Zappa like I do John Cage. Both were, quite honestly, very good musicians who instead of just coloring within the lines or out of them, ate the coloring book, shit it out, and puked up some color on it.

Now, do you like what they did? Depends on your point of view. I appreciate it, for what it is, but I don't want a colored shit on my coffee table if you know what I mean.

At times Zappa could write very pedestrian, fun to listen to music, and just as fast turn around and make music that required head trauma to fully embrace. I think he did all of that with purpose.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:08:36 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Zappa isn't for everyone.

Pretty much a love or hate divide.

Personally, I enjoy Zappa. The wife questions my sanity on this matter.

This , I hated him, just didnt get in to him at ALL. but suck, might be a little much, I mean its not like he was SRV or Nirvana, or U2 or so on

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:09:45 PM EDT

[#14]

emmmmmhmmmmmmm

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:10:43 PM EDT

[#15]

yes, totally suck!

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:11:06 PM EDT

[#16]

I like Zappa

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:12:41 PM EDT

[#17]

I felt he was awful. My life really likes him, but she married me so I don't respect her opinion.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:12:48 PM EDT

[#18]

I see no point in that shit, but then again, I've never been one to partake of psychotropic pharmaceuticals.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:17:53 PM EDT

[#19]

He was one of the people that began "happening" about the same time as the Haight Ashbury stuff in San Francisco. I never liked his stuff that much, but I didn't dislike the guy. He is like so many people from that time; many are just a bit odd. I always thought he was a little more full of himself than I thought he was entitled to be. People who exhibit a "Lookit me! Lookit me!" sort of attitude never did much to impress me favorably. But on the plus side, I don't remember him ever hurting anyone...just weird.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:22:09 PM EDT

[#20]

Zappa was very hit or miss.

Some of his stuff is great. Some is awful.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:26:02 PM EDT

[#21]

I've always been a fan, but my musical tastes have always been a bit off center.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:27:19 PM EDT

[#22]

Male voice: Suzy?
Female voice: Yes?
Male voice: Suzy Creamcheese?
Female voice: Yes?
Male voice: This is the voice of your conscience baby ... uh, I just want to check one thing out with you ... you don't mind, do ya?
Female voice: What?
Male voice: Suzy Creamcheese, honey, what's got into ya?

Wow, man, it's a drag being a rock
(Help, I'm a rock)
(Help, I'm a rock)
(Help, I'm a rock)
I wish I was anything but a rock
Heck, I'd even like to be a policeman
Hey, you know what?
You know maybe if I practice, you know
Maybe if I pass my driving test
I could get a gig drivin' that bus that pick the freaks up
In front of Ben Frank's, right?

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+zappa/#share

If she were my daughter, I'd...
What would you do daddy?
If she were my daughter, I'd...
What would you do daddy?
If she were my daughter, I'd...
What would you do daddy?
Smother my daughter in chocolate syrup
And strap her on again, oh baby!
Smother that girl in chocolate syrup
And strap her on again
She's a teen-age baby and she turns me on
I'd like to make her do a nasty on the White House lawn
Gonna smother that girl in chocolate syrup -
And boogie till the cows come home

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:27:20 PM EDT

[#23]

No, Zappa quite emphatically did not suck.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:31:28 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
He was one of the people that began "happening" about the same time as the Haight Ashbury stuff in San Francisco. I never liked his stuff that much, but I didn't dislike the guy. He is like so many people from that time; many are just a bit odd. I always thought he was a little more full of himself than I thought he was entitled to be. People who exhibit a "Lookit me! Lookit me!" sort of attitude never did much to impress me favorably. But on the plus side, I don't remember him ever hurting anyone...just weird.

Maybe that is part of my problem with him. He was always pumped up as being great and I never saw it. For sure he and his kids thought he was the greatest artist of his time. Not even close.

Posted: 1/27/2011 7:34:31 PM EDT

[#25]

I really liked his wit when interviewed, but I am not a fan of his music.

Posted: 1/27/2011 8:54:30 PM EDT

[#26]

Certainly not.

Zappa did a lot of strange things. He was a genius and at times he was too smart for his own good. Some of his music is off the wall, and some of it is so far off the wall that it's not even on the ceiling or in the house. The guy was an unbelievable guitar player. That said, there's plenty of his music that holds no interest for me.

As for Montana - it grows on ya. If not, try some Camarillo Brillo.

Is that a real poncho?

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:03:57 PM EDT

[#27]

he also helped pioneer and started the field of digital recording.he was way ahead of his time.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:23:06 PM EDT

[#28]

I would have liked to see the opera he was developing. He died too soon.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:26:57 PM EDT

[#29]

I'm a fan. I really like a lot of his stuff, some, not so much, but that's the way with most musicians. If I remember correctly he didn't approve of illegal drugs, he did smoke and drink, I believe, so all of his weirdness was his own, not chemically induced.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:29:44 PM EDT

[#30]

I think Zappa was an amazing musician and he was well versed in many instruments and styles of music.

Was he a looney bastard? Hell yeah. My father and I sometimes dust off the old vinyls and give the record player a good workout and listen to some Zappa.

Some of his best songs are the ones without lyrics. His instrumentals are awesome.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:30:05 PM EDT

[#31]

I prefer Vai by many billions more, but without Zappa I don't feel I'd have a Vai, so mucho respecto.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:45:09 PM EDT

[#32]

He was a brilliant composer and masterful musician who did not pander one iota to popular sentiment.

Posted: 1/27/2011 9:48:07 PM EDT

[#33]

He was a musical genius. Like many geniuses some of his work is impossible to appreciate unless you can see it from where he wrote it. BTW, did you know he wrote and performed classical music too?

Posted: 1/27/2011 10:06:47 PM EDT

[#34]

Zappa was a musical genius-PERIOD.

He could write/play many styles of music and never gave into ANY sort of mainstream/commerical trends.

Yes, his lyrics can be very off the wall/off-kilter, but if you look closely in his stuff, you will find all sorts of satire on just about everything. He made his music the way he did so you had to think to get it.

Posted: 1/27/2011 10:22:36 PM EDT

[#35]

He named his son Dweezel. Thats all I care to know.

Posted: 1/27/2011 10:37:13 PM EDT

[#36]

I like Zappa, but I think his career was one giant joke he played on the music industry (and his audience)

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:19:00 AM EDT

[#37]

Moon Unit was hot!

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:25:56 AM EDT

[#38]

He was a brilliant musician. He also tended to have a really good eye for upcoming talent. Look at the musicians who played for him, all Tier1 Operators.

He really wasn't too terribly interested in getting tons of radio airplay. His music pushed boundaries and commercial radio doesn't like that. His commercial success came because his the sheer volume of his talent could not be resisted by a music industry that likes people to fit into pre-established molds.

Zappa was a rare talent. Not everyone enjoys his music, but you'd be nuts to say he wasn't good at what he did.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:28:10 AM EDT

[#39]

Weird guy with a fantastic band.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:42:16 AM EDT

[#40]

I never much liked his music. I didn't get it. I read his autobiography and loved it. He's a really smart dude.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:43:05 AM EDT

[#41]

Buddy of mine loves him.......i cant stand him.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:46:44 AM EDT

[#42]

I miss Frank Zappa.

AB

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:53:15 AM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:
I like his stuff, it is not for every one as noted above, kinda like Primus, whom I also enjoy the hell out of.

I concur.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:53:50 AM EDT

[#44]

Zappa was the Salvador Dalí of rock and roll.

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:55:16 AM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:
I think so.

Many friends, at the time, tried to explain that he was a genius...I thought it sucked then, as it does now!
Montana

SDJ: First off, that has got to be the best Avatar I have EVER seen! That thing is SO badass! But I am going to hold Zappa up to the light...

Zappa WAS a tool, he had it in for anyone who tried to pin him down on anything. I don't think I've ever heard him mention someone he agrees with. He hated religion, he hated "the man". But he was a rock star too. He was a composer and he was more than demanding, he was brutal. To himself and others. He says, have you ever hired musicians? And, I hear Linda Ronstadt is looking for a guitar player. I don't know why he was so goofy unless he gave up on his lyrics because he just had so much music. The Torture Never Stops is so awesome. I like his tone and his vowel usage. His imagery is good too. I guess because goofy and the sexual content pleased a lot of people then.

Dweezil isn't goofy. Dweezil's an awesome guitarist, saw him last year. He stays away from most of the goofier stuff, lets his musicians do it. Ray White sent him an email saying he quit. The kid plays Inca Roads every night. He should get an award. He had the old lady ushers bopping in the aisles. It's just good music done with respect and care and love. There's a bunch of Zappa Plays Zappa on YouTube.

I will post two links. One is Penn Jillette on why you should see ZPZ. The other, excuse me it makes me laugh thinking about it, the other, hee hee ha, okay, the other hahahaha.

The other is Frank in his home and bathrobe, being invaded by a morning talk show "guy", supposedly to talk about his new computerized synclavier and the advances to music it brings.

Full "Tool" mode. :::cracks me up:::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ArfMhzPao&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucvo2U_BjWc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dave in FL
"evil is not overcome by fleeing from it... - Jeff Cooper

Posted: 1/28/2011 5:59:30 AM EDT

[#46]

You say you can't live with what you been through / Well, ladies you can be an asshole too.

...You might pretend you ain't got one on the bottom of you.

Frank is awesome!

Posted: 1/28/2011 6:01:24 AM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:
Zappa was the Salvador Dalí of rock and roll.

Rather apt description......I enjoy a lot of Zappa's stuff.

Posted: 1/28/2011 6:02:38 AM EDT

[#48]

Subjectivity rules.

Me? I could never understand the appeal.

Posted: 1/28/2011 6:05:31 AM EDT

[#49]

he was a very bright articulate individual. His music was not for everyone and had a very twisted perspective to it. He found ways of taking the mundane an making it funny. "Gonna raise me a crop of dental floss." I find a lot of what he did very interesting and enjoyable. It's not the kind of music I can sit and listen to for long periods of time.

you either get it or you don't, and there's nothing wrong with not getting it.

Posted: 1/28/2011 6:09:19 AM EDT

[#50]

Quoted:
He named his son Dweezel. Thats all I care to know.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Did Frank Zappa suck? (Page 1 of 4)

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