I doubt it - read "Brave new world" and in Addition "1984", because we are exactly heading for a mixture of These two Society Systems. There won`t be much space left for Zappa-Music. In former Tscheoslovakia the Police used to beat Young People up, shouting at them "we will thrash that Zappa out of you".
Damn, 2 of my favorite books you just mentioned. People complain some books poison the minds of the readers, yet luckily never cite these two! More people need to read and especially understand them both, it would possibly spread a little more sanity in this world if people realized that both of these stories could become true.
i am flashed - how warm and simultaneously sharp his mind was... is! a true human being at his best - such a shame he is gone and cannot comment on current affairs these days.... love ya, frank!!!!
Great ending to the interview..I liked how the interviewer was trying to explain what he was attempting and trying to warm up to Frank and all Frank wanted was to make sure he got his copy of the interview. I have often wondered what I would have said to Frank had I ever met him and the only thing that comes to mind is "Thanks". There is nothing someone like me is going to say thats going to make Frank stop and go "Wow, what a cool dude this fan is" Guys like that just live and breath on a higher plane than most of us.It might seem rude but I get it. I imagine he always knew how precious time is and at the time of this interview it may have been more so and he was squeezing as much as he could out of his time here. Sad that he died so soon but so wonderful he lived.
Nope, nope, nope... Frank Zappa was NOT one of those sorts who looked down on others. He'd have been polite, friendly even & would keep you engaged in a wonderful conversation. Rob Samler & Eric Buxton had taken me to meet him, in his house, when I was 18. Imagine an 18 year old fangirl all "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah," rinse, lather repeat ad nauseum & I think he was more weirded out than I was, as here was a kid who was younger than his first 2 kids, fawning over his music eager to hear more. He kept up a great conversation with all three of us & never made me feel awkward. He was really quite the cordial gentleman, wonderful host & hilarious entertainer all rolled up in one that most folks think he was... He would've enjoyed talking to you as much as you enjoyed talking to him & probably would've taught you stuff but made you laugh too.
kerry5101971 there is nobody I believe I would rather meet and I am sure he would be polite especially to a guest in his home. Just saying he probably didn't suffer fools gladly and was so busy and creative that I imagine he treasured his time. I don't pretend to really know him other than what I've read from all the players who have worked with him thru the years. He was a serious guy to put it mildly Without ever meeting him he taught me plenty and sure made me laugh.He may not exactly look down his nose but he sure could be sarcastic which I enjoyed. He spoke his mind and didn't care if some people thought he was offensive.
Adrian Clinch I share you feelings about missing Frank. I try and console myself by realizing how lucky I was to see him many times and to be inspired by him while in my late teens. As I assume most Frank fans say, I would love to know what he would say about many of the things that have taken place since he died. I would never put words in his mouth and claim to know what he would say today. If he was healthy I can't imagine he would not be writing great music. Without any doubt he produced more music than perhaps anybody that ever lived ever..I don't know how that would be determined but if it was knowable he would be way up at or near the top of the list. I miss him like I would a personal friend or relative.
Such a waste he died so young. Should be a reminder to all us guys over 45, go see your doctor, get the one finger waive, make sure your prostate is fine. Most deaths from this cancer could have been prevented by early detection!
Trying reading about him. Gets close in Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa.' I lived and worked in his house 1968 - 1971. It's my story of course, from that lucky day I met Frank in London.
Someone told him a few years before his death that he was a Legend...He responded by saying as he smiled and supposedly shook the person's hand, "Really?! Well fuck the Legend!!"
Intellectually, there will never be another Frank Zappa. Musically, there are great artists. Sun Ra was far out. But for the bizarre thoughts and dead-on truth, there will only ever be one Frank Zappa.
Great interview. I loved every bit of it. Many thanks to the person who posted this !! It gives me hope to see that younger people follow the man, his music, his opinions. I "discovered" Frank in 1973, was 13 at the time, and found his ideas and his music to be a great and important complement to my formal education.
Not only a musical genius but he had the whole world figured out correctly his entire time. As much as I miss him, I'm glad he is not around in today's terrible times both musically and socially. Would love to hear his views on internet technology, texting, dumbing down of America, today's "music" and so many more current sad situations.
I think he would like things like bandcamp and other medias that givenpower to independent people, however, I think he would politically go mad. Funny that in his time the right was the authoritarian political side but everything changed. Knowing he was somewhat of a libertarian, I'd be real interested to listen to his takes.
I wish he HAD lived, because maybe his influence would have made a good counter to the neocons during the 2000 election and Bush wouldn't have gotten into office. It was all downhill from there.
Awesome upload thanks. Although i'm not a fan of Frank's music I respect him immensely as a brilliant musician and especially as an extremely intelligent and fascinating person whose point of view I find intriguing and insightful. I could listen to him give his opinion on anything and everything. I would especially be interested in his opinion on the state of affairs in the world today!!
If you are interested in Frank Zappa, the man, then why not try 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa' which is now in audio. Of course, it's my story of what happened to me after that lucky day I met Frank in London and ended up living and working in his house 1968 0 1971.
Thanks for putting this up. I've said it for years; Frank Zappa was one of the most astute and intelligent social commentators of the 20th century. He is sorely missed. A man who really tried to do something different, to not fit into the little boxes that society wants to put us all into. I wish I was old enough to have seen him play live...he had retired from touring just before I reached an age to go see him perform. Seeing ZPZ is not the same, although it is great to hear his music played so well, by someone that you can tell really cares about it. No-one is making these comments upon society in music anymore; bands get together these days to get a record deal and fuck groupies, and they don't care what kind of shite pours out of themselves. As long as it shifts enough units. It's maybe a bit snobbish of me, but I judge people's taste in music by their reaction when I play them some Zappa...not just the difficult, modern classical stuff that show off his compositional skills, but, in truth, mostly the stuff with the 'questionable' lyrical content. Stuff like 'Crew Slut', 'Bobby Brown Goes Down', 'Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?'...I could go on and on (and I often do!). A friend of mine has called me Al Zappa in the past, as I attach so much worth to his music, first of all, but also to his brilliant use of satire and ridicule in that music. I can't think of anyone in 'rock' music, in the last 20-30 years who even tried to be socially conscious and to educate their audience as to the state of politics and diplomacy, especially not in the way that Frank tried to. He dealt with some really big issues, but done so in a humourous, tongue in cheek and hugely sarcastic manner. Nobody these days is willing to set aside the fame and money in order to truly strive to do something different, something that pushes them creatively, spiritually and emotionally. The members of the modern wave of 'rock' bands could all be swapped over with each other and no-one would even be able to tell; they all sound, act and look the same! The only person I can think of who even tries to be 'outside of the curve' is The Aphex Twin...not everyone's cup of tea, but at least this is a man that is willing to push the boundaries of what he's 'supposed' to be producing. And because of that, he is virtually unheard of by the general public in Britain, despite producing some fantastic music.
I don't think a Frank Zappa would get a recording contract today. And I know we're all supposed to be excited about "self publishing" and the internet, but that's being "throttled" and I suspect, far more than we even know.
Even though you didn't see Frank Zappa play live, you can get a very good idea of how charismatic on stage he was by watching the hundreds of videos of his performances on You Tube. And while I'm here, you might be interested in reading 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa' which gives his daily life 1968 - 1971 when I lived at his his working for him.
He was a very complex person, mocking the hippies and freak scene, yet making 4 or 5 albums exploring their mores and music. There must have been some actual interest on his part or he would not have wasted time and effort on this, not to mention the people he was satirizing were probably the biggest buyers of his albums at the time. People criticize his "novelty" songs, but they are still more complex musically and intelligent verbally than anything else that was being recorded, and once again the people buying his records for the funny stuff made it possible for him to do the composing and recording of his serious music.
A 3/4" dub was given to an interview subject when obligations to the subject included creative control of the final edit. The 3/4" tape included visible timecode (VTC) and vertical interval timecode (VITC). The former is a visual reference of the SMPTE timecode recorded on the camera-original tape; the latter a datastream of the same timecode, processable by computer videotape editing devices. This allowed the subject to preapprove' the content of the interview.
@@paulinebutcherbird nothing to me but I would suspect that most people would not think that Frank had conservative libertarian views and that he was for small government. He was articulate.
@@Shaft-Industries Certainly I agree. For most of his career with hair to his shoulder blades, he looked like an addled drug addict. No one believed he didn't take drugs. But by the end of his career, when he cut his hair and wore suits, the image matched the rhetoric for the most part.
Frank leaves out a lot of detail in his book. You might try, 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa' It is my story from that lucky day I met Frank in London in 1967 and ended up living and working in his house 1968 to 1971 but it is the only one that details his daily life.
I actually remember this: It was part of a series on A&E, I think, called 'Class of the 21st Century.' They interviewed a long list of guests including people still old enough to remember World War 1. (This was 1991.) The claim was that the series would be locked in a time capsule and made available in the year 3000. The other thing was, by doing it in 91, they missed all the important stories of the 90's. (Bill Clinton, war in Yugoslavia, etc.) Maybe someone taped it off TV and will upload the rest one day; Who knows?
This appears to be the most recent post on here. I've no idea how You Tube does it, but I had to wade through posts from 10 and 11 years ago to get to yours.
Whats your message for the people of the year 3000? Frank: I dont believe there are going to be any human beings in the year 3000, maybe there will be some bacteria or slugs, so i would try to communicate with them in bacteria language : buhuhuguuuauu... Ciao bella!
“We will get you a 3 quarter” what does that mean? Interviewer says that to him at the end... Btw thank you for uploading this interview. Have watched them all. Much appreciated !
I wondered about the same thing, and not being a native English speaker, decided to look it up. You noticed the "portrait stills" in the documentary? In American, it can mean: (a 3 quarter): "showing the face intermediate between profile and full face". Maybe Frank negotiated a print of one of the stills.
I think that was a reference to a 3/4 inch video tape. (A copy of the interview.) 3/4 inch tape was a common format/size of Beta and VHS video cassette recorders. I got the implication that Frank used that size, but in a reel to reel (studio) format. This would be reasonable due to all the experimental things he was doing, having a a reel-to-reel video tape deck.
@MusicThatDoesNotSuck - The best part of that aphorism, and the smartest part, was that Zappa must have known that someone could potentially use parts of it against him, and didn't mind.
Frank loved to "yank people's chains" . And he would usually keep a straight face while doing it so you could never tell if he was bullshitting you or not .....
Creative AND intelligent. When I bought Joe's Garage in the early '80's, it redefined my appreciation of music. Rest in Peace Frank, the world is a poorer place without you.
@TheNilesLeshProject We used to record CD masters onto U-matics as well as use them for synchronizing audio to video (because U-matics have three audio tracks) before the computer replaced all physical pre-production methods. Cheers Thanks for posting this.
I think the show was called DECADES, I have many of them recorded to VHS...the Zappa Hotline, 818-PUMPKIN, announced each time Frank would appear for this special, nice to see the complete interview!
This was from and A&E series called "The Class Of The 20th Century" hosted by Richard Dreyfus. It included celebrities thoughts on the 20th century. It aired in 1992 - boy did they miss a lot of the 20th century in the 8 years after - OJ, Oklahoma City, Bill Clinton, Columbine, Diana's death, Rodney King and so much more... probably a good thing that all of that was missed.
Billy Connolly was a big fan of Frank's. He had to conjure up courage to go and see him one time because Billy was living on the same street, Woodrow Wilson Drive, in Hollywoood.
If I was going to leave a message for the future, it wouldn't be a message, it would be a question. And that question would be, "Have you fucking invented jet packs yet?"
@moproducer (More) Nowadays, a VTC-windowed DVD is usually given to the subject for viewing at leisure and marking numbers of desired and "don't use" comments. Lately, as I've done, more folks use an online video exchange service (such as Sorenson 360) to post footage and allow for timecode-referenced comments via internet. Sounds a bit like RU-vid, eh?
@PneRobinho619 there are still people like him, but you gotta look for them cuse there's very little chance you'll hear about them on mainstream media especially the ones who aren't artists.
Hello, I am an Italian girl and I love Frank Zappa. Is there anyone who can 'write in English what' he said in this video? then translate 'I. I understand very little your language. Thanks if there will be 'someone who will want to' do it. bye
Have you thought to read 'Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa' which is published in Italian. I was lucky to meet Frank in London in 1967 and ended up living and working in his house in Hollywood 1968 - 1967. It gives an insight into Frank's home life.
Hello, I am an Italian girl. Is there anyone who can 'write in English what' that Zappa said in this video? then translate 'I. I understand very little your language. Thanks if there will be 'someone who will want to' do it. Hello
La Fije deKung Fu hi. I'm just reading this comment after four years of being written; seems that no one has answered to your request since then, so if i can be of any help just let me know. Love.
Geniuses of Music: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Elvis, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Zappa. Crap/Reject music: Tupac, Biggie, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, One Direction, Lil Wayne, Drake, Big Sean, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, and Maroon 5.
The list reminds me of the Evolution wall chart of the CaveMen Butt-fucking the next more evolved humanoid...IN REVERSE. It's the wall chart of The Devolution Of Musicianship. Micki Minaj butt-fucking Wiz Kaleefa et al.
Berliner Stadtschloss I assume your comment is in response to Yaso7th more so than jazzalex. I doubt you consider Dizzy et al teenie stars. I am uncomfortable with the use of the word genius. Overused but its possible Frank might actually qualify. He was asked once and said, I think, its possible I am one.
@franciscovaldevez Oh come on be serious! FZ was good and could be profound, but he could also be an asshole. I miss him and I think the world sorely misses him. But a comparison to Einstein? No way, Einstein struggled with bar chords and flately refused to go electric....