Intro to Zappa

Zappa the composer:

Zappa introduced a level of professionalism to music previously unheard of and unimagined. Though in the early stages of his career he often didn't have access to musicians who could pull off the extraordinary passages that were in his head, he created the demand which eventually provided that access. Zappa's unbelievable understanding of musical theory and experimentation with timbre changed rock music forever, eventually leading followers into the well known progressive-rock genre, and later forever changing the landscape of classically orchestrated music. His work with the London Symphony Orchestra surely got some heads turning and bodies squirming, reminiscent of audiences' initial reaction to the dissonant chords of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. But, just like Stravinsky, whose innovative imagination eventually provided the backdrop of all music that followed, so will Zappa's music do the same now.

Zappa the musician-performer:

Zappa introduced the "performer" in musician-performer. In the fashion of 1940's Ernest Tubb, a pioneer in performance and one of the first to recognize the importance of stage presence, Zappa (to a much more extreme degree, of course) pulled out all the stops to get a rise from his audience. An appropriate phrase for the stage theatrics of Zappa and his mother's would be "shock and awe". He understood that it didn't matter what he did, the more crazy and confusing it was, the more the audience would react. This is not to say that his stage antics were meaningless. On the contrary, there is much meaning behind everything Zappa did musically and on stage. But, like his lyrics, it takes alot of patience, and some help from Mike P. to figure out exactly what that is.

Zappa the entrepreneur:

Zappa always made an effort to be in the spotlight. He always believed that he would be famous and that his place would be on the screen, or on the stage, or in your headphones. Generally, he had a difficult time balancing between his artistic values and his goals to be in the spotlight. Everything he did artistically contradicted and went against the main stream. It was not until Zappa himself, as a figure, an icon, and a hero to many, became his own entity, that he was truly able to blend stardom with artistic value evenly and without tension. It was at that point that Zappa was truly able to change things from the inside.

Zappa the Social Critic:

Where at first glance Frank Zappa appears to be totally crazy he is, in fact, not. He's actually kind of a genius. Though said genius is often disguised in the form of twisted, obscure lyrics that seem to make no sense, upon further critical examination, and the assistance of a 3 credit Concordia University course entirely dedicated to the subject, we find in Zappa an almost limitless, unquenchable thirst for causing shit. His main theme, at least within the first three albums of his impressive discography, touch mainly on themes of plasticity and conformism. He had a little bit of an issue with conformists. Who the conformists are is generally anyone's guess, but Zappa, in his early music seems to point the finger at anyone who isn't a "freak", including, yes, hippies. "Plastic" (or rather the old term's new meaning) is a term arguably coined by Zappa, or at least in and around his time as a rising star. It means fake, essentially. When I think of plastic I think of something that holds its shape well; something that appears magnificently unperturbed by the realities it encounters everyday. But put it under a microscope in the sun, and it melts to down to a pile of crap.

Zappa the man:

Zappa's religion was always a point of contension within himself. He was constantly struggling with guilt, especially in terms of the sexual realm. This may explain, quite simply, why Zappa so easily was able to write, record, and perform some of the obscene things that he did. As was so elequantly put earlier this week in class, it's hard for an atheist to understand some of the things Zappa was saying. But for a devout Catholic it's simple. It's just like saying "Fuck" in church. Perhaps Zappa saw his own lyrics as a clear betrayal of his strongest beliefs and values but, for whatever reason, he carried on with them, and supported them confidently if attacked. Perhaps more research into the matter will reveal all.