Frank Zappa

[7/4]

Five Zappa Songs For People Who Don’t Get Zappa

 

 

* new thread because I can't find the old one, I KNOW there's an old thread.

[Scott Dolan]

No Watermelon In Easter Hay?! Even my wife likes that tune, and she can't stand Zappa. 

[7/4]

9 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

No Watermelon In Easter Hay?! Even my wife likes that tune, and she can't stand Zappa. 

Good choice. I think there's a lot of five song lists that would work.

[Scott Dolan]

Not sure that I'd ever bother trying to make a top "welcome to Zappaland" list, but if I did it would definitely include Peaches, Watermelon, The Black Page (New Age Version), Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel, and The Closer You Are. 

Ultimately, I'd just play somebody the first disc of YCDTOSA Vol. 2. If they don't make any kind of connection there, they probably never will. 

[mjzee]

Frank Zappa campaign on Kickstarter.

[StarThrower]

Zoot Allures

Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy

Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up

It Must Be A Camel

Twenty Small Cigars

Shut Up, and Ocean might be a bit heavy for the uninitiated.

[7/4]

12 hours ago, StarThrower said:

Zoot Allures

Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy

Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up

It Must Be A Camel

Twenty Small Cigars

Shut Up, and Ocean might be a bit heavy for the uninitiated.

nice list. 

[JSngry]

My first - and still favorite Zappa is the original Mothers, so if I was looking to give an example of Zappa to somebody who didn't get it, I'd be very tempted to use this, and then if they still didn't get it, hey, move on.

 

[mjzee]

I once created a cassette for my own amusement of Zappa/Mothers material, focusing (but not exclusively) on his instrumental side:

Side A:

Strictly Genteel

Peaches En Regalia

Revised Music For Guitar And Low Budget Orchestra / Redunzl

San Ber'dino

Andy

It Must Be A Camel

Side B:

Let Me Take You To The Beach

Pedro's Dowry

Twenty Small Cigars (from the Ponty album)

Flambay / Spider Of Destiny / Regyptian Strut

Drowning Witch / Envelopes / Teen-Age Prostitute

[mjzee]

Frank Zappa Laurel Canyon House on Market for $5.4 Million.

Check out the legal infighting amongst the family.

[Scott Dolan]

Wow, that's really sad. I wonder if the UMRK will stay fully intact?

I am looking forward to the new doc, Eat That Question. 

[bertrand]

Let's pretend some cats want to get together and play some Zappa tunes on a gig.

As long as the venue pays its ASCAP/BMI dues, what legal right does the Zappa Estate have to prevent this gig from happening?

I never understood this. What am I missing?

Dweezil's point makes sense to me: To keep Zappa's music alive, get it played. Sue Mingus got that, even if she was difficult about other things.

Bertrand.

 

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

50TH anniv of the release of this today

 

[medjuck]

4 hours ago, bertrand said:

Let's pretend some cats want to get together and play some Zappa tunes on a gig.

As long as the venue pays its ASCAP/BMI dues, what legal right does the Zappa Estate have to prevent this gig from happening?

I never understood this. What am I missing?

Dweezil's point makes sense to me: To keep Zappa's music alive, get it played. Sue Mingus got that, even if she was difficult about other things.

Bertrand.

 

I think (I'm far from sure) that you can play whatever you like but you can't use Frank Zappa's name in advertising (nor the Beatles for another example)  without getting permission.  This gets weird with Dweezle of course.  HE can probably use his own name but not Frank's without permission. 

BTW I still have a 3 inch cd (remember those?) of  Peaches en Regalia. 

[7/4]

3 hours ago, medjuck said:

BTW I still have a 3 inch cd (remember those?) of  Peaches en Regalia. 

I have one of those!

 

 

 

and in the news:

NYT Review: ‘Eat That Question,’ on Frank Zappa, the Media and Cultural Upheavals

Edited June 28, 2016 by 7/4

[bertrand]

Can you call the concert 'The Music of Frank Zappa'? What if the concert is happening at a nonprofit such as the Smithsonian?

[medjuck]

5 hours ago, bertrand said:

Can you call the concert 'The Music of Frank Zappa'? What if the concert is happening at a nonprofit such as the Smithsonian?

I don't really know but I think you need permission. 

[StarThrower]

20 hours ago, medjuck said:

I don't really know but I think you need permission. 

If Dweezil can't use the name, I doubt anyone else can. Gail Zappa was a strange bird. She pissed away millions of dollars on frivolous lawsuits, and made huge political donations as if she were a Rockefeller or Bill Gates. She couldn't afford it, all the while screwing over her only child that was capable of promoting the music and bringing in revenue. And her younger son Ahmet continues to carry on this horrible legacy.

http://www.inquisitr.com/3235834/gail-zappa-simply-greedy-or-was-she-mentally-disturbed-too-dweezil-discusses-the-medea-complex-and-more/

[mjzee]

Don't forget how many lawsuits FZ participated in.

[StarThrower]

The only one I know about is the case with Warner Brothers, and Frank made out nicely on that one. When he died he owned all his album masters with the exception of 200 Motels. And he didn't rob any of his own family members.

[mjzee]

There was the lawsuit against Herb Cohen, one against the Grandmothers, the Royal Albert Hall... I think there were more: Rykodisc? 

[bertrand]

I am still trying to understand this concept of use of name. Frank Zappa was a composer, he would be the first to tell you that. So a concert stating that the works of Frank Zappa, composer will be performed should be fine as long as ASCAP/BMI fees are paid. What am I missing? If the family will keep thinking of him as a 'brand' rather than a composer, then he can never be included in the pantheon of composers, something we know he wished for.

Now there was that Puccini estate vs. Bob Belden - was the issue there that they did not like the arrangements? What legal ground did they have to justify the album being pulled?

Bertrand.

 

[StarThrower]

The difference being that Frank didn't bankrupt his organization, and continued to tour and generate a lot of income. Gail pissed away the millions she received from Rykodisc, and screwed Dweezil out of merch revenue for a decade. He did the work, she kept all of the money.

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, bertrand said:

 

Now there was that Puccini estate vs. Bob Belden - was the issue there that they did not like the arrangements? What legal ground did they have to justify the album being pulled?

Bertrand.

 

http://jazztimes.com/articles/20210-bob-belden-riddle-me-this

Black Dahlia now comes nearly 10 years after Belden’s last attempt at documenting such an extended, operatic form—his brilliant 1992 recording for Blue Note of Puccini’s “Turandot” (which was released in Japan but barred from distribution in the States by Puccini’s heirs, who deemed Belden’s jazzy interpretation of such ‘sacred music’ as blasphemous). The censuring of that ambitious work was a major setback, temporarily crushing Belden’s spirit, if not his output.

[jlhoots]

Belden's Turandot was great.

Many years ago a friend of mine obtained the CD for me when she was in Japan.

Back to Zappa. Sorry for the digression.