Friday, December 07, 2012
The War on Zappadan
BDR points us to this "OH dear, a deliciously viscous Zappa takedown" at The Wire. I got a good chuckle out of it. It's actually a reprint from 1995, a 17 year old rant in D Minor. I'm not sure what he despises the most, modal declension or a Zappa fan describing modal declension in one of Frank's songs. Full disclosure: I have no fucking idea what modal declension is.
I can't say I disagree with everything he rants about, but come on, he seems to despise Zappa fans as much as he despises Zappa and his music. I have never met a Zappa fan who likes every thing Zappa ever did. I've done some "Warts and All" Zappadan posts. I remember Mark Hoback a few years ago poking fun at the extreme mediocrity of the Zappa album "Studio Tan".
But for every stinker Zappa ever wrote, and every musician has written their share of stinkers, there's a full bore Gumbo Variation.
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10 comments:
I mocked Billy The Mountain at my joint, but I actually have a bit of affection for Zappa.
Like you say, I don't care for everything he wrote. But there's lots that is good.
And I have affection for Billy The Mountain, too. I just don't know if I would call it genius.
F*cking modal declensionists! How DARE they inflict their Aeolian-derived dodecaphonism on UNSUSPECTING CHILDREN!
;>)
I wouldn't call it genius either, but I do enjoy the absurdist nature of it. That and the Holy Modal Declensionism.
I don't get the whole Zappa thing, nor the Beatles, frankly, but there's so much stuff on this island dump, that cranking out a high-falutin' s-m-r-t-ypants essay on Why This Sucks seems like a waste of time one could spend fruitfully by listening to Master of Reality because only the squirrels aren't part of the spectacular bubble.
Yeah , it's like it's personal, as if Zappa beat him up and took his lunch money. He's gonna get even!
What Darkblack said.
I think;
Prunes are affecting my judgement.
As I recall, "Studio Tan" was released by the label without Frank's full consent to satisfy a contract. I agree though that there is mediocrity abound. With as much material as there is, there would have to be. I myself am reaching the conclusion that Frank really fucked the Mothers in the ass and I'm not fond of his stance on labor issues generally. But you know. That's just keeping it greasy.
The War Against Zappadan, I knew it was coming. I'm guessing that guy is right now trying to figure out how to get all of those tatoos removed now that being a hipster isn't hip.
There is too much music in the Zappa catalog to listen to all of it during Zappadan, so I listen to Zappa Radio for a couple of hours every day for the duration.
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