I wonder what Mel Torme thought of "musican bicyclist Frank Zappa"? The band, with their final Dolphy-esqe outtro, seems to have got it.

Continuing watching the entire episode below:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

I know there are a lot of reasons people choose their particular political affiliation.  Each party and candidate has to take a stance on a variety of issues, and I realize that different issues resonate differently with different people.  Some people vote based on their economic situation, others look to their views about foreign war, and some actually rely solely on their religious views.

Sure, it would make far more sense for voters to weigh the relative importance of all a candidate's positions in regard to the current challenges facing our nation and make an informed decision based on all factors, but I get what an unrealistic prospect this is.  And I'm really okay with that, as long as people are truthful about their intentions.

If you are most concerned with protecting your wealth, just admit that you don't want to cast a vote that will take money out of your pocket.  If you are a highly religious, just admit that you would never support a candidate who supports a woman's right to choose. If you are a bigot, just admit that you favor discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

See, these issues are relatively unrelated and your stance on one doesn't necessarily have to define your views on the other.  I actually find it baffling when someone walks a party line on every major issue (I mean, a pro-life person who is also pro-war and favors the death penalty? How unbelievably illogical!), but this also happens a lot, and I'm okay with this, too.

But even if you do happen to support a full slate of conservative tenets, this certainly does not require you to accept hateful, race-bating, violence-inducing slander coming out of a candidate's camp at face value.  I am NOT okay with that.  And, much like your co-hosts on The View, I took your thoughtless regurgitation of this type of shit "super-personally."

I take it "super-personally" when Sarah Palin thinks I am stupid enough to let her ugly, dangerous, hypocritical stump speech distract me from the fact that she has not yet given a press conference.  I take it "super-personally" when the Secret Service has to investigate death threats coming from the a rabid crowd at a McCain/Palin campaign stop, threats that have not been condemned by either of the candidates on that ticket.  And I take it "super-personally" when someone spouting unexamined filth on national television instead of furthering a constructive discourse of real issues doesn't take what she's saying "super-personally."

Based on your recent actions on The View - in which you legitimized vile, desperate statements made by Sarah Palin and the McCain camp, statements that have already resulted in racist and violent crowd reactions - you have shown yourself to be a feeble-minded, ignorant fool.  More than that, your insinuation that anyone who takes the type of anti-intellectual bullshit "personally" needs to "relax" shows you to be a heartless, insensitive coward.

Don't get me wrong.  I still think you are a physical specimen of unsurpassed beauty.  I had a huge crush on you during your days on Survivor (although you had to share my affections with the older woman with the huge rack that ended up winning).  And even when you started spouting your hilariously misinformed conservative views on television I thought it was kind of cute and, if given the chance, I probably would have still hit that.

But at this point, now that you have shown how wretched you are on the inside, I wouldn't even hate-fuck you.  I don't think I would even hate-fuck you with John McCain's dick.  Because I just got a glimpse of the ugliest part of your body.  I think it's your mind.

Don't take it "super-personally."

On Saturday 4 October 2008, the founders of two world-class blogs - Pig State Recon and Impy Malting - met up to exchange thoughts, question assumptions, and simply bask in the formidable glow of Frank Zappa, his well-respected We're Only In It For the Money LP from 1968, and a limited-edition, Belgian style triple ale (8.2% ABV) brewed by the Laginutas Brewing Co. to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album's release. And bask we did - after dropping the needle on the, er, illegally downloaded MP3s and capping the bottle which had been graciously smuggled from the wilds of Nerdi Gras (aka Dragon Con) by our dearest friend and kick-ass mezzo soprano, Liza. Here's how it played out:
----------
I: So basically this record is about getting crabs? He's mentioned them three times already. Is this Sgt. Pepper's derivative?

M: Yeah, same year or thereabouts. It's a satire. A lampoon. A political cartoon of a record. I never read those cartoons. I'd rather read Andy Capp. Have you ever met a funny Zappa fan?

I: They're always overly-intellectual eggheads. Was that a Beatles' reference? I think that one was referencing "When I'm 64".

M: There's like 15 people playing on this record, but it's all about Frank. You can see him, smell him everywhere. I don't believe people into heavy drugs were into this. Sure, maybe people smoked pot and giggled to it, but dropping acid to this? No way.

I: So all I know about Triples is the water goes through the mash tun three times, and that it's strong. And Belgian. I have no idea if this is authentic to the style. I mean, it's orange. Kinda sour.

M: My stomach itches. That song "Hot Poop" was more like a lifeless turd.

I: There's a lively carbonation. Kind of a dog-food nose, but I'm not making up my mind yet. Cumquats, or apricots. Suddenly, I wish it was colder so it would taste less.

M: Ooh - wow - It's kind of like that taste in your mouth when you wake up in the morning. Zappa was always going on about how he was "influenced by Stockhausen".

I: Who's Stockhausen?

M: Just like this modern composition guy. This record is not beautiful or even emotionally complex.

I: It's munchkin rock. Do you think we should have aged it?

M: The record is already 40 years old, I don't think it's gonna ever sound any better.

I: I can't get past the smell.

M: It's really tough going. Is there anything about this beer that speaks of Zappa?

I: The colour - I mean, it's bright orange. It looks like Fanta or something.

M: I don't know if we can even get through it: 1 pt., 6 oz. and a double album.

I: Wait - it's a double album?

M: [checks the stream] Sorry, false alarm. It's only one album.

I: I wish we were listening Digital Underground instead. Their "No Nose Job" beats this "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" song in every way. Was that a Jesus Christ Superstar reference I just heard?

M: This predates Jesus Christ Superstar. If this is Zappa's crowning achievement . . . my god. This is completely not what I was expecting from the beer or the man. Man.

I: Did you get the fish note just then?

M: The fish-juice note! Clearly Zappa put a lot of time into this.

I: I guess, but it seems pretty arbitrary to me.

M: I'm just saying there's a lot going on on this record. It's just not pleasurable to go into, nor is this beer. Oh man.

I: Did you just get the fish note again?

M: I got the fish note again. Is there anything good we can say about this? I've tried to say it's complex.

I: All I can think about is how he got from this to "Valley Girl". Should we write the post now?

M: We've got to finish the beer first. At least it's getting easier because of the alcohol content.

I: The beer leaves a kind of nice flavor on my lips. Like Sweet Tarts.

M: You always hope there's some hidden beauty in Zappa, because everyone says it's great.

I: Dweezil is kind of cute. Zappa made him. I saw him on Letterman once. Ok, I don't know if I can finish this.

M: We can change to another Zappa record. But wait, I don't have another Zappa record. I have some Beefheart though . . .

----------
I: So basically this record is about getting crabs? He's mentioned them three times already. Is this Sgt. Pepper's derivative?

M: Yeah, same year or thereabouts. It's a satire. A lampoon. A political cartoon of a record. I never read those cartoons. I'd rather read Andy Capp. Have you ever met a funny Zappa fan?

I: They're always overly-intellectual eggheads. Was that a Beatles' reference? I think that one was referencing "When I'm 64".

M: There's like 15 people playing on this record, but it's all about Frank. You can see him, smell him everywhere. I don't believe people into heavy drugs were into this. Sure, maybe people smoked pot and giggled to it, but dropping acid to this? No way.

I: So all I know about Triples is the water goes through the mash tun three times, and that it's strong. And Belgian. I have no idea if this is authentic to the style. I mean, it's orange. Kinda sour.

M: My stomach itches. That song "Hot Poop" was more like a lifeless turd.

I: There's a lively carbonation. Kind of a dog-food nose, but I'm not making up my mind yet. Cumquats, or apricots. Suddenly, I wish it was colder so it would taste less

M: Ooh - wow - It's kind of like that taste in your mouth when you wake up in the morning. Zappa was always going on about how he was "influenced by Stockhausen".

I: Who's Stockhausen?

M: Just like this modern composition guy. This record is not beautiful or even emotionally complex.

I: It's munchkin rock. Do you think we should have aged it?

M: The record is already 40 years old, I don't it's gonna ever sound any better.

I: I can't get past the smell.

M: It's really tough going. Is there anything about this beer that speaks of Zappa?

I: The colour - I mean, it's bright orange. It looks like Fanta or something.

M: I don't know if we can even get through it: 1 pt., 6 oz. and a double album.

I: Wait - it's a double album?

M: [checks the stream] Sorry, false alarm. It's only one album.

I: I wish we were listening Digital Underground instead. Their "No Nose Job" beats this "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" song in every way. Was that a Jesus Christ Superstar reference I just heard?

M: This predates Jesus Christ Superstar. If this is Zappa's crowning achievement . . . my god. This is completely not what I was expecting from the beer or the man. Man.

I: Did you get the fish note just then?

M: The fish-juice note! Clearly Zappa put a lot of time into this.

I: I guess, but it seems pretty arbitrary to me.

M: I'm just saying there's a lot going on on this record. It's just not pleasurable to go into, nor is this beer. Oh man.

I: Did you just get the fish note again?

M: I got the fish note again. Is there anything good we can say about this? I've tried to say it's complex.

I: All I can think about is how he got from this to "Valley Girl". Should we write the post now?

M: We've got to finish the beer first. At least it's getting easier because of the alcohol content.

I: The beer leaves a kind of nice flavor on my lips. Like Sweet Tarts.

M: You always hope there's some hidden beauty in Zappa, because everyone says it's great.

I: Dweezil is kind of cute. Zappa made him. I saw him on Letterman once. Ok, I don't know if I can finish this.

M: We can change to another Zappa record. But wait, I don't have another Zappa record. I have some Beefheart though . . .

Det er Frank Zappa som demonstrerer hvordan man spiller på sykkel. Videre episoder her, her og her, og det blir altså mer og mer underholdende etter hvert som han holder på.

Lezers,

u kunt met ons alle kanten op. Zo slepen wij u mee in verhalen over storm en bijlen, een andere keer verhalen wij van parfum of aardolie. Gisteren brachten wij u aan het huilen, zo bleek. Op 3vandaag@live.nl ontvingen wij zakken vol post hierover. Soms Boos, soms oprecht verdrietig, soms zelfs in regelrechte staat van paniek schreef u ons.

Zo ontvingen wij van dhr en mevr. S te Beneden L. het bericht dat: '

'als uw redactie niet meteen stopt met al die treurige muziek, wij heden

nog ons tientjes-lidmaatschap van de VPRO opzeggen.'

Beste heer en mevr. S., wij hebben het niet zo bedoeld. Wij bedoelden het anders. Doet u alstublieft geen overhaaste zaken, waar u en de VPRO later spijt van krijgen. Dank u.

Dhr. B.v.J. schrijft ons, kennelijk niet geheel bij zijn positieven:

'Lieve Redactie, thuis had ik ook ooit een hond. Toen ie wegliep was

dat niet leuk. Mijn moeder was al niet zo goed en daardoor was alles...

(Om wille van de ruimte ingekort - Redactie) ...En zo zat ik er mee.

Dus U snapt nu hoe het is.'

Ja, B. Dat is ons duidelijk. Wij hopen dat het tapijt inmiddels weer schoon en droog is. En dank u voor de complimenten.

En mevr. K.B. te A.:

'BillenReet, Fascisten!'

Tsja, mevrouw K.B....

Lezers, zomaar een greep uit de vele, soms uitgebreide, brieven. De meeste waren weliswaar tevreden over de geboden Tragiek, maar verlangden nu daardoor ook naar een Opsteker. Nu ja, dat kan. Eigenlijk zouden wij u liefst linea recta verwijzen naar een 3vandaag-item op de Hyves, Lekker Vaudt, waarvan wij zelf onmiddellijk buitengemeen vrolijk geraken. Om u echter nog meer van dienst te zijn hebben wij gemeend er nóg een mixtape-je tegen aan te moeten gooien. Een Bonte verzameling deuntjes waar wij blij van worden, van disco tot rock, voor een ieder wat...

Mano Negra - Soledad
Jim Sturgess - I've Just Seen A Face
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Old Time Rock and Roll
CAKE - I Will Survive
Spargo - One Night Affair
Earth, Wind & Fire - Got To Get You Into My Life
Frank Zappa - Dancin' Fool
Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster (Jammin')
Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love
Rare Earth - Get Ready
Rick James - Superfreak
Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock'n'Roll
The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love
Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart
Van Halen - Panama
The Clash - London Calling
David Lee Roth - California Girls

Luister: Mixtape Kop Op

My best advice to the uninitiated, however, is to find a quality record store and buy anything you can find by the 20th century's finest American composer, the guitarists guitarist, Sir Frank Vincent Zappa and discover his music for yourself.

Florentine Pogen

An incredibly mean sounding incarnation of the Zappa band, featuring the immense vocal talents of Napoleon Murphy Brock, last seen playing in 2007 with the Zappa plays Zappa band.

City of Tiny Lights

Featuring the unmistakable vocal stylings of Adrian Belew, later of King Crimson and Terry Bozzio, bashing his skins for your twisted pleasure. Tiny is as tiny do!

G-Spot Tornado

As part of 'The Yellow Shark' Zappa assembled 'The Ensemble Modern' to perform original compositions which appeared in one form or another on his last album, 'Civilisation Phase 3'. This is a German TV appearance of the man himself conducting.

Sofa No. 1

Here's a nice fan-made clip to the sound of the original Sofa, with it's mad sub-synth bass line. The Michael Hedges acoustic guitar version of Sofa was played as a fitting tribute to Frank, on his website, when he died. I can't find it anymore, but if anyone knows where it is, please send it to me using the Mail link opposite. TIA

Cheepnis

Zappa plays Zappa is Dweezil, Frank's son, joined by the above mentioned Napoleon Murphy Brock and various ex-Zappa band members - touring the world to keep Frank's music where it belongs; live on stage played by the best of best musicians in the world.

Bobby Brown Goes Down

"I can take about an hour on the tower of power, so long as I gets a little golden shower."

Nightschool & You Are What You Is

Flawlessly beautiful chords, arranged on and played by the most expensive musical instrument money can buy, the synclavier. Frank won a grammy for this, the first all-digital album ever recorded (with the exception of the last track which was a live recording of the band playing Massaggio Galore). Clay animation by Bruce Bickford.

Interview on Letterman

The man himself talking about the London Symphony Orchestra vol 1 album.

Frank Zappa's Joe's Menage has just been released by the Zappa Family Trust. The CD is a performance by Frank Zappa at Williamsburg, Virginia's College of William and Mary on November of 1975. The CD came together through a series of cassette tapes that Zappa had given to one of his fans, Ole Lysgaard. Lysgaard then sent the tapes to Gail Zappa. She then released the music after it was restored and remastered (relix.com).

This release is to continue "the Zappa Family Trust's mission to celebrate and protect the legacy of Frank Zappa. The CD is only available through the Zappa official store at Zappa.com

Joe's Menage Track Listing:
1. Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?
2. The Illinois ***** Bandit
3. Carolina Hard-Core Ecstacy
4. Lonely Little Girl
5. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
6. What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body?
7. Chunga's Revenge
8. Zoot Allures

(top-40charts.com)

Voluntary Mother Earth's latest CD "Unacceptable Vegetable" was recently reviewed in Tarkus Magazine (issue #46) in Norway. If you understand Nowegian, check out their website and order a copy today to see what they have to say about our music.

Also the same album had been reviewed in iO Pages Magazine (issue # 81) in Netherland. Speak Dutch? Check out their website and get a copy today.

Voluntary Mother Earth TOURS 2009
We're currently planning a US tour for March 2009, and an European tour for May 2009, as well as applying to various festivals for the next summer.

-VME's "YOU CAN BOOK US TOO" Policy-
If you live in a musical community, no matter how small and no matter where it's located on the planet Earth, and would like to see us live, AND if you are part of your local scene, or know the clubs/bars/bands in that scene, YOU can book us too.

Interested? Send me an email at voluntarymotherearth ( at ) gmail.com for details.

Other than that, we've started rehearsing new songs which we hope to record and present to you next year.

Hope to see you on our next tour!

-Aki
Voluntary Mother Earth
-a Japan's premier absurdist rock combo

When I saw local classic rock covers bands Blue Fuses and, later, Foulplay playing gigs at pubs in Egham and Staines on a Saturday night I started to realise that ‘looking like a hardnut’ helps a workaday rock muso, in their daily grind, to get
through the concert without mishap. For example, once you ‘come off stage’ gasping for a pint and maybe a smoke and you will need to stroll through an often hostile audience, whose temperament may not be awfully well disposed to you, to get to the bar for a little drink. In these circumstances, it pays if you don’t flounce through the bar-room wearing a one-piece pink shrug and nylon leotard looking like Darkness singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins. It also helps if you look a bit more authentic  (auf-fentik) wearing, maybe, a sombre pair of dirty jeans and a plain T shirt, a bit of 24 hour old fungus on yer chops and a swagger that says, “do you want some, mate?” Obviously, if there are ladies at the venue, you are likely to get a drink from one of these admirers...but this will also invoke ill-feeling from the other alpha males in the room who will, naturally, suppose you are “out to get their birds” and give you ‘a good seeing to’. All of these complications are far more exaggerated if you are playing a working man’s club or a drinkers boozer and all the punters at the establishment have an-inbuilt and overwhelming desire to “give you a good kicking” because you are a fairy, you are a nonce and you are a general neer-do-well.

So I have come up with a strategy for all you budding rockers out there who hope to get through  to ‘last orders’ without having the contents of your nose splattered all over the flock wallpaper.  I hope it helps you to enjoy your concert safe in the knowledge and belief that you will be able to go out into the crowd for half-time drinks and puffs without fear of a bottle being cracked over your head or, at the very least, being ‘accidently’ tripped-up (ha! ha!) as you head back from the bar with a tray load of drinks for your bandmates.

Before I begin on Rock Hard 101, I do  need to define ‘hardness’. To the average British geezer a person who is ‘rock hard’ is anyone who can give a slap, if required, to a recalcitrant yob who jogs his arm ‘accidently’ as he passes. Or who can wink at a lay-dee but who has the good grace to nod understandingly to the lay-dee’s bloke when he notices. Who can drink 2-3 pints in an interval. Who swaggers to the bog like a cross between John Wayne and Dr Dre and, upon entering said shite-house, swings the door of the bog so violently that it almost tears it off of its hinges. Who rolls his own. Who buys his own pints (and never drinks bottles of ‘poof’ drinks like juice.) Who wears a few livid battle scars on his face and/or arms. Who looks like he can ‘handle himself’ in a bundle. Who talks the talk and, far more importantly, walks the walk.

[The Kinks- dirty student scroungers!]

Lesson 1 - hair

It is best by starting out on this lesson by saying that long hair is a no-no. I know you like it and you need it long so that you can headbang - but most of the gents in the quintessential British boozer either have NO HAIR or have No. 1 cuts.

Their attitude is that any man who has long hair is a hippy and is gay. They also have firm opinions about the cleanliness of long hair... so Bob Marley would not be welcome (notwithstanding his general ‘hardness’) because of his long, dirty,
dreads. Neither would Who vocalist Roger Daltrey during  his ‘Tommy’ days because of his frothy head of golden bubbles.  Although, Roger would be more welcome nowadays because he has almost gone bald.

[Who- Frothy head of bubbles not welcome!]

Lesson 2 - clothes

The Kinks circa 1970 would not be considered rock hard because of their long hippy hair. [See above.] But, worse, their clothes scream-out ‘dirty student scrounger’ and so they would not be welcomed. Neither do you want your clothes to mark you out as some kind of intellectual ‘arty-farty’ prat. So Booker T. & the M.G.’s would not be welcome in any Middlesex public bar and neither would Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Your choice of clothes should either be a) understated and similar to the clientele’s own George at Asda-type choice or b) way over the top and military in attitude. The circa 1966 Yardbirds would be very welcome because their style is understated (their hair could do with a wash and a cut though) as long as they left Eric Clapton at home- he often looked like a bit of a hippy. Nowadays Eric looks too ‘posh’ and so would be given a few smacks just for being ‘a rich city banker’ or words to that effect. In the early 1970’s the band Slade looked the part. In those days, before glam, glitter, top hats and stupid heels, this band looked like what they were... a bunch of brummie hard-nuts with a grudge to settle. In those days you would offer to buy them a drink if they strolled into your bar, not just because you wanted to get ‘in’ with the lads but because you feared for your own safety if you did not.

[Slade- buy them a drink- or else!]

Lesson 3 - T shirt

Noel Jones (lead singer with Blue Fuses) wore a sensible Black Pudding T-shirt to his recent Staines Working Mans club gig the other month. Last Saturday, at the Crown Egham, Noel chose to wear a footie shirt.  Another good choice. It is what I call a ‘camoflage’ choice. If all the punters and punteresses in the pub are football fans you need to blend in. Obviously, a good knowledge of soccer is required  in this case or you could make an almighty blunder. However, I have also seen Noel wearing a Cradle of Filth T-shirt in the past and this kind of shirt would be strictly a no-no in the saloon bar at The Crown. Not only has this type of T-shirt got witchcraft connotations, it also says ‘I am a weird beard and I need my head to be kicked in’ to all the regular drinkers.  So here are a few simple rules about your choice of shirt. a) never wear pink (too poofy); b) never wear sleeveless shirts unless you are a hip-hop star or a rapper (too poofy); c) never wear a ‘funny’T shirt (they won’t like the joke).

[Yardbirds- leave Eric at home!]

Lesson 4 - build

Fat bastards, on the whole, look mean and aggressive ...but...all the geezers in the pub know that they can ‘take you’ easily because you are out of condition. They like to quote Michael Caine in Get Carter ‘You are a big boy, I know, but you’re out of condition, one hit and you’re down’.  Plus, the downside of being ‘of comfortable build’ is that you are less attractive to the lay-dees. So, although Meat Loaf is one big tough slab of meat, he would not be welcome in my pub on the corner because he is a fat git with long hair and stupid ill-fitting pink-hemmed suit. However, Buster Bloodvessel aka Doug Trendle is just a normal beer-drinking fat bloke who wears sensible clothes and has got a ‘boiled head’ (i.e. a boiled egg in the place of a head of hair.) So it is how you make your build work for you that counts. Mama Cass Elliot would also have been very welcome in The Wheatsheaf & Pigeon any time because she is just a normal fat bird with everyday jumble-sale clothes and a big appetite.

Lesson 5- facial hair

Neither Billy Gibbons nor Dusty Hill would be welcome in my local because they both look like Santa Claus on a night off. Your choice of facial hair should not be too gay (Freddie) or too outrageous (Frank Zappa). Frank may well have looked like a
mean sonofabitch back in the day but your eyes would keep being drawn back to the dead hamsters beneath his beady eyes. In the end you would just have to ‘give him a good kicking’ because of his ‘stupid poncy tash’. It is best to keep your choice of facial hair to a minimum. Stubble is great (remember how masculine everyone thought George Michael was back in his Wham! days with his stubble?) Full-on face covering, beards (like The Beach Boys in 15 Big Ones ) make you look scary and killer-like (Charles Manson) or, worse, may make you look like Rolf Harris.

[Beach Boys- killer beards?]

Lesson 6- swagger

Your swagger as you cross the bar is more important than anything else. If you sway across the room in a pink dress teetering on vertiginous high-heels and you look like that fairy Rob Davis out of Mud you will probably get your face kicked in. But you can pull it off if you look like David Daniel “Dee” Snider (Twisted Sister) because, although you are wearing a frock and make-up, you swagger up to the bar looking like a Polish scaffolder on his night off... as if you mean business.

[Dee Sinder- fairy with swagger?]

Conclusion

Lemmy (out of motorhead) is a man’s man. Warts, Nazi clothing, grizzled features, swagger, worn out thin build and a F*** You attitude.

He is the personification of Rock Hard.

© Neil_Mach
Sep 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------
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Now ... ahem ... what's Zappa doin' up there??
Well, if there's any Sixties rocker that embodied the word innovation, it was our late gonzo's group, Mothers of Invention (PS Ya don't use the word THE before it!). These cats could make music outta anything, it seemed!
Sure, they were a bit ... er, risque (yeah ... like Hell's a bit warm, huh?), but their ability to pull all kinds of stuff together (even wrecked bicycles!) to make a decent sound showed pure genius!
And Zappa's dry wit just accented the whole thing. Sorry to use an overworked phrase, but they jes' don't make 'em like they usedta! The cat's still missed (but don'tcha think he resembles "Weird Al" Yankovic on Quaaludes? Hmmm ...)

Now, Mike Nesmith (seen here with Zappa from a Monkees interview; Mike's on the left, in fake nose and wig) -- a good friend of Zap's -- was just as ingenius and innovative!
He wrote many of the pre-Fab Four's songs, stood ground for the band's artistic control, and, after the show left the silver screen, formed Pacific Arts Video which, later, became the prototype for MTV!
But, prior to his First National Band days (remember Joanne? Silver Moon?), there was the Wichita Train Whistle. Imagine, if you will, the Mothers in orchestral form! Add a little Spike Jones and a lot of Nesmith, and you've got one amazing ensemble (be sure to look for The Wichita Train Whistle SINGS!).

Today, electronic gadgets, loops, synths and other automation's taken a lot out of the innovative spirit of rock. There are those who still show it, though, like The Fore or OK! GO, but it just seems rare now.
It's a shame, really ... 'cause ya can't grow unless ya innovate, right?? Otherwise, we'd be in diapers and still suckin' outta a bottle!

And I ain't gonna do that again for another 40 or so years, I figure ...

Hey, listen ... this is a short one to intro the new design, but also 'cause it's gettin' on to 6 in the AM, and bein' up for 24 straight is, in Mike's words, a stone cold drag! So, until tomorrow, remember:

Keep your eyes on the skies, your feet on the ground, your hands to yourself, your nose in the wind, your heart with the music ...
and I'll see ya on the side! flip
(it's already gettin' to me ... geez ...)

Klare Endscheidung in den USA,
'Change' ist angesagt!
Die einzige Ressource, die unendlich vorhanden ist, ist Geld

In God we trust, Djdeutschland

Last weeks trip was unusual, I guess since everyone was in school. It was quiet & empty. Some of the animals were actually moving and doing things! Every other time we go they're asleep - assuming because it's usually 105 degrees out.

Here's the video... and yes, I apologize for the terrible music. Look, it's 10:30 & I've had 3 glasses of wine. Frank Zappa's The Grand WaZOO is the closest song in my iTunes library that comes close to being zoo-like. (I know, it's bad)

I miss Frank.

Don't let his intelligence, charm, and self-effacing manner fool you: Gary Primich was one bad-ass harmonica player. And he was more than competent guitar player, too.   Primich was born April 20, 1958, in Chicago and raised in nearby Gary, IN. He learned harmonica from the masters at the Maxwell Street Market in nearby Chicago as a teen. By the early '80s, however, Primich became dissatisfied with the blues scene in Chicago, and in 1984, shortly after he earned his degree in radio and television from Indiana University, he moved to Austin, TX.   After landing a job at the University of Texas doing electrical work, he began to work as a sideman at Austin area clubs. In 1987, he ran into former Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black, who had also relocated to Austin, and the two formed a band, the Mannish Boys. Their debut album on the now-defunct Amazing Records label was called A L'il Dab'll Do Ya. Though Black left the band, Primich led the Mannish Boys through another album for Amazing, Satellite Rock. Both albums attracted sufficient attention to Primich that he was able to record under his own name for the Amazing label, and in 1991 he cut his self-titled debut for the label. He followed it up with My Pleasure in 1992. After Amazing Records folded, he was picked up by the Chicago-based Flying Fish label. Primich recorded two equally brilliant albums for Fish, and they include Travelin' Mood (1994) and Mr. Freeze (1995).   On his last two albums for Flying Fish (a label that has since been acquired by Rounder Records), Primich's talents as a songwriter really started to come through, and he nurtured his fan base through almost constant touring. By the new millennium, Primich had a deal with the Texas Music Group. He issued the powerfully sassy Dog House Music in spring 2002, while Ridin the Darkhorse came out in 2006. Sadly, just one year later, Primich died in his home of Austin, TX, at the age of 49. - Richard Skelly (allmusic.com)

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Video Clip : Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?

Singer : Frank Zappa

aproveitando o gancho, link para um antigo artigo do Álvaro para quem quer se arriscar na crítica musical

http://www.samba-choro.com.br/s-c/tribuna/samba-choro.0307/0656.html

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Video Clip : Get A Little

Singer : Frank Zappa

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Video Clip : Florentine Pogen

Singer : Frank Zappa