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500 Songs – Episode 186 – Captain Beefheart

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This wonderful series is more about the actual artist than a particular song these days. No matter, it’s always totally listenable and well-researched. Captain Beefheart is a bit of a divisive figure, a bit like Frank Zappa, the subject of another recent lengthy podcast. (The vitriol about Zappa on the 500 Songs Facebook page was horrible, and disappointing, and undeserved for Andrew Hickey the podcast host).

Beefheart and Zappa are often lumped together, a bit like Australia and New Zealand, yet, like the two countries they are close but totally different. I’m a total Zappa fan (with misgivings about a lot of his later music) but I’ve never got in to Beefheart, even though a few of my closest friends and musical colleagues love him. This podcast hasn’t changed my attitude, but I feel a bit more informed, and at least if I feel inclined I have recommendations for the best albums to start with, a common source of puzzlement for people about Zappa – where do I start?

Also I have to disagree with Andrew about one thing – Bongo Fury may be the best Beefheart album of the 70s but it’s not Zappa’s, in my book it’s » Continue Reading.

Albums you never listened to back in the day and now you find out they were wonderful after all

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Ladies (I know there’s not many here) and Gentlemen (there are some here) – I give you –

HENRY COW – Unrest

I bought the 1st album “The Henry Cow Legend” on the basis of seeing them supporting Principal Edwards Magic theatre in March 1973. I though they were extraordinary. What parts of this music are composed, what is improvised? An aesthetic that drives much of my musical appreciation to this day.

Anyway I missed the 2nd album, I’d left the UK to be a hippie traveler in Europe, and when I got back to NZ later that year the record stores weren’t exactly groaning with piles of HC albums.

Then recently I heard their second album, “Unrest”. It is truly fabulous. This track “Half Asleep Half Awake” exemplifies what I love about them. A peculiarly English piano intro, reminiscent of the piano intro to the Bonzos’ “Rawlinson End”, followed by a piece of chamber music which seems to have no precedent in terms of musical style or reference. Possibly an English version of Frank Zappa’s instrumentals such as Uncle Meat.

ATM: The bizarre world of Frank Zappa UK dates

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The holographic (well, pepper’s Ghost with bells and whistles) Frank Zappa tour is happening this May. The band in itself is pretty astonishing (Ray White, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Robert Martin, Ed Mann, and, sometimes, steve vai) so would be worth it without visuals. Whether good or cheesy, this looks like an evening well spent for Zapparians.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/frank-zappa-hologram-tour-is-coming-to-the-uk-in-may

Supporting the legacy of FZ

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I’m kind of assuming that everyone here who has an interest in Frank Zappa will be aware of this, but if not, this guy Alex Winter is serious and is doing a great job.

The deadline is this Friday to get to a million bucks as the first part of an ongoing project to save the deteriorating tapes in Zappa’s vast vault of recorded stuff. Then there’s a documentary to be made.

The Zappa family are supporting this, and it’s worth a look and a few bucks of anyone’s hard-earned for anyone even vaguely interested in keeping Zappa’s legacy alive.

And if you hate Frank Zappa and have for some reason clicked on this link, there’s plenty of other stuff here to talk about.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexwinter/frank-zappa/posts/1538463#

What’s your obsession?

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My current one is Sudoku. I just love the challenge to my intellect – it’s all about logic, and I can’t believe that I can’t get my head around it, given that I think I’m an intelligent person.

In the last couple of days I have had a couple of breakthroughs, after buying a “how to solve” book, and also using an iPhone app that shows you different techniques.

In the past my obsessions have been musical – Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Thelonious Monk, Erik Satie, and so on.

Is “obsession” human nature? (We’re talking First World problems here of course). I recently stayed with some old friends and as I retreated to the couch to indulge in my latest obsession this question was seriously asked. I don’t know. But I’m happy in my little obsessive world…

Hey Joe – Where You Going With That Gun In Your Hand?

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C-G-D-A-E

Those are the chords to Hey Joe. Along with House Of The Rising Sun it’s one of those simple songs that nearly every budding guitarist learns how to play very early in the uphill struggle to rock stardom.

Perhaps the most famous version of Hey Joe is by Jimi Hendrix. It was Jimi’s very first single, recorded as a slow, lazy ballad in late 1966 not long after he arrived in London. But the song has a long and illustrious history going back much further than Hendrix.

It’s thought that Hey Joe was written in 1962 by Billy Roberts, an obscure California-based folk singer, but even that is shrouded in uncertainty.

The Leaves, The Standells, The Surfaris, Love, The Music Machine, and The Byrds all recorded versions before Jimi and the song became an LA garage band standard, in much the same way as Louie, Louie had before it.

The song became so ubiquitous around LA, usually in fast-paced, speeded-up form that perhaps inevitably, Frank Zappa lampooned it as Flower Punk a track from the Mothers’ 1967 album We’re Only In It For The Money. It’s thought that Frank based Flower Punk on The Leaves version » Continue Reading.

Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow! Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe (‘) Turns 42

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Not quite as significant as The Byrds’ Turn, Turn, Turn half century perhaps, but Frank’s 18th LP was released on this day in 1974.

It was his biggest seller in America, peaking at #10 and is one of the most accessible Zappa albums in his vast catalogue.

Along with Frank’s previous album Overnite Sensation it was also one of two FZ albums released in Quadraphonic, the new-fangled four channel system which fizzled out shortly after.

Continued in comments

http://i.imgur.com/5HUHLVz.jpg

Why do I not post here any more?

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I love this place, or I thought I did.

But somehow recently I have not felt inclined to post anything, either as a comment or starting a post.

It’s partly because I’m 12 hours behind (ie I am in Australia) – there are often wonderful raving loony conversations that I discover first thing in the morning and by the time I think of something vaguely worthwhile to say it’s all over.

But also, I don’t know, something’s gone, and I’d be the first to admit it’s “just me”, maybe I just don’t care enough about debating essential music questions of the moment. Or political or social questions. Or maybe I’m just too busy with having a life, which is not to suggest at all that the regular posters (the clique?) don’t.

That’s all. I don’t expect anyone to make any comment, I’ll quietly be my own thread killer.

I’ll still check in, cos I love you all.

But just wondering if anyone else feels anything similar.

A very together 14 year old girl

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Even if you dislike FZ, just have a look at this to check out Moon, Zappa’s daughter, and her – what seems to me – amazingly together and confident persona. I think it’s a credit to absent father Frank and most probably ever-present mother Gail that she is so poised and assured, and funny, in a very honest way.

I’d like to think my daughters could have been this composed in that situation, but I’ll never know.