Dr Paul Carr

Glamorgan University

Some Basic Questions For Musicological Research Who Is Frank Zappa? Why Frank Zappa? Zappa and the And: Key Essays in the

Contextualisation of his Legacy Why is his music Semiotically Interesting? Basic Ontological Model Primary and Secondary Significations Examples of other artists who have employed

similar techniques. Conclusions and Questions

1. Can music communicate anything beyond notes, sounds and textures? How/Why/Why Not?

2. Is this ‘meaning’ universal or personal (‘Good’ or ‘Agreeable’)?

3. Is the meaning in the formal aspects of the work?4. What ‘caused’ the music and/or meaning (the author,

society, our reception, technology, etc)? What where the intentions/motivations?

5. What does the music inform me about the band or composer (psychoanalysis)?

6. Does the music relate to the ‘Transcendental’?7. Where exactly is the ontological presence of the

music?

1. Can we/how do we communicate this meaning to others?

2. What voice is analysing the music (composer, producer, performer, listener)?

3. How does the ‘theory’ we adopt impact our approach, and how aware are we of how we use theory?

4. How aware or we of the cultural/historical/sociological ‘gap’ between ourselves and the music we are examining?

1. (For Me) A unique case study in Inter-Textuality.2. Represents ontological interest from a formalist

and ‘extra-musical’ perspective.3. Zappa’s work not only represents a confluence of

styles, but a prolonged and considered interchange of musical traditions – Rare in Popular Music!

4. Bridges the gap between low and high art.5. Work includes interesting mix of Primary and

Secondary meanings.6. Interesting mix of ‘Intentional’ and ‘Extensional’

meaning (musical meaning in recording/ performance process or the score?).

7. Interesting perception of time, space and place.8. His music has low ‘convention probability’.

“Anything, anytime, for no reason at all” (Frank Zappa)

Zappa and Horror: Screamin' at the Monster Zappa and his Cultural Legacy: Authorship, Influences and

Expressive Frontiers in Frank Zappa’s Movies  Zappa and the Razor: Editing, Sampling and Musique

Concrète Zappa and Religion: Music is the Best Zappa and Satire: From Conceptual Absurdism to the

Perversity of Politics Zappa and Resistance: The Pleasure Principle Zappa and the Recording Studio: His incorporation of time,

space and place in performing, composing, arranging his music

Zappa and the Freaks: Recording Wild Man Fischer Zappa and Modernism: An extended study of “Brown Shoes

Don’t Make It” Zappa and the Avant-Garde: Towards a Way-Out of 20th

Century Art

Object/Project Conceptual Continuity Musical Quotation Xenochrony Archetypal American Musical Icons

His perceived difference between the completed work of art in a recording and the ongoing process of redefining it

Many Zappa compositions are recomposed and defined over many years.

Joseph Grigley: Differentiates between ‘Texts’ and ‘Works’: a text is ‘constantly undergoing continuous and discontinuous transience as it ages’ (Textuality: Art ,Theory, and Textual Criticism (Michigan, 1995), p. 1.

They evolve into ‘Works’!

‘How Could I be Such a Fool’ (Freak Out (66), Crusing with Ruben and the Jets (67)

The Black Page (Lather (78), (YCDTOSA vol 4 (91), Make a Jazz Noise Here (91))

Meridian Arts Ensemble

Le Concert Impromtu

Ensemble Amrosius

Musical and non musical conceptual gestures were embedded into his entire creative output.

For example: ‘Canine Conceptual Continuity’ was included in

his music and compositions - such as: “Dirty Love” (1974) “Stinkfoot” (1974) “The Poodle Lecture” (1974) “Cheepnis” (1974) Also extended to album covers such as -

Louie Louie’, The Rite Of Spring, ‘ Duke Of Earl’, ‘Baby Love’ The Planets Suite, ‘God Bless America’, Petrushka, ‘ White Christmas’ The Soldiers Tale

‘Plastic People’ (Absolutely Free, 1967) ‘Amnesia Vivace’ (Absolutely Free, 1967) ‘Invocation and Ritual Dance of the

Young Pumpkin’ (Absolutely Free, 1967) ‘Uncle Bernie’s Farm’ (Absolutely Free,

1967)

Fragments of this track are found throughout his compositional portfolio.

For example:

Original Track The Kingsman

Examples of Zappa’s use. “Plastic People” (Absolutely Free) “Son of Suzy Cream cheese” (Absolutely

Free) 1967 “Florentine Pogen” (One Size Fits All)

1974 “Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk” (Broadway

The Hard Way) 1984

Zappa’s terminology for the semiotic impact of music. Examples included short quotes to songs such as ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Wipe Out’ etc.

‘Jesus Thinks You’re Jerk’ (Broadway the Hardway, 1988) - ‘The Twilight Zone’ (4:20),

Zappa: “When a novelist invents a character. If the character is a good one, he takes on a life of his own. Why should he get to go to only one party?” (Zappa and Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 139).

‘Help I’m A Rock’, The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!. Note the inclusion of the short segment of ‘Who Are The Brain Police’ (from the same album) between 2:02 and 2:08.

‘Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague’, The Mothers of Invention, Uncle Meat, Rykodisc, 69741 (1969). Note the studio manipulated extract from Zappa’s movie score ‘The Worlds Greatest Sinner’ (1962) from 2:30.

Civilization Phaze III which merges music from the early 1990’s with material from Thing-Fish, The Perfect Stranger, and Lumpy Gravy. ‘

“This collection is not chronological”, - any band from any year can be (and often is) edited to the performance of any other band from any other year – sometimes in the middle of a song” (Taken from YCDTOSA Volume 4, 1988)

Procedure that fuses music, performances and musicians from different time, spaces and places.

“Friendly Little Finger” (Zoot Allures 1974) Bass and guitar recorded together, and combined with drums from another track (“The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution” from Sleep Dirt 1979)

11/4 bass part extracted from a performance in Gothenburg in 1974, with a 4/4 drum part recorded in 1976 in studio conditions

Results in obvious Genre Synecdoche's and.. More ‘obtuse’ relationships between signifier

and signified..... What Barthes described as ‘The Third

Meaning’... “I do not know what it’s signified is, at least I

am unable to give it a name, but I can see clearly the traits, the signifying accidents of which this – consequently incomplete – sign is composed.” (Barthes, Image Music Text, p. 53).

Music (channel)

Emitter ReceiverIntended

‘message’‘adequate’ response

Basic Musicological Model

ImmanentPoietic Ethesic

Primary Secondary

Middleton believes Primary Signification to be rare in popular music: Indicative examples given include ‘animal noises’ in the Beatles ‘Good Morning’ or motor bike noises in The Shangri-Las ‘Leader of the Pack’.

Provides 3 types of PS - Quotation, Stylistic Allusion and Parody

Quotation already covered with Zappa – but what about Stylistic Allusion and Parody?

Crusing with Ruben and the Jets and Burnt Weeny Sandwich - overt influences of Do-wop and his hero’s such as Varèse and Stravinsky.

‘Love of My Life’ ‘Igors Boogie’

Middleton regards , Destructive Parody to be very rare but ‘fundamental to the work of Frank Zappa’, (Middleton, Studying Popular Music, p. 220).

Zappa influenced by Spike Jones, would ‘destructively’ allude to musicians such as Bob Dylan (‘Flakes’, Sheik Yerbouti) or Al Di Meola, (‘Peaches III’, on Tinseltown Rebellion)

Or politicians such as Richard Nixon (‘Dickie’s Such An Asshole’, Broadway the Hardway).

His ‘Rock Star’ persona played a substantial part in informing his audience how to categorise his work

Utilised the archetypal clichés of the Rock tradition to compartmentalise his work into as lucrative a direction as possible. For Example:

‘Hog Heaven’

Mo ‘N Herbs Vacation, First Movement (London Symphony Orchestra vol 1 & 2)

‘The The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet’ and ‘It Can’t Happen Here’. (Freak Out, 1966)

Conducting band since mid 1950’s – entitled it ‘Conduction’

Gave instructions (specific and improvisatory) to band and sometimes audiences!

Alluded subliminal messages regarding his dominant hierarchical position and musical merit

Peaches and Regalia

Combined Conducting

Is the music Rock, Jazz or Classical?

High or low art? Controlled or open? Improvisatory or

notated? Serious or frivolous? Complex or simple? Elitist or vernacular?

Rock founded style/genre usually present, but his constant interface with other styles and genres make describing his music unusually problematic.

Can be described with Bakhtin’s notion of centripetal and centrifugal forces.

In Zappa’s case, Rock is the centripetal force, with other other sub styles/traditions (Doo- wop, Reggae, Blues, etc) acting as centrifugal “destabilising forces”.

However - Zappa’s use of music, and involvement with music outside of the tradition has a more profound effect on the stylistic balance and ultimate reception of his music.

Zappa’s long-term relationship with contemporary classical music represents not just a juxtaposition of style, but a confluence of traditions

Zappa’s long term incorporation of classical music was intentionally progressive – he stated in 1968:

“Stravinsky in rock n’ roll is like a get-acquainted offer… It’s a gradual progression to bring in my own ‘serious’ music”

Explicitly but subtly integrated classical gestures into his early portfolio, gradually increasing the propensity of the statements in individual compositions, and eventually albums

Song For My Father (Horace Silver)

Ricky Don’t Lose That Number

Monteverdi - incorporating material from L’Orfeo in the 1610 Vespers

Prokoviev’s 3rd Symphony - instrumental version of his opera Fiery Angel

Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Save The Life Of My Child’ (Bookends 1968) - ‘samples’ part of ‘The Sound of Silence’

Buffalo Springfield’s live version of ‘Broken Arrow’ incorporates a direct recording of their ‘Mr Soul’

Charles Ives Sampling of other artists’ work pervasive

throughout Hip Hop and some dance music.

Dr Paul Carr

Glamorgan University