Zappa Recommendations ?

Hot Rats which is a terrific intro to Zappa’s world

@stuartk the likeness with dadaïst art is not far off the mark. FZ definitely had an absurdist outlook on life. He even called his non musical business ventures 'intercontinental absurdities'. If you're open to a new 'take' on Zappa's lyrics, you should make an effort to read the book "The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play" by Ben Watson, a British literature scholar. I won't spoil the fun by saying any more about its contents, but intertextual connections are made from ancient Greek tragedies to James Joyce and all stops in between. you won't believe what you read.

The author apparently was dead serious, but Zappa himself couldn't stop laughing. Ill as he was at the time, he even considered making a project out of it, inviting the author to his house and have him record a spoken word document 'with the fancy English accent and all', perhaps with musical embellishments to be added later. Regrettably this never came to be, it would have been hilarious.

 Does Humor Belong in Music? You bet.

@tvad:

I can appreciate the unique capacity for comedy to unearth truths.

@tuberist: 

"Hot Rats which is a terrific intro to Zappa's world"

In fact, I began listening to "Hot Rats" last night. I enjoyed the instrumental portions but the vocals in "Willie The Pimp", no. It's a perfect example of the "cartoonish" aspect that I find so unappealing. 

@edgewear:

"Does Humor Belong in Music? You bet"

I can't possible make a case against this.

All I can say is that I prefer a more straightforward, sober point of view. You sound like a very well-read person so I'll mention that my favorite author is Wendell Berry. His novels are certainly not without humor but either do they consist of a series of jokes, which is how Zappa's lyrics strike me. And once I've heard a joke, why would I want to hear it over and over? 

It's entirely possible I'm simply too literal-minded and unsophisticated to appreciate Zappa and that's OK.  

I meant to type:

"... but NEITHER do they consist of a series of jokes..."