Zappa Recommendations ?

@stuartk There are many reasons to hold FZ in high regard as a musical force, but his complete disregard and rejection of the high culture/low culture divide is certainly one of them. These cultural categories are associated with class, status and power within our society. Things Zappa questioned and ridiculed at every opportunity. In the end all musical sounds, no matter in what style, were nothing but ’wiggling air molecules’. His job as a composer was to ’organize the material’ towards an intrinsic musical logic. For Zappa that logic was ultimately ’anything as long as it sounds good’. If that meant putting a Stravinsky quote next to a doowop line, than so be it.  The sounding result doesn’t fall inside any established or accepted cultural category, so whether you like it or not is entirely up to you.

@edgewear:

"There are many reasons to hold FZ in high regard as a musical force, but his complete disregard and rejection of the high culture/low culture divide is certainly one of them. These cultural categories are associated with class, status and power within our society"

Thanks for providing useful context. 

My Dad considered european classical music superior to all others, so I can relate to the "highbrow" attitude. Having grown up a poor, marginalized Jewish kid in NYC, no doubt this attitude was part of his strong desire to improve his "class, status and power".   

"His job as a composer was to ’organize the material’ towards an intrinsic musical logic. For Zappa that logic was ultimately ’anything as long as it sounds good’. If that meant putting a Stravinsky quote next to a doowop line, than so be it.  The sounding result doesn’t fall inside any established or accepted cultural category".

This irreverence regarding common stylistic boundaries is one of the things with which I struggle the most, listening to Zappa. To me, it more often sounds jarring than "logical". 

 "...so whether you like it or not is entirely up to you".

I'm not convinced our aesthetic tastes are a matter of conscious choice, if that's what you're suggesting but that's a debate for another day. I very much appreciate all of your contributions to this thread!

port this

@heretobuy:

Thanks for the suggestions. 

Zappa's "Blessed Relief" is, in MHO, simply incredible.  Also "Twenty Small Cigars" and "Big Swifty" are Zappa at his most genius.

@pfeiffer:

Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo are two Cds I plan to buy.

I haven't checked out Chunga's Revenge, yet. . .