Zappa

So I was listening to some of my music on iTunes in shuffle today and I was reminded of Frank Zappa’s “Apostrophe (’).”   I’ve always liked the album for its musical goodness, especially the complexity of the composition (the changes in song structure are pretty ridiculous).  Anyway, I suggest the the album to anyone interested in Zappa because I think it’s the bomb plus it features some great guitar work on Zappa’s part.  It’s also one of the strangest albums I’ve ever heard, he’s certainly a quirky dude.                                                                                                                                          

But I was thinking that this type of storytelling (the album is a pretty crazy fictional story) is a prime example of the multimedia stuff we have been working on.  He uses bizarre sounds with his instruments to really illustrate and animate the lyrics.  He also uses his voice well – especially on Cosmik Debris – where the words are truly tasty (I can’t really think of a better way to describe his voice).                                                                                                                        

Here are some lines that I really like from the album:

“Is that a real poncho or a Sears poncho…Hmmm no fooling”  

“Knock the little jockeys off the rich people’s lawns and before they get up I’ll be gone”  

“Whereupon I proceeded to take that mittenful of the deadly yellow snow crystals and rub it all into his beady little eyes with a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mudshark in your mythology here it goes,the circular motion, now Rub It!”                                                                    

 

I think that this album is a great example of creative and unique multimedia storytelling.  Some artists have tried to adopt the same storytelling style that Zappa personalized – Phish are just one example.  Not all of their songs are stories, but there are certainly some that have traces of Zappa in them: The Lizards, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent, Reba (kind of), Punch You In The Eye, and the Squirming Coil are just some examples (I’d suggest checking those out).  Trey actually invented a land that he calls Gamehenge that is ruled by an evil man, Wilson, who is referenced multiple times in many of the aforementioned songs (there is a quest for the “helping friendly book”)….David Bromberg also has some pretty cool tunes that have a storytelling vibe.                                                                                                          

After thinking about these things during the day, I have learned that this whole creative atmosphere that we have set up in class has really started to rub off on me (I am now looking at songwriters in a writerly context).  I think it’s really cool to look at song as a type of multimedia storytelling.  Some artists tell stories through song, and the rhythms, beats, and riffs don’t fully bring the tales to life….I think these artists are phenomenal exceptions.  Let me know if any of you know other artists that really capture stories well in their songs.

 

100 Words

Lightning always comes in the summer, especially at the beach.  I used to be afraid when I was driving my bike home, watching ominous clouds approaching from different directions.  Calm.  It was hot, sticky, and thick, and the clouds were fast, devouring nice skies.  I could see lightning – sideways, vertical, thin, branching, trouble – and my old pea green bike would tremble as I pushed the pedals as fast I could, digging my feet into the rubber and pushing them back.  The winds would escalate and a pinkish sky would lead to darkness and wind, but soon I was home.