Well, let's see: FZ was a workaholic, he ate unhealthy food, he wasn't physically very active in his lifestyle and yes, he smoked like a smokestack. Okay, so maybe a single factor didn't cause cancer, but the overall bigger picture does suggest an unhealthy lifestyle susceptible to cancer.
For all the "he smoked so he got cancer" people, they have yet to find a link between smoking and PROSTATE CANCER, which is what killed Frank. He was misdiagnosed by his urologist, by the time the docs got it right it was too late for him. Malpractice killed frank, not smoking.
@BurnDownTheCapital Someone exposed to mercury at the levels you described would have died of organ failure or some other horrible death long before they died of cancer. Perhaps other chemical exposure in his younger years may have, along with the smoking, contributed to the cancer. But I have no reason to believe that story about playing with mercury in his bedroom. The only Mercury I know about in Zappa's life was Mercury-Phonogram.
he ripped the piss out of Hendrix, Morrison, Donovan, Joplin, the bird from the Mamas and Papas all in one go, now shouldn't you just admire his sheer chutztpah
How about: "We can feed FZ a cigarette that he just calls 'food.' And pat him on the back when he complains about his prostate." For such a musical genius, he was a complete dumbass when it came to cigarettes. Died just short of his 53rd birthday. Yeah, Frank. Cigarettes are just food.
@brucenator Not defending cigarettes, but when he was a kid, his dad worked for the military developing chemical weapons. He would bring mercury home for the kids to play with; franks bedroom carpet was soaked with it. It could have just as well been that.
@BurnDownTheCapital "He would bring mercury home for the kids to play with..."
I've never heard that story. Sounds completely made up. If it were true, Frank would have had seizures and died of mercury poisoning at a very young age. Besides...
@usernameregrets The fact that the story about playing with mercury in his bedroom appeared in his autobiography 'The Real Frank Zappa Book' doesn't make it true. It just means Frank had a vivid imagination. He also called cigarettes "food." It still holds true: anyone exposed to mercury at the levels described would have died of organ failure or some other horrible death long before they died of cancer. More likely he just used his memories of "mercury exposure" as a excuse for smoking.
@brucenator Not necessarily. My dad and his friends used to play with mercury as kids. Hours of fun. The danger of mercury poisoning is only an issue in enclosed, unventilated environments or if you eat it.
@thecreepingmess Which was exactly the point of my original comment. Zappa was a musical genius but he was dumb all over when it came to cigarettes. He said, "Cigarettes are food." For someone to make additional excuses for him because he said he played with mercury as a kid in his bedroom (as if that's some kind of proven cause of cancer) is idiotic at best and ignores the fact that Zappa was a chronic smoker. It's safe to say Zappa died of cancer at age 52 because he smoked like a smokestack.
@BurnDownTheCapital Besides, mercury is know to cause lots of problems, but it is not a significant contributor to cancer, and hardly an explanation for a chronic smoker who died of cancer at age 52. What I DO know for a fact is that Frank smoked like a smokestack. Listen, I love Frank Zappa (how could you not?) but he called cigarettes "food." And that's just plain dumb all over, near and far.
I see a lot of recommendations for Watermelon. It's a cute song, give it a listen. Then get busy with Black Napkins.
Zappa is a long term taste acquisition. It's unlikely that you'll embrace it quickly. I recommend allocating serious time to get a fair exposure. Besides, Frank was all over the board, from doo-wop to metal to classical.
Ultimately, whether you dig it or scorn it, you will get one thing - in al of those disciplines, there was no one like him. He was a multi-discipline Hendrix.
interesting how he changed the lyrics in the first verse, notably it starts here as "we" and on the mothers of prevention album "they" ... I wonder why
I love Frank so much, but even I think this kind of makes him look bitter.
Its funny how he liked Jimi enough to have him on the cover of Were Only In It For The Money , he thought Keith moon was funny enough to be in 200 Motels, & he liked Janis enough to have sex with her.
As a Doors fan aswell I dont find the parody of Jim Funny, but Ill let Frank away with it.
I wouldn't say bitter, I WOULD say extremely resentful. He was resentful of all the bogus nostalgia & mythologizing that was always happening about the 60s, when he himself lived thru those years and saw that most of these "rock legend" people weren't anything special (I would say to put it lightly......).
Alpesinger, obviously this song is about the self-proclaimed "hippies" who blindly followed the mentioned artists and the "counterculture" that ran concurrently in the heyday mentioned in this song. Once again, for the millionth time, someone is offended by Frank for the wrong reason!
Take a minute to listen more carefully people, PLEASE!
Well, let's see: FZ was a workaholic, he ate unhealthy food, he wasn't physically very active in his lifestyle and yes, he smoked like a smokestack. Okay, so maybe a single factor didn't cause cancer, but the overall bigger picture does suggest an unhealthy lifestyle susceptible to cancer.
stereom 1 month ago
For all the "he smoked so he got cancer" people, they have yet to find a link between smoking and PROSTATE CANCER, which is what killed Frank. He was misdiagnosed by his urologist, by the time the docs got it right it was too late for him. Malpractice killed frank, not smoking.
PhotoRon286 2 months ago
Un dio della musica che troppo presto Dio ha voluto con se...
TheStruzzetto 4 months ago
What a cute little drummer.
SydCosmic 6 months ago
Ike Willis on lead vocals is something special...too bad he wasn't there
bonesnuts44 8 months ago
What the f-u-u-ck
laszlov2 10 months ago
Is the whole gig available to buy or download anywhere at all? Cheers.
BoabBarca 1 year ago
@BoabBarca The Torture Never Stops DVD.
brucenator 3 months ago
@brucenator Cheers!
BoabBarca 3 months ago
No one can do it like you used to
If you listen to the radio
And what they play today
You can tell right away:
All those assholes really need you!
Truer words were never spoken. What an amazing musical force.
telemov 1 year ago
@BurnDownTheCapital Someone exposed to mercury at the levels you described would have died of organ failure or some other horrible death long before they died of cancer. Perhaps other chemical exposure in his younger years may have, along with the smoking, contributed to the cancer. But I have no reason to believe that story about playing with mercury in his bedroom. The only Mercury I know about in Zappa's life was Mercury-Phonogram.
brucenator 1 year ago
he ripped the piss out of Hendrix, Morrison, Donovan, Joplin, the bird from the Mamas and Papas all in one go, now shouldn't you just admire his sheer chutztpah
krasnyploshad 1 year ago
How about: "We can feed FZ a cigarette that he just calls 'food.' And pat him on the back when he complains about his prostate." For such a musical genius, he was a complete dumbass when it came to cigarettes. Died just short of his 53rd birthday. Yeah, Frank. Cigarettes are just food.
brucenator 1 year ago
@brucenator Not defending cigarettes, but when he was a kid, his dad worked for the military developing chemical weapons. He would bring mercury home for the kids to play with; franks bedroom carpet was soaked with it. It could have just as well been that.
BurnDownTheCapital 1 year ago
@BurnDownTheCapital "He would bring mercury home for the kids to play with..."
I've never heard that story. Sounds completely made up. If it were true, Frank would have had seizures and died of mercury poisoning at a very young age. Besides...
brucenator 1 year ago
@brucenator it's in his autobiography, "the real frank zappa book".
usernameregrets 5 months ago
@usernameregrets The fact that the story about playing with mercury in his bedroom appeared in his autobiography 'The Real Frank Zappa Book' doesn't make it true. It just means Frank had a vivid imagination. He also called cigarettes "food." It still holds true: anyone exposed to mercury at the levels described would have died of organ failure or some other horrible death long before they died of cancer. More likely he just used his memories of "mercury exposure" as a excuse for smoking.
brucenator 5 months ago
@brucenator Not necessarily. My dad and his friends used to play with mercury as kids. Hours of fun. The danger of mercury poisoning is only an issue in enclosed, unventilated environments or if you eat it.
thecreepingmess 3 months ago
@thecreepingmess Which was exactly the point of my original comment. Zappa was a musical genius but he was dumb all over when it came to cigarettes. He said, "Cigarettes are food." For someone to make additional excuses for him because he said he played with mercury as a kid in his bedroom (as if that's some kind of proven cause of cancer) is idiotic at best and ignores the fact that Zappa was a chronic smoker. It's safe to say Zappa died of cancer at age 52 because he smoked like a smokestack.
brucenator 3 months ago
@BurnDownTheCapital Besides, mercury is know to cause lots of problems, but it is not a significant contributor to cancer, and hardly an explanation for a chronic smoker who died of cancer at age 52. What I DO know for a fact is that Frank smoked like a smokestack. Listen, I love Frank Zappa (how could you not?) but he called cigarettes "food." And that's just plain dumb all over, near and far.
brucenator 1 year ago
0:37 WTF?yoda?
Zappa551 1 year ago
@Zappa551 It was a Halloween show.
LuneyTune72 1 year ago
The world is less colorful without you Frank.
hisvorpalsword 1 year ago 13
This is a great video,go Steve !
sider420 1 year ago
Ik like this song.
Natnekker 1 year ago
@Natnekker it makes you wanna return to Joe's Garage :)
Doenietmeermee 1 year ago
Thank you for uploading!
Natnekker 1 year ago
Anyone recommend any other of his stuff, from a Zappa novice?
Thanks.
seanreillyireland 2 years ago
Watermelon in Easter Hay.
Seriously.
GUInterface 2 years ago
I see a lot of recommendations for Watermelon. It's a cute song, give it a listen. Then get busy with Black Napkins.
Zappa is a long term taste acquisition. It's unlikely that you'll embrace it quickly. I recommend allocating serious time to get a fair exposure. Besides, Frank was all over the board, from doo-wop to metal to classical.
Ultimately, whether you dig it or scorn it, you will get one thing - in al of those disciplines, there was no one like him. He was a multi-discipline Hendrix.
decapitatespammers 1 year ago
@seanreillyireland Try the CD 'One Size Fits All' or the DVD 'The Dub Room Special'. Highly recommended!
brucenator 1 year ago
your haze was so purple and your axis was bold as love
DGoldmay 2 years ago 4
interesting how he changed the lyrics in the first verse, notably it starts here as "we" and on the mothers of prevention album "they" ... I wonder why
jeemobon 2 years ago
2:17 What the f-u-u-ck in 3 part harmony.
Brilliant!!!
imyourtrash 2 years ago 14
I love Frank so much, but even I think this kind of makes him look bitter.
Its funny how he liked Jimi enough to have him on the cover of Were Only In It For The Money , he thought Keith moon was funny enough to be in 200 Motels, & he liked Janis enough to have sex with her.
As a Doors fan aswell I dont find the parody of Jim Funny, but Ill let Frank away with it.
Alpesinger 2 years ago
I wouldn't say bitter, I WOULD say extremely resentful. He was resentful of all the bogus nostalgia & mythologizing that was always happening about the 60s, when he himself lived thru those years and saw that most of these "rock legend" people weren't anything special (I would say to put it lightly......).
FunnyDigestion 2 years ago 3
Alpesinger, obviously this song is about the self-proclaimed "hippies" who blindly followed the mentioned artists and the "counterculture" that ran concurrently in the heyday mentioned in this song. Once again, for the millionth time, someone is offended by Frank for the wrong reason!
Take a minute to listen more carefully people, PLEASE!
WazWarptonMyspace 2 years ago 2
he doesn't offend me, i love frank.
Alpesinger 2 years ago
I love this song. "They were mellow, they were yellow, they were wearing smelly blankets, they were Donovan fans!" :)
BaldViking 2 years ago
Yes, some of my favorite Zappa lyrics!
Bopalena 2 years ago
Zappa come back, Thoughs assholes really need you..
BlogsofWoolhouse 3 years ago
To teach them how to spell...
EnemaBandit 3 years ago 3
What words and why? You know what it means, don't you? Thoughs is a beautiful word.
That's right, folks! We talkin' de hypocritical Jeezis-jerknuh parodise dey call LAS VAGRUS NEVADRUH!
BlogsofWoolhouse 3 years ago