Frank Zappa - Documentary (part 5 of 6)

This great documentary program is called "Ein Leben als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa".
Written & Directed by Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher (DoRo, 1993).
The program was broadcast in ZDF, Germany (ZDF = Second German Television).
Please note that it's narrated into germen, but it's really doesn't spoil the enjoyment of this program (it is told by none germen speaker).

For any incorrect information, please notify me.

enjoy

Category:

Music

Tags:

• zappa

[digitalshark]

Shame on anyone who can include the Grateful Dead, the kings of aimless noodling, in any conversation about Frank Zappa. This is not even apples and oranges. This apples and orangutans.

[HytekFred]

Great stuff from the best guitarist after Jimi died, and one of the best contemporary composers. Lucky enough to see him 5 times. Frank will live on for a long long time. Q: where are parts 1 & 6?

[shepardmccallum]

Frank was known to respect the Grateful Dead a great deal. He felt that they were one of the few acts of the era that actually served the music and weren't just slaves to a 'market'. They were also not concerned with the Hit Parade, their label, or even their fans. They only cared for making music- toured relentlessly for almost 30 years, and it wasn't cause they needed the money. If they're not to your taste, you're not alone, lots of people hate the Dead. Frank Zappa just wasn't one of them.

[ranXerox09]

2:06 Aerobics in Bondage!!!!!

[jancivil]

@mrbrianmccarthy That's correct. But the style he had to adhere to, to function, is IMO not the most substantial music, melodically/formally. There's people of high station enforcing their pretentions on it,which someone who has no historical perspective should look up. Mozart's letters bear out that he was a frustrated artist ahead of his time, playing the game and kissing the asses where he had to Someone who loves some ass-kissing aesthetic may be offended by a time where it isn't so.

[jancivil]

@mrbrianmccarthy Mozart was the most progressive music in that milieu. This happens where someone has an advanced level of talent, in his case seeming like he had past lifetimes experience with it. The problem for me is the elevation of that music and in the context of disrespecting a similiary progressive musician of OUR ACTUAL TIME because the history book says so, because of a lot of baggage I threw out while I was at conservatory.

[mrbrianmccarthy]

@jancivil Dont include Mozart in the "Paltry and insipid"! Mozart wrote light music,but he also wrote very deep and serious music as well.And the fact that many people still love his music in all the genres he wrote over 200 years later is a testament to the depth of his genius. BTW,Mozart was a freemason,which was a very dangerous thing to be in the times he lived in.Frank Zappa(also a genius) was also a very outspoken critic of the Govt. Perhaps they're not so different after all.

[mrbrianmccarthy]

@tbone76a We're all priusoners of the times we live in. Frank was a very cynical guy,but he had very good reason to be,given the times HE lived in.And Mozart wanted to do more radical music,but wasnt able to do it and make a living.Frank would've been playing the harpsichord or the violin had he lived in the 18th century,just as Mozart would've played the electric guitar and the synth today.Perhaps they're a lot more similar than you might imagine. ; )

[jfleminator]

@digitalshark why pick on the grateful dead? the dead weren't any more aimless than some of Frank Zappa's more "atonal" jams.