BetaFunk

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1370413133' post='2100374'] there is an obvious paradox here that makes this whole argument almost inevitably subjective there are very very few artists with such a massive and diverse catalogue of music anybody's comments will be subjective in as much as they will only relate to the FZ material they are familiar with anybody on here (or anywhere) claiming they were sufficiently familiar with his entire catalogue to make musicologically sound and objective opinions is probably some sort of musical crazy cat lady - ive been listening to FZ for the last 37 years and I would say i know about 25% of it very well - i would estimate about 50% of the catalogue i have never listened to oh and he's such a beatles rip-off isnt he? look what he did with the sgt pepper/only in it for the money album covers [/quote] Of course the Zappa back catalogue is enormous but the official albums up to his death totalled around 45. I have over 35 of these and have listened to most of the others. Listening to 45 LPs over a period of 27 years isn't difficult. Most peoples opinions are based on these 40+ LPs and not the numerous posthumous releases so that whittles it down the essential albums. The Beatles mention is interesting though as i suppose we are all familiar with most of the Fab Four's recorded work so everyone can comment on it but if you've listened to a lot of Zappa LPs you obviously liked it in the first place. You wouldn't have heard much (if any) of Zappa's music on the radio like you would have The Beatles so you would had to make an effort to seek FZ's music out.

Going off the thread slightly i had a flashback to when The Beatles were filming down the road where i went to school in the 60s. I can still remember the local coal delivery man discussing with the milkman what a bleedin' row he thought they were while an old old dear stood on her doorstep with her hair in rollers she carefully flicked the ash off her woodbine and shouted 'shut yer gob, it's high art'. Never forget that. Wonderful memories.

I'm really fed up trying to explaining this High Art lark to people. I was talking to a couple of blokes down my local pub and they thought that Musique Concrete was listening to Westlife while loaded a cement mixer.

I knew a pole vaulter called Arthur once. We used to call him High Art.

This is hopeless. Look, we're never going to eclipse the legendary Fab Four thread if we all keep agreeing. Perhaps we a need a 'Was Zappa better than the Beatles' thread.

Sadly this is never going to rise to the heights of The Beatles thread. It looks as though either not enough hooks have been cast or maybe it's simply that the fish ain't biting.

There has been so much good debate on this subject that i'm having to reassess my views. I reckon that James could knock out a decent tune on the clavier but have come to the conclusion that Wolfgang Amadeus would be crap on the guitar. So it's one up to JB at the moment but of course this could all change.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1370266130' post='2098280'] Stop it! [/quote] Sorry...........

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1370265924' post='2098272'] O.K so he's better than Mozart , but is he better than a Stingray ? That is the real question we need to answer . [/quote] I think that Mozart would have ditched the clavier pronto if Stingrays had been around then.

After the Beatles and Zappa threads now for the big debate. Come on, give it your best shot.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1370264286' post='2098230'] No it isn't. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean that you are correct in saying that it is crap. [/quote] Now i'll have to go and listened to my James Blunt cds for a re-appraisal of his works. Expect a James Blunt is an underrated genius thread soon.

http://youtu.be/gnZuVIPVPNg

That's good as i've never thought of him at all.

I have listened to all of the collected works of James Blunt just so i could tell everyone how rubbish i thought he was. Getting back to the original thread (it will of course turn into the usual Zappa is a genius / Zappa is overrated thread). Yes it's a really good documentary.

This thread will probably end up like the thread on the Fab Four i.e. those who love Zappa and those who don't. I expect to read all about the impact or lack of impact of Zappa's music by experts that weren't even born and therefore will have little or no idea of the impact or if they did either read it or saw someone talking about it on a BBC documentary. So i'll stick on 'Freak Out' and then go on a classical music forum and argue that Mozart wasn't ahead of his time and had little impact on the music world.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1370202772' post='2097593'] What? Not even Stacia? [/quote] No. Nothing apart from it was loud. Very loud.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1370204730' post='2097625'] All I remember is the pyro being very, very close to the drapery at Kingston Poly. I got out before the place went up. It didn't, as it happened, but it must have been a close call... [/quote] I saw some great gigs at Kingston Poly. Great memories of that place.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1370192567' post='2097413'] I think his old Hawkwind Rick was a fireglo, but that was a 4001s with a dot neck as far as I can recall. [/quote] I saw Lemmy with Hawkwind a few times. Strangely enough i don't remember a thing about any of those evenings.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1370159839' post='2096971'] Not only "collection only" the ebay listing finished at a time when a significant majority of people interested in guitars and band music are out, so a very bad time to finish your listing. [/quote] I picked up a gem recently on ebay where it was collection only and the auction ended at 9.00 a.m. ........... Result!!!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1370160532' post='2096985'] [size=4]...I'll probably be first up against the wall. [/size] [/quote] Don't worry i've just heard it's been postponed.

I'm sure i spotted someone using a bass as an oar in this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkVQxVAY9zw&feature=share&list=PL7D90E04272D85504

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1370128986' post='2096879'] Or, 'my other pants are a g-string'. [/quote] Ouch!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1370128793' post='2096876'] That is true, but it is generally in the wrong hands. [/quote] Indeed. I must stress that i was only driving past these houses. I don't own one of them. This country is cash rich. You've only got to look around and see that houses in the higher bracket are not the ones being repossessed because they are owned by the ones doing the repossessing. Come the revolution. One day.

Having just driven past row after row of very ordinary terraced houses that you'd be lucky to buy for less than £500,000 i can confirm that there is still plenty of money washing around in this country. I've picked up many decent guitars and basses on ebay simply because someone couldn't be bothered to put it in a cardboard box and phone a courier to collect it and long may it continue.

Great stuff. You're doing your thing and that's never a bad thing. As Beavis and Butt-Head would say 'This Rocks'!!!!!!