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Strictly Commercial
''Strictly Commercial'' is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1995, two years after his death. The album was named as part of a 2011 lawsuit by Gail Zappa towards Rykodisc, claiming the label released several vault masters without the permission of the Zappa Family Trust on this and other releases, specifically the single edits of some songs, such as the 12" disco Remix of "Dancin' Fool". The disc is currently out of print and has been replaced in Zappa's catalog by the 2016 compilation album '' ZAPPAtite''. Track listing All songs written and performed by Frank Zappa, except where noted. The title of the album is taken from a lyric in "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow Suite" and maintains Zappa's conceptual continuity. ''Strictly Commercial'' Vinyl release ;Side one #"Peaches en Regalia" - 3:37 #" Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" ( Single version) - 3:34 #"Dancin' Fool" (12" disco mix) - 6:15 #*The American and European CD issues had the album mix instead of the 12" dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, Virtuoso, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and ''musique concrète'' works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. As a self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanook Rubs It
"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" is a suite by the American musician Frank Zappa, made up of the first four tracks of his 1974 album ''Apostrophe (')'': "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", "Nanook Rubs It", "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast", and "Father O'Blivion". Each song in the suite is loosely connected, although the songs are not all connected by one overall story/theme. The suite was only played in full from 1973 to 1974 and 1978 to 1980. "Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" contains Zappa's percussionist Ruth Underwood on marimba who added a very distinct sound to many of his songs in the early 1970s. In keeping with the arctic theme of the song, after the first lyric "Dreamed I was an Eskimo" there is a musical quotation from the 1947 jazz tune "Midnight Sun". Story "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" is a song about a man who dreams that he was an Eskimo named Nanook. His mother warns him "Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow." The song directly transitions int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montana (Frank Zappa Song)
"Montana" is a song composed by Frank Zappa for his 1973 LP ''Over-Nite Sensation''. The last track on the album is one of Zappa's most famous and renowned compositions. It features backing vocals by Tina Turner and the Ikettes throughout the entire track, notably on the middle and ending sections. The single version of this track was released as the B-side of "I'm the Slime" in 1973. Both songs are different mixes and edits than the album versions. The single version of "Montana" later appeared on the compilation ''Strictly Commercial''. Song structure The structure of "Montana" is intro–verses–chorus–solo–middle section–verses–outro. The lyrics, sung by Zappa in a humorous manner, talk about a person who decides to go to Montana to grow "a crop of dental floss," mounting a pony named "Mighty Little". He dreams of becoming a dental floss tycoon, by commercializing it. The verses are filled with pseudo-ranch pronunciation and are intended to be very lighthearted. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe's Garage (song)
"Joe's Garage" is a single on Frank Zappa's 1979 album '' Joe's Garage Act I''. After the introductory track, "The Central Scrutinizer", this song begins the story of Joe's Garage. Although it only charted in Norway and Sweden (where it was a top 20 hit in both countries), it was one of Zappa's songs which had the most airplay on American FM radio, at the time still album-centered. The song was played in concert from 1980 to 1988 along with the song "Why Does it Hurt When I Pee?" in all tours of Zappa's after the single's release. The single version of the song lacks many of the special effects that the album version contains. The single version of "Joe's Garage" was put onto Zappa's best-of ''Strictly Commercial''. The story The song introduces the main character Joe and another band member, Larry Fanoga. It explains that Joe, Larry, and their friends were in a band together in Joe's garage, in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, and would play the same simple, repetitive three-chord song. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm The Slime
"I'm the Slime" is a 1973 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers from the studio album ''Over-Nite Sensation''. The single version is a different mix and edit from the version on the album. Live recordings of the song can be found on ''Zappa in New York'' and ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1'', the latter version having been performed and recorded on the same night as the majority of tracks appearing on 1974's '' Roxy and Elsewhere''. "I'm the Slime" and its b-side version of "Montana" were put on Zappa's best of ''Strictly Commercial''. It was performed in concert from 1973 to 1977 and 1984. Lyrics and meaning The song contains two parts; the first part is a riddle of insults in the form of "what am I?" "I am gross and perverted. I'm obsessed 'n deranged. I have existed for years, but very little has changed. I'm the tool of the government and industry too, for I am destined to rule and regulate you. I may be vile and pernicious, but you can't look away. I make yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Brown (song)
"Bobby Brown (Goes Down)" is a song by Frank Zappa released on his album ''Sheik Yerbouti'' in 1979. One of his best known songs, it was hugely successful in Europe. It was a number-one-hit in Norway and Sweden and placed at number 4 in the German charts, where it sold more than 250,000 units. This song was more successful in Europe than America (the song's pervasive sexual content made it unfit for broadcast on U.S. radio) and this is why it is only featured on the vinyl and European CD version of Zappa's best of compilation, ''Strictly Commercial''. Synopsis The song describes a wealthy, misogynistic student named Bobby Brown, "the cutest boy in town", whose life is the archetypal American Dream until a traumatic sexual encounter with "Freddie", a dyke involved in the women's liberation movement, leaves him questioning his sexuality. Bobby transforms into a leisure suit-wearing closeted homosexual working in radio promotions; by the end of the song, he and "a friend" (later impl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disco Boy
"Disco Boy" is a single composed by musician Frank Zappa from his 1976 album ''Zoot Allures''. It was featured on Frank Zappa's best of album ''Strictly Commercial''. A sped-up version of the song appears in both the film ''Baby Snakes'' and its subsequent soundtrack, as well as best of album '' Son of Cheap Thrills''. Structure and meaning The song's structure is similar-sounding to previous work by Zappa. However, in this particular song, Zappa satirically added a more pop feel to it to go along with the theme of the song. The song addresses the stereotypes affiliated with the disco era. The vain tone of the song is set by the lyrics, "Leave his hair alone, but you can kiss his comb." The lyrics, "Disco boy, do the bump every night, 'til the disco girl who's really right, gonna fall for your line, and feed you a box full of Chicken Delight" indicate that the disco boy is not looking for love, but just a one-night stand. The lyric "but thank the lord that you still got hands, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trouble Every Day (song)
"Trouble Every Day" (labeled in early prints as "Trouble Comin' Every Day") is a song by the Mothers of Invention, released on their 1966 debut album ''Freak Out!'' Frank Zappa wrote the song in 1965 at 1819 Bellevue Avenue, Echo Park, Los Angeles, the residence of a methamphetamine chemist referred to by Zappa as "Wild Bill the Mannequin-Fucker"Zappa, p. 71 after watching news coverage of the Watts Riots.Slaven, p. 51 Originally dubbed "The Watts Riot Song", its primary lyrical themes are racial violence, social injustice, and sensationalist journalism. The musical style—featuring multiple guitar tracks and a harmonica—much more closely resembles blues than mainstream rock and roll. Producer Tom Wilson of MGM Records signed the Mothers to a record deal on March 1, 1966, having heard only this song and believing them to be a "white blues band".Zappa (1968) Together, they released "Trouble Every Day" as a single with A-side "Who Are the Brain Police?" A re-arranged version a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmik Debris
"Cosmik Debris" is a song by American composer Frank Zappa, from his 1974 album ''Apostrophe (')''. It concerns the Mystery Man, a typical guru or psychic, offering to help the narrator reach Nervanna icfor a "nominal service charge," and the narrator's refusal to buy into his act, "Look here, brother, who you jiving with that cosmik debris?" When the Mystery Man gets pushy, Zappa as the narrator tells how he snatched the crystal ball, hypnotized the Mystery Man, stole his stuff and blew his mind. The song was popular on the ''Dr. Demento'' ''Show'' in the 1970s, and in Zappa's concerts, with memorable guitar solos from Zappa, also featuring George Duke on keyboard and Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax. The song was featured in the late-2010 Zappa Plays Zappa tour, where through video and editing (from 1970s-era shows), Frank Zappa on a large video screen both sang and played a guitar solo while the ZPZ band provided a live backing. This song was also a B-side to the single "Don't E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a song written by Frank Zappa and originally recorded by The Mothers of Invention in February 1969 at Criteria Studios (Miami), with overdubs recorded sometime between March and May 1969 at TTG Studios (Los Angeles) and Whitney Studios (Glendale, California). This version was included on their 1970 album ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh,'' an LP that included various recordings by the band from 1967 to 1969. A second version was released as a single on the Bizarre and Reprise labels as "My Guitar." Despite the more conventional naming, "My Guitar" did not chart. The single version of the song, recorded in June 1969 at A & R Recording Studios in New York City, differs from the album version, includes a longer break before the second verse is reprised, and is roughly half a minute longer. A shorter edit of the single version has been released on ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5''. His son Dweezil Zappa's 1988 solo album is named after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Let's Make The Water Turn Black
"Let's Make the Water Turn Black" is a patter song which first appeared on the 1968 Mothers of Invention album ''We're Only in It for the Money'' and later on the 1995 compilation album ''Strictly Commercial''. An uptempo instrumental version is featured on the 1991 live album ''Make a Jazz Noise Here''. Background "Let's Make The Water Turn Black" tells the true story of brothers Ronald and Kenneth Williams (referred to as "Ronnie" and "Kenny" respectively), neighbors of the song's composer Frank Zappa in the early 1960s, when he was living in Ontario, California. It says that while their father, known as "Daddy Dinky" (Dalton Williams), was away at work "selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares" and while their mother (Signa), worked "feeding all the boys at Ed's Café" (on Holt Blvd. in Ontario, Ca.), the brothers occupied their after-school time with such activities as igniting each other's flatulence. In the original release, a reference to their mother "in her apro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audio Mixing (recorded Music)
In sound recording and reproduction, audio mixing is the process of optimizing and combining multitrack recordings into a final mono, stereo or surround sound product. In the process of combining the separate tracks, their relative levels are adjusted and balanced and various processes such as equalization and compression are commonly applied to individual tracks, groups of tracks, and the overall mix. In stereo and surround sound mixing, the placement of the tracks within the stereo (or surround) field are adjusted and balanced. Audio mixing techniques and approaches vary widely and have a significant influence on the final product. Audio mixing techniques largely depend on music genres and the quality of sound recordings involved. The process is generally carried out by a mixing engineer, though sometimes the record producer or recording artist may assist. After mixing, a mastering engineer prepares the final product for production. Audio mixing may be performed on a mixing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
