Zappa and the And: Zappa and the Freaks: Recording Wild Man Fischer

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Paul Carr

Chapter 9 of the Zappa book is by David Sanjek – who sadly passed away only 2-3 weeks after sending me the finished chapter. David was an outstanding academic with an encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. I am really proud that Zappa And The And features a chapter by this fabulous academic. He will be sadly missed.

No one ever accused Frank Zappa of lacking a sense of humour. Most people would characterise the thrust of Zappa’s wit as being, amongst other things, snarky
and sarcastic. Throughout his career, he conducted himself like an equal opportunity
tweaker of taboos and remained convinced that whatever a person’s ideological disposition, all of us potentially can succumb to the batons of those forces of coercion that Zappa dubbed the ‘brain police’.This predilection to interrogate authority potentially met its match when the composer found himself figuratively attached to the establishment: for the first time, he was in a position to call his own shots, rather than simply be an employee of a recording company. In 1968, Zappa left Verve Records and signed a new distribution deal with Warner Brothers/Reprise, one of the preeminent companies of the day and now. Whereas Verve seemed to perceive Zappa as nothing more or less than a marketable reversion from the mainstream, his new employers appeared to believe the composer could potentially disengage from his long-time ‘no commercial potential’ rallying cry, without evacuating his material of the idiosyncrasies that made it stand out from the work of his contemporaries.
Furthermore, an inevitably attractive portion of the contract permitted Zappa to operate two boutique labels that the corporation would promote and distribute; the recordings would feature solo material by the composer as well as the ensemble efforts of Zappa’s band, The Mothers of Invention, in addition to performances by other artists he appreciated and wished to produce and promote. One can only imagine that his choice of names for the concerns reflects Zappa’s recognition of the inescapable ironies embedded in his situation. He named the first, inaugurated in 1968, Bizarre, and the other, initiated the following year, Straight. Not only did the titles evoke his appreciation of his potentially disjointed affiliation with the major players in the record industry, but they also echoed the antagonistic energies unleashed throughout much of society during this tumultuous period of time. Like a number in his audience, Zappa recognised that the country had fragmented along ideological fault lines that appeared incapable of reconciliation. The pressure cooker of polemical contention revealed a society just barely under control, such that when any excess amount of enthusiasm, whether emerging from the right or the left, became unhinged, the consequences could be lethal. The bashing of protestors on the streets of Chicago during the democratic convention or the brutalising of the audience at the Altamont Speedway during the appearance of the Rolling Stones reinforced
Zappa’s admonition that there was, as the title of a song on Freak Out! indicated, ‘trouble every day’ amongst us and we placed ourselves at risk whenever we endeavoured to test the limitations of those opportunities when we inhabit the sphere embodied by the title of The Mothers of Invention’s second album: Absolutely Free.

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Frank Zappa And The And: Zappa and Technology

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Paul Carr

Well – after a long break because of Computor problems – here is the intro to the eighth chapter of the Zappa book – my own. It looks like the book will be published around February 2013 – in fact it is possible to pre order it through Amazon. I will try and post the intro of the remaining chapters over the next few weeks, and after that there will be a gap while the ‘real thing’ is prepared m

Chapter 8
Zappa and Technology: His incorporation of Time, Space and Place when Performing, Composing and Arranging Music
Paul Carr
 
Frank Zappa’s ability to amalgamate popular music styles alongside musique concrète, electronic, and serial techniques make him a fascinating case study on the interdisciplinary roles of performer, composer, arranger and producer. One of the earliest musicians to consistently experiment with fusing these skill bases, his resultant stylistic fusion is also arguably one of the most prolific and original in the history of popular music. Using these factors as creative mediums, Zappa can also possibly be considered the only rock musician to consciously and consistently engage with time, space and place throughout his entire career, having a compulsive fascination with ensuring his entire life’s work was considered part of his Big Note philosophy, with many of his performances, compositions, arrangements and productions being part of an overarching Conceptual Continuity. The resultant music often incorporates countless semiological clues alluding to factors such as his politics, sexual tendencies and musical influences, and this chapter proposes to examine how Zappa pushed the boundaries of studio technology to develop compositions, (re)arrangements and (virtual) performances of his work, while creatively engaging with time, space and place. After presenting an overview of his interface with technology throughout the 1960s, the essay will progress to analyse albums such as Sheik Yerbouti and the You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore series (1988 – 1992), cumulating with his work on the Synclavier during the late 1980s – early 1990s with albums such as Jazz From Hell and Make a Jazz Noise Here.

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Three Months With No Laptop: I am back

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Paul Carr

Well, this is about the longest I have gone without blogging. My new laptop broke down in early June – and has taken three months to be fixed. So – although I got my laptop back last week, I am sending this from the IPod – as an experiment. During the last few months I have been really busy – completing a report for the Higher Education Academy into live music in Wales

– in addition to preparing for a semiology conference in Edinburgh, starting two essays on musical virtuality and creative musical practice – in addition to being made Head of the Division in Music and Sound at the AtriuM and a Reader in Popular Music Analysis (so I have to find time to research).

Hopefully I will find time to start blogging on a more regular basis again from now on………..

Watch this space.

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Some Philosophical Thoughts About Music

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Paul Carr

I have decided to document a few posts about the philosophy of music. So – to get things going – here are a few questions I am currently thinking about. I would be interested in any responses

Do you agree or disagree with the following questions about music

  • Although appearing as a ‘product’ – it must also be considered as a process?
  • It is separated in some way from the everyday world of experiences?
  • It is made – it does not just happen?
  • Although it can be replicated in recordings, it cannot be recreated in exactly the same form?
  • It should have the capacity to please?
  • It is created for humans – to be experienced through the senses (mainly the ears)?
  • It has unity and somehow seems complete (unless it has been abandoned)?
  • It is created from the perspective of the composers’ perspective of a vision of ‘the whole’?
  • Music becomes mediated the moment our mind listens to sound?

The main things I am considering at the moment, is what is the ontological (the Being) factors of music I am listening to – an how can I get to ‘know’ it (epistemology). In coming weeks i will get into far more depth about this, but for the moment –  time to listen to more music!!

 

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Live Music For Free: Even during the Olympics!!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Paul Carr

Well, it seems ironic that during the week of submitting my report to the Higher Education Academy on the relationships of live Music and Higher Education – a new Facebook Group has been created : a group whose purpose I find incredibly sad – but not surprising. Set up by Ashley Slater, the group is essentially lobbying against the expectations for musicians to provide their services for free when engaging in events surrounding the Olympic Games. Only a few weeks ago, I attended a week long Philosophy Festival that featured live music on the hour, seven days a week, eight hours a day. When speaking to one or two of the musicians (many of who are established locally) – it transpired they were all playing for free! How sad that some live music has an exchange value of – Zero! As many have indicated in the Facebook Group – musicians have the option of simply not playing – but this is indicative of a larger issue, which has been around for many years – where live music simply has e or little or no value for many. I know for example that many bands living around the Cardiff area will only get £50 (for the entire band) – when supporting ‘name’ artists – and this is happening at a time when the UK live music industry turns over more than one billion per year!! So – back to the Olympics. I presume the planning for this has been precise – with all services from hot dog stands to souvenir stalls having an exchange value -i.e. they will be getting paid . It simply makes no sense, in an age where recorded music is heading in a similar direction, that live music of this nature, often played by world class musicians, has no Value. Come on Olympics – get you act together.

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Higher Education and Live Music in Wales: Future Developments

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Paul Carr

Well, I am coming toward the end of the research into the relationships between live music and higher education in Wales. With the report due at the end of this month, I thought I would provide some comments below. Very happy to receive any comments, preferably before the end of the month – I could include them in the report then!

From a music industry perspective, the recent acquisition by Live Nation, of data entertainment firm Big Champagne,[1] could be considered indicative of how the global live music industry is changing, and the financial emphasis that is being placed upon it. According to Hypebot.Com’s Bruce Houghton, the takeover represents the essential next step to drive a transformation of live music based on data rather than the antiquated assumptions of the old guard music industry (Houghton, 2012b). However, if we regard this purchase more cynically, it clearly follows the paradigm that is pervasive throughout the history of recorded music: the purchase the smaller innovative companies by a dominant wealthy few (ironically, what Houghton describes as the antiquated “old guard”) – an oligopoly that facilitates the capitalist society both Higher Education and the Music Industry operate in.

Equally so, the Higher Education sector is going through a period of great change, with “New Universities” in particular having to face up to issues such as employability, the influx of private providers, and validation powers in Further Education Colleges, not to mention the unknown impact that increased student fees may have on the entire sector. In Wales of course there is also the question of impeding university mergers, and although the exact details are not known yet, the Welsh Higher Education sector of the future will look very different to what it does today.

The question for Welsh Higher Education music departments engaged in live music, is how to negotiate these two independent, powerful forces. How do we engage with both the national and international live music scenes from a pedagogical and research perspective, ensuring our students gain an industrially relevant and academically challenging experience, while undergoing the changes to Higher Education and the live sector as outlined above?

It is apparent from the report for the Higher Education Academy, in addition to previous investigations undertaken, that the Welsh music industry requires far more research into its various infrastructures. Although not an exhaustive list, issues such as why bands bypass Wales when touring; transport issues to and from venues; publicity infrastructures in the capital and throughout Wales (Do audiences feel informed? What community and local Council activities are already taking place?); working relationships between venues and local councils, and venues and national promoters; and the relationships between live music and cultural tourism – from both an import and export perspective, are indicative of factors that not only require on-going research, but also should be included into taught music industry modules, that from experience tend to focus on global rather than local paradigms.  Although some parties within the Welsh music industry would question its relevance – arguing that academic exercises such as this represent the pinnacle of “knowledge resistance”,  in congruence with the numerous other nations, it is suggested that a comprehensive mapping document of Wales is required, documented independently, and including a critical investigation of what could be learned from nations such as Scotland, New Zealand and Finland – the latter who seem particularly successful in fostering government support for performing live music abroad.

Regarding pedagogical initiatives, in congruence to the University of Bolton’s relationship with the Backstage Academy, and the University of Plymouth’s work with Deep Blue Sound, it seems prudent for Welsh Higher Education to continue to investigate what industrial and governmental bodies it can work with in order to address the specific skill gaps referred to by Creative and Cultural Skills, and most importantly how they impact the Welsh live music industry. As stated earlier, keeping intellectual property and income streams within Wales is an essential factor if the Welsh live music industry is to build upon its current £60 turnover, an increase which is essential if the Welsh industry is to become truly independent.

Considering that part of this skill gap needs to be targeted at practitioners already working in the Welsh Music Industry, it is also logical to suggest that Higher Education needs to investigate part-time, distance learning and particularly “accelerated” provision – in order to open up these markets, so Higher Education institutions can facilitate practitioner engagement within and between their working lives. As stated in the stakeholder interviews section in the report, a number of industrial and government bodies are open to the idea of strategic work placements, and in congruence with the likes of Buckingham New University, the instigation of “production companies” within the Welsh university sector would potentially facilitate outward facing, industry focused “centres”, that would encourage music departments to engage with mechanisms such as Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning, accreditation for current work based learning, in addition to ensuring “traditional” undergraduate students get the opportunity to engage in meaningful accredited work with the live music industry.

The importance of skills, and the relative lack of interest in accreditation in both the questionnaire and some stakeholder interviews reflects larger scale studies carried out by Creative and Cultural Skills (Wenham and Felton, 2011) and a Creative and Cultural Industries Workforce Survey  – both of which suggest that Higher Education is not serving industry with the skills it needs. It is suggested, in the music industry, the grey area between skills and qualifications can only be alleviated if:

1) Employers understand what skills students will have once they have obtained specific qualifications

2) Students themselves have a clear understanding of the relationship between skills and qualifications

3) Both parties are convinced that course content is relevant to the sub-sectors of live music they are working in

It is understood that mutual trust between the live music sector and Higher Education will not develop overnight, and initiatives such as The Live Music Exchange is for the first time beginning to facilitate how both parties can constructively work together. Based on some of the work undertaken as part of this report, the next Live Music Exchange event is planned to be in Cardiff, as part of the 2012 Sŵn Festival in October 2012, and it is envisaged this will provide a strategic opportunity to explore how Higher Education can facilitate the economic and cultural development of live music in Wales.

 

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Frank Zappa and the And: Chapter 7 – Zappa and the Story Song

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Paul Carr

Image

Chaper 7 of Frank Zappa and the And is by Geoff Wills. Geoff’s chapter covers loads of interesting cross references that influenced Zappa’s musical idiolect.I have copied the first few hundred words below to give you a feel for the subject matter. Also – Geoff is an accomplished artist – and the attached drawing will be incorporated for the cover of the book.

The era in America after World War II was an especially rich one with regard to cultural phenomena. In the area of music, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky had moved to the USA, and were wielding considerable influence. Charles Ives was finally achieving recognition after his second symphony was premiered by Leonard Bernstein in 1951. In jazz, the bebop experiments of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie had emerged, as had the orchestral innovations of Stan Kenton, Boyd Raeburn and Claude Thornhill. In Cinema, the 1940s created the bleak atmosphere for Film Noir, while in the 1950s a fear of Communism was obliquely reflected in a wave of Science-Fiction movies such as The Thing from Another World[1] and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.[2] American art made a worldwide impact with Abstract Expressionism, as did American literature with the Beat writers. Comedy was also transformed by a group of satirical stand-up comics, such as Shelley Berman and Lenny Bruce, not to mention the emergence of Rock n’ Roll. This was the era in which Frank Zappa grew up and, sponge-like, he soaked in all the cultural influences around him, stored them, and ultimately regurgitated them in an original synthesis. This chapter will focus on one approach that Zappa used to present his synthesis, namely the story-song. It will attempt to make parallels between themes in his work and those in the wider area of American culture. It will also examine the way that Zappa developed the trade-mark sound of his voice to frequently present these story-songs.

[1] Christian Nyby and Howard Halks, The Thing from Another World, Winchester Pictures Corporation (1951).

[2] Don Seigel, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Allied Artists Pictures (1956).

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When the Light Gets In: Lets Have More Music Debate Next Year

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Paul Carr

I have managed to find time to see several events at the Hay Festival fringe event this week – How The Light Get’s In. I have to say I have been impressed – so much so that I have not made any events at the main Hay Festival (which is also very good of course). After spending much of last Saturday listening to philosophical debates ranging from the meaning of time, Hawkins v Philosophy to the nature of reality, it was good to spend time today listening to discussions related to music: which I know a little more about 🙂 The first session today was reportedly the first philosophical debate concerning music at the festival – concerning the relationship of ‘classical’ music to pop – and if the former is under threat by the latter. The conversation was stimulating – although at times predictable. It did make me think that there really is space for more debates such as this year – with the potential to get a greater span of speakers taken from ‘popular music’ academia.

This was followed by a showing of Michael Nyman’s new work Nyman With a Movie Camera  – a remake of his Man with a Movie Camera – using his own footage alongside the original score, with the showing of the film followed by a short discussion with Nyman himself. I have always enjoyed the original version – and was fascinated to see what the inspiration is behind the new version. When watching the movie, for me, I got the impression that the new version was based on the relationship between change and the ‘unchanging’ – as all of the  footage is overtly based on the original film. However, it was interesting that Nyman did not really seem to have any objective for the movie aside from giving himself artistic gratification. Much of the movie is based on what seems to me to be a voyeuristic obsession with recording other people’s life as he passes through his own – I found it a bit odd really. However – great music by a great composer – although the ‘meaning’ associated with it during the after film debate was very vague.It was great to get someone of Nyman’s stature to the festival – so heres hoping that there is more musicological debate next year. @iaitv #howthelightgetsin

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Rumer’s New Album: Why Does She Sound Like Karen Carpenter?

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Paul Carr

I have spent the morning listen to Rumer’s new album – Boys Don’t Cry. It’s a really pleasant sounding record – besides the one factor we all know – she sounds like Karen Carpenter. The 50 Million dollar question is not so much how, but WHY?

Is it –

a) She is plain and simple just heavily influenced by her in terms of vocal style and to a lesser extend image

b) Her record company are aware of the massive ‘Middle America’ market that The Carpenters tapped into – and are attempting to use a similar formula.

The above factor extends beyond the natural tonal qualities of Rumer’s voice, to the instrumentation and production of her music. For example, her new single includes a similar ’70s style’ guitar solo to The Carpenters’ Goodbye To Love, also including similar use of woodwind orchestration.

The reality is that the WHY is probably a mixture of both of these factors – but make no mistake about it, there is a heavy dose of point number 2 – we as audiences are being manipulated via a proven formula!

It’s also interesting to note that listening to artists like Rumer, who are so overtly based on another artist who have proven success (musically and visually), it also has the added dimension of encouraging older and younger audiences to listen to the ‘real thing’ – providing new interest in a back-catalogue that may be forgotten. In many respects this is similar to the process of what happened post British R&B explosion, with The Beatles, The Stones, Clapton, and Beck et al. encouraging many listeners (like me) to listen to Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc.

So – thought for today. Enjoy music such as Rumer’s new record. I will continue to listen to it cos it has loads of ‘good tunes’. However – don’t forget to have half an eye on the Simon Cowell factor – our musical preferences are manipulated by THE MACHINE.

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Frank Zappa and the And: Chapter 6 – Zappa and Resistance

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Paul Carr

I got some good news from Ashgate today – the Frank Zappa and the And: A Contextual Analysis of his Legacy was given the final green light for publiction – so the book will be out this year. So – here is the into to Chapter 6. This essay is by Prof. Claude Chastagner from the University of Montpelier, and he is investigating an important aspect of Zappa’s legacy – his relationship with resistance. Here is the start of the essay –

Artists are in a privileged position to voice the grievances of the silent, helpless, anonymous citizen. They can articulate the disapproval of objectionable legislation, obnoxious leaders, insufferable social policies, or ruthless economic plans. They can testify in court against censorship, write paeans to the rainforests, organise concerts to fight famine, or persuade people to register to vote. I am obviously alluding to the much publicised actions of artists like Sting, Bob Geldof, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, George Harrison, R.E.M., and many others, including Franz Zappa. There are so many ways to disagree with one’s contemporaries, and so many reasons to do it. However, Sting’s or Bob Geldof’s agendas were probably different from Frank Zappa’s when he testified against censorship in popular music at the Parents Music Resource Centre (PMRC) Senate hearing in 1985, or when he wrote ‘don’t forget to register to vote’ on the sleeve of his Fillmore East, June 71 album. As a rule, rock musicians have opted for two main strategies, which have by now become quite familiar. One is overt protest, in the form of rebellious anthems, crowd-arousing slogans, angry riffs, or defiant postures. This has been the case with some late 1960s bands (from Country Joe and the Fish to Jefferson Airplane), numerous punks bands, among them, most prominently, The Clash, and more recently groups such as Rage Against the Machine, The Agitator, or Lethal Bizzle. The other has been to devote oneself to a cause, organise and federate fellow artists, and raise money and consciousness by staging worldwide events. Frank Zappa is a stranger to both, with few of his songs relying on straightforward rebellious riffs, save in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and lyrics rather meant to make people think, laugh, or frown, than yell slogans. Likewise, Zappa was never concerned by charity rock, though he often opposed the advocates of censorship. Zappa, however, could easily stand as protest incarnate. His pedigree is indeed irreproachable: 10 days in jail in 1964 for what was considered as pornographic recordings, the patronage of Václav Havel, his public indictment of the PMRC agenda, etc. His lyrics often read as violent satires of Middle America, scathing attacks on all kinds of religious bigotry, rednecks, and televangelists, while his compositions have consistently challenged moral and musical norms, including those of rock music. Hence his iconic rebellious status, which in the seventies and eighties stretched behind the Iron Curtain.

 

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