Doreen

Maybe FZs most straight ahead tune. Really exposes his relationship with doowop, and delights me by showing the potential of that genre.

What the bass does

Generally, the bass conducts. This is only strictly true within the milieu of popular music, where the bass plays the root of every chord; not so much in experimental stuff (c.f. harmolodics)

Force- it's equal to Mass times Acceleration, yo

Kenneally is problematic; he's a uniquely talented songwriter and performer but his music sometimes suffers from a bloated feeling, which afflicts a lot of the music I love.  The songwriter is so skilled that some of the tunes sound soapy and too busy, like Burt Bacharach.  It's as if the songwriter is pretending not to play jazz.  FZ, Beefheart, NRBQ don't suffer from this because they never lose that sense of full-throated commitment (the Roar I alluded to).

The Roar, The Lead, and The Joy

Three components that I hear, when I hear something that speaks to me:

1. The Roar is the sound of an artist fully committed to the emotional truth of his work.  It can correctly be described as an absence of doubt, but it is more precise to say that it's the positive and willful connection to primal energies within the mind, in the service of whatever statement the artist is trying to make.  See: Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Jello Biafra, Barbara Streisand, James Jamerson, James Brown.
2. The Lead is an instrumental technique that distinguishes, sonically, the performance.  It occurs when a particular player has internalized the material to the extent that he pushes the composition forward temporally, by anticipating the next note.  The effect is subtle because the player must not play too fast- for example, Keith Richards is the rhythmic lead in the Rolling Stones; he leads, ever so slightly, Charlie Watts, and thus propels the rhythm forward.
3. The Joy is a function of the group dynamic, and of the conceptual content of the material.  It is similar to the Roar but exists before the performance, because it is the result of how the artists have chosen to approach the material.  Example is Yes covering Simon & Garfunkel, "America"- this recording is emblematic of the bands' basic approach, which includes a commitment to convey emotional positivity.  

So, one thing about FZ is that he seems to have had a pretty good handle on what music can be used for- the type of control it gives the wielder, the kinds of things it does to the wieldee.  I think he recognized that it is much more than a vehicle for propaganda, or a mindless way to pass the time, or even more than a way of life.  It's a synthesis of all those things, and it's the purest way to put oneself in opposition to the world.  You can phone it in, you can collect a paycheck and be a hack, you can play in a cover band, but you also have a chance to continually make art that is completely idiosyncratic, unique not just in concept but as an artifact in time.  Music is time, basically, the time of the beat, the period of oscillation of the frequencies involved, the time required to do the Fourier analysis, etc.  And because it's both ephemeral (live!) and eternal (written, recorded, traditional), what music offers is the possibility of time control, both backwards and forwards.  In other words, the Ultimate Subgenius Tool.  Oh, the Slackmanity!

my practice regimen

So, since December I've tried to make more time to rehearse, and to make music in general.  I've only been partially successful- full time job or two, the kid; there are always plenty of excuses.

Haven't:
-practiced every day
-explore much notation beyond the warm-up excercise given me

But I have:
-practiced two to three nights a week
-had Q and James over to get them ready

...so not a total loss.  Gotta go daily on my own though.

and but also

....I always forget to include "Doreen", a tune that simply blows me away. Absent much of the usual Zappa smarm, I really love how straight-ahead and unrestrained this song is. I'm very surprised that it never got radio airplay. Ray's vocal is amazing.

Allow me to expound further.....

Two of Zappa's tunes that bear comparison are "Eat That Question" and "Regyptioan Strut". I can't be bothered to look up the players on the recordings of each tune (navigating the reissues and remasters is daunting), but the sound on these two tracks is very close....Frank's big jazz band. "Question" hits me more directly, its melody more accessible, whereas "Strut" feels a little more tossed together (although I really love the big chords- seems like Frank wanted to try every combination). Both of these tunes speak to me, and seem to do everything right that contemporaneous jazzrockfusion did wrong. Rather than testosterone-laden rockjazz like Al DiMeola's "Race with the Devil....", the Zappa tunes have the right balance of groove and jazz, frippery and crunch.

what noise

...my instructor asked me what my favorite was. I answered "Treacherous Cretins", but I'd like to expound on that. Leaving aside for the moment the impossibility of choosing "a" Favorite, my ear has been hovering around a few tracks that stand out:

"The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution"- insane acoustic workout by Patrick, love the density

"Waka/Jawaka"- the big band sound I love, with a beautiful horn arrangement

"Eat That Question"- George Duke's awesome e-piano figure, big crescendo

"Regyptian Strut"- another Big Number, really like the picking bass on the quiet sections

Why Bass?

I guess that when I was 12 or so, I became entranced by complex music, and my ear flipped over. I listened obsessively to music that most people deemed completely unlistenable; people would walk into my room when I had something on the record player, and they'd turn right around and walk back out. (Ten years later I put on "Metal Machine Music", Lou Reed, to stress the noobs in STA 1/5.....another story). I can't remember who or what inspired me to ask for a bass, specifically; I may even have been misguided enough to think that four strings would be easier, the standard slacker motivation. Probably Chris Squire figured heavily in there, and Jack Bruce. I heard Stanley Clarke pretty early on, which solidified my desire for the instrument. I've always felt that the bass was the core of the music, either harmony or melody. As a voice it is capable of changing the entire mood by merely playing counterpoint, which blows me away....the greatest players play counterpoint while they sing (McCartney, Bruce etc.). And then there's Jaco! etc. Since the bass is the heart of the tune, playing it makes me want to compose. I love the understated sonorous sound of it....

Pic

This is this....
from mobile

Here is where my ear is at....

Mike Keneally

Zappa, natch

krautrock

Kraftwerk!!!

Faust

Can

Klaus Schulze

Conrad Schnitzler

Iggy Pop

Sun Ra

Ornette Coleman

Steve Vai

Mercury Rev

The Beach Boys

Brian Wilson

Laurie Anderson

Charles Mingus

Bob Graettinger

Stan Kenton

turkish radio on KUSF

Outkast

Tonio K.

Heaven 17

"Live So Fast"

NRBQ!!!!

Johnny Cash

Kaviar

Welcome, and listen up...

this one is strictly by the book. I want tactical by 0700! But seriously, this is merely a repository of quick audio snippets, for nobody but everyone.