Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1 "Who I Am Not": Frank Zappa's Origins 1
2 All Good Music: Zappa's Musical Influences 11
3 A Day That Will Live in Infamy: Mother's Day 1965 25
4 Unemployable: The Mothers of Invention 32
5 Noodling: Zappa and the Jazz Influence 39
6 Beefheart vs. Zappa: A Clash of Icons 44
7 Mr. Dad, Frank Zappa: The Artist as Parent 51
8 No Dope-Heads: Zappa's Drug-Free Zone 57
9 Welcome to the Machine: Zappa and the Record Business 61
10 Liking the Sound of His Own Voice: Choice Quotations 72
11 Zappa and His Fans: A Cultivated Audience 78
12 Send-Ups: Zappa Lampoons the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Michael Jackson 83
13 Today's Lesson: Does Humor Belong in Music? 90
14 The Recordings: A Curated Look at the Zappa Collection 106
15 Bootlegs: Zappa and the Power of Ownership 133
16 The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Zappa's Archives and the UMRK 137
17 Modern Sounds: Zappa Goes Digital 143
18 A Man's Man: What Women Think About Zappa's Music 153
19 A Guitarist's Guitar Player: Zappa as Instrumentalist 161
20 We'll Fix It in Post: Overdubs Galore 169
21 On the Road: Opening Acts Get a Shot 174
22 The Woodstock Festival Without Zappa: The Mothers Make Other Plans 178
23 Best to Prepare: Auditioning for Frank Zappa 181
24 Playing Zappa's Music: Insights from His Musicians 186
25 Annus Horribillis: 1988 190
26 Music Theories: Zappa's "Conceptual Continuity" 198
27 Not a Place to Stay: 200 Motels 203
28 Steal This Video: Frank Zappa's Visual Productions 211
29 A Medium with His Message: Selected TV Appearances 218
30 User Discretion Advised: Zappa and the Politics of Censorship 223
31 Yearbook Signing: Zappa Alumni 229
32 Father and Son: Zappa's Legacy, Part 1 260
33 Cover Bands: Zappa's Legacy, Part 2 266
Recommended Reading: The Real Frank Zappa Books 273
Complete Discography 277
Selected Bibliography 285
Index 289