#artist: frank zappa & the mothers of invention

[jailpuppy]

Zappa Zappa Zappa Zappa

[metalcultbrigade]

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Roxy & Elsewhere. 10/09/1974

[skf-fineart]

Don Van Vliet (1941-2010)

“Cholla”, 1989-90

Oil on canvas, 32 ½” x 37”

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Inca Roads • Can't Afford No Shoes • Sofa No. 1 • Po-Jama People • Florentine Pogen • Evelyn, a Modified Dog • San Ber'dino • Andy • Sofa No. 2

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[peaceloveandhistory]

Happy birthday to a highly innovative, influential musician and composer, Frank Zappa. Born on December 21, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland Zappa was a self-taught musician, whose 30-year career embraced a wide variety of musical genres, writing and producing more than 60 albums. Zappa was also an artist, directing films, and creating album covers. Aside from music, Zappa often spoke out about politics and other social issues. From an early age, Zappa was attracted to avant-garde composers like Igor Stravinsky, and Edgard Varèse, doo-wop, R&B, and modern jazz also piqued his musical interest. In his late teens, Zappa started playing the drums, and guitar. In the 1950s Zappa was playing in the Blackouts, later he would join The Soul Giants, morphing into The Mothers on Mother's Day in 1965. It would be the debut of their album "Freak Out" that launched them as The Mothers of Invention. "Freak Out" was a groundbreaking mix of innovative and irreverent musical genres. The decade of the 70s saw Zappa forming new bands with more of a jazz base. Zappa felt like he didn't fit into the rock 'n' roll scene, due to his refusal to join the drug culture. The 70s cultivated Zappa's reputation "as one of the music industry's most accomplished and demanding bandleaders." "Valley Girl" would become a top 40 hit due to his prolific orchestral output. Aside from music, Zappa was a guest speaker on social activism after his Senate testimony about censorship in music. In 1990 Czechoslovakian President Václav Havel appointed Zappa as his cultural liaison officer, however, President George H.W. Bush stepped in and declined the meeting. Afterward, Zappa briefly considered running for president. Frank Zappa had a very interesting life, from composing politically charged and intentionally shocking music to directing films, and even taking a stance in politics. "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."

[randomcollectionitem]

Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty - The Rite Of Strings

https://www.discogs.com/release/853788-Stanley-Clarke-Al-Di-Meola-Jean-Luc-Ponty-The-Rite-Of-Strings

The 90s were a strange, rough time for jazz, particularly 70s fusion luminaries like the trio of Clarke, Di Meola, and Ponty assembled here. Those familiar with the genre will know Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola from Chick Corea's groundbreaking jazz-rock fusion group Return to Forever, and Jean-Luc Ponty from John McLaughlin's equally groundbreaking jazz-rock fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra (or, for the less jazz-inclined, his work in the years prior with Frank Zappa's also-equally-groundbreaking avant garde art rock group, The Mothers of Invention).

By the 90s all three players had enjoyed long and successful solo careers, but things were slowing down substantially for the genre as a whole. The 80s saw jazz reach its highest level of mainstream appeal since the glory days of the 50s and 60s with smooth jazz and lighter synth-laden jazz fusion gaining major traction with non-jazz listeners. At the same time, those accessible and soft-edged sounds and styles alienated more serious jazz fans. The rise and fall of mainstream 80s jazz sounds led to serious disinterest in new jazz releases in the 90s, both from jazz enthusiasts, who were disillusioned by the smooth sounds of the 80s, and from the mainstream listeners, who had almost completely moved on as harder-edged grunge and alternative rock dominated the radio waves and made the synthy adventures of the 80s feel instantly passé. This led to a number of embarrassing outings from more trend-focused jazz artists trying to recapture the attention they found in the 80s. Many others found themselves returning back to basics, with many of the jazz elite releasing more straight ahead albums in an attempt to recapture the hearts of more serious jazz listeners.

Thankfully for us, this album falls mostly in the latter category. It follows in the steps of Al Di Meola's highly successful Guitar Trio recordings with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia (the final of which would be recorded the following year, the prior two having been recorded in the early 80s), as a simple acoustic trio recording with a focus on great compositions and highly technical performances. I'll note that while the credits only list acoustic instrumentation, Al does sneak in a touch of guitar synth; which, in his defense, is a much more restrained amount than many of his solo records of the era. Most tracks also double Al's guitar, splitting rhythm and lead to the left and right channels. While this may be his slightly inflated ego at work (not that I can blame him, my ego would be slightly inflated if I could play like that too 🙂), it serves the tracks well and fills the large sonic space between the bass and violin out nicely.

The album clocks in at 55:34, spanning 9 tracks. Writing credits are split evenly to three tracks per player, with the sole (partial) exception being Stanley Clarke's Song to John, which was co-written with Chick Corea for Clarke's 1975 album Journey to Love. Sonically, Rite of Strings is incredibly well recorded and mixed. The imaging and soundstaging is excellent (although the soundstaging is occasionally confused by Al's overdubs, creating an odd sense of two Al clones shredding at once seated between the other two players). I'm particularly impressed with the sound of Stanley's bass; it has a very deep, resonant sound while maintaining good articulation and harmonic clarity. Often jazz recordings drop the ball on the bass, with it either sounding flubby and inarticulate or clicky and shallow. The engineers did a spectacular job of capturing the full range of the instrument while still leaving plenty of room for the remainder of the trio. Also, while I alluded to it earlier I'd like to spell it out: the compositions and performances here are truly top-notch. The players have excellent synergy, and walk the fine line between technical showmanship and performing compelling compositions in a way that serves the composition. This is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys any of the three players on the album, and is a worthy introduction to any or all of the three for those not familiar. Which brings us to the well-buried lede of this post: this album is criminally underrated. I think if this had been recorded anywhere from 10 to 20 years prior it would have received a much higher degree of notoriety. As it stands, it's one that even many jazz fans seem to be unaware of. It charted reasonably well at #4 on the contemporary jazz charts, but that was a shallow pool that few were wading in at the time. Today it seems to be mostly off the radar. The Wikipedia page is painfully sparse, and very little information is available surrounding the recording and release of the album. While I have very little reach here, I hope this inspires one or two people to check this one out.

The copy in front of me is the standard mass-market US CD release. In fact, this is almost the only release. It was released on Gai Saber, a short-lived label with only a small handful of releases from '95 & '96, with additional distribution by I.R.S. (yes, the college rock label, no, not the federal government, although either would be equally nonsensical in context). Notably both Gai Saber and I.R.S. would fold the following year in 1996; I would guess the implication of hard financial times explains I.R.S.'s baffling choice to involve themselves in this release, which is profoundly off-brand for a label better known for groups like R.E.M. and Oingo Boingo. While the CD was released in a number of markets, the different international editions appear to be identical aside from the usual differences in copyright text, etc. There was one cassette version released in the US, one promo version of the CD, and a Russian bootleg of the CD (a common occurrence at the time due to scarce music distribution across the board in most parts of the former Soviet Union). The album has never been issued on vinyl and has never been officially reissued. The booklet is a simple two page affair with all of the essentials and nothing more. The graphic design is definitely a product of its time, with a certain Old-El-Paso-meets-90s-Taco-Bell je ne sais quoi, topped off by a particularly uninteresting piece of digital abstract cover art from Luis Siquot (rightfully better known for his contributions to typesetting than for his art). Needless to say, the look of the album certainly isn't doing it any favors when it comes to attracting the attention of modern listeners. Like many long-out-of-print albums, it isn't currently available on streaming beyond some rando's YouTube upload. Luckily, the CD is very affordable used at the time of writing due to general lack of interest/awareness.

Anyways, that's all for today folks! Give this thing a listen if you can. Hoping to be able to continue posting a bit more frequently now. Til next time, may your bass be full in the mix and may your labels stay afloat.

[alanbates]

Hi, I'm trying to make a classic rock playlist and I was wondering if you knew what singers/bands are considered to be a part of the genre other than David Bowie, Beatles, Doors, Rolling Stones, Queen etc

Hi!!! Ok speaking of late 60s for instance you could also include Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, The Who, The Mothers Of Invention, The Band, early Deep Purple as well, Aphrodite's Child (psychedelic rock mostly) and Taste.

If we want to dive into hard rock bands with a bit of prog influences (but are still considered Classic Rock) there are Rainbow (Dio era), Uriah Heep, Nazareth, UFO and so on. Frank Zappa can be included as well because man really played every single music genre on earth. And well Black Sabbath too

In addition, you might also include folk rock artists such as Jim Croce, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, America...

Blues rock/folk scene: Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers (a few tracks by the doobies can be considered folk too, many of them can be found in their early stuff!!!) and Rory Gallagher

Finally you can also put Blondie, The Clash, Talking Heads, DEVO, Roxy Music, T-Rex...

Ending the list with a few other artists: Elton John, Wings, Paul McCartney, ELO, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Chicago (early years), Eagles

Hope it helped!! If anybody wants to add something feel free to do that :)

[lios-archive]

opinion on the music of todd rundgren? and why is his music good?

Sooooo where do we start. Speaking of Todd's solo albums (I think I've listened to Something/Anything - Todd - A Wizard, A true star so far) and I was obviously amazed by his voice at first, but in terms of music and influences the way he experimented with sounds (and instruments!! He played most of the instruments by himself in Something/Anything iirc) in his works along with his style kinda reminded me of Frank Zappa. Not sure if he was actually inspired from The Mothers Of Invention as well, but listening to both Todd and Utopia (especially Utopia!!) I could somehow hear the influences. Todd could easily range from progressive rock to pop or jazz, which makes him a great artist already, but what caught my attention the most was the way both him and Roger Powell developed a close relationship with computers and technology as well <:) I remember reading how Todd composed most of his stuff at home with the VCS3 for instance and continued working with new technologies since then apparently. That being said I think that people should give Todd & Utopia a listen. If it wasn't for you I probably would have never had the chance to discover Utopia and eventually get to know a different side of progressive rock. American prog is often seen as Rush and Rush only (yea they're canadian) but still you can hear how Utopia's music was somehow different from european prog in terms of influences, which is really cool to me :) hope this all makes sense bc it's 2:30 AM and I'm really really eepy so I apologize in advance for that, thank you for these wonderful questions!! ♥️♥️♥️

[somethingvinyl]

Next up is an oddball in Zappa’s catalog. Fifteen years into his career, FZ had his second accidental hit single—first it was Yellow Snow, then it was Valley Girl. Both novelty songs appreciated on the radio more for their jokey basis than their musical content. It drove him a little crazy, but he didn’t complain about the money. He plowed the proceeds from this hit into his dream, getting a symphony orchestra to play his serious compositions (the result, by the London Symphony Orchestra, was yet another bitter disappointment, one that made him basically give up this dream). Because of Valley Girl, this is another of FZ’s most ubiquitous albums in used record bins. If your record shop has one Zappa record, it’s Zoot Allures. If they have two, the second is Over-Nite Sensation. But if they have three, the third is Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch.

Valley Girl is a collaboration between Zappa and his 14-year-old daughter, the infamously named Moon Unit. Frank loved his children, but there’s also no doubt that he was an absent father, spending all the time he wasn’t touring holed up in his home studio—apparently he invited Moon in when she slipped a note under the door begging to spend some time with him. (I don’t remember which of the many Zappa bios I’ve read had that detail.) He was amused by her imitation of the vapid way her classmates talked, so he recorded her improvising dialogue and gave the type the name of “valley girl” after the San Fernando Valley. The song caught on in a big way, and Moon fully deserves her co-artist credit on this—the song’s success is 90% about how funny this 14-year-old is. The song was an immediate hit and provoked a national fascination with the new valley girl stereotype, so all that stuff in our culture (“gag me with a spoon” and all that) can be traced back to Frank and Moon.

The rest of the album is alright; not his best, not his worst. Drowning Witch and No Not Now are good, I Come from Nowhere is irritating. Steve Vai is good on it, original Mother of Invention Roy Estrada pops back up to offer some falsetto vocals. But if it wasn’t for Valley Girl, this would be among Zappa’s most negligible records. It’s also followed by a bunch of records that I have purposefully left out of my collection: The Man from Utopia, which is just annoying to me; Baby Snakes, which is an ok live album but not worth hunting down; London Symphony Orchestra, which is unsuccessful… I do want to own the Boulez Perfect Stranger album, but I’ve never seen one in person yet, and it’s not a high priority. We’re in the Zappa doldrums here in the ‘80s.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.26

Holidays

Battle of Pinhincha Day (Ecuador)

Bob Day

Boulder Day (Republic of Molossia)

Carb Day

Crown Prince’s Day (Denmark)

Drool Day

Dzien Matki (a.k.a. Mother's Day; Poland)

Feast of VooDoo Economics

Go Barefoot Around the House Day

Grey Day

Independent Artist Day

Mother’s Day (Poland)

National Death Busters Day

National EMS Recognition Day

National Grey Day

National Paper Airplane Day

National Poppy Day

National Ranboo Day

National Sorry Day (a.k.a. National Day of Healing; Australia)

National Wig Out Day

National Work From Home Day

Oat Grass Day (French Republic)

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day (Hawaii)

Sally Ride Day

Starfleet Remembrance Day (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)

Windmill Day (Netherlands)

World Dracula Day

World Lindy Hop Day

World Orienteering Day

World Product Day

World Redhead Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

National Cherry Dessert Day

World Sherry Day

4th & Last Friday in May

Ascension Friday (Belgium)

Bermuda Day [Last Friday]

Don't Fry Day [Friday before Memorial Day]

European Neighbours’ Day [Last Friday]

Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival begins [Last Friday, thru Sunday]

Heat Safety Awareness Day [4th Friday]

National Cooler Day [Friday before Memorial Day]

National Death Busters Day [Friday before Memorial Day]

National Heat Awareness Day [Last Friday]

National Polka Festival begins (Ennis, Texas) [Friday before Memorial Day]

National Road Trip Day [Friday before Memorial Day]

National Wig Out Day [Friday before Memorial Day]

Portland Rose Festival begins (Oregon) Friday in late May; thru June 26]

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day (Western Australia) [Last Friday]

Trader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Day [Last Friday]

Title Track Day [4th Friday]

Independence Days

Erenian Republic (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Georgia (from Russia, 1918)

Guyana (from UK, 1966)

Molossia (f.k.a. the Grand Republic of Vuldstein; Declared; 1977) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Augustine of Canterbury (Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox)

August Kopisch (Artology)

Buddha Day (Buddhism)

Doc Owl (Muppetism)

Dorothea Lange (Artology)

Eleuterus, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Festival of the Valley (Ancient Egypt)

Lambert of Vence (Christian; Saint)

Lemminkainen’s Day (Pagan)

Lenny Bruce Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

St. Monica (Positivist; Saint)

Oduvald (Christian; Saint)

Peter Sanz  (Christian; One of Martyr Saints of China)

Philip Neri (Christian; Saint)

Philippe de Champaigne (Artology)

Quadratus of Athens (Christian; Saint)

Shavuot (Judaism) [6 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Thargelia (Birthday Festival of Apollo & Artemis; Ancient Greece)

Totally Random Day (Pastafarian)

World Hunger Day (Pastafarian)

Zachary, Bishop of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Premieres

Absolutely Free, by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (Album; 1968)

American Pie, by Don McLean (Song; 1971)

Avengers Assemble (Animated TV Series; 2013)

Beatlemania! (Broadway Musical Tribute; 1977)

Big Jake (Film; 1971)

Buddy of the Apes (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Caspar (Animated Film; 1995)

Dracula, by Bram Stoker (Novel; 1897)

Flying Home, recorded by Lionel Hampton (Song; 1937)

Games People Play, by Eric Berne (Self-Help Book; 1966)

God’s Men, by Pearl S. Buck (Novel; 1951)

Johnny Mnemonic (Film; 1995)

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Animated Film; 2011)

Mad Love (Film; 1995)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Film; 2017)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles (Album; 1967)

Sourcery, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1988) [Discworld #5]

The Whole Truth and Nothing But, by Hedda Hopper (Memoir; 1963)

X-Men: The Last Stand (Film; 2006)

Yellow Submarine, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Alwin, Philipp (Austria)

Anamarija, Filip, Zdenko (Croatia)

Filip (Czech Republic)

Beda (Denmark)

Miina, Minna, Valme, Valmi, Vella, Velli, Vilma, Vilme (Estonia)

Miina, Mimmi, Minna, Minni, Vilhelmiina, Vilma (Finland)

Bérenger (France)

Marianne, Philipp (Germany)

Alfaios, Karpos, Sinesios (Greece)

Evelin, Fülöp (Hungary)

Filippo, Pellegrino (Italy)

Eduards, Edvards, Varis (Latvia)

Algimantas, Eduardas, Milvydė, Vilhelmina (Lithuania)

Annbjørg, Annlaug (Norway)

Beda, Filip, Marianna, Paulina, Więcemił, Wilhelmina (Poland)

Carp (România)

Dušan (Slovakia)

Felipe, Mariana (Spain)

Vilhelmina, Vilma (Sweden)

Felipe, Flip, Phil, Philip, Philippa, Phillip (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 146 of 2024; 219 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 21 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 13 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ding-Si), Day 8 (Jia-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 6 Sivan 5783

Islamic: 6 Dhu al-Qada 1444

J Cal: 25 Bīja; Foursday [25 of 30]

Julian: 13 May 2023

Moon: 42%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 6 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Monica]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 68 of 90)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 6 of 32)

[goodlookingforagirl]

1, 8, and 30 for the vinyl ask!

1. First LP you ever bought? — I’m not 100% sure, because I forget which early ones I bought and which ones I inherited from my parents, but I’m pretty sure that Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Green River was my first official purchase!

8. Artist/band whose records you buy the most? — Lately I’ve been getting Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention records when I see them, bc it’s hard to find used copies so I feel the need to grab what I can. I also grab Donovan whenever I can, I’m still on the hunt for a few LPs, the collection is almost complete! I’ll get him in any format: vinyl, cassette, 8-track, random promo booklets, he’s my comfort artist! And Mike Nesmith of course; he’s the only one I order online bc he’s hard to find in the wild.

30. Record(s) that you want to buy next? — I’m on the hunt for Frank Zappa’s Absolutely Free, my favorite of his, and any Michael Nesmith and the First National Band albums. I’d also love to find Jacques Dutronc or Francoise Hardy, I have trouble finding foreign music in most stores around here. One really random LP I’d love to find is Biz Markie’s Goin’ Off, but it was such a limited release that I’m doubting it’ll come to me. But I still check just in case!

[schibborasso]

DU BIST MEIN SOFA!

Frank Vincent Zappa (1940–1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation, sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. 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.

[metalcultbrigade]

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh. 10/08/1970

[brookston]

Holidays 5.26

Holidays

Battle of Pinhincha Day (Ecuador)

Bob Day

Boulder Day (Republic of Molossia)

Carb Day

Chemical Industry Workers’ Day (Russia)

Crown Prince’s Day (Denmark)

Defense Lawyer Day (Tajikistan)

Drool Day

Dzien Matki (a.k.a. Mother's Day; Poland)

Entrepreneurship Day (Russia)

Feast of VooDoo Economics

Go Barefoot Around the House Day

Grey Day

Guide Dog Day (Ireland)

Independent Artist Day

Kent Day (UK)

Mother’s Day (Poland)

National Arbor Day (Venezuela)

National Death Busters Day

National EMS Recognition Day

National Family Fun Day

National Grey Day

National Paper Airplane Day

National Poppy Day

National Ranboo Day

National Sorry Day (a.k.a. National Day of Healing; Australia)

National Work From Home Day

Northumberland Day (UK)

Oat Grass Day (French Republic)

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day (Hawaii)

Royal Ploughing Ceremony (Cambodia)

Sally Ride Day

Starfleet Remembrance Day (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)

Windmill Day (Netherlands)

World Dracula Day

World Lindy Hop Day

World Orienteering Day

World Product Day

World Redhead Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

National Cherry Dessert Day

World Aperitivo Day

World Sherry Day

Independence & Related Days

Erenian Republic (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Georgia (from Russia, 1918)

Guyana (from UK, 1966)

Molossia (f.k.a. the Grand Republic of Vuldstein; Declared; 1977) [unrecognized]

4th & Last Sunday in May

Botanic Gardens Day (Australia) [Last Sunday]

Cavalcata Sarda (Sardinia) [Last Sunday]

Children’s Day (Hungary) [Last Sunday]

Indianapolis 500 Race Day [Sunday before Memorial Day/8 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Kyiv Day (Ukraine) [Last Sunday]

Mad Sunday (Isle of Man) [Last Sunday]

Mother’s Day (France, Sweden) [Last Sunday]

Neighbor Day [8 Days before the 1st Monday in June]

Palo Dei Balestrieri (Italy) [Last Sunday]

Festivals Beginning May 26, 2024

Chowderfest (Waterville Valley, New Hampshire)

Cuban Sandwich Festival (Ybor City, Tampa, Florida)

Idaho Beer Week (Statewide, Idaho) [thru 6.1]

Indianapolis 500 Race Day [Sunday before Memorial Day/8 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Kraków Film Festival (Kraków, Poland) [thru 6.2]

Soft Shell Festival (Crisfield, Maryland)

Vista Strawberry Festival (Vista, California)

Feast Days

Augustine of Canterbury (Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox)

August Kopisch (Artology)

Buddha Day (Buddhism)

Doc Owl (Muppetism)

Dorothea Lange (Artology)

Eleuterus, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Festival of the Valley (Ancient Egypt)

Goblin Races (Shamanism)

Lambert of Vence (Christian; Saint)

Lemminkainen’s Day (Pagan)

Lenny Bruce Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

St. Monica (Positivist; Saint)

Oduvald (Christian; Saint)

Olaf Gulbransson (Artology)

Peter Sanz  (Christian; One of Martyr Saints of China)

Philip Neri (Christian; Saint)

Philippe de Champaigne (Artology)

Prayer to Frigga Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Quadratus of Athens (Christian; Saint)

Sacred Well Day (Everyday Wicca)

Thargelia (Birthday Festival of Apollo & Artemis; Ancient Greece)

Totally Random Day (Pastafarian)

World Hunger Day (Pastafarian)

Zachary, Bishop of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Christian Liturgical Holidays

General Prayer Day (Roman Catholic)

Trinity Sunday [8 Weeks after Easter]

Orthodox Christian Liturgical Calendar Holidays

Paralytic Sunday [4th Sunday of Easter]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Lucky Colours: Dark Grey, Black, Dark Blue & Purple

Lucky Stones: Amethyst, Dark Sapphire, Black Pearl & Back Diamond

Premieres

Absolutely Free, by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (Album; 1968)

American Pie, by Don McLean (Song; 1971)

The Anvil Chorus Girl (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1944)

Avengers Assemble (Animated TV Series; 2013)

Beatlemania! (Broadway Musical Tribute; 1977)

Big Jake (Film; 1971)

Buddy of the Apes (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Caspar (Animated Film; 1995)

Dizzy Kitty (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1941)

Dracula, by Bram Stoker (Novel; 1897)

Flying Home, recorded by Lionel Hampton (Song; 1937)

Games People Play, by Eric Berne (Self-Help Book; 1966)

God’s Men, by Pearl S. Buck (Novel; 1951)

Johnny Mnemonic (Film; 1995)

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Animated Film; 2011)

Mad Love (Film; 1995)

A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster (Novel; 1924)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Film; 2017)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles (Album; 1967)

Sleepy-Time Tom (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1951)

Sourcery, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1988) [Discworld #5]

Tarts and Flowers (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1950)

Titus Awakes, by Mervyn Peake (Novel; 2009) [Gormenghast #4]

A Universal History of Iniquity, by Jorge Luis Borges (Short Stories; 1935)

The Whole Truth and Nothing But, by Hedda Hopper (Memoir; 1963)

X-Men: The Last Stand (Film; 2006)

Yellow Submarine, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Alwin, Philipp (Austria)

Anamarija, Filip, Zdenko (Croatia)

Filip (Czech Republic)

Beda (Denmark)

Miina, Minna, Valme, Valmi, Vella, Velli, Vilma, Vilme (Estonia)

Miina, Mimmi, Minna, Minni, Vilhelmiina, Vilma (Finland)

Bérenger (France)

Marianne, Philipp (Germany)

Alfaios, Karpos, Sinesios (Greece)

Evelin, Fülöp (Hungary)

Filippo, Pellegrino (Italy)

Eduards, Edvards, Varis (Latvia)

Algimantas, Eduardas, Milvydė, Vilhelmina (Lithuania)

Annbjørg, Annlaug (Norway)

Beda, Filip, Marianna, Paulina, Więcemił, Wilhelmina (Poland)

Carp (România)

Dušan (Slovakia)

Felipe, Mariana (Spain)

Vilhelmina, Vilma (Sweden)

Felipe, Flip, Phil, Philip, Philippa, Phillip (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 147 of 2024; 219 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 21 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 19 (Geng-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 18 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 18 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 27 Magenta; Sixday [27 of 30]

Julian: 13 May 2024

Moon: 88%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 6 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Monica]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 69 of 92)

Week: 4th Week of May

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 6 of 31)

[lovejustforaday]

2023 Year End List - #9

Paper Cut From The Obit - Celestaphone

Main Genres: Jazz Rap, Experimental Rap, Abstract Rap

A decent sampling of: Jazz-Funk, Psychedelic Soul, Conscious Rap, Jazz-Rock, Disco Rap, Progressive Rock

Counting down the list with yet another weird ass hip hop album, and there's still two more to go after this one, so strap in.

Celestaphone is the project of American rapper/producer Joseph Murphy. The guy raps in the way I might imagine the Joker (no, not that one, the OG one) would sound if he was whacked out on some really hefty stimulants and also an IT tech guy who plays D&D.

The dude's self-portrayal is so goofy and non-threatening that it makes some of the frankly insane abstract rap ramblings go down a lot smoother. Actually, I'm kind of obsessed with his persona - I would play the hell out of a video game staring this character.

According to his Spotify bio (Look, the guy hasn't done a whole lot of interviews), Joseph grew up around total music nerds, listening to Madvillain, Frank Zappa (checks out), and Kate Bush from an early age. And there is certainly a lot of evidence of a musically colourful mind on this latest project of his.

As far as I'm concerned, Paper Cut From The Obit is probably just the unhinged setlist of an in-house live jazz band meant to be playing for the rejected late night show that got cancelled for blatant sacrilege, put to record. Sound-wise, I think Celestaphone might've just invented "prog rap" on this thing, what with the virtuosic, ambitious jazz-funk production and clear prog rock influence, combined with sudden changes in rhythm that keeps me on the edge of my seat (if I'm not already up shaking my ass to the funk rhythms).

Also, just a silly little tip I discovered the other night - playing this while rolling around in Liberty City, speeding down the wrong side of the street is a whole aesthetic moment and the closest I've felt to being invincible in a while.

The jerky organized piano jazz rap chaos of "Jettatura" is disorienting. Feels like banging my head and seeing stars in a seedy jazz club in a city I'm completely unfamiliar with. Completely twisted magic.

"Small World" is a lyrical masterclass, plain and simple - maybe my favourite bars of the year. Musically, I'm getting vivid images of bouncy animated skyscrapers and blinding camera flashes and bright ass flood lights. "Imagine you looked at a tree just the way you look at your penis" is the most hilarious lyric of 2023.

"Tops Turvy" is a mix of classic funky clavinet and a plush, organic jazz beat that feels hella comfy. Floating up on the top cloud in a technical dreamy funk heaven, while giggling with the devil himself as Celestaphone pokes fun at the promises and overzealous claims of organized religion.

The instrumental "Chitauri Chip" is a glittering and mythical jazz-rock, dancing the flickers of an old and sacred flame. Has some desert-wandering merchant energy in the general vastness and mystery of its central riff, plus those golden brown acoustic guitar chimes shimmering like treasure in the sun's massive rays.

Also, would ya look at that? Surprise Armand Hammer feature on the more chilled-out "Tithes", along with underground avant-garde rapper sensation Moor Mother. Funny, I wonder if one of them Armand Hammer dudes is gonna appear one more time on a different entry in this list (hint hint). Incidentally, another one of the best moments on this highly leftfield record.

"Babies" is simultaneously one of the strangest choices for an album closer I've ever heard and exactly how an artist like Celestaphone would choose to end a record. It's, well, it's an ode to babies. There's elements of satire but also he's making a pretty good case for baby supremacy. That twangy guitar solo throughout the whole thing just accents how utterly crazy this guy is. I wouldn't have had it ending in any other way. A comical stroke of genius.

There is one or two tracks I would omit in the mid section, and the sequencing could've been spread out more seeing as how nearly every major highlight is on either end of this 16 track powerhouse. But still, enough of this is balls-to-the-wall crazy and infectious that I don't mind that it's got a longer run tracklisting-wise, and at only 43 minutes total runtime, no song every overstays it's welcome.

Yeah, honestly I'm mostly totally impressed by this record. Between all of the ambition displayed here and the major underground names he's collaborating with, it's really not a matter of if but when this guy blows up.

Paper Cut From The Obit is one of the most creative records I listened to in 2023, and nearly every second of it is teeming with mad scientist energy thanks to Joseph's immense presence as an MC and his immaculate taste in sexy fucking retro jazz beats. I'll have whatever this guys having, thank you very much - dude's got it all figured out.

9/10

Highlights: "Small World", "Tops Turvy", "Chitauri Chip", "Tithes", "They All Con It", "Jettatura", "Babies", "Erfurt Latrine", "Paintings of Panspermia"

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Wednesday, 27 November 2023:

Library Bundle (18 of 18)

Sheik Yerbouti Frank Zappa (Rykodisc) (original released in 1979, this reissue released in 1990)

This purchase, even for a buck, is sheer conditioning. Green Ryko jewel cases are difficult to find in perfect condition. They are often broken and more often than not, the album is placed in a normal clear jewel case. The fact that this was a complete unexpected find in the stacks of CDs for a buck at the Friends of The Library sale is one reason why I bought it. It's in perfect condition.

But here's the kicker. I don't like Frank Zappa. Oh sure, I have at least a dozen of his albums (all predominantly The Mothers of Invention, everyone of them Ryko reissues) but I've done my time with Zappa in the mid 1990s and I have very little intention of ever bothering to listen to him again. Yes, I do enjoy Uncle Meat, but I can't imagine ever having to listen to it again. Matter of fact, I've seriously considered trading away all my Zappa CDs, that's how much I care for him.

The fact I bought this was purely based on that 1995 me. Ooh, a Zappa Ryko, I better get this! Once upon a time I felt I had to investigate and learn about certain artists and Zappa was one of those artists. I've done my Zappa time, I'll never go back again. Plus, I get this album and Apostrophe confused and I actually thought that was what I was buying. Not that it makes any difference, I dislike both albums (both of which I've owned on vinyl in the past).

Will I ever play this? Absolutely not. I've been conditioned that when I see a green Ryko, I buy it, providing it is in workable condition. I should probably re-condition myself so when I pull out a green Ryko and Zappa is attached to put it back on the shelf. Even for a dollar. So, this immediately goes on my shelf, forever unheard. Poor Frank.

Above you see the front and back of the CD. Below you get to see the opened gatefold shots with and without CD.

Here are two shots of the booklet, front and back. This isn't the entirety of the booklet, mind you, but it is all I'm bothering with.

Lastly here is a photo of the CD.

And so ends my Library Bundle. This is probably going to be my first and last library haul. I can't sustain 20 CDs at a pop and I most certainly don't have room to sustain it. But it was fun to do once!