The Bar is High and Always Open For Tom Waits’ Closing Time

When I first heard Tom Waits I was like WTF?!  How is someone with a voice so gruff getting paid to sing?  Similar reaction I had to my first hearing Leonard Cohen.  I was young… clearly I was stupid, and boy, baby I have come a long way.  I am loath to admit it, but I was quite a musical prude in my much younger days.  If I knew then… blah, blah, blah…

Tom Waits – Closing Time

Some of my most treasured albums are this one, The Heart of Saturday Night and Small Change, especially because “Tom Traubert’s Blues [Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen]“ is one of the most beautiful songs ever written… Man it slays me.  Dessert Island track for sure.

With Waits it starts with the songwriting and storytelling.  The man creates canvases filled with amazing colors and sounds and shadows.  He takes you into worlds you would otherwise never know… but soon you realize that you do know them, perhaps not in the specifics but most definitely in the intimate, emotional details.

You also realize the depth of expression in his voice.  No one sings like him, and no one can.  It is what makes Tom Waits, Tom Waits… Who the hell wants to live in a world where everyone sings in the same octave and about the same exact things?

Once I got over my judgemental ignorance, Tom Waits became one of my favorite artists, and in fact, he is the only celebrity I have gotten speechless around.  I saw him at the Newark airport years and years ago, and could not muster the words to go talk to him.  My mouth literally fell open and just stayed there.  I have never gotten that way around anyone… and that includes Tom Hanks, Don Henley and some of my other faves… Okay, I have never met Bruce, so we’ll see how that goes.

This is his debut album and was released in 1973.  It is considered a “cult favorite,” since it has never sold more than half a million copies.  Hard to believe.  I will admit that I first heard The Eagles version of “Ol’ 55″ and assumed it was their song for a long while… You know I love the Eagles, so lay off, but I much prefer Waits’ soulful and richer version.

This album is a great mix of rock, folk and smoky jazz… and also a little piano bar to boot.  Waits made his name at The Troubadour, one of my favorite venues in LA.  It’s where he was discovered by manager Herb Cohen in 1971 and David Geffen in 1972, with the latter signing him to Asylum Records.

Aside from the aforementioned “Ol’ 55″ this album has some of Tom’s best songs, like “I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You”, “Martha”, “Ice Cream Man”, “Grapefruit Moon” and the title song “Closing Time”.

The whole thing is a gem and it still shocks me that I did not more immediately embrace it.  Ah well, you live and you learn and there still may drinks to be had before closing time.  Cheers.

The Curse of the Songwriter – Karla Bonoff’s Genius Given Voice

Sometimes it backfires to be too good of a songwriter.  I talked about Leonard Cohen yesterday, who has had songs covered by everyone.  Wikipedia claims “over 2,000 renditions of Cohen’s songs have been recorded.”

I knew Cohen’s music before I knew Cohen as a singer and a complete artist.  The same can be said about Karla Bonoff.  While her voice is a beautiful combo of early Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell, most people know her songs as interpreted by others.  That was me.

“Home” was covered by Raitt.  “Someone To Lay Down Beside Me,” “Lose Again,” and “If He’s Ever Near” were covered by Ronstadt.  She actually sang back up for Linda and also Wendy Waldman before going solo.

Karla is a great writer, obviously, but her voice deserves to be heard as well, not only through others, but in its own glory.  It is exquisite and simple and lovely… it just soothes the soul.

Karla Bonoff – The Best of Karla Bonoff: All My Life

This is a great overview of her career and that sweet voice.  The whole thing is like a lullaby… something to listen to when you need to just sit and be and contemplate… Hers is one of those rare voices that just takes you away and makes you feel good about things.

Years ago I was doing some work for Rhino Records on their Listen to the Music series (a three-volume tribute to the singer-songwriters of the ’70s).  I so need to work for them again… What a great label…

I think this might have been the first time I heard Karla.  ”Lose Again” became one of my favorite, most special songs… and as some of you know, just the other week it randomly (or perhaps not) popped back into my brain!  All of the songs mentioned up above are on this great collection.

She is also a member of Bryndle, which includes Wendy Waldman, Kenny Edwards and Andrew Gold, but the band has not been active for a while, and Gold had left before that.

Today is the Jewish New Year… a day to celebrate and think… to have joy but to also evaluate your life and what you can do to make yourself and the world a better place.  Pretty deep and heady stuff.  This is one of those albums that quiets a lot of your inner turmoil, and on a day like today, an ideal choice.

Music For A New Year – Leonard Cohen’s Spiritual Journey, Live in London

Tonight at sundown the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins… We say L’Shana Tovah… for a good year…

To those who celebrate and those who do not, may you all have a happy, healthy New Year filled with joy and bliss and good health.  May we all have a good year.

I am Jewish.  I am proud of this fact.  Being Jewish is part of my identity, but it is not solely who I am.  We are all individuals, with our own thoughts and feelings and ideas… and things will be right with the world, when we learn to cherish and love and respect those differences.  The reason I am proud to be Jewish, is that it has encouraged me to learn as much as I can about other religions and beliefs… to respect and honor them.  To tolerate is not enough… We must go way beyond that.

Leonard Cohen is Jewish, but I do not know if he even practices… Most of his spirituality seems to come from Buddhism, another religion I deeply respect and often turn to for guidance and ideas.  Yet, there is a biblical depth to his lyrics… an Old Testament notion, not just in the literal.  He is and should be considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

Leonard Cohen – Live in London

Finding an album was hard… There are so many worth listening to… his debut Songs of Leonard Cohen… 1971′a Songs of Love and Hate… the variety of collections… His music is remarkable and prolific.

The reason I picked this one, first and foremost, is that it amazing.  I did not see him on this last tour, so yes, there is yet one more regret for the pile that is growing way too big.  I cannot keep skipping these shows!  By all accounts and by video evidence (rent or buy the DVD of this show!!!), this was the tour to see.

His voice is not pretty… at least not in the “traditional” sense of the word… but it has traveled the world and been through more journeys than I can imagine… the Israeli Air Force… years in a Zen Buddhist Monastery… bankruptcy… and an eternal spiritual yearning…

I first heard him when I walked into the house of Rabbi Steven Leder… over 20 years ago… wow!  The modern art on the wall and Leonard Cohen filling the room told me pretty quickly that this was not my Daddy’s Rabbi!  His voice instantly grabbed me… or maybe shocked me… but as I began to listen, and in the subsequent years, it became a thing of beauty and poetry.

“Dance Me to the End of Love,” “Who By Fire” and of course “Bird on a Wire,” “Tower of Song,” “Suzanne,” “Sisters of Mercy” and the ubiquitous, omnipresent and eternally gorgeous “Hallelujah” are all glorious gems.  He meditates on war and depression, but most thoughtfully and thoroughly on love.

His wit is self-deprecating and insightful, his lyrics cut like a sacrificial blade and his music moves me like no other.  He sneaks up on you and grabs you and will hold you ’til the end of time.  His music satisfies me, yet makes me yearn… It makes me want to grow and explore… It is what music should and could be!

Being Jewish, to me, means reaching out to the worldwide community and helping wherever and whenever I can… being there for family and friends, of course, but being there for the people in Darfur or the Congo or in a shelter in LA… Groups like the Jewish World Watch and my own Congregation Or Ami and their community service programs are so generous and so vital and so alive.  They are music in action… love and spirituality set in motion.

This is what Leonard Cohen’s music is and what the world can be…

So let us all take to heart the new beginning… and truly make it a happy, healthy, joyous New Year for us and the world… Hallelujah!

I Don’t Always Have Brass Balls, But I Do Always Have Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band

All right, Denise D., this one is for you.  Ask, and you shall receive!  See, now we are getting somewhere… a true musical dialogue… Someone suggests an artist and boom, here they are.  It has happened before… Rob, Jay, Mark… so keep it coming!!!

Yes, I do try to be clever with my titles, but also honest and silly and fun… Sometimes more fun, sometimes more honest… Sometimes something just pops into my head and sends me off on a direction or yes, perhaps… maybe… a tangent!

So… Every once in a while I have brass balls… I do something that is gutsy and nervy and, well, ballsy… It feels good when I do.  I need to have them more… I need to not give so much of a damn about what other people think and be more creative and all out in my choices and artistic endeavors.  That does not mean being an asshole… it means putting your vision and passion on the top of the heap and sticking to your guns… or paint brushes or pens… Whatever it is.  We all have dreams and goals and visions of what art should be… our art… And out art is very different from anyone elses… so go for it, and fight for it… and whip out those brass balls, damn it!

Herb Alpert – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

I am listening to this one from 2010 and also 2011′s Herb Alpert’s Best Hits.  There are so many collections to choose from… Both of these have 25 tracks and similar if not identical songs…

Funny, but now Mariachi music seems to be recurring theme… Mariachi El Bronx and now this one…

Herb Alpert is amazing.  While he is perhaps best known alongside the Tijuana Brass, he is also the “A” of A&M Records, a painter and sculptor and an excessively generous philanthropist.. and has sold, oh yeah, 72 million albums… has eight Grammy Awards, fourteen Platinum albums and fifteen Gold albums.  And yes, he is a nice, Jewish boy!!!

Okay, when I was younger I thought Herb Alpert had two or three songs and all of them were used on The Dating Game… Well, “Whipped Cream” and one of his most famous compositions, “Spanish Flea” were on the show… and I think “Acapulco” was used too…

His style is a combo of jazz and pop and that great Latin sound… “Alpert happened to hear a mariachi band while attending a bullfight… and was inspired to find a way to express musically what he felt while watching the wild responses of the crowd…”

The music is pretty infectious.  “The Lonely Bull” is a fantastic song and the first one with the Tijuana Brass, although at this point, it was just him overdubbing his own trumpet, making it sound like a whole horn section.  After this single hit, the first album followed (which was also A&M’s first album released!) and then came the actual putting together of the band.

Somewhat ironically, none of the members of the band were Hispanic, but they did get folks interested in Latin music and acts.  I love how Alpert described the band to his audiences: ”Four lasagnas, two bagels, and an American cheese.”

The rest, is musical history!  FYI… Alpert is the only recording artist to have a #1 hit as both an instrumentalist (“Rise”) and vocalist (“This Guy’s in Love With You”).  Maybe he CAN do it ALL!

Man, this music is fun!  It has been way too long since I really, really sat and listened.  Thanks, Denise.

And remember folks… A little spit and polish is all you need to make that brass shine… Well…

For Those Mondays When You Need a Kick In The %&! Proudly Presenting The Wombats!

Man, do I need a kick in the ass today.  I am trying to clean and purge and get the crap out of my life so I can focus on the good stuff… Life is too short, the time to act is now… Act and write and fulfill all the dreams that keep us going.  Keep your eye on the big picture… be aware of the little things, but don’t let them bog you down… Onwards and upwards…

Stop, listen and take things in before you respond or take action… Really see what you see… hear what you hear… feel what you feel.  There are many subtleties and things that take a bit of sensitivity… Easy, baby, easy…

Back to the piles… AAGGHH!!!

So yeah, I need some fun, kick ass music to kick me in the back side.

The Wombats – The Wombats Proudly Present A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation

It has been a while since I have pulled out a great Power Punk Pop selection… and this is a really good one!

The band is from Liverpool and are placed in either the Indie Rock or Power Pop genre, but there is also a punk element, which is why I prefer my category.  AllMusic says “British indie rock trio the Wombats make driving guitar post-punk and electronic-influenced pop.”  Okay, we’re on the same page for sure!

I put them up there with The Rifles, The Twlight Sad, Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis and a whole bunch of great UK bands.  Their songs are fast, great little diddies that fly by and keep you moving and bopping.

I love “Kill the Director,” “Moving to New York,” “Backfire at the Disco” and especially “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” the song that AllMusic calls “a genuinely swell bit of tongue in cheek new wave revivalism.”

If you took me up on my invitation to join Spotify, you will find this one and their newest album to listen to… so you have NO excuses.

Come on, you know you need a little musical caffeine!

So Beautiful Or So What Is Something So Right – Paul Simon Brings Me Back

Just when I thought people could not get any stranger… or more pathetic… I was at the Geffen Playhouse yesterday for a matinee of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, which I highly recommend.  It is a great play with interesting metaphors for the state of the world and the odd cultural conspiracies of the US… Fantastic acting… amazing writing… a blast of a time.

So at one point in the play, one of the actors throws into the audience, fake dollar bills with his picture on them.  During intermission I grabbed one off the floor and put it, along with my ticket stub in my program… I put my program under the seat and went into the lobby.

When I got back to my seat, someone had taken the dollar AND my ticket stub and placed the program back under the seat.  WTF???!!!  At first I thought, okay, it just fell out, but I looked all around and neither were anywhere.  That is some f’ed up shit right there and pretty darn pathological and a bit creepy.

You’re gonna steal a ticket stub and a fake dollar bill?  Really???!!!  And we wonder why the world is so messed up… Learn some manners and civility people.  Be a human being for heaven’s sake… I’m serious.  This may be a minor thing, but it is a behavioral trait and a harbinger of things to come for this person… Trust me.

Wow… Anyway… to quote the great David Mamet… “so that happened…”

Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What

This is Simon’s 12th studio album and came out on April 8, 2011.  I got it shortly after that but did not really listen to it that much until a few weeks ago… I gave it the once over and that was it… Why?  I don’t quite know.  I think it’s that I have way too much music and things can sometimes get lost, even new albums and acquisitions…

Okay, one can never have too much music, really… as long as we actually listen and enjoy on a daily basis.  Yes, it can be daunting, but at least for me, I never really know what I may be in the mood for or need on any given day.  That is what makes online juke boxes and services like Rhapsody and Spotify so appealing.  They don’t have everything but my strikeouts have been minimal.

I am a visceral person, so I would still rather touch an album or even a CD, but space or lack there of is key… so digital seems to be the answer.

The album before this was Surprise, which was considered a comeback of sorts.  It was well received but I don’t think as consistent as this one.  Producer Brian Eno also leaves a very distinct fingerprint.  I still enjoy that album, particularly the song “Father and Daughter”, which is one of the most moving tunes Simon has ever written and especially meaningful for me and my J.

But this one seems to take the best of Paul Simon’s sounds and thrust it into the present… old and new all mixed together.  It looks at the modern world and deals with some heavy meditations… but rhythm and joy are always there.  Producer and Mixer Phil Ramone (Billy Joel, Elton John, Macca, etc. and amazing innovator, by the way… remarkable…) obviously understands Simon on many levels.

It opens with a Christmas tune that will have folks thinking Graceland…. This was actually an older song of Paul’s (Nov. 2010) and serves as further proof that nice Jewish boys write the BEST Xmas music!  A lot of this album will have you thinking Graceland… and the whole album will have you thinking Paul Simon is back!  What a joy… and something I need when my faith in humanity is tested or questioned or teased… even a little bit.

College Football Saturday and Mariachi El Bronx… Let the Tailgates and Parties Begin

I love Saturdays in the Fall… There is just nothing like College Football.  It’s funny, but I know so many pro fans that just dismiss college… I am the opposite.  I like Sunday football just fine, but I love Saturdays.  The rivalries… the tailgates… the spirit… anything can happen.  What’s on paper does not always mean a done deal.

Go Cats!

No, I won’t subject you to recordings of the Northwestern Marching Band or our fight song… The band is good, really good, but I won’t make that the selection of the day.

Here is a band that I only heard about a few weeks ago, but have spoken about in passing a few times already.  If you are having a party or just want to feel like you are having one, this is a great album to listen to.

Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx (II)

Two self-titled albums is a little confusing… and I am still up in the air as to which I prefer… But both are totally fun and wonderful listens.  They were recommended by my chiropractor, Dr. G. in Encino… Great guy who is into good food, good wine and good music.  In other words, my kind of guy!

What is so odd is that they are actually a hardcore punk band out of LA.  I have not heard any of that, nor their three eponymous albums.  This incarnation is their “alter ego.”  So when they are The Bronx… hardcore… El Bronx… Mariachi.  Got it?  Get it.  Good!

The first album came out in 2009… this one just this past August.  Some albums take me a few listens to get into… This one had me with the story of the band… at least my interest… Way too crazy of a combination… but my joy came with the first note.

If you like Los Amigos Invisibles (saw them at the Bowl this summer… great!), Calexico or Ozomatli (always amazing), I think you will LOVE this band, too.

So go ahead… put on some college football, light up the grill and get the party started.  Just don’t invite Miley!

Searching For A Love Supreme – Finding It In John Coltrane

Stereo has been on overdrive yesterday and today… from the car to the computer to the actual stereo, there has been so much great music running through my brain and my being… My Morning Jacket… Rachel Yamagata… The Smiths… Ben Folds… Trashcan Sinatras…

I am still loving Thirteen Senses… Portugal. The Man… Mariachi El Bronx… and the new Paul Simon is great… back to the old Paul Simon!  Okay, yes it has been out for five months… but I am really getting to it now.  Come on, people.  I am listening here!

But last week my friend and regular reader Patrick made mention that today, Sept. 23 would have been John Coltrane’s 85th Birthday.  Given the fact that he is my favorite Sax player of all time and one of my favorite jazz musicians ever, this was a no brainer.

While I have not done this in a while, and it could be a little annoying at times, I guess… I used to ask people who had a famous last name, if they were related to so and so… Usually they would say no… sometimes they would roll their eyes since they had probably heard it a million times… but every once in a while…

I was working at the wine shop whose name cannot be spoken, when a woman walked in to buy some nice bottles.  When she handed me her credit card, I asked if she was related to John Coltrane.  She said, “yes, he was my step father.”  So that was pretty cool right there.  Same happened with the daughter of Mercury Morris… although that was a much more common name, so I have no idea where the question even came from!

John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

In 1965 Impulse! Records released what is considered to be one of Trane’s true masterpieces.  This four-part suite is a mix of bop and free jazz was recorded in one session at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.  Jersey!!!  Rolling Stone listed this at #47 out of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time… For me, it is simply sublime.  It shows the true power of jazz… energy, surprise, spirituality and a sense of amazing movement.  This album takes me on a different journey every time I hear it.

For Coltrane, spirituality was a key component, especially on this record.  While there is much debate as to which “spirituality” he was harnessing or referring to… a particular religion, or as some say, the clarity and devotion he gained from a near drug overdose… it seems clear that he respected different beliefs and honors a universal notion here.  This record is about love, faith and G-d.  Take what you will.

I love how jazz critic Ira Gitler described his playing as being like “sheets of sound.”   He kind of nails it right there.  Phil Spector later created a “wall of sound,” but Trane played in sheets!  And this album will just wrap you up…

Parts of “Acknowledgement” can be heard daily on KCRW.  They open To the Point with the great Warren Olney… Trane’s music would be everywhere, and have an influence way beyond the world of jazz.

He died of liver cancer at age 40, leaving an amazing legacy, but gone way too young… sideman for Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis… band leader… icon… “His multi-tonic systems in jazz have become a technique known as “Coltrane changes“.  Don’t ask me… I have no idea.  What I do know is how much I adore his music… Blue Train, Soultrane, Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Ballads and this one are proudly in my collection… They define jazz for me.  They help define love.

Driver 8 Has Left the Station – R.E.M. Calls It A Career

So R.E.M. is calling it a career.  After 31 years and 15 albums, they announced yesterday that the ride out of Georgia was over.

“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M. 

It’s funny, but as I was going through their discography, I assumed there were more albums.  They put out one a year since 1983, but then in 1988 the gaps between records started increasing.  I guess it makes sense as it always seemed like they made music on their own terms and in their own time.  It always seemed to be about making the best record possible.

In 1995 Bill Berry collapsed on stage from a brain aneurism and left the band in 1997.  Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck carried on, but in 2011, at least for now, they are done.  They end on a high note, as their last two albums were really strong, and their catalog changed the face of college radio and alternative rock music.  Of course this is not the end of creativity and other musical projects… Michael Stipe has had success in the film world… and Peter Buck has been a part of many other outfits like The Minus 5, The Baseball Project, and Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3.  

“Driver 8″ (one of my favorite R.E.M. songs) comes from Fables of the Reconstruction, but today’s album selection is…

R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

This album, their 4th, came out in 1986 and began to push the band into more mainstream success.  It would become their first Gold Record.  According to Buck, they took the title from an Inspector Clouseau line in A Shot in the Dark.

Inspector Clouseau opens car door and falls into a fountain.

Maria: “You should get out of these clothes immediately. You’ll catch your death of pneumonia, you will.”

Clouseau: “Yes, I probably will. But it’s all part of life’s rich pageant, you know?”

I have previously discussed Murmur, their debut album, which is certainly quieter than this one… but Lifes Rich Pageant seems to be more of a move away from Fables of the Reconstruction, which was, according to AllMusic “creepy, rustic psychedelic folk, filled with eerie sonic textures.”  AllMusic says this one “emphasizes the beat, and the band turns in its hardest rockers to date, including the anthemic “Begin the Begin” and the punky “Just a Touch.”

The Byrds influenced, alternative rock style still comes on strong.

One of the main criticisms, which I agree with, is that sometimes you can not understand the lyrics when Stipe sings.  Intentional?  Perhaps… but here is in good voice… in both senses of that… and this is great all the way through, clear and strong.

If I had to pick my stand outs they would be:

The above two songs, of course… “Fall on Me,” “Superman,” “These Days” and “Swan Swan H.”

Myles Standish proud, baby!!!

And so, like in ancient Greece, a fantastic society came out of Athens… and in similar fashion, sadly, that same society will vanish.  It’s the end of the world as we know it and I won’t go back to Rockville.

Frank Zappa and Joe’s Garage: Still Amazing and Confusing Me After All These Years

When I was in High School, I knew one kid who was into Frank Zappa… really into him.  I’m not sure if he had an older sibling or was just way ahead of the curve.  I am way behind the curve… in everything.  I feel like I am about 15 years behind myself.  It’s a bit confusing.  I will admit, that the music of Frank Zappa is confusing to me, too.  It always has been.  I certainly did not get it back then… and I am just finally coming to understand it now… I think… Okay, maybe just a little bit.  It has so many elements and is so out there, but then again, maybe you are not supposed to be able to wrap your head around it at all.  Maybe that is part of the point.

I liken Frank to being a musical absurdist.  His canvas is a sheet of music and a concert stage.  He is doing with music what some artists do with paint.  His earliest influences were from avant-garde composers Webern and Stravinsky!

He would then go on to influence bands like The Tubes, Primus, Alice Cooper and Phish.  Freak Out!, his debut album from 1966 influenced Paul McCartney and apparently Sgt. Pepper!!!

Last night, for the second time, I saw Zappa Plays Zappa.  The band is amazing, and the music they are playing is wacky and wonderful and unbelievably complex.  They were great and the crowd’s response was overwhelming!

Before I continue, let me just say that Return to Forever, the headliner, was a joy to behold.  They are all incredible musicians… Chick Corea, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale… Come on… They are sick!!!  But without a doubt, Stanley Clarke is the greatest living musician out there.  He is on another plane AND another planet… and transforms his instrument like no other.  He does not play the bass, he masters it and has made it into something so ethereal, something so utterly stunning, something we have never seem before.  I have seen him a number of times and he does nothing short of amaze me every single time.

But back to Zappa… I am listening with new ears… exploring… trying to understand… I love listening, but I want to feel like I have a grasp on it.  Just to GET it a little more… I don’t think that will come today.  Perhaps it will never come, but that is exciting… that is thrilling… it lets me know that even though Frank is gone, his music not only lives on, but spurs thought and debate.

Frank Zappa – Joe’s Garage: Acts I, II & III

The reason I picked this one is simple… it has one of my FAVORITE SONGS PERIOD in “Watermelon in Easter Hay.”  Seriously, I adore this beautiful instrumental.  It also has Frank’s biggest “commercial” hit… “Catholic Girls.”

Joe’s Garage is a rock opera and actually has a through line…  crazy, out there through line, but there is a story.

“The albums feature Ike Willis as the voice of “Joe”, a stereotypical garage band youth who unwittingly journeys through the miasma of the music business… Zappa provides the voice of the “Central Scrutinizer” character—a mechanical voice that narrates the story and haunts Joe’s psyche.”

Zappa says the story was “inspired by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which outlawed public musical expression. The story incorporates humorous examinations of various topics, such as groupie migration, sexual repression imposed by the Catholic Church, Scientology, fetishism, struggling musicians and the censorship of music.”

One of the highlights last night was “Dancin’ Fool” and I just learned after a crazy stage accident in 1971, that one leg healed “shorter than the other” and so he references this in this song and “Zomby Woof.”  Neither on Joe’s Garage, but interesting.  He also played with Jean-Luc Ponty in the ’70s… FYI…

Despite what you may think… I thought for sure some of the music had to have been influenced by certain substances… Frank was very anti-drugs… His one vice seemed to be his cigarettes, which he never gave up.  His legacy is intact, his output amazing and I am just starting to make sense of it all.  Sorry, I am way behind the times.