Zappa's earliest influences were 1950s pop and rock (such as doo-wop and rhythm and blues), and 20th-century classical composers including Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse. His output was divided between adventurous instrumental compositions and succinct, catchy rock songs with ribald, satirical, or comically absurd lyrics. On stage he demanded virtuosity and spontaneity from his musicians, and employed many performers who would later go on to achieve fame in their own rights. He directed and released a number of films featuring himself, his musicians and entourage, including 200 Motels and Baby Snakes.
His career started in 1955. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their first release (as The Mothers of Invention; the name alteration requested by their record company) was the 1966 double album Freak Out!. The line-up of the Mothers gradually expanded to accommodate Zappa's increasingly ambitious and avant-garde music, but by 1969 he decided to work outside the band structure, focusing on his solo career, and effectively disbanding the Mothers in 1971.
The beginnings of his solo career in the late sixties and early seventies was characterised by a strong free jazz influence, with albums containing little, if any, lyrical content, such as Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Towards the mid-seventies his albums became more rock-orientated, with a combination of Jazz Fusion instrumentation and Rock song structures. This more accessible sound bore reasonable mainstream appeal, especially with the release of the well-advertised albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (') (which both went Gold), but Zappa's unpredictably eclectic output never led to solid mainstream recognition. He received uniformly lukewarm reviews from popular music publications such as Rolling Stone throughout his career. In his late seventies' output, the gulf between his humorous songs and more lengthy, complex instrumental music widened, and albums, such as Zappa in New York, Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, and Sleep Dirt displayed, by track, both sides firmly segregated.
Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music (written by the obscure Italian composer 'Francesco Zappa', no relation), an album of Synclavier compositions (misleadingly titled Jazz From Hell which garnered a Grammy award), a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music (the laconically titled Guitar) and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite.
Zappa produced almost all of his own albums, spending many hours in the studio recording and manipulating tracks, and was always at the forefront of emerging technologies; from tape editing, collage, multitrack and overdubbing in the sixties to digital recording, electronic instruments and sampling in the eighties. Conversely, Zappa was also a obsessive self-archivist, recording virtually every one of his live performances, and often using live recordings of new material without needing to enter the studio. The archive of tapes at his family home in Los Angeles continues to be a source of posthumous releases for the Zappa Family Trust. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his shifting line-up of musicians included Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, George Duke, Mike Keneally, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai, as well as giving Alice Cooper his first break in music and working again with his old collaborator Captain Beefheart when his career was in decline.
In the late 1980s he became active in politics, campaigning against the PMRC's music censorship scheme and acting as culture and trade representative for Czechoslovakia in 1989; and considered running as an independent candidate for president of the US.
His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Audience Participation
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This is audience participation time for
The last couple of
Nights we've actually gone so far into the
Realms of bad taste as
To bring living members
Of the audience onto our stage to
Attempt to dance to the song we
Many rational individuals might
Feel that this
Is, well it's an unnecessary thing to do
I mean why should you just get
Tense, fidgeting, disinterested
And completely arhythmic individuals onto the
Stage to make their
Bodies flop around to a song that isyou never
Should've danced to it in the first
Place people say to themselves
"Why? Why bother? Why should
Anybody want to do this?
What a stupid fucking
Thing to do!" But ladies and gentlemen
Let me remind you: that is precisely why
We're here: to do all the stupid
Fucking things you're too evolved to
Even consider so I make
This proposal to you i need
Two very bad dancers, i mean no
Talent whatsoever, complete oafs
One boy oaf, and one girl oaf to
Come on up are you an oaf? Yes you are
Right this way please what's your name?
Rob!
Rob? What's your last name, Rob?
Lip-friend
Rob Lip-friend?
All right Rob, can you dance?
No
Turn around so they can see you
Like your clothes are up
You're looking good what's this? FZ Sucks
And goes home, Hey that's wonderful rob
You're just the
Kind of person we need up here ok
And now one matching female oaf you're not a
Female oaf what? I didn't hear you
How do I know? Ok with an answer
Like that come up what's your name?
Okay i'm sure he's rolling over in his
Grave over that one let's pretend
That we have already achieved our objective
You people decide which one
Is going to be the girl oaf and now
The reason we're not
Going to go "hog wild" as
They say in the trade
I mean the first night we had
Too many people up here
It was so messy here's the
Rules and regulations of our
Dance contest and I hope you
Boys are paying attention to
This this song is approximately two
Minutes long at the
End of the song your time is
Up you will voluntarily remove
Yourselves from the stage during those
Two minutes you are free
To express yourselves in any manner that
You desire so long as
You don't injure each other, any
Member of the audience, or harm
Any of our equipment or any members of the
Rocking teenage combo, is that clear? Ok
In other words for a couple of minutes
It's all yours guysand gals
Maybe? The name of this song is
"The Black Page No 2, "
Okay? One, two, three, four!
In the lyrics to Frank Zappa's song "Halloween Audience Participation," Zappa sets up a humorous and satirical scenario where he invites two audience members onto the stage to attempt to dance to the song "The Black Page No 2." He acknowledges that some people might find this unnecessary and nonsensical, questioning why anyone would want to do such a thing. However, Zappa suggests that the purpose of the performance is to embrace and celebrate the absurdity and the "stupid fucking things" that rational individuals would avoid.
Zappa introduces the two audience members, Rob and an unnamed female, as "complete oafs" with no talent for dancing. He playfully interacts with them, teasing their lack of dancing skills while engaging the audience in the process. He lays out the rules of the dance contest, emphasizing the limited duration of the song and the need for safety and respect for both the audience and the band members.
The lyrics serve to highlight Zappa's unconventional and unapologetic approach to music and performance. By deliberately engaging with mediocre dancers and encouraging them to express themselves, Zappa challenges societal norms and expectations, urging his audience to embrace the joy of embracing the absurd and pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable.
Line by Line Meaning
All right, this is it
The moment has arrived
This is audience participation time for
Now, it's time for the audience to join in
The last couple of
During the previous few
Nights we've actually gone so far into the
Evenings we have ventured deep into the
Realms of bad taste as
Areas of questionable propriety where
To bring living members
To invite live individuals
Of the audience onto our stage to
From the audience onto our stage in order to
Attempt to dance to the song we
Try to dance to the song that we
Are about to play now
Are going to play now
Many rational individuals might
Numerous logical individuals may
Feel that this
Believe that this
Is, well it's an unnecessary thing to do
Is an unnecessary action to take
I mean why should you just get
Why should you simply become
Tense, fidgeting, disinterested
Anxious, restless, uninterested
And completely arhythmic individuals onto the
And completely lacking rhythm individuals onto the
Stage to make their
Platform to cause their
Bodies flop around to a song that isyou never
Bodies flop around to a song that you should never
Should've danced to it in the first
Have danced to it in the beginning
Place people say to themselves
Place individuals say to themselves
"Why? Why bother? Why should
"Why? Why should one trouble themselves? Why should
Anybody want to do this?
Anyone wish to do this?
What a stupid fucking
How foolish and ridiculous
Thing to do!" But ladies and gentlemen
Activity to engage in!" But ladies and gentlemen
Let me remind you: that is precisely why
Allow me to remind you: that is exactly why
We're here: to do all the stupid
We are here: to do all the foolish
Fucking things you're too evolved to
Things you have evolved beyond to
Even consider so I make
Even think about, so I propose
This proposal to you i need
This suggestion to you, I require
Two very bad dancers, i mean no
Two exceptionally untalented dancers, I mean no
Talent whatsoever, complete oafs
Skill whatsoever, complete fools
One boy oaf, and one girl oaf to
One male fool, and one female fool to
Come on up are you an oaf? Yes you are
Come up here, are you a fool? Yes, you are
Right this way please what's your name?
Follow this path please, what is your name?
Rob!
Rob!
Rob? What's your last name, Rob?
Rob? What is your surname, Rob?
Lip-friend
Lip-friend
All right Rob, can you dance?
Okay, Rob, can you dance?
No
No
Turn around so they can see you
Rotate so that they can see you
Like your clothes are up
As if your clothes are raised
You're looking good what's this? FZ Sucks
You are looking good, what does this say? FZ Sucks
And goes home, Hey that's wonderful rob
And goes home, Hey that's fantastic Rob
You're just the
You are exactly the
Kind of person we need up here ok
Type of person we require up here, okay
And now one matching female oaf you're not a
And now one corresponding female fool, you are not a
Female oaf what? I didn't hear you
Female fool what? I did not hear you
How do I know? Ok with an answer
How should I know? Okay, with an answer
Like that come up what's your name?
Like that, come up, what is your name?
Okay i'm sure he's rolling over in his
Okay, I am certain he is rolling over in his
Grave over that one let's pretend
Grave over that one, let's imagine
That we have already achieved our objective
That we have already accomplished our goal
You people decide which one
You people determine which one
Is going to be the girl oaf and now
Will be the female fool and now
The reason we're not
The reason we are not
Going to go "hog wild" as
Going to become excessively wild as
They say in the trade
It is often said in this industry
I mean the first night we had
I mean, on the initial night we had
Too many people up here
An excessive number of individuals on this stage
It was so messy here's the
It was very chaotic, here is the
Rules and regulations of our
Guidelines and rules of our
Dance contest and I hope you
Dance competition and I hope you
Boys are paying attention to
Gentlemen are paying attention to
This this song is approximately two
This, this song is about two
Minutes long at the
Minutes in duration, at the
End of the song your time is
End of the song, your time will be
Up you will voluntarily remove
Finished, you will willingly exit
Yourselves from the stage during those
Yourselves from the stage during that
Two minutes you are free
Two minutes, you are at liberty
To express yourselves in any manner that
To freely express yourselves in any way that
You desire so long as
You wish, as long as
You don't injure each other, any
You do not harm each other, any
Member of the audience, or harm
Audience member, or harm
Any of our equipment or any members of the
Any of our equipment or any members of the
Rocking teenage combo, is that clear? Ok
Rocking teenage band, is that understood? Ok
In other words for a couple of minutes
In simpler terms, for a couple of minutes
It's all yours guysand gals
It is all yours gentlemen and ladies
Maybe? The name of this song is
Maybe? The title of this song is
"The Black Page No 2, "
"The Black Page Number 2, "
Okay? One, two, three, four!
Alright? One, two, three, four!
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Justin Thompson
lil late on the squat but it'll do
o p
All this cigarette smoking seems preposterous these days. Smoking = a ludicrous affectation. Weird how people thought it made them look cool. It’s really pathetic.