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.
Didja Get Any Onya?
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
MOO-AHHH
MOO-AHHH
Lowell: Years ago in Germany when I was a very small boy, zere was a lot of people standing around on ze corners asking questions: "Why are you standing on ze corner, acting ze way you act, looking like you look? WHY DO YOU LOOK THAT WAY?" And they ask me and I only would say: "I don't... I don't know, I'm just standing 'round ze corner waiting here... just in... in ze evening, and... and it's so nice outside... the night is so nice... why... are you just asking these questions..."
Didja
Get any
(Onya...)
MOO-AHHH
MOO-AHHH
MOO-AHHH
MOO-AHHH
The lyrics of Didja Get Any Onya? seem to be an abstract commentary on the rebellious, countercultural attitudes prevalent in the 1960s. The repetition of "Moo-Ahhh" at the beginning and in the middle of the song could possibly represent animalistic and primal urges that people were giving into during this time. Then, the character of Lowell, who seems to be a European immigrant, shares a story about being questioned for looking and acting different from the norm. The song itself seems to be questioning the audacity of these types of inquiries and the societal pressure to conform.
The repetitive chorus "Didja Get Any Onya” seems to be a mocking reference to the sexual promiscuity that was prevalent during the era. It is important to note that Zappa was known for his irreverent and satirical approach to his music, so these lyrics could also be interpreted as a commentary on the superficial nature of the counterculture movements.
Line by Line Meaning
Lowell: Years ago in Germany when I was a very small boy, zere was a lot of people standing around on ze corners asking questions: "Why are you standing on ze corner, acting ze way you act, looking like you look? WHY DO YOU LOOK THAT WAY?" And they ask me and I only would say: "I don't... I don't know, I'm just standing 'round ze corner waiting here... just in... in ze evening, and... and it's so nice outside... the night is so nice... why... are you just asking these questions..."
Lowell describes a time when he was young and people asked him why he was standing on the corner acting the way he was. He couldn't give them a clear answer, as he was simply enjoying the nice evening weather.
Didja
Did you
Get any
Have sex with anyone
Onya onya onya onya...
Repeatedly emphasizes the question of whether the listener had sex with anyone
MOO-AHHH
Repeating animalistic sounds, likely to add to the song's absurdity and humor
Contributed by Jayden C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus
RIP Ray Liotta
@Frankincensedjb123
Unlike many musicians, Frank was the consummate artist, or, should I say, sound doctor. He LOVED to play with sound, and rhythm, to see what would come of it. I grew up playing rock and remember loving loud sounds, why I loved to mow the lawn: the sound was deafening (great stuff). Frank was a composer, but one who loved soundscapes of the oddest variety. And it was his experimentation and doctoring of sound that made him the great composer that he was. One of my favorite pieces is Weasels Ripped My Flesh-- the power and the glory of just smashing sounds. Serious alternate entertainment.
@bubblerap7176
Brilliantly stated. You've won the Internet.
@user-fc2sy5uv9s
Very true, as should be of any great composer. -I like the little gentle giant reference you slipped in there toođź‘Ś
@jfleminator
I make sure to downvote your comments everytime I see them. Are you the self proclaimed ambassador of Zappa?
@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus
@@jfleminator youre a douche, and also downvoted. Douche.
@Youtube.Commen-tater
@@jfleminator Did you just ask yourself a question?
@pudman31
This song came first, and since Frank produced Trout Mask Replica, he decided to use this song as a backing track for "The Blimp".
@TheSilentshinigami
Man does this bring back memories. I turned a friend onto this album when it was released in the very early 70's . He bought it, listened to it and then threw it in the garbage. He later became a Gynecologist. Karma
@SnowTheJamMan
And to think this was written buy a guy who DIDN'T use drugs