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.
Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting To You
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pa-dan!
Does this kind of life look interesting to you? Night after night, dinners with Herb Cohen. Thrill-packed, fun-filled evenings on the French Riviera at the MIDEM convention. A fake tie, the whole bit. Watch Mutt eat, and Leon feed the geese. One thousand green business cards, with your name and the wrong address. Plus six royalty statements, inspected and customized by Rantoon Tan, Hantoon Frammin, and DEE... Followed by twelve potential suicides as the members of your group, past and present, find out they can't collect unemployment. A dog, a car, an epidemic of, body lice with your own record company, your name on the door, electric buzzer to the inner office, and Ona's tits, and a three month supply of German bookings with tickets on Air Rangoon. Does this kind of life look interesting to you? As a fake rock and roll guitar player in a comedy group?
Hunna hunna hunna
200 Motels
Ran toon han toon
Han-toon-hannnnnn!
200 Motels
I'm stealing the room!
I'm stealing the room!
I'm stealing the room!
Stealing the room
Stealing the
Stealing the room
(Stealing the room)
I'm
I'm
(Stealing)
Stealing
Stealing
I'm
I'm
Stealing
These lyrics are from the song "Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting To You?" by Frank Zappa, and are meant to be satirical and tongue-in-cheek. The song is essentially a list of absurd scenarios and situations that Zappa imagines a rock musician might encounter on tour or in the music industry. It's unclear who exactly "Herb Cohen" is, but he was a real-life music manager who worked with artists like Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and Linda Ronstadt. The French Riviera is a popular vacation spot known for its luxury and glamour, so Zappa's mention of attending an industry convention there implies that he sees the music industry as a shallow and superficial world of appearances.
The reference to "Mutt" and "Leon" is unclear, but they may be characters from the film "200 Motels", which Zappa made in 1971. The mention of "Rantoon Tan, Hantoon Frammin, and DEE" seems to be a play on words that doesn't have any specific meaning. The line about "potential suicides" suggests that Zappa thinks the music industry can be a cutthroat and unforgiving world. The mention of "Ona's tits" is a clear example of Zappa's irreverent sense of humor, which often poked fun at taboo subjects.
As for the chorus, Zappa seems to be referencing his own film "200 Motels", which was a surrealist musical comedy that satirized the rock and roll lifestyle. The repeated phrase "I'm stealing the room" might be a nod to the film's absurdist plot, which involves a group of musicians who all end up staying in the same hotel room and causing chaos. The line "Hunna hunna hunna" is probably just a nonsense phrase that Zappa used for its comedic effect.
Line by Line Meaning
Does this kind of life look interesting to you?
Are you attracted to the idea of living a life where you attend endless dinners with Herb Cohen, and spend your time travelling and attending convention events in the French Riviera, wearing a fake tie?
Night after night, dinners with Herb Cohen.
Frequent dinners spent with Herb Cohen
Thrill-packed, fun-filled evenings on the French Riviera at the MIDEM convention.
Exhilarating and exciting nights spent at convention events in the French Riviera
A fake tie, the whole bit.
Wearing a fake tie, pretending to be from an upper-class background
Watch Mutt eat, and Leon feed the geese.
Observing a dog eat alongside a friend feeding geese
One thousand green business cards, with your name and the wrong address.
Possessing a large quantity of business cards with an incorrect address
Plus six royalty statements, inspected and customized by Rantoon Tan, Hantoon Frammin, and DEE...
Six statements detailing royalties inspected by specific individuals, possibly representing the complicated nature of his financial situation
Followed by twelve potential suicides as the members of your group, past and present, find out they can't collect unemployment.
Undesirable outcomes as former and current members of his group cannot receive their financial benefits
A dog, a car, an epidemic of, body lice with your own record company, your name on the door, electric buzzer to the inner office, and Ona's tits, and a three month supply of German bookings with tickets on Air Rangoon.
Possessing varying items like a dog and a car, experiencing issues with body lice and owning his own record company. In addition, he references having access to Ona's breasts, and having three months of solid bookings in Germany, which could be intended as a commentary on the wider difficulty of financial security in the music industry
As a fake rock and roll guitar player in a comedy group?
Pondering whether living a life as a fictional guitar player in a comedy group is desirable
I'm stealing the room!
Exclaiming a desire to possess and take ownership of a room
200 Motels
The title of a film made by Frank Zappa
Ran toon han toon
A nonsensical phrase that could be interpreted as an inside joke or obscure reference
I'm stealing the room!
Repeating the earlier desire to possess and take ownership of a room
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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