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.
I'm the Slime
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
That's right, folks.. Don't touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livingroom floor
I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go
In the lyrics of "I'm the Slime", Frank Zappa presents himself as a manipulative, perverted entity that has existed for years, manipulating society through the media. The song reveals how the government and industry use media as a tool to control people's minds, to regulate public behavior and manipulate their perspectives. The media is presented as a dangerous entity that has the power to create a controlled society where people are powerless to act outside of the norms established by the media.
Zappa also presents the media as an entity that fools people into thinking that it is positive, that its messages are delicious, and that it is the best entity one can get. This ties into the idea of the media being a tool of the government and industry to manipulate and brainwash people.
The chorus of “I am the slime oozin' out from your TV set” is repeated multiple times, yet there is no clarification on what the slime represents. It is left up to interpretation, creating a metaphor, discussing how the media or those in power are trying to control, manipulate, and influence the general population.
In conclusion, the song is a commentary on how the media has become a tool used by society's powers to control and manipulate society's masses. It is unarguably an essential insight into consumer society's workings.
Line by Line Meaning
I am gross and perverted
I am disgusting and twisted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I am consumed and insane
I have existed for years
I've been around for a long time
But very little had changed
But I haven't evolved much
I am the tool of the Government
I'm being controlled by the government
And industry too
And also by big business
For I am destined to rule
Because I am meant to be in charge
And regulate you
And control and manipulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
I may be disgusting and harmful
But you can't look away
But you can't help but watch
I make you think I'm delicious
I make you believe I'm irresistible
With the stuff that I say
With the things I tell you
I am the best you can get
I am the most appealing option you have
Have you guessed me yet?
Have you figured out who I am?
I am the slime oozin' out
I am the toxic substance seeping out
From your TV set
From your television screen
You will obey me while I lead you
You will follow my commands as I guide you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
And consume the low-quality content I give you
Until the day that we don't need you
Until the day we no longer require you
Don't go for help...no one will heed you
Don't try to seek help, as no one will listen to you
Your mind is totally controlled
Your thoughts are completely manipulated
It has been stuffed into my mold
Your thinking has been shaped by me
And you will do as you are told
And you'll follow my instructions
Until the rights to you are sold
Until your freedom is relinquished
That's right, folks.. Don't touch that dial
That's correct, viewers.. Don't change the channel
Well, I am the slime from your video
Well, I am the unhealthy influence in your media
Oozin' along on your livingroom floor
Spreading across your living room
I am the slime from your video
I am the toxic influence in your media
Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go
My influence can't be stopped, watch me spread
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fuzzywzhe
No, television has always been this, always.
The man who invented television was Philo Farnsworth. A true genius and a good man. He made television expecting it to be an educational device, now a single person could teach the entire country, no matter how remote a person was. That was his dream, but it became a propaganda box instead.
When his son asked him why they did not have a television set, he is said to have told his son "There's nothing on it worthwhile, and we're not going to watch it in this household, and I don't want it in your intellectual diet."
And that was in the 1950's or so, when television was just starting to be adopted. It is FAR worse today.
Television has always been this, and always will be this. I will not own a television set. It destroys your mind, and it subtly controls you. When I went to college to study electrical engineering, I simply did not have time to watch the propaganda box, and when I got out of school, I was surprised at how much I discovered I detested it.
@whiskeyriver4322
Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals on all tracks except "Fifty-Fifty" and most of "Zomby Woof"
Kin Vassy – vocals on "I'm the Slime", "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana"
Ricky Lancelotti – vocals on "Fifty-Fifty" and "Zomby Woof"
Sal Marquez – trumpet, vocals on "Dinah-Moe Humm"
Ian Underwood – clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Bruce Fowler – trombone
Ruth Underwood – percussion, marimba, vibraphone
Jean-Luc Ponty – violin, baritone violin
George Duke – synthesizer, keyboards
Tom Fowler – bass
Ralph Humphrey – drums
Tina Turner and the Ikettes – backing vocals (uncredited) (Tracks 2-3 and 5-7)
@ayiorgos
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't got for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
That's right, folks..
Don't touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livin'room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go
@garypelled6243
The Slime is VASTLY worse now
@GregoryGrieco
'until the rights to you are sold..' 1976.
@kerbygator
@@GregoryGrieco Frank knew.
@davidsanderson5918
I always took it to mean that the slime will be neverending because they'll never sell the rights to you. They've got you forever.
@radiomanze1296
That's what reminded me about this song
@TheRealTurboJesus
Now all the “rock and roll” artists support censorship
@kameronbowers432
The internet's theme song.
@n0denz
And yet this song predated the internet by 10 years. It's like he saw it coming.
@briansamuel246
We're in the time of the slime
@lemonfridge5119
zappa predicted this. He was our last hope