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 Varรจse. 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.
The Dangerous Kitchen
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steve vai (guitar, acoustic guitar)
Ray white (guitar, vocals)
Roy estrada (vocals)
Bob harris (boy soprano)
Ike willis (vocals)
Bobby martin (keyboards, saxophone, vocals)
Tommy mars (keyboards)
Ed mann (percussion)
Scott thunes (bass)
Chad wackerman (drums)
Vinnie colaiuta (drums)
Craig steward (harmonica)
Dick fegy (mandolin)
Marty krystall (saxophone)
The dangerous kitchen
If it ain't't one thing it's another
In the middle of the night when you get home
The bread things are all dry 'n' scratchy
The meat thing
Where the cats ate trough the paper
The can things with the sharp little edges
That can cut your fingers when you're not looking
The soft little things on the floor that you step on
They can all be dangerous
Sometimes
The milk can hurt you
(if you put it on your cereal
Before you smell the plastic container)
And the stuff in the strainer
Has a mind of it's own
So be very careful
In the dangerous kitchen
When the night time has fallen,
And the roaches are crawlin'
In the kitchen of danger
You can feel like a stranger
The bananaes are black
The got flies in the back
And also the chicken
In the dish with the foil
Where the cream is all clabbered
And the salad is frightful
Your return in the evening
Can be less than delightful
You must walk very careful
You must not lean against it
It can get on you clothing
It can follow you in
As you walk to the bedroom
And you take all your clothes off
While you're sleeping
It crawls off
It gets in your bed
It could get on your face then
It could eat your complexion
You could die from the danger
Of the dangerous kitchen
Who the fuck wants to clean it?
It's disgusting and dirty
The sponge on the drainer
Is stinky and squirty
If you squeeze it when you wipe up
What you get on your hands then
Could un-balance your glands and
Make you blind or whatever
In the dangerous kitchen
At my house tonight
โThe Dangerous Kitchenโ by Frank Zappa is a song that uses humor to describe the hazards of the kitchen. The song starts with a litany of the dangerous things that can be found in the kitchen, such as sharp-edged cans, dry and scratchy bread, and meat that has been eaten through by cats. Even seemingly harmless things like soft items on the floor that you step on can pose a danger. The song also mentions how the milk can hurt you if you put it on your cereal before smelling the plastic container and how the stuff in the strainer has a mind of its own.
The song then goes on to describe the feeling of being a stranger in a dangerous kitchen when the nighttime has fallen and the roaches are crawling around. The kitchen becomes terrifying when the bananas are black, flies are buzzing, and the chicken in the dish is all clabbered. The salad is also described as frightful. The song emphasizes the potential danger in the kitchen by describing how the dangerous elements can attach to your clothing and follow you into your bedroom, where they could even get on your face and eat your complexion, causing death. The humor in the song is amplified by the question, โWho the fuck wants to clean it?โ at the end.
Line by Line Meaning
The dangerous kitchen
The kitchen is fraught with danger, warning of various hazardous materials.
If it ain't't one thing it's another
Multiple problems and dangers can occur in the kitchen.
In the middle of the night when you get home
The scene is set for the evening when you arrive in the dark hours of the night.
The bread things are all dry 'n' scratchy
The bread is stale and rough, unpleasant to eat.
The meat thing
The meat is questionable, and not fit for consumption.
Where the cats ate trough the paper
The cats have gotten into the food and left a mess behind.
The can things with the sharp little edges
Food cans can have sharp edges that can easily cut you without warning.
That can cut your fingers when you're not looking
If you're not careful, you can get injured from a cutting edge or sharp appliance.
The soft little things on the floor that you step on
There are various small items on the floor that can be dangerous if stepped on, like broken glass or bugs.
They can all be dangerous
All of these items pose a risk for danger in some way during kitchen navigation.
Sometimes
The milk can hurt you
(if you put it on your cereal
Before you smell the plastic container)
The milk can be spoiled or unpleasant and maybe harmful if poured on food before checked first.
And the stuff in the strainer
Has a mind of it's own
There may be unwanted items in the strainer, with a mind of their own, such as maggots or spoiled food.
So be very careful
In the dangerous kitchen
The kitchen is a treacherous place, and caution will serve people well while in it.
When the night time has fallen,
And the roaches are crawlin'
In the kitchen of danger
You can feel like a stranger
The kitchen is a strange and uninviting place, amid the darkness and crawling insects.
The bananas are black
The got flies in the back
And also the chicken
In the dish with the foil
The bananas are bad and starting to mold, and the chicken is suspicious and probably not fit to eat.
Where the cream is all clabbered
And the salad is frightful
Your return in the evening
Can be less than delightful
The cream in the food has soured and gone bad, and the salad looks unappetizing.
You must walk very carefully
You must not lean against it
It can get on you clothing
It can follow you in
One must be precise while in the kitchen, taking care not to damage anything, as any damage or spill may stick to clothing and follow you.
As you walk to the bedroom
And you take all your clothes off
While you're sleeping
It crawls off
It gets in your bed
It could get on your face then
It could eat your complexion
You could die from the danger
Of the dangerous kitchen
The fear is that tiny creatures or germs may follow people to bed and even infect their complexion or teeth, leading to ailments or death.
Who the fuck wants to clean it?
Who would be crazy enough to want to clean up this awful mess?
It's disgusting and dirty
The sponge on the drainer
Is stinky and squirty
If you squeeze it when you wipe up
The kitchen is disgustingly dirty, and even the sponge is vile when touched, with the potential to harm and make worse.
What you get on your hands then
Could un-balance your glands and
Make you blind or whatever
What is on the sponge, when touched, could unbalance the glands in one's body and maybe affect eyesight and status.
In the dangerous kitchen
At my house tonight
The kitchen is a dangerous place, particularly at Frank Zappa's house on this evening.
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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@christiannorton9400
This man was DECADES ahead of the game
@reducecotwo
The songs that people find discusting are the one's Frank likes, this is one of them. ๐ธ ๐ธ ๐ธ
@user-cc5od3zk4p
RIP Frank. You got me through high school.
@The_First_Connection
If it ain't one thing it's another. That about sums this life up. Thanks for that Mr. Frank.
@thinghammer
I have always liked Zappa, but it wasn't until I read an interview with Steve Vai and he mentioned his favorite songs that I went to level 2.
@666cowie
Exactly the same for me. Once u listen to this song a few times you start to find sum quality lines.
@megamarkd
Listening to Steve Vai play is like hearing a really polished and preceise Frank Zappa! Not that that is a bad thing, Steve performed the more challenging guitar parts for Frank when he played in his band.
@robotoots2958
That's why I'm here ๐คฃ
@liammcooper
Frank brought me here, and I'm glad he suggested it - cause this is some p-funk space out funk.
@mad_cat_1st
I've often thought that a musical collaboration between Frank and Les Claypool would've been outstanding, musically unique, and flippin' hilarious. RIP, Mr. Zappa. The world misses you.