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.
The Idiot Bastard Son
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(THE FATHER'S A NAZI IN CONGRESS TODAY . . .
THE MOTHER'S A HOOKER SOMEWHERE IN L.A.)
The idiot bastard son:
(ABANDONED TO PERISH IN BACK OF A CAR . . .
KENNY WILL STASH HIM AWAY IN A JAR)
THE IDIOT BOY!
Motorhead?: I never wanted to because I was too small to start with, I used to drink really some bad stuff . . . Wine, all kinds of wine! Mixed, seven different varieties . . . Thunderbird wine . . . I don't know but I chugged a fifth of White Port once and passed out one day (heh heh) . . . and I drank a quart of beer just before that . . . and we were out riding around in the desert . . .
. . . very strange! Anyway . . .
Try and imagine
The window all covered in green
All the time he would spend
At the church he'd attend . . .
Warming his pew
Kenny will feed him & Ronnie will watch
THE CHILD WILL THRIVE & GROW
And enter the world
Of liars & cheaters & people like you
Who smile & think you know
What this is about
(YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING . . . maybe so)
The song we sing: DO YOU KNOW?
We're listening . . .
THE IDIOT BOY!
Try and imagine
The window all covered in green
All the time he would spend
All the colors he'd blend . . .
Where are they now?
Gary Kellgren: Right now I have two hit records on the charts, but it has not made me any money. It has only brought me fame and glory, and a lot of work. Which I do, really not care to tell . . .
The Idiot Bastard Son by Frank Zappa is a commentary on society's treatment of those deemed "less than" due to their circumstances of birth. The song introduces the titular character as someone born to a Nazi father in Congress and a prostitute mother in L.A, left to die in the back of a car. The lyrics continue with Kenny, the character who finds the child, deciding to keep him in a jar. However, the child is eventually rescued and nurtured by Ronnie, who helps the child thrive and grow despite entering a world of liars, cheaters, and people who think they know everything.
The song encourages listeners to imagine the life of the Idiot Bastard Son, spending most of his time in church, blending colors, and observing the world through a window covered in green. While this innocent child is nurtured and given the opportunity to grow, those who think they know everything, including the listeners, are left to ponder the fate of the child and their own role in society's treatment of individuals who are often born into challenging situations.
Line by Line Meaning
The idiot bastard son:
This line serves as the title and introduction of the song, referring to the character who is abandoned and left to die. The use of 'idiot' and 'bastard' highlights the negative connotations associated with being unwanted and neglected.
(THE FATHER'S A NAZI IN CONGRESS TODAY . . .
THE MOTHER'S A HOOKER SOMEWHERE IN L.A.)
The song describes the character's parents, one being a Nazi in Congress and the other a prostitute in Los Angeles. This reveals the unpleasant circumstances of the character's birth and upbringing.
The idiot bastard son:
(ABANDONED TO PERISH IN BACK OF A CAR . . .
KENNY WILL STASH HIM AWAY IN A JAR)
The IDIOT BOY!
This line further emphasizes the character's unfortunate situation, being left to die in the back of a car and ultimately saved by Kenny. The use of 'idiot boy' and 'bastard son' continues to highlight the negative labels placed upon the character.
Motorhead?: I never wanted to because I was too small to start with, I used to drink really some bad stuff . . . Wine, all kinds of wine! Mixed, seven different varieties . . . Thunderbird wine . . . I don't know but I chugged a fifth of White Port once and passed out one day (heh heh) . . . and I drank a quart of beer just before that . . . and we were out riding around in the desert . . .
. . . very strange! Anyway . . .
This is an interlude within the song, featuring a monologue about a person's experiences with drinking, although the relevance to the overall theme is unclear.
Try and imagine
The window all covered in green
All the time he would spend
At the church he'd attend . . .
Warming his pew
This line describes the character's time spent at church, highlighting his isolation and assumed dependence on attending church to find a sense of belonging.
Kenny will feed him & Ronnie will watch
THE CHILD WILL THRIVE & GROW
And enter the world
Of liars & cheaters & people like you
Who smile & think you know
What this is about
(YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING . . . maybe so)
This line is a statement of hope for the character, with the belief that he will be taken care of and raised successfully by Kenny and Ronnie. However, it also acknowledges the harsh reality that he will enter a world of manipulation and deceit by people who believe they understand the character's life despite having no real comprehension of his struggles.
The song we sing: DO YOU KNOW?
We're listening . . .
THE IDIOT BOY!
This line serves as a chorus, with Zappa questioning the listener's understanding of the character's life and narrative. The repetition of 'idiot boy' once again highlights the negative stereotypes the character faces.
Try and imagine
The window all covered in green
All the time he would spend
All the colors he'd blend . . .
Where are they now?
This line continues to highlight the character's creativity and imagination, with him blending colors vividly in his mind. This line questions the character's future and what has become of him which implies that he may not have a happy life.
Gary Kellgren: Right now I have two hit records on the charts, but it has not made me any money. It has only brought me fame and glory, and a lot of work. Which I do, really not care to tell . . .
This is another interlude within the song, featuring an interview with Gary Kellgren, a recording engineer at the time, reflecting on his lack of financial success despite having hit records. It seems to be an aside, without any direct connection to the song's theme or character.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William D. Hobbs
@Iamman i upload 5 times a day for 6 months I don't think the Satie piece in my limited view, but here's a later arrangement of D and D Lydian in his genius writing. There could be pieces of Satie in there for sure, I just applied to rent the score for analysis, let you know!
https://www.zappa-analysis.com/the-london-symphony-orchestra.htm
https://youtu.be/Mf1nO5JMZkQ
"Bars 1-4 serve as the introduction for the main theme, letting the piece begin in D with the progression D-A-Em-D-E. Bernard calls the piece "nominally D major, but given a somewhat peculiar coloring by the repeated emphasis upon an E-major triad of ambiguous function. i.e. not V of V" (Listening to Zappa, page 88). During these opening bars you can see that G natural and G sharp are used next to each other, next to a one time only A sharp. Within the context of Zappa's music this can also be seen as a blending of D major and D Lydian. Using closely related scales next to each other is common in Zappa's music. B. Clement can correctly call bars 4-7 D Lydian and identify the remainder as "functional D major harmony" (page 162 of his study). As indicated by Bernard, the chord progression of the main theme is D-A-E-F#-D-G-A. As I'm hearing it the second D chord should be a Bm chord, as also noted by Clement, the total progression thus being D-A-E-F#-Bm-G-A. Another thing you can notice, is that it is mostly a parallel movement of major triads. Such parallel movements occur more often in Zappa's music and can cause an ambiguity towards which scale they are in by themselves. See also my discussion of "The idiot bastard son". So there is no unique way of looking at "Strictly genteel"."
psychedelictripper
This album must of been something else when it came out. I know of no other artist quite like Zappa during this period. He creates such a nice layering of colors.
BobPagani
It sounded like nothing else that was coming out at the time. That makes it kind of timeless.
rowlffffff
I bought it for $1.99 (new) when I was a junior in high school. It opened my eyes!
GreenhouseEffectMusic
it can't get any better than THIS SONG !!
Iamman i upload 5 times a day for 6 months
"We're only in it for the money" by Zappa is a masterpiece. Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny is one of the best ways to end an album for sure.
John North
Great fucking song !!!
Deep GirlVEVO
simply beautiful. This album is truly amazing
American Virtual
I hear a lot of what sounds like harpsichord on this album. And back in 1967-68 it'd have to be an actual harpsichord. Sometimes it almost sounds like it has a wah pedal on it but that might just be really good layering with guitar
saucy risi
I think it's actually a Clavinet keyboard with a Wah pedal, George Duke used it in concerts with Zappa (like Live at the Roxy in 1973)
Peter Davison - Music
When I got this album - I listened over and over! Man!