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 Motel Lobby
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Howard: Sure, man, and I'll go until two and I'm gonna be in there supporting 'em, in fact I'll sit in with those guys. I'm into it, I'll sing a little "Blue Moon . . . "
Mark: Hey man . . .
Dick: Listen, this is a nice place, man, it's got a beautiful room . . .
Howard: Don't give me that man, it's plastic city, it bites, the guy behind . . .
Dick: Relax and enjoy some of the wo-, wonderments of nature . . .
Howard: No no no no, the guy behind the desk is a werewolf. You can't give me any of that, the chick over there's been dead for twenty minutes. I'm hip to this place, I've seen 'em in my sleep, man
Howard: No, man, I'm not keyed at all
Dick: You're unpleasant
Howard: I'm not unpleasant! I can't wait to sign the card and check into my little closet. Unpack my leather cape, hang it up on the wall, get out the washboard, put away my nitty books and get into it! I'm gonna go down and cruise in that lounge, man, I'm gonna have . . .
Dick: Watch this, it's right in there, just step right in
Howard: I'm gonna take a look
?: Hello, Frank . . .
Howard: Ooohoowwoh!
Mark: Hey, what is this, man? Is this the can-can room?
Howard: This place waits for us, man
Mark: This place waits us! Is there a piano?
Howard: There's a juke box with a lotta hokie country songs on it. I am coming in here and getting blotto in about ten minutes
Mark: Oh, man, me too!
"The Motel Lobby" by Frank Zappa tells the story of three men, Howard, Mark, and Dick, who have just arrived at a cheap and seedy motel. Howard seems to be the most paranoid and unhinged of the group, claiming that the guy behind the desk is a werewolf and that the woman over there has been dead for 20 minutes. He's convinced that the motel is a terrible place and refers to it as "plastic city." However, Dick tries to calm him down, and Mark seems excited about the possibility of drinking and playing music in the lounge. There's a brief moment where Howard screams for a mysterious reason, and then they move on to explore the place. It ends with Howard saying he will sign in and enjoy himself and Mark agreeing with him.
The song seems to be a satirical take on the idea of seedy motels and the people who frequent them. The lyrics convey a sense of absurdity and paranoia, with Howard's claims of werewolves and dead women creating a bizarre and unsettling atmosphere. However, there's also a sense of anticipation and excitement, with Mark and Howard looking forward to drinking and playing music. The song's use of dialogue and different voices helps to create a vivid and dynamic scene, and Zappa's music adds to the sense of unease and strangeness.
Line by Line Meaning
Howard: Sure, man, and I'll go until two and I'm gonna be in there supporting 'em, in fact I'll sit in with those guys. I'm into it, I'll sing a little "Blue Moon . . . "
Howard agrees to stay until 2 am and support/perform with the band while singing 'Blue Moon.'
Mark: Hey man . . .
Mark interrupts Howard to change the topic of discussion.
Dick: Listen, this is a nice place, man, it's got a beautiful room . . .
Dick compliments the motel and its beautiful room.
Howard: Don't give me that man, it's plastic city, it bites, the guy behind . . .
Howard disagrees with Dick and calls the place artificial with poor service.
Dick: Relax and enjoy some of the wo-, wonderments of nature . . .
Dick suggests Howard enjoy the natural beauty and relax.
Howard: No no no no, the guy behind the desk is a werewolf. You can't give me any of that, the chick over there's been dead for twenty minutes. I'm hip to this place, I've seen 'em in my sleep, man
Howard rejects Dick's suggestion and imagines the motel as a creepy, supernatural place with a werewolf behind the desk and a dead woman nearby.
Dick: Hey, listen, I've never seen you this way, man
Dick notices Howard's unusual behavior and comments on it.
Howard: No, man, I'm not keyed at all
Howard denies being high/drunk.
Dick: You're unpleasant
Dick remarks on Howard's bad attitude.
Howard: I'm not unpleasant! I can't wait to sign the card and check into my little closet. Unpack my leather cape, hang it up on the wall, get out the washboard, put away my nitty books and get into it! I'm gonna go down and cruise in that lounge, man, I'm gonna have . . .
Howard clarifies that he's excited to stay in his small room and unpack his belongings, including a leather cape, a washboard, and nitty books. He plans to visit the motel lounge later.
Dick: Watch this, it's right in there, just step right in
Dick encourages Howard to check out the lounge.
Howard: I'm gonna take a look
Howard agrees to visit the lounge.
?: Hello, Frank . . .
Unknown voice greets Frank (possibly the motel receptionist or someone in the lounge).
Howard: Ooohoowwoh!
Howard is scared by the greeting, possibly implying that there's something sinister about the motel or the people in it.
Mark: Hey, what is this, man? Is this the can-can room?
Mark asks about the lounge, wondering if it's a can-can dancing room.
Howard: This place waits for us, man
Howard suggests that the motel (and the lounge) is perfect for them, as if it's been waiting for their arrival.
Mark: This place waits us! Is there a piano?
Mark agrees with Howard and asks if there's a piano in the lounge.
Howard: There's a juke box with a lotta hokie country songs on it. I am coming in here and getting blotto in about ten minutes
Howard describes the music in the lounge and plans to get drunk there in ten minutes.
Mark: Oh, man, me too!
Mark agrees to get drunk with Howard in the lounge.
Contributed by Cole M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.