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.
What Kind Of Girl?
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ike Willis (guitar, vocals)
Mike Keneally (guitar, synthesizer, vocals)
Bobby Martin (keyboards, vocals)
Ed Mann (percussion)
Walt Fowler (trumpet)
Bruce Fowler (trombone)
Paul Carman (alto saxophone)
Kurt McGettrick (baritone saxophone)
Scott Thunes (bass)
Chad Wackerman (drums)
Eric Buxton (vocals)
What's a girl like you
Doin' in a Motel like this?
"I left my place after midnight,
When I first got the call...
The escort service I work for
Said you wanted it ALL!"
Well, you came to the right place -- this is it!
I got the most sanctified johnson in all 'o Louisiana!
No shit!
"How true that is!"
How true, indeed Llama!
"The other whores at the service said
You helped fulfull their need!
I like to get right down...
Do you like to get right down too?"
Well, what did you have in mind?
"Well, I get off being spoo-ed upon
By hypocritical TV Evangelists
With close ties to the Republican Party,
While Ed Meese wipes his ass
On the U.S. Constitution, screamin'...
'I don't think so --
Can't remember --
I just could never do that --'"
That gets me so hot I could scream:
'Can't remember: don't remember who...
Wrote the memo, or to whom it's to...'
Your escort service is real far-out 'n groovy --
Ever been to the Texas Motel?
Let me take you dow-how-how-how-how-how-hownnnnn!
Magic Jesus by the bed,
Wall mounted TV screen,
My church plugged into the gravy train,
And Reagan keeps me clean!
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
(A lazy prostitute!)
We wouldn't blow you just because you know "GOD"!
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
This unfortunate little vixen wouldn't let just ANYBODY
Spoo all over her lap --
She wants an ignorant Cracker Evangelist
Who's reciting all that crapp...
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song "What Kind of Girl?" satirizes the hypocrisy of conservative religious leaders and politicians who preach morality and chastity but indulge in extramarital affairs and scandals behind closed doors. The singer of the song, a prostitute, is approached by a client who wants her to fulfill his fantasy of being spoo-ed upon by a "TV Evangelist with close ties to the Republican Party while Ed Meese wipes his ass on the U.S. Constitution." The lyrics suggest that the client is a conservative and religious person who opposes sexual promiscuity but secretly desires it. The prostitute seems to be aware of his hypocrisy and wants to expose it.
The song's use of vulgar language and sexual imagery is a characteristic of Frank Zappa's satirical style of music. The lyrics are meant to shock and provoke the listener into questioning the societal norms and values that promote such hypocrisy. The use of humor to criticize serious issues is a recurring theme in Zappa's music.
Line by Line Meaning
What's a girl like you
Doin' in a Motel like this?
Why are you, a woman of character, in a shady motel like this?
"I left my place after midnight,
When I first got the call...
The escort service I work for
Said you wanted it ALL!"
I work for an escort service, and they told me that you're looking for a full-service experience.
Well, you came to the right place -- this is it!
I got the most sanctified johnson in all 'o Louisiana!
No shit!
You're in the right place, honey! My private parts are considered to be very holy in Louisiana, I'm not kidding!
"How true that is!"
Yes, that's very true!
How true, indeed Llama!
Yes, that's absolutely true, my friend!
"The other whores at the service said
You helped fulfull their need!
I like to get right down...
Do you like to get right down too?"
Other sex workers at the service said you've helped fulfill their sexual needs before. And, what do you like to do?
"Well, I get off being spoo-ed upon
By hypocritical TV Evangelists
With close ties to the Republican Party,
While Ed Meese wipes his ass
On the U.S. Constitution, screamin'...
'I don't think so --
Can't remember --
I just could never do that --'"
My kink is getting ejaculated on by hypocritical TV evangelists who are closely affiliated with the Republican Party, while Ed Meese symbolically disrespects the U.S. constitution, and denies wrongdoing when called out for his actions.
That gets me so hot I could scream:
'Can't remember: don't remember who...
Wrote the memo, or to whom it's to...'
This really turns me on and I'm so aroused that I could scream. Particularly, when people deny responsibility and shift blame on others.
Your escort service is real far-out 'n groovy --
Ever been to the Texas Motel?
Let me take you dow-how-how-how-how-how-hownnnnn!
Your escort service looks cool and interesting. Have you been at the Texas Motel? Let me take you there!
Magic Jesus by the bed,
Wall mounted TV screen,
My church plugged into the gravy train,
And Reagan keeps me clean!
I have Jesus beside my bed, a TV screen on my wall, my church is financially backed, and my political alignments are just and clean as Reagan's.
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
(A lazy prostitute!)
We wouldn't blow you just because you know "GOD"!
What kind of girl?
What kind of girl would suck his rod?
What kind of woman would perform oral sex on a repugnant hypocritical evangelist? Only a lazy prostitute would perform such an act. Moreover, we would never engage in any sexual act with you just because you know 'GOD'.
This unfortunate little vixen wouldn't let just ANYBODY
Spoo all over her lap --
She wants an ignorant Cracker Evangelist
Who's reciting all that crapp...
This girl won't let anyone ejaculate on her lap. She desires an ignorant white evangelical preacher who preaches about all the irrelevant topics.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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