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.
Whats The Ugliest Part Of Your Body
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Part of your body?
What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
Some say your nose
Some say your toes
(I think it's your mind)
But I think it's YOUR MIND
I think it's your mind, woo woo
ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE POOR
UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS OF
SYSTEMS BEYOND THEIR CONTROL
A PLAGUE UPON YOUR IGNORANCE & THE GRAY
DESPAIR OF YOUR UGLY LIFE
Where did Annie go
When she went to town?
Who are all those creeps
That she brings around?
ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE POOR
UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS OF LIES YOU BELIEVE
A PLAGUE UPON YOUR IGNORANCE THAT KEEPS
THE YOUNG FROM THE TRUTH THEY DESERVE . . .
In Frank Zappa's song "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" the singer asks the listener to identify the ugliest part of their body, but then declares that it is actually their mind. He goes on to criticize the societal systems that create poverty and disenfranchise children, blaming the adults who perpetuate these systems out of ignorance and ugliness of their own lives. The song also references a character named Annie who goes to town with a group of undesirable people, hinting at the potential dangers and mysteries of adult life.
Zappa's lyrics are both playful and biting, with a sarcastic tone that highlights the absurdity of societal norms and expectations. By focusing on the "ugliest" part of the body as the mind, he challenges listeners to think critically about their own biases and preconceptions. He also highlights the ways in which adults can harm children through their own ignorance and prejudices, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.
Overall, "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" is a complex and thought-provoking song that encourages listeners to examine their own beliefs and actions.
Line by Line Meaning
What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
Zappa is questioning what the ugliest part of an individual's body is.
Some say your nose
Some say your toes
(I think it's your mind)
People may have different opinions on what the ugliest part of a body is, but Zappa thinks it's one's mind.
But I think it's YOUR MIND
(Your mind)
I think it's your mind, woo woo
Zappa emphasizes that an individual's mind is the ugliest part of their body by repeating the same statement with enthusiasm.
ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE POOR
UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS OF
SYSTEMS BEYOND THEIR CONTROL
A PLAGUE UPON YOUR IGNORANCE & THE GRAY
DESPAIR OF YOUR UGLY LIFE
Zappa criticizes the social or political systems that keep children in poverty and indirectly blames the ignorance and hopeless lifestyle of adults for it.
Where did Annie go
When she went to town?
Who are all those creeps
That she brings around?
This verse is seemingly unrelated to the main theme in the song but hints at people's hypocritical attitudes towards the supposed promiscuity of women.
ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE POOR
UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS OF LIES YOU BELIEVE
A PLAGUE UPON YOUR IGNORANCE THAT KEEPS
THE YOUNG FROM THE TRUTH THEY DESERVE...
Zappa continues to criticize the societal norms that prevent children from accessing knowledge and truth, which results in their unfortunate state.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mr_nobody_000
i love frank, he knew how screwed up our society really is.
Lee Freeman
Frank was a conservative, his words.
He was brilliant at seeing right through political wind and exposing the unspoken agenda. He made fun of everything.
Butter Jockey
Was?
mr_nobody_000
@Butter Jockey yeah i should say "is"
Thomas Gambro Adamsson
The "Where did Annie go when she went to town" bit, when it resolves with the main part, does something fantastic to my brain. I don't know how or why it works, but I'm glad it exists.
The Other Doctor
That's acid for ya!
Miles Trotter
It is just chromatically descending chords. It goes Bm - Bbm - Am - Abm.
eoj2495
I know what you mean. It gives me the chicken skin
Angel Dust
Still. Who's Annie?
Ronny Rono
Beautiful, brings tears to my eyes. They don't write
them like this anymore.