thenoisydrum wrote:
I don't like this arrogant side of Zappa.
anyone else in his place would have had nothing but praise for Ian Underwood. Whilst sleeping on the floor of that shared bedroom (remember, from Pauline's book?) dedicating himself to Frank and his music? Yeah, just doing it for the money
He could come across like a tosser sometimes
I remember well how he was perceived in the European music press around 1978/79, because that was exactly when I was getting into Zappa. As a teenager I was equally interested in punk/new wave, and found it hard to reconcile Zappa's views on that scene with my own interest. You are right - he did come off as a tosser sometimes, and particularly at this time. His attitudes were in a way more punk than punk - Johnny Rotten dug We're Only In It For The Money - and with the death of the rock dinosaurs at the end of the Seventies, he should have become the king of rock'n'roll. It didn't happen, because a 39 year old pro can't beat the kids at their own game. With the Läther fiasco and punk/new wave flood happening at the same time, Zappa some times came off as a bitter old fart. Sub specie aeternitatis he didn't do so badly, and later the working relationship with Jello Biafra established a real connection to the new wave/punk ethos. But at this point in time - 1978/79 - Zappa lost considerable status with his core following of progressives and anarchists. I felt that I was in a small minority of my generation of rebels to recognize Zappa's genius. But even I was looking mostly back into the old catalog at that time, while waiting until the 2000's before I caved in and bought Tinseltown Rebellion, f'rinstance.
Recently I read a Norwegian novel from this period (by Ragnar Hovland, published in 1982) - which may refer to this interview. One old anarchist says something like: "What the fuck is going on with Zappa? That's one guy I thought you could trust, but now he's just full of crap." - Character's taste in music 1978 - Sex Pistols, Clash, The Damned and so on. - I had one old RiO/Prog Rock friend, and his complete Zappa collection ended abruptly with Sheik Yerbouti, because he felt that Zappa had lost it. He continued getting records by bands like The Fall, This Heat, Metabolist, Cabaret Voltaire - and Throbbing Gristle - Genesis P-Orridge's group.