Newspaper Article

Zappa the provocateur leaves big void

McLennan, Scott

1993

Overview

[Frank Zappa] was a supreme subversive, luring in unsuspecting listeners with comic rock pieces then exposing those listeners to an expansive spectrum of musical and political musings way out of the mainstream. A master of juxtaposition, Zappa kept his work ebbing and flowing between humor and seriousness throughout 27 years of recording and performing. Absurdist, surrealist, iconoclast, curmudgeon and pervert are all tags that were hung around Zappa's neck at one time or other in his 52 years. But provocateur may be the only suitable label. An air of weirdness pervades most of Zappa's work. From his first record with the Mothers of Invention, \"Freak Out!\" through some 50 releases and countless performances, Zappaphiles have always been treated to a world view through a cracked prism. He made light of our foibles and fears and called into question just about every form of authority. Eventually, Zappa's music took on a life of its own, generating a mythology codified by mud sharks, penguins in bondage, the Muffin Man, Lonesome Cowboy Burt, Uncle Meat and Plastic People, and other pieces of homespun folklore.

• Publisher: GateHouse Media, Inc
• Subject: Varese, Edgar / Zappa, Frank