You Are What You Is - Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa 1940-1993

Total Discography  |  Zappa Home Page

"Zappa was, in no apparent order, a first-rate cultural gadfly dedicated to upsetting American suburban complacency and puncturing the hypocrisy and pretensions of both the U.S. political establishment and the counterculture that opposed it; a contemporary orchestral composer uncompromisingly rooted in 20th-century avant-garde tradition; a rock bandleader who put together a series of stellar ensembles both under the rubric of the Mothers of Invention and under his own name; an erudite lover of the most esoteric traditions of rock and roll and of rhythm and blues; an innovative record producer whose use of high-speed editing techniques predated the later innovations of hip-hop; and one of the premier electric guitar improvisers of a generation that included Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. One of the great polymaths of the rock era who, arguably, possessed a broader range of skills and interests than any of his peers, he was an instinctive postmodernist who demolished the barriers and hierarchies separating "high" and "low" culture."  -  from Britanica.com

He was born December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. He began releasing albums in the 1960s.   He died December 4, 1993 of prostate cancer.  Re-mastered hits are still being released today, a little over 40 years later.  His band, The Mothers, still perform as well.

I first learned of the wacky world of Frank during my senior year in High School. My dad is a huge fan of his. He bought the re-mastered "Overnight Sensation" CD and started playing it when one night while we were cooking dinner. At first it made no sense at all but then I listened to the lyrics. Funny? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Genius? Unquestionably!!!!!

"I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed and deranged
I've existed for years
But very little has changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry, too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
.....
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin'
From your TV set"
-From "I am the Slime" on "Overnight Sensation" (1973)