Artists >
Inspirational Artists > Frank Zappa > Articles
Zappa:
Interview On "Fresh Air"
TG = Terry Gross, FZ = Frank Zappa
TG: The songs that you've done are
almost all parody. You're mocking conventions, and never kind of
pouring your heart out, you know? And I wonder why.
FZ: Well first of all. There's no
need for anyone to understand what lives in my heart, if in fact
such an organ exists. Secondly, in contemporary terms, I think
that it is a despicable thing to do, to earn your living by
sharing your personal inner turmoil with somebody else for money.
I don't like those kinds of singer-songwriter types who are always
weeping about the tragedy in their life. I mean, why? Who needs
it? Everybody else has got theirs.
TG: Well, I mean you don't have to
be whining to sing a good ballad.
FZ: Well... Yeah but usually they
are. And that's the problem.
TG: Do you feel that there are any
things that you have been musically held back from doing because
of the lack of commercial potential in it, or do you feel that
you've done what you wanted to do no matter what?
FZ: Well I continue to do what I
like to do, but whether or not anybody ever hears it is a matter
of access to air-time.
TG: So you have a lot of things
that you are doing at home now that you think most of us probably
won't get to hear because it won't get recorded.
FZ: Oh, it will get recorded, but
whether or not you will ever find the record in a store or ever
hear the record played on the air, that's the question. The
material does exist. |
