My music player is currently on shuffle and much against the odds, two consecutive tracks featured the late great Frank Zappa.
I have listened to the music of Zappa (and the Mothers of Invention) for more years than I care to remember and while I am of the opinion that some of his releases have not aged too well, generally I would say that the man can quite rightly be regarded as a genius. His back catalogue is vast so it is only natural that there should be some clunkers in there, but generally speaking his albums are fresh, vibrant, fun and feature some bloody great musicianship.
I have always played music in the car and this included days many, many moons ago when I would drive my two sons to school or on regular trips into the countryside. It was on such excursions that I suspect they gained their musical 'education', something I am proud to say has stuck with them, for we frequently exchange thoughts on new albums and share music files between our computers. (How things have moved on since we swapped tapes).
Hearing Zappa earlier reminded me of a tale told by my youngest son Paul when he returned home one day from school. As he was leaving a class he noticed a stack of CDs on the desk of his teacher. Being a chip off the old block, he was drawn to have a look through the pile and saw that they were all Frank Zappa albums. His teacher casually asked Paul if he was a fan of Zappa. Paul replied in the affirmative.
The teacher thought he would pursue this further and perhaps catch out this precocious 12 year old. "So Paul" he said. "What's your favourite Frank Zappa song?"
To which, without missing a beat, Paul replied, "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow".
His tale made me beam with pride - something both my sons have made me do on many occasions since.
Thanks lads.
Here's the track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIppgE45wM
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