Monday, June 19, 2023

Frank Zappa Invites You Into His Lovely Home! Dept.


And what could provide more delightful aural accompaniment to your visit than this scented nosegay of Mr. Zappa's most listener-friendly interludes! (that ain't a question).

Yes, dear friends, this, the latest in the critically lauded Thirty Minutes series what's taking the internet by storm, is probably all you need to have in the way of Zappa music if you don't much like his work. It's all instrumental, melodic, and offers nothing traumatising, challenging, or *cough* sexually problematic. Certified safe for work environments, family car trips, and Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review & Timing Association picnics!

You'll thrill to new sounds and old melodies, subtly interwoven in this sparkling aural tapestry o' delights!



This post sponsored by Hazy Dave's Shave-n'-Save, "Pismo Beach's Only Bargain Barber! We cut prices and hair!"

49 comments:

  1. Frankly [ISWYDT - Ed.] I'm getting a little tired of youse bums just turning up to grab what you can off of the buffet table, stuffin' yez fat mouts an' pants pockets. It's disgustipatin'. So to get an invite into Frank's Lovely Home, you gots to tell us what you know about Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga. Go ahead, smartass.

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    1. Went to Disneyland Boxing Day 1975 totally unstoned and was totally unimpressed

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    2. You'd think Disney would make this more obvious in their publicity.

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    3. You'd also think Dave would have gone "trippin' ballz".
      Just sayin'....

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  2. not a gaddam thing

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    1. Anonymous making a strong start here! Can anyone build on his cornerstone contribution?

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    2. Anaheim peppers? And didn't Bugs Bunny spent a lot of time in Cucamonga? Azusa, I think, was a deity to the Zoroastrians.

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    3. I think you may be thinking of their creator god, Ahura Mazda, after whom the Japanese car maker was named. No - really!

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    4. Bugs ended up in Cucamonga, by accidentally making a wrong turn in Albuquerque, on his way to Pismo Beach.

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  3. For the Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review, and Timing Association
    They wear organdy dresses and high-button shoes
    They read Playboy magazine and Hot-Rod News
    There's Patience Proper and Prudence Prim
    You oughta see 'em do the swim

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    1. Excellent work! There's an entire sub-section of related knowledge we're missing so far - I suspect Babs knows.

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    2. My old stomping grounds from ’65 to ‘70, in a version of California that no longer exists.

      My husband Jerry (then boyfriend) had an aunt and uncle in Azusa who we used to visit. In those days, Azusa was (probably still is) an upper middle class suburban neighborhood. Whenever I hear The Monkees’ ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ I think of driving through Azusa.

      I didn’t spend much time in Anaheim. In ‘69 my best friend at Caltech won a radio contest and scored four tickets to Disneyland, and we took our boyfriends. The drive to Disneyland was a non-stop “weedfest”, that would have made Peter Tosh proud. On arrival, in the parking lot, we dropped acid. The folks at Disney made no bones about that they didn’t like Hippies, and had their security people follow us around. Also, Jerry was a huge baseball fan, and we saw a few California Angles (now Los Angeles Angels) games in Angel Stadium.

      Route 66 (yep, that one) passes through Rancho Cucamonga. Jerry and I, used to go to the North Etiwanda Preserve and hike to Etiwanda Falls, which always made for a spectacular day out.

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    3. Spent most of my 8th grade Disneyland school trip detained by security for "going out of bounds." Instead of being smart and toking up on the skyway my friends and I went into the bushes where we were promptly apprehended. Fortunately they didn't search us (not sure if they believed our excuse that we were "exploring" or just didn't want to escalate the situation to the authorities; these days I think it would be a whole different story)

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  4. Azusa Pacific University chose to drop its football program in 2020. The school had total of four players drafted by NFL teams in its history, though none in the final 30 years. The most famous is Kansas City running back Christian Okoye.

    Up through the late 1960s there was a cheap wine called Pride of Cucamonga. Phil Lesh wrote a song by that name that appeared on the Dead album "From The Mars Hotel".

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    1. Or if it's the trio as a whole that you seek, as in the Jan and Dean song referenced by michaelm above, there's Jack Benny's train to Cucamonga.

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    2. I remember The Joseph Filippi winery, makers of the Pride of Cucamonga label, were on César Chávez’s “shit list”.

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  5. Not sure if it's fair since I googled it rather than pried it free from personal memory sediment but apparently this was a popular Mel Blanc bit from the Jack Benny show based on a train conductor call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQq00lit_Fc

    Here's a whole history of the actual train conductor call the bit was based on I'm way to lazy to listen to: https://www.waywordradio.org/anaheim-azusa-and-cu-ca-monga-full/

    Do I win!?!?!

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    1. Oh ... apparently Jan & Dean was the correct answer here. I'll show my self out

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    2. There is no "correct" and "incorrect" binary thinking here, MrDave. Th' IoF© is a *finger quotes* safe space for opinions to be voiced in a nurturing and non-judgemental context [blow it out yer ass - Ed.].

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  6. I heard the Jan & Dean song years before getting immersed in the Jack Benny radio show, where the whole "Anaheim" thing started with Mel Blanc's station announcement, which was not only funny in itself but also, for those who knew, a non-existent and extremely unlikely railroad route.

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  7. .... Anaheim, Azusa, and CU-CA-MONGGGGA!

    https://workupload.com/file/8KrgfLa8vwq

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    1. This is nothing short of excellent.

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    2. Here's something similar that I put together for folks who think they don't like Zappa music. Sorry there's no cover art, but I couldn't outdo yours anyway. There's some repetition, but not much...
      https://workupload.com/archive/QKJDPZdEMU/start

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    3. Thanks for commenting on the music, Babs. Always appreciated!

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    4. You did (as usual) a damn fine job there, Mr. Throckmorton.

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  8. Paul Buff's studio, where Zappa first soiled tapes with his aural excretions, was in Cucamonga. I may be - probably am - wrong, but didn't he live there in the "Little House I used To Live In" days?

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    1. I think it was PAL Recorders in Cucamonga, which was the recording studio where I believe Frank lived and worked 1964-65(ish).

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  9. It's already been mentioned, but all I knows is "Pride of Cucamonga" -- that & it's hot ...again!!!
    "

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  10. I believe the Paul Buff/Studio Z building is gone. It may have been replaced by the Cucamonga courthouse. In earlier days I remember a lot of dirt roads in Cucamonga. Later years but still a long time ago, I was helping build some tract homes and someone broke in and stole all the kitchen appliances, I called the police station. They asked, where? I said Cucamonga. They said, You mean Rancho Cucamonga? I said, excuse me! Rancho Cucamonga. Yes, they have gotten uppity snooty.

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  11. Azuza used to have a drag strip. My friend would race his '55 Ford pick-up. He had a section of railroad track that he would bolt over the rear tires for traction. He still has the truck and I believe the drag strip is still there.

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  12. And Anaheim has Disneyland or nobody would have ever heard of it. I think they used to grow oranges out there.

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  13. In Franks song San Ber'dino they mention Zulch Auto Works, That's where they take all the cars that they hurt. Well you can see Zulch Auto Works from the 15 freeway to the west. It's still there but has changed it's name to Big Z.

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  14. Worth it for the cover alone. It answers a lot, like why I always think of TV after I tale a dump and turn to flush. That, a cool FZ mix and learning’ about stuff I haven’t clue about. This was a good day.

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    1. Always bona to varder your jolly old eek, Rev! I think you'll enjoy this - my signature modesty prevents me from revealing that it's the most brilliant Zappa compilation ever, but it is. Half an hour of beautiful, surprising, uplifting entertainment. Music is the best.

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  15. One more. Here is a pic of Studio Z where Frank was set up by cops to film a sex tape, but he laughingly made a audio tape that got him "busted " and spent 30 days in San Berdino. (San Bernardino County Jail) https://rockandrollroadmap.com/places/studios-and-labels/los-angeles-area-studios-and-labels/pal-recording-studiostudio-z/

    Copy & paste
    He's a slobberin' drunk at the palomino
    They give him thirty days in san ber'dino
    Well there's forty-four men
    Stashed away in tank "see"
    An' there's only one shower
    But it don't apply to bobby

    The Palomino was a country music club in North Hollywood (?) that hosted artists such as The Byrds & Flying Burrito Brothers.
    Frank spent his 30 days in Tank C but it made a lifelong impression.

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  16. Long ago, I actually attended Azusa Pacific (college, back then, not university)! I made it one whole semester before deeming it easier than high school and ditching it for a state university.

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  17. I know those places from Frank Zappa records and assorted pop culture detrious. I imagine a place where trhe sun always shines, and the fast food is always delicious and vaguely healthy.

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  18. Many thank yous.

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  19. If there’s any interest

    ‘Apocrypha’ the classic 4CD set from Great Dane Records.

    https://workupload.com/file/R5G86VRnGsh

    ‘Around the World’ is a CD from All Of Us Records, which in reality is The “Un-Concert”, which is selections from 1973 shows, that were edited together by Frank himself, and was broadcast on WXRT radio in Chicago, in November 1974.

    https://workupload.com/file/EmfcAGnfdya

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  20. Apocrypha is an amazing boot & even had a detailed booklet. Highly recommended!

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    1. I included the 40-page booklet in the download.

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  21. Thanks & greatly appreciated! I had it years ago but it got lost in a computer crash. I think most of it has been officially released by now, but it was high quality project in its day.

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    1. You're welcome, notBob.
      Although much of Apocrypha has been officially released on The Lost Episodes and the Mystery Disc, the versions on Apocrypha are often slightly longer.

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  22. I'm afraid I know nothing about Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga, as well as not much more about Zappa, therefore thanks for your attempt to educate me!

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  23. Huge praise to you for this new set. Your handling of the content reveals much skill. Thanks. - useo

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