Sunday Album Open Thread: The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!

Some Albums really stood out for one reason or another, but never seemed to get the recognition they deserved. There are others that I just like to play every once in a while.

The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!

Naturally, this is an open thread too.

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Arrow's picture

Gonna be a dental floss tycoon...

Good one EL..

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I want a Pony!

enhydra lutris's picture

late. I'm still trying to figure ut how to make this an "afternoon" post without making it an "evening post". Now I see why the EB posts so "early".

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Azazello's picture

Of course I had this album. Zappa was a hero at my High School 'cuz he went there too.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello I think his first group was The Omens who would occasionally perform at Jane Reynolds Park in Lancaster. That was a famous high school there for a while.

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Azazello's picture

@jejune harpoon
I never saw the Omens but I saw Captain Beefheart at the AV Fairgrounds.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello That's an historical coincidence for me. Don Vliet had tried to get me to play in his band for a fairgrounds gig. I didn't believe he could play all that hot so I turned down the offer. I don't know. I just wanted to play jazz back then. Always great to run into a fellow old desert rat!

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Azazello's picture

@jejune harpoon
Piute before that. I was just back there a few months ago, seeing after my Mother's affairs. So much has changed. The Fairgrounds has been relocated and they've tried to convert "the boulevard" into sort of an arts district. The pool hall is now a burger joint. Of course, the wind still blows.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello Ah, the wind. I remember there was a technique you'd have to develop that entailed leaning forward into it about 5 degrees just so you could stand straight or make forward progress at an approximate upright attitude if you were walking into it. I was AV class of '63. The most infamous burger joint the world ever saw was a place on Sierra Highway called Bubi Burgers. Travelers passing through would marvel at that name. I don't remember the food being particularly good though. Good on them for even conceiving of having an arts district.

I gotta plug this site for a minute. What seems to have happened is that this site turns out to be very, very, very important. The reason for this is on account of all the powerful voices that post here. You are one of those voices.

What's going to happen is everything is going to turn out to be alright but it's going to take more time than anyone is comfortable with. The priority is to somehow get this place stable on finances. That just needs to happen, know what I mean? I think something's coming up in the form of a new fund raiser or something and that's going to be important so we kind of need to buckle up and get ready for that. Other than that, that's all I got.

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Azazello's picture

@jejune harpoon
I hope to contribute more here in future, both writing and donating.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XcdG_sXZjA width:500 height:300]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Azazello

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Mark from Queens's picture

@jejune harpoon

from where he came from.

To me, he was such a mind-blowing musical genius of incredible imagination and unpredictability, with sharp and incisive humorous takes on sociopolitical foible and cultural buffoonery.

For my introduction as a kid, it was Apostrophe that was the fun adolescent stoner album which was passed around in my Catholic jr high school, and then the two current albums at that time (and still favorites) Joe's Garage and Sheik Yerbouti.

The massive, extensive catalog I found overall to be overwhelming to delve into the sheer depth and breath of it and become anything approaching a serious fan, which seemed to require so much effort.

That said, I do indeed consider myself a fan and a great admirer of him as both a visionary musician and outspoken critic of social and political mores. He was so singularly unique and amazing in many ways.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

earthling1's picture

@jejune harpoon Lived in Bouquet Canyon for 20 years. Not exacty a desert rat but closest grocery store was Quartz Hill.
I was a regular at the festival up at the monastery.
Good times.
My best concert evah, Zappa at the Forum New Years Eve!
Thanks for all the memories.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Azazello's picture

@earthling1
I'll bet the poppies in Quartz Hill are good this year, if there are any left. Quartz Hill is all upscale Republican territory now, million dollar mansions.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

fourth floor balcony overlooking University Ave. in Berkeley about 1/2 block west of Shattuck at around 3 or 4 am. Needless to say, I was stoned out of my mind. It was a great soundtrack for the slow unfolding of the transition from nightlife to daylife occurring below me.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Amanda Matthews's picture

hold on to. Freak Out caused quite the kerfluffle back in the Late Cretaceous. I still have my original album. It definitely represents a very important time in my life. And brings back many many fond memories.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

earthling1's picture

Most all my work was in the basin. My hangouts ranged from Big Oaks Lodge, The Falls Cafe, Green Valley Inn, Lake Hughes rock store, and all the way out to Miners Camp on the far eastside of Palmcaster.
The poppies gotta be fabulous this year.
Went down last year and got lost in Santa Clarita (Saugus) and eventually stumbled upon Bouquet and then got hopelessly lost just past Quartz Hill. Had to call my SIL to come get me.
Place has gone to McMansion hell.
Best memories are midnite rides on my hardtail chopper out on the far westside in full moonlight at 80 degrees.
And no helmet.
Memory lane dead ahead.
Thanks

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Mark from Queens's picture

@earthling1

Takes me right to one of my favorite HST essays called, "Midnight on the Coast Highway."

It's such a vivid and emotive piece. And it would frequently go through my own mind, as I would hit the Williamsburg Bridge just a few blocks away from the venue I play at on the Lower East Side, then crank the throttle up to a point in which the flesh of my face would be ripped back and the girding posts of the bridge roadway would blur by.

But with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and nor room at all for mistakes. It has to be done right…and that’s when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms...

The Edge. There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are ones who have gone over. The others – the living – are those who who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later.”

Check out the cool video someone who was enamored with the piece made.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

earthling1's picture

@Mark from Queens HST had it.
Don't know who penned it, but there is this:
"If you have to ask me why I ride a Harley, you'll never understand". Have done Coast One all the way. It's awesome. Thanks for the link MFQ.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

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