Product Description

Track Listing: Zoot Allures, Tinsel Town Rebellion, Trouble Every Day, Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel, The Dangerous Kitchen, He's So Gay, Bobby Brown, Keep It Greasy, Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me?, Dinah-Moe Humm, Cosmik Debris, Be In My Video, Dancin' Fool, Whippin' Post

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22401 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-01-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
For longtime fans and un-Zapped neophytes alike, Does Humor Belong in Music? presents the late, great Frank Zappa at his mischievous best. Unlike the infamously rambling Baby Snakes, this hour-long, digitally remastered 14-song set (culled from FZ's performance at the Pier in New York City on August 26, 1984) is 95% music, punctuated with brief interview clips (including the inane titular question, and Frank's expectedly affirmative response), and featuring one of the tightest bands that Zappa ever assembled. Everybody participates in Zappa's unique parade of musical fusion, street theater, and defiant anti-establishment sarcasm, with Zappa playing masterful conductor when he's not riffing with nimble-fingered fretwork (notably during "Zoot Allures," "Cosmik Debris," and Greg Allman's "Whipping Post," the set's only cover song). His trademark humor extends to all of his bandmates, especially Ray White and Ike Willis (guitars, vocals) and Bobby Martin (keyboards, vocals), and any topic is fair game for Zappa's skewering, frequently explicit lyrics, from pop-culture sellouts and corrupt recording executives ("Tinsel Town Rebellion") to greedy politicians ("Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel"). Each song is performed to perfection while espousing FZ's impassioned philosophy of taking nothing seriously except the music. In that regard, this Zappa Live DVD represents pure genius at work, having fun and taking no prisoners. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Is it Humor if Nobody Laughs?
Does Humor Belong in Music? Well, that depends. A more relevant question to help you decide whether this DVD is for you is, Do you think Frank Zappa is funny? I myself don't really think he is, and I am hardly alone in thinking that. If you are one of those people who disagree with me, you may like this, as most of what you get in this DVD is FZ 'humor'. There is very little Zappa guitar soloing here.

To me, this document underlines the reasons Zappa more or less lost his credibility with so many people. His arrogance and attempts at humor really undermined his real abilities as a guitarist and frequently interesting compositions, and for the most part the problem only got worse over time. Here we see him in 1984-85, so the problem is fairly advanced.

Summary, using only FZ titles:

Q: Does Humor Belong in Music?
A: Shut Up & Play Your Guitar.

live zappa show dvd
this is a nice dvd look into some 80's Zappa. not as rockin as the dub room special dvd, but not bad. not a very long dvd but has good commentary by FZ thru interviews and tv appearances. i wish the cuts were more rockin', but that is my opinion.

severely 80s Zappa
I got this today, I will say after Baby Snakes, this is rather short and goes by fast. Its basically like everyones said already a run through of some songs you'll know. Of course there could have been more but as it is this is worth buying simply cause there's very little Zappa on DVD. My only gripe is there isn't enough! Besides Baby Snakes and some you tube videos this is only Zappa I've seen live, I've heard plenty of amazing live recordings and seen pictures, there has to be more live footage out there somewhere...