Music Ranking
Studio tan is delightful. Greggery is a fun and silly piece with lemme take you to the beach being another splendid tune. RDNZL has a very fun feeling with great guitar and a very silly (?) xylophone/ marimba part. Low budget orchestra is my least favourite track, but better than I remember it ever being
8.7/10
Album Art Ranking
I really like this one. I feel as if I shouldn't though…
7.89/10
Music Ranking
Everytime I get a new Zappa record to listen to I am surprised by the sound and the differences when compared to the previous album. Max informs me that this is the most recent of the Zappa albums I have listened to yet (I have heard Waka/Jawaka and Hot Rats so far) and Studio Tan presents the most zany of the albums I have listened to yet.
Overall I enjoyed the album and all of the songs.
I do admit I am very curious as to what Gregory Peccary is an allegory for. I do wonder if it is as simple as the eventual corruption or the desire to be corrupted by capitalism? But that seems too on the nose. I have not looked it up yet - (looking up) - It seems I was close to it with perhaps a focus on time being Zappa’s intent.
I kept coming back to finding a lot of similarities in this album of Zappa’s to Radiohead, really driven by my interpretation of Zappa’s Gregory Peccary and Radiohead’s Paranoid Android. I really connected in this wild way with Zappa’s description of modern society and its pitfalls. When I think about Paranoid Android and the really intense and shifting instrumental styles similar to Zappa and the topic matter which includes Zappa’s peccary and Radiohead’s “Gucci little piggy” as well as Zappa’s character going to work in the high sky scraper and Radiohead singing of “from a great height”. I was unable to find any reference to Radiohead being influenced by Zappa but convergent evolution is a fact. The evolution of Zappa’s own musical style and preference is quite fascinating as is the man himself who in my perspective defies the norms of his generation and embraced his own ideals artistically and politically.
7.2/10
Album Art Ranking
Very silly…. Should have had a peccary/pig on the cover.
5.0/10