FRANK ZAPPA AND THE AND

• frank zappa and the and
  edited by paul carr
      (2013, book, uk, ashgate publishing)

"Frank Zappa and the And" is a brand-new book that got published by Ashgate Publishing this month. The book presents essays and writings by an international and interdisciplinary array of scholars, as collected by Paul Carr.
In the introduction, Paul Carr states: "This publication does not intend to postulate a unified interpretive code, either between authors, or between authors and readers, but a range of analytic reactions to pertinent contextual areas related to Zappa's oeuvre."
Contextual areas such as horror, religion, satire, technology,...

Richard Hand, Professor of Theatre and Media Drama at the University of Glamorgan, takes a look at Zappa's fascination for horror & monster movies.
Manuel de la Fuente, assistant professor in Media Studies at the University of Valencia, states that Zappa's movies are not a by-product of his music career. Zappa was a musician, and a filmmaker.
Kevin Seal, singer, writer and performer with the band Griddle, dives into Zappa's ideas on religion, elaborating on Zappa's view on the universe and 'the big note'.
James Gardner, composer, broadcaster, performer and lecturer, examines Zappa's editing and sampling techniques, and its relation to musique concrète.
Nick Awde, writer and musician, has a few things to say about Zappa's use of satire, and identifies it as an important part of Zappa's complex legacy.
Claude Chastagner, Professor of American Pomular Culture at Montpellier University, contributes a piece entitled "Zappa and Resistance: The Pleasure Principle". Anything, anytime, anyplace, for no reason at all.
Geoff Wills, former professional musician and clinical psychologist, researches the story-song, in which he highlights a variety of cultural influences that influenced Zappa's storytelling techniques.
Paul Carr, Head of the Division of Music and Sound and Reader in Popular Music Analysis at the ATRiuM, University of Glamorgan, contibutes an essay on "Zappa and Technology". Key-words are Studio Z, editing, xenochrony and synclavier, manipulating time, space and place.
David Sanjek, former Professor of Popular Music at the University of Salford, offers a writing on Zappa's collaboration with outsider artists Wild Man Fischer.
Martin Knakkergaard, head of Music Studies at the University of Aalborg, explores "Zappa and Modernism" by diving into the 22 musical sections of 'Brown Shoes Don't Make It'.
Michel Delville, Professor of English and American Literature as well as Comparative Literature at the University of Liège, links Frank Zappa to the Avant-Garde movement.
Paula Hearsum, former music journalist and Senior Lecturer in Popular Music and Journalism at the University of Brighton, poses the question of Zappa and Mortality: "The Mediation Of Zappa's Death'.

Going through "Zappa and the And" wasn't the easiest thing.
I like reading about the origins of a certain musical piece. I want to know how an artist works and what his influences are. Want to know what makes him tick;
"Zappa and the And" does offer a lot of that, so that's great.
Unfortunately, it also includes a couple of far-fetched theories (at least in my mind) and it does bear this impulsieve urge to explain Zappa's oeuvre by putting various labels on it. It guess that's why it's called an academic publication.

Still, I enjoyed reading "Zappa and the And" and I did write down some names that I have to investigate...

http://www.ashgate.com/