Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

Frank Zappa really didn't like being interviewed.  He found it quite unnatural.  2016's EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS features the musician being interviewed at several stages of his life, from the Mothers of Invention days onward, proving that point.  Sometimes he's abrupt, answering inane questions with only one word.  Other times he's baldly sarcastic and verbose, explaining why he feels American culture (if it can even be called that) is stupid and soulless.  The gamut of Zappa's behavior during a session seemed to run from arrogant, to awkward, to bored, to mildly enraged. Occasionally he seems engaged, at least when the questioner wasn't merely following prescribed inquiries  that were written by corporate sponsors.

We learn some surprising things along the way. Zappa was strict with his musicians about the use of intoxicants; he forbade them on tour.  He was a professional who wanted to give his fans a solid performance. He was always brutally honest, about himself as much as anyone.   Frank was also a self described conservative who hated hippies and communists.  He rails at the extreme left as much as those on the other pole.  He was no hypocrite, it seems.

This documentary also shows Frank Zappa playing music in concert halls and in his home studio.  I doubt many viewers who are not already fans of his unconventional tunes will be converted.  When asked why many don't appreciate his efforts, Zappa retorts that people have not been trained to recognize what is good, what is quality.  Rather, they are educated to toil at an ultimately pointless job alternated with time sitting on a couch.  Hard to argue.

Time is devoted to his serious classical compositions, of which he was perhaps most proud.  If your only knowledge of Zappa is of his scatological lyrics, you should really check these works out sometime.  This movie also sports an amusing clip from The Steve Allen Show, with a very young, clean shaven, unrecognizable Frank playing the spokes of a bicycle wheel with a violin bow.

...IN HIS OWN WORDS is an accurate title.  Director Thorsten Schutte's documentary is an hour and a half of Zappa on Zappa, and on the Rest of the World. We don't see or hear others offer their takes on this controversial figure.  There are no interviews with other musicians or family members.  The effect is like self analysis, posthumously.  If Frank Zappa could summarize his professional life, it might look and sound a bit like this.  It is mesmerizing at times.

1979's double album Joe's Garage is never mentioned.  I was surprised at this as much of EAT THAT QUESTION concerns Zappa's tireless crusade against censorship.  Interviews challenge the validity of adjectives like "vulgar" and "disgusting".  Who is to deem anything as such?  They're just words; none are inherently "dirty".  Why should anyone have the power to suppress a work of art? Clips of the musician battling senators and right-wing pundits over this issue are plentiful (and hilarious, especially the Crossfire piece) in this documentary.  I was reminded of two Florida AM radio talk hosts from days gone by, Neil Rogers and Bob Lassiter, who spent much airtime on a similar crusade.

Joe's Garage can accurately be described as Zappa's magnum opus, an ersatz cautionary tale about the dangers of rock music that is in reality a scalding satire on repressive governments and religious institutions.  A treatise against censorship that is as heh, vulgar and disgusting as anything a thirteen year old had heard.  Blame Eric, my junior high school friend who let me borrow this scandalous record back in '82.