On the 2nd Day of Mavericks ...
... my reader gave to me.
Frank Zappa
- as nominated by ‘Challenge 69’ reader Nigel J
To support his suggestion, for our second reader nominated maverick, Nigel provided a very thorough and convincingly reasoned argument:
“Zappa should be at the top of any music maverick list by virtue of his amazingly productive career, unique musical style, and willingness to show two fingers (or sometimes just one!) to US politicians, preachers, and middle America as a whole. As well as a rock musician, he wrote several classical pieces and even paid the London Philharmonic 'a lot of money' to record one of them, although he ended up disappointed by the result. Alex Winter's 2020 documentary 'Zappa', which was shown on BBC4, is well worth a look if you get the chance.”
Which just left me to consult Stuart for his authorisation:
“Now that’s better! Nigel makes a good case and I’m happy to inaugurate Frank Zappa into my maverick hall of fame, unreservedly.
To be honest, the man always frightened me and, despite not having been with us for nearly thirty years now, I’d still be too scared today to refuse him entry anywhere!
Nigel’s nomination has also reminded me how much my own favoured brand of off-the-wall artist is really just maverick-lite. Instinctively, I know I should like Zappa, but along with Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits I’ve always found their work a little too ‘difficult’. I clearly prefer my nonconformism to come with a bit of a ribbon in its hair and a few more hummable tunes! Guess I should try harder.”
Look out for our third daily maverick at the same time tomorrow, and let’s see if the next cab off the rank can find more of a ‘middle ground’ for Stuart.
An Updated ‘12 Days of Mavericks’ playlist is attached. Nigel helpfully suggested a few Zappa songs: 'Don't Eat the Yellow Snow', ‘Valley Girl’ with daughter Moon Unit, ‘Not Now’, and ‘Flakes’, but having finally discovered a Mothers of Invention song I enjoyed (with some great lyrics) I’ve chosen to go with ‘Trouble Every Day’.
(PS. Having just seen the day one post go live, I now realise adding to the playlist before a post goes live doesn’t work. So, you got two for the price of one yesterday, and just a straight repeat today. Won’t make that mistake again.)