@David Topchiev I dont think he meant it like that. He meant that some countries have culture of thousands of years and dont make a fuss about it, and then compared to USA whose culture is only a few hundred years old where people think that's ultimo and the best of all - the drop height of it.
@Danny Timms You’re entirely and completely missing Zappa’s spot on, unassailable, and apodictic point, which is to suggest that the myriad forms of profound, wonderful American cultural creation get diluted and even destroyed by a vapid culture of superficial consumer tastes and saccharine sentiment, which is all really sad, and in many cases, tragic and even toxic. Oh, how utterly clueless you are, Danny. Sad. Unless you are Camille Paglia, who could adeptly come up with a good counter argument to mine, you have nothing to say or offer.
@David Topchiev obviously out of greed David ?.can you give us proof of that David..you have made this comment now can we see th0e facts ...is it true that their are 45,000 homeless people in LA ...with only 4 Street doctors to try and help with their medical needs ..was not really into his music but like most real musicians they did not create or play music with the intentions of vast wealth..most are lousy at business and will create and play music wether paid or not ...the real musicians that is..its very often the crap that they get involved with, agents ,music industry that is run by greed..so let's see the proof of his greed as a musician ... Trump has shown the world what a lot of America is about....the dollar ...fast food that does not last or satisfy... S
@David Topchiev I've seen this argument a hundred times. He shouldn't complain because he's a winner. It is always accompanied by losers are complaining because they are losers. Winners shouldn't complain. Losers shouldn't complain. That covers just about everybody, eh?
@David Topchiev Thank you for your polite and thoughtful reply. Here on the Internet it is a novelty to have a discussion that is other than an exchange of insults. "But when he alludes to the mighty dollar..he fails to point out that aspect is what makes us the country with the most opportunities. ... how we're eating shit here." Don't you mean "formerly with the most opportunities"? What I see now is bankruptcies, debt peonage, bread lines, and people with little choice other than to join the Army. And opportunities to do what? In the US "opportunity" always means to make money. How about opportunity to do what you want to do, which in Frank's case was a creative and free life in the arts? I don't think he could make it today. Now all I see are tribute bands. I live in Tokyo and the arts are SO much stronger. I left the US twenty years ago. I recommend that others do so. Many of my younger cousins and nieces have moved out and are never going to come back. But I understand how hard it is for most people to do, so I don't look down on those who stay and complain. Besides, Frank did more than criticize, he took action at some risk to himself. He testified before Congress, which took revenge. He helped inspire the Czech revolution. Vaclav Havel offered him a position as a trade ambassador. Frank warned the people about what was going on, not that it did much good, but he tried. His predictions of the future have proved remarkably accurate. He was a businessman, thought like a businessman, and could predict what other businessmen would do.
@David Topchiev I was around then and it wasn't that great. It was better in many ways but the Vietnam War was a huge drawback. Millions died. You could get drafted, sent off there against your will, and have both legs blown off. That wasn't exactly freedom. You could get ten years in prison for a few grams of marijuana. Not freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. may have been peaceful but he nevertheless got assassinated for speaking out against the war. Memphis wasn't a free speech zone. If Frank were around today? He might be so outraged that he'd run for office. He said "I think I would be good at it, but look at the people I'd have to associate with."
When it comes to music, America does have jazz, rock, hip-hop, but I think it says a lot that all of those genres came from marginalised groups and were disregarded by the American public until they showed commercial potential.
Jazz simply became popularized in New Orleans, but it started in Africa and Europe long before amerians discovered it. America has very very little that it can claim as the Creator or origins of anything. Almost everything we do here come in some way or another was stolen or maybe improved upon improved upon come up from somewhere outside the United states. We are a country of imposters and thieves
tbh, every piece of art that's worth anything came from a "distressed" situation. So it makes senes for a marginalised group to produce higher quality art. Arts is directly connected to the need to express human pain.
While at the same time undermining that he had so much success BECAUSE of American culture. Frankly (no pun intended) he should pay closer attention to what he's saying while he's saying it, because he's a part of what he's putting down here. He sounds out of touch.
I think Frank Zappa is intellectually challenging us Americans in the right way. With deep thought and integrity. I'm so happy i stumbled on his words.
I love my country but part of what he said is wrong we have music and it changed music world wide starting blues and ragtime then jazz to bebop this all comes from the africans brought over buy the english and the dutch slavery was part of the world then now we all know thet was regretable but it gave us our music so our music changed world music
Retard he meant cultures that go a bit deeper than 200 years Music and art styles, religions and beliefs that survived for thousands of years - that’s what he is talking about - not the things that American culture “trailblazers” made by transforming already existing mediums
You're forgetting J.D. Sallinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both of their respective most famed works truly read so that I would say they probably could've only been written by Americans and even more so the stories to only have been able to be situated in the USA.
I left the US in 1975 and have been living in Europe ever since. Frank is absolutely correct! Take it from someone who's lived in both cultures: that's exactly how it is.
@@samhain6953 you can't seriously think a firearm is as significant today as it was during the days of the American Revolution right? Surely.. nobody's 'that' stupid
The more I listen to Zappa the more I like his opinions and frame of brain. He was a musical genius but he was also an extremely intelligent person as well. Surely missed
Didn’t ask for his “insight” because I didn’t need it. If you think it’s a nightmare go live in Afghanistan or some other cool place. He exemplifies the typical “intellectual “ with lots of wisdom and no answers while ha lived off the fat of the land. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
@@jimmy5634 You are so right! Liberal-progressive lemmings followed this over-rated clown right off the cliff same as they blindly follow today's lame-stream media. Zappa's the one who should have tried living in other countries of true racism, oppression, corruption, and injustice before criticizing his own that's given more opportunity and sanctuary than any other (all the while serving world-policeman duty). His "rock" music was actually one example showing the worst of American culture, as his cult-following lapped up all his failed elaborately crafted attempts at musical satire.
@@jimmy5634 god, the old if you don't like it here, move to Afghanistan. What an average unintelligent bore you are. You're definitely a part of what Zappa is describing here. 🤣🤣🤣
@@jimmy5634 Why are you so eager to put the US up against countries it has razed to the ground instead of a more fair competitor? Like Western or northern Europe?
@@krisc2535 Not really. All people everywhere have pride in their culture, rightly or wrongly. This is not unique to Americans and if you think Americans are the only ethnocentrists out there, you haven't reallly had much dealings with people from other cultures.
What about an atmosphere of mystical beauty? Pockets of the world still has that ancient heritage as a reality, where it hasn't been mall-culturized or Americanized out of existence. It's rare but it happens. Isn't that the most valuable thing a country can "offer in the moment"?
It could be said that people develop a huge sense of pride in their nation and culture to compensate for what they actually have to offer in the moment.
I love that human man. Play his music at my funeral, even if only a few attend and none of them appreciate his style, intelligence, humor or creativity. I was zapped at an early age.
A brilliant man, a mega talented musician and one of the few who spoke about the “uncultured culture of the USA”, which is actually what triggers true culture.
"And i think that a country that doesn't do something to sustain its culture , whatever it is , doesn't invest in it , doesn't keep it happening , isn't proud of it .. maybe they just shouldn't exist. Because it's the culture , the beautiful things of a society produces , those are the things that should survive for thousands of years , not the designer jeans." Frank Zappa on American Culture.
I think Zappa mostly just overlooks and underestimates that much of American culture still has to ripen a lot over the upcoming centuries if the USA and global societies at large will manage to survive that long. 230 to at most about 500 years might appear to be a very long time for us individuals but when it comes to cultural cultivation which can eventually accumulate to and expand into nationwide identity formation of a nation's people at large then it isn't much time to speak of, really.
Musical forms such as jazz, the blues, RnB, and RnR are all great but they were frowned on, and the establishment tried to stop them. I agree with FZ in most cases. He has discounted Hollywood and all that it has brought about (good and bad), definitely a cultural milestone on this side of the pond.
Well said, I was thinking the same thing about things he overlooked with this. That said he is spot on about the thinking we are god's gift to the world.
Turns out Zappa is just pretentious and talking out his ass. It doesn’t take much thought to find numerous counter examples to the things he says here.
@@diegopalominoss Blues, Rock n' roll, metal, jazz, about a thousand genres of rock, Hollywood films, Twain, Hemingway, Bukowski, Steinbeck, Poe, Faulkner, car culture, motorcycles, fashion, industrial revolution, cartoons, several art movements, plus thousands of more things. I just named a whole lot more than one. America does have a 'rich cultural history'. The problem is that you get pseudo intellectuals like this guy who think it's cool to rag on their own country. Being a guitarist doesn't give you infinite wisdom and authority over facts.
Sadly Frank, the American view has begun to predominate. Across the globe today, we see political movements where the only thing that matters is the bottom line. You are missed
The dissonance of him being an actual part of American Culture talking about how America has no culture is classic Zappa, whether he realizes it or not.
@@MrJohnnyDistortion His father was Greek and Arab. His mother was Italian and French. He’s said he considered his upbringing as Italian American because of his Italian grandmother’s influence.
He is speaking as a free-thinking individual who sees through the gaps in the american culture regardless of where he is from. If you think he is part of the American culture, you are missing the point. Dont look at his finger, look at what its pointing at!
Whatever culture America used to have, the colonists took one look at and said "we'll be having none of that!" I think there is rich heritage and culture in this country, but it often gets watered down and co-opted by the rich and powerful in order to be trendy. In another interview Zappa says you can reduce almost anything in America to a fad and it applies here.
Is that ever so true? Frank Zappa really knew his stuff. it's a good thing that he was a great musician. because it gave him a way to say these things. he is definitely missed.
We have , Jazz, blues , rock and roll, funk, country, r&b music, a slew of great poets, writers, painters, and of course one of the greatest artists in history FZ himself. 🇺🇸🖕🏼not bad for a couple hundred years.
@Nastro Adhesivo jazz and blues along with folk-country music existed nowhere else in the world than America. It is distinctly American. RockNRoll is a derivative of blues and was not invented by industry. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I'm a Zappa fan and like a lot of what he has to say on a wide variety of subjects. However, he neglects to mention that America is actually a very creative environment in a lot of ways, with it's own dances, art, music. Jazz and Blues for example, both American and rooted in Afro-American culture, and tons of great modern art originated and still is created in America. Zappa himself would not exist as "Zappa" or be able to make a living in music were it not for the jazz, blues, bluegrass and the shoulders of giants he was standing on in his own music. His guitar playing is often deeply rooted in the blues, as is all "progressive rock" "rock & roll" and "fusion" music. I think in this case he makes a good point about American citizen's by and large being ignorant and arrogant when it comes to viewing other cultures but he glosses over some very important facts in order to make his point.
Salt Spring Design he’s saying that america isn’t interested in promoting the part of its culture that is actually worthwhile. Instead of being proud of Native Americans, R&B, soul music, etc., America is much more concerned with promoting its superficial culture and trying to sell others something: McDonald’s, Coke, Levi’s, which is laughable, especially when the country decides to dictate policy around the world, to cultures and people with thousands of years of history on their side. We’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we’re superior. We don’t value things that are actually meaningful, like a historical dance or traditional dish. We value the bottom line and rule through the barrel of a gun.
@@matthewmartinez3596 I'm glad somebody understood his message . Beneath the surface usa has a rich musical culture . Problem is it's the crap that's celebrated .
If America actually valued the beautiful things it's produced, John Coltrane would be revered on the same level as Abraham Lincoln. It would be like how Germany and Austria revere Beethoven and Mozart, and how they proudly fund their opera houses and symphonies. The sad fact is though that most Americans now don't even know who John Coltrane is; they really are just that ignorant. I mean yeah you could say it's the government and mass media's fault that they're all like that, but who elected that government? Who consumes that media?
@@distantworlds9104 i, for one, was far more influenced by Coltrane and Bird et al than i was by the speeches of Abe Lincoln. But Im a musician, not a politician. zi was more influenced by Zappa than i was by Coltrane, I must admit, though i love both.
American attitude to cultural heritage is what he probably meant. I mean, you invented jazz - do your kids learn about jazz musicians the same way we learn about Bach and Beethoven? Why not?
Another thing Frank forgot. In the US everything is reduced to it´s ability of making money - culture as well. The other day I heard Carol Kaye - the famous bass player of the Wrecking Crew - said: Music is a business and that´s why they hired us as we were good and very fast workers. I wanted to say to her: No Carol, basically music is not a business. Some sort of - yes, but in general - no. Mozart´s first ambition was to write good music. Beethoven, Bach or Brahms as well and I´m convinced that this was Zappa´s main attitude as well. So - how can musicians survive when they think like that? And that´s where our German state money comes in. Culture in general and culture as an performance of art should be in the near of every citizen - no matter where he and she lives. That´s written in our constitution and that´s why we spend about 1,5% of our budget for opera houses, theatres, museums, concert halls, libraries, music schools etc. That makes prof. artists much more independent and it provides a basis for the future. The US is a rich country. But it uses it´s money not wisely.
Only if you agree with what he's saying. It's a mentality, it's not unbiased fact. What about the blues? What about jazz? What about all the amazing American film makers? What about the iconic American painters? As well, what's wrong with cheeseburgers, coke, and Levi's? Consumerism may not always be pretty but it's necessity. It provides jobs, keeps the economy moving and let's be honest, we all like to have things. I love my Zappa, but he sounds foolish here to me.
He’s definitely not wrong about American materialism and arrogance but we aren’t completely lacking for meaningful culture. America is the home of jazz, rock n roll and hip hop for instance.
Andy Warhol's Soup can and America ate it up ...... mostly sad commentary but proves Frank was right . Sell , buy repeat . Consumerism is America's culture.
@@joeydanielski962he warned us about fundamentalist religion and thought they’d have a complete strangle hold on the country - he was very wrong. A new religion has taken hold though - the PC woke left . He’d hate them As much as he did the right maybe more
Frank Zappa played rock and roll music to sell records to the lowest common denominator audience to make enough money to afford to pay for real orchestras to play his serious music. As he paid his own way throughout his career, it was necessary for him to play rock music to make money to mount the big orchestras to release albums which he knew wouldn't make a profit for him, but wanted to get that music performed anyway. That's a commitment to the music. To his art. That said, his "rock" music was light years ahead of the banal disposable pop music of the day.
@@zolarczakl3880 Yep. In my younger days I once spent an amorous evening with a young lady who loved Rod Stewart, so that's what we listened to. After she left, I went over to a buddy's and we listened to all three acts of Joe's Garage. What a contrast.
I'd like to see some American actually give a fair argument against anything Frank is saying here. This whole piece and especially the first sentence are some of my favorite Zappa quotes ever.
america has pop-art, abstract expressionism, edgar allan poe, charkes bukowski, velvet underground ... this is such a narrow thinking, that just an elite intellectual could make that kind of stupid statement
@@dafyduck79 Frank Zappa was a guy from the lower middle class that got where he got by working hard. Elitist is politicized bullshit and you don't even know what you're saying with it. FZ was speaking in terms of historical weight of cultures, you have the 20th century strictly speaking, which is not the argument which was called for. Maybe being more of an intellectual than cherry-picking a few things and ignoring the whole context would be an improvement in certain cases. Fatuous and dull, that.
Of course the US doesn’t have a long cultural history, we’re a young country made up largely of immigrants from dissimilar backgrounds. Our cultural heritage is hope of a better life. Quasi intellectuals like Zappa can bag on the US but there a literally billions of people who would come here at the drop of a hat if they were able.
I don't agree with zappa, america has blues, jazz, avantgarde music, great writers, great filmmakers (orson Wells, john cassavettes, Martin Scorsese, john Huston etc etc). America is relatively young but put out great art in two centuries. I'm italian, we are surrounded by beauty, but America is not just atomic bombs and cheeseburger, just like we and other countries are not just baguette, mafia, bullfight and krauts.
Maestro I agree with you though I'm too tired to explain why.. that jazz is over-rated as a music form/genre, etc.. I love music modes but Jazz turned into a clusterfuck of almost unlistenable music. Not in the way that 12 tone music, the atonal type is hard to listen to.. just in an almost objective way of being horrible. Never could quite "get" it. And I'm american before people attack me for being a "eurofag" or something who hates the US.
Frank didn't always play fair. Yes we have a large population of chuckle-heads but we also have a strong heritage and a strong cultural society.We have blues/jazz, blue grass, country/western. The western settlement (the gold rush) a two party democracy, the homestead, a cornucopia of many different styles of cooking. I agree with Frank...that we be more respectful to other countries and stop feeling that we are the best thing since sliced bread. My father used to boast that we are the greatest country in the world. In some ways that's true in other ways it's not. Being proud of your country is natural, but to think some one's country is inferior is just ignorant.
The Greeks had democracy a couple thousand years before the U.S. existed, and "western settlement" was mostly stealing real estate from the people who had been using it for centuries, which isn't something I'd classify as a cultural achievement. Other than that, I agree with most of what you've said. He does gloss over the obvious like jazz and blues, not to mention inventive weirdos like Harry Partch (and himself), but on the other hand, how many contemporary Americans would know an Elmore James record or a Sun Ra record if it bit them on the ass? I would guess maybe 5% if I were in an optimistic mood. America seems to be well past its cultural peak, but to be fair that's probably also true of a lot of countries.
@@as7river I love Zappa but what he's saying here is foolish. He has America to thank for his own success. There's no way an artist like him would have flourished like he did had he come out of any other country at that time(save for the UK). All the music Zappa was influenced by was American too(Johnny "Guitar" Watkins and all the old-school rhythm and blues/boogie music, jazz, etc). He's ignoring all the beautiful culture and art America has created (including his own).
@@KickflipGnasty I don’t believe FZ is denying that America has its own culture. He’s just stating that Americans don’t care about their culture. He’s right. Most don’t care.
"Properly packaged, you can sell anything to an American"
-Frank Zappa
Exactly .. Especially these pop singers today
So damn true
@David Topchiev I dont think he meant it like that. He meant that some countries have culture of thousands of years and dont make a fuss about it, and then compared to USA whose culture is only a few hundred years old where people think that's ultimo and the best of all - the drop height of it.
@Danny Timms
You’re entirely and completely missing Zappa’s spot on, unassailable, and apodictic point, which is to suggest that the myriad forms of profound, wonderful American cultural creation get diluted and even destroyed by a vapid culture of superficial consumer tastes and saccharine sentiment, which is all really sad, and in many cases, tragic and even toxic.
Oh, how utterly clueless you are, Danny. Sad.
Unless you are Camille Paglia, who could adeptly come up with a good counter argument to mine, you have nothing to say or offer.
Can't argue with that.
Zappa would be really pissed at what is happening today
Frank is turning in his grave about the left woke society today.
@David Topchiev obviously out of greed David ?.can you give us proof of that David..you have made this comment now can we see th0e facts ...is it true that their are 45,000 homeless people in LA ...with only 4 Street doctors to try and help with their medical needs ..was not really into his music but like most real musicians they did not create or play music with the intentions of vast wealth..most are lousy at business and will create and play music wether paid or not ...the real musicians that is..its very often the crap that they get involved with, agents ,music industry that is run by greed..so let's see the proof of his greed as a musician ... Trump has shown the world what a lot of America is about....the dollar ...fast food that does not last or satisfy...
S
@David Topchiev I've seen this argument a hundred times. He shouldn't complain because he's a winner. It is always accompanied by losers are complaining because they are losers. Winners shouldn't complain. Losers shouldn't complain. That covers just about everybody, eh?
@David Topchiev Thank you for your polite and thoughtful reply. Here on the Internet it is a novelty to have a discussion that is other than an exchange of insults.
"But when he alludes to the mighty dollar..he fails to point out that aspect is what makes us the country with the most opportunities. ... how we're eating shit here."
Don't you mean "formerly with the most opportunities"? What I see now is bankruptcies, debt peonage, bread lines, and people with little choice other than to join the Army. And opportunities to do what? In the US "opportunity" always means to make money. How about opportunity to do what you want to do, which in Frank's case was a creative and free life in the arts? I don't think he could make it today. Now all I see are tribute bands.
I live in Tokyo and the arts are SO much stronger. I left the US twenty years ago. I recommend that others do so. Many of my younger cousins and nieces have moved out and are never going to come back. But I understand how hard it is for most people to do, so I don't look down on those who stay and complain. Besides, Frank did more than criticize, he took action at some risk to himself. He testified before Congress, which took revenge. He helped inspire the Czech revolution. Vaclav Havel offered him a position as a trade ambassador. Frank warned the people about what was going on, not that it did much good, but he tried. His predictions of the future have proved remarkably accurate. He was a businessman, thought like a businessman, and could predict what other businessmen would do.
@David Topchiev I was around then and it wasn't that great. It was better in many ways but the Vietnam War was a huge drawback. Millions died. You could get drafted, sent off there against your will, and have both legs blown off. That wasn't exactly freedom. You could get ten years in prison for a few grams of marijuana. Not freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. may have been peaceful but he nevertheless got assassinated for speaking out against the war. Memphis wasn't a free speech zone.
If Frank were around today? He might be so outraged that he'd run for office. He said "I think I would be good at it, but look at the people I'd have to associate with."
Hey wait a minute...we had Frank Zappa!
Evets Nitram ... Came from Italy in the 20th century. Americans were here for a couple hundred years
stupid comment
Hendrix, the Doors, James Brown, Marvin, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Al Pacino, Chris Walken, Adam West.
Patrick? Is it you? HEEEEYYYY, PATRICIIIICK! Patrick: SPONGEBOOOB!
You had him, but treated him like a crazy fool...
Every interviewer in USA treated him like a crazy fool...
When it comes to music, America does have jazz, rock, hip-hop, but I think it says a lot that all of those genres came from marginalised groups and were disregarded by the American public until they showed commercial potential.
Jazz simply became popularized in New Orleans, but it started in Africa and Europe long before amerians discovered it. America has very very little that it can claim as the Creator or origins of anything. Almost everything we do here come in some way or another was stolen or maybe improved upon improved upon come up from somewhere outside the United states. We are a country of imposters and thieves
tbh, every piece of art that's worth anything came from a "distressed" situation. So it makes senes for a marginalised group to produce higher quality art. Arts is directly connected to the need to express human pain.
Who is the American public?
@@panagiotisatmatzidis9972 That doesn't make any sense. Were the musicians in european classic music marginalized? Or were its patrons?
Wow. The man said more of significance in a minute than so many have said in too many lifetimes. Much respect.
While at the same time undermining that he had so much success BECAUSE of American culture. Frankly (no pun intended) he should pay closer attention to what he's saying while he's saying it, because he's a part of what he's putting down here. He sounds out of touch.
Words are easy. Too many of his kind with lots to say and nothing to do.
He gets no respect from me.
@@jimmy5634 I hate to say it, but I agree with. I love Zappa's music, but you hit the nail on the head.
@@KickflipGnasty well told my friend
The man was a whiny, self-absorbed tool.
I think Frank Zappa is intellectually challenging us Americans in the right way. With deep thought and integrity.
I'm so happy i stumbled on his words.
Ok so what will you do about it?
Nothing…just like everybody else who thinks this dude is cool.
@@jimmy5634 LOL
we r lost
I love my country but part of what he said is wrong we have music and it changed music world wide starting blues and ragtime then jazz to bebop this all comes from the africans brought over buy the english and the dutch slavery was part of the world then now we all know thet was regretable but it gave us our music so our music changed world music
Retard he meant cultures that go a bit deeper than 200 years
Music and art styles, religions and beliefs that survived for thousands of years - that’s what he is talking about - not the things that American culture “trailblazers” made by transforming already existing mediums
@@jimmy5634 why you hating on Zappa? Lol Yano the world would try and cancel him if he was alive today
"You can sell them cheap whiskey, you can sell them trinkets, but you cannot sell them ideas..."
Marshall McLuhan- 1977
Frank was one of the American original like Twain, Faulkner, Poe, Parker, Trane, Dylan,............this guy will be remembered for hundred of years .
You're forgetting J.D. Sallinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both of their respective most famed works truly read so that I would say they probably could've only been written by Americans and even more so the stories to only have been able to be situated in the USA.
Actually nobody will remember him after such time. He was just a pretentious rockstar that gained repercussion in Europe.
@@lonzolotto and youre a nobody lol frank was an asshole but will be remembered unlike you or i
@@lonzolotto nice try 😂😂😂😂
@@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus we'll see in 15 years. Believe in yourself, man.
"we think we're hot shit" THAT SENT ME💀💀
👍🇮🇹
@@angelosantaniello4113 Sicilians Rule 😉
@@joecrowaz I’m from Napoli lol
@@angelosantaniello4113 But me and Frank are Sicilians 👍
@@joecrowaz all good my Italian brother
I left the US in 1975 and have been living in Europe ever since. Frank is absolutely correct! Take it from someone who's lived in both cultures: that's exactly how it is.
He forgot about guns. So much of American culture is based around guns.
Of all the things to fetishize, why do Americans have to fetishize guns?
guns are a part of the critique of consumer culture, as the US is also the most prolific arms manufacturer
Take a fucking history class..then you may realize the significance of a firearm.
@@samhain6953 over my cold, dead hands
@@samhain6953 you can't seriously think a firearm is as significant today as it was during the days of the American Revolution right? Surely.. nobody's 'that' stupid
The irony: Zappa is the culture the US should absolutely preserve.
How sad for me that I just now have come to know of the wisdom of Frank Zappa. He resonates with me to the fullness. We need him again here and now.
We have Trump, Biden and the New York Post. I hope it's enough... it'd better be. There's nothing more.
A disposable culture, as Henry Rollins called it.
We can dispose of rollins
@@lastnamefirst4035 Get in the can?
@@selcouth86 can t stand rollins. Definitely no zappa
If only Henry Rollins was as smart as he thinks he is.
@@timmckennie4276 If only Tim Mckennie expressed a concise statement that made people think differently.
The more I listen to Zappa the more I like his opinions and frame of brain. He was a musical genius but he was also an extremely intelligent person as well. Surely missed
You bet he is missed !
good riddence i say!
You call that music..Ha?
I miss this man so much, But his music lives on.
I love the song I'm the Slime which is all about what Tell-Lie-Vision is.
You met him?
Really? I still don't think I've ever heard one of his songs. He seems massively overrated but i'll give him this, dude knows how to market himself.
@@parsifal7300 What did he innovate?
@@parsifal7300 Ok so he innovated nothing. Agauin, he was great at marketing, I'll give him that.
He's so real.
America is still at it, thank you Frank for amazing music and insight to the American nightmare
Didn’t ask for his “insight” because I didn’t need it. If you think it’s a nightmare go live in Afghanistan or some other cool place.
He exemplifies the typical “intellectual “ with lots of wisdom and no answers while ha lived off the fat of the land.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
@@jimmy5634 You are so right! Liberal-progressive lemmings followed this over-rated clown right off the cliff same as they blindly follow today's lame-stream media. Zappa's the one who should have tried living in other countries of true racism, oppression, corruption, and injustice before criticizing his own that's given more opportunity and sanctuary than any other (all the while serving world-policeman duty). His "rock" music was actually one example showing the worst of American culture, as his cult-following lapped up all his failed elaborately crafted attempts at musical satire.
@@jimmy5634 god, the old if you don't like it here, move to Afghanistan. What an average unintelligent bore you are. You're definitely a part of what Zappa is describing here. 🤣🤣🤣
@@jimmy5634 Why are you so eager to put the US up against countries it has razed to the ground instead of a more fair competitor? Like Western or northern Europe?
@@jimmy5634 If your house was leaking you wouldn't abandon it, you'd fix it.
The only American who makes sense..
gee, I thought Carl Sagan made a lot of sense too. Sorta shared insight into how the universe works. No big deal though, spose Zappa was smarter.
Sophia Pde Please fill us in what country you're from?
Courson. Yeah, Carl Sagan's Cosmos
No. There are several other exists
No...
Not only could he shred a guitar, he could shred minds
Yeah with his bullshit hippy
People develop a huge sense of pride in their nation and culture to compensate for what it actually has to offer in the moment.
The opposite applies to America and their lack of history and culture.
@@krisc2535 Not really. All people everywhere have pride in their culture, rightly or wrongly. This is not unique to Americans and if you think Americans are the only ethnocentrists out there, you haven't reallly had much dealings with people from other cultures.
What about an atmosphere of mystical beauty? Pockets of the world still has that ancient heritage as a reality, where it hasn't been mall-culturized or Americanized out of existence. It's rare but it happens. Isn't that the most valuable thing a country can "offer in the moment"?
It could be said that people develop a huge sense of pride in their nation and culture to compensate for what they actually have to offer in the moment.
Red: Frank's point was that America has no culture. So, there is nothing to be ethnocentric about.
"we have Journey" LOL
Bon Jovi also
Don't stop believing ✊😂😂
Hey, don't forget REO SPEEDWAGON! LULZ
Neal Schoen is a monster musician
!
@@robertcampbell840 Schon, not Schön (Schoen). Sorry, for correcting you.
When Chet Atkins was asked what the Nashville sound was he shook the loose change in his pocket and said "That's the Nashville sound"
That's why today's country muzak sucks ass.
Frank was such an innovator. Musically and in his social commentary. He was telling us about how corrupt the media was. Back in the 70’s.
RIP Frank ❤
To be fair: there was Frank Zappa.
I am not from America, but I am thankful to what they have given us: Brazzers, Mofos, Naughty America and so on.
Frank always nails it
I love that human man. Play his music at my funeral, even if only a few attend and none of them appreciate his style, intelligence, humor or creativity. I was zapped at an early age.
They say when a civilization falls the first thing to go is music and the arts.. I mean look around
A brilliant man, a mega talented musician and one of the few who spoke about the “uncultured culture of the USA”, which is actually what triggers true culture.
One may sometimes say of musicians that they had a beautiful soul, but Zappa was even more than that, he was a great man.
Thank you Frank Zappa for the music you've created and for your wise words.
I will remember and listen to your music as long as I live.
"And i think that a country that doesn't do something to sustain its culture , whatever it is , doesn't invest in it , doesn't keep it happening , isn't proud of it .. maybe they just shouldn't exist.
Because it's the culture , the beautiful things of a society produces , those are the things that should survive for thousands of years , not the designer jeans."
Frank Zappa on American Culture.
The problem is now the rest of the world is adopting our garbage culture. Now pretty much anywhere on the planet is like the US.
I think Zappa mostly just overlooks and underestimates that much of American culture still has to ripen a lot over the upcoming centuries if the USA and global societies at large will manage to survive that long. 230 to at most about 500 years might appear to be a very long time for us individuals but when it comes to cultural cultivation which can eventually accumulate to and expand into nationwide identity formation of a nation's people at large then it isn't much time to speak of, really.
@@edlawn5481 “culture”
The fucking pop tart ad I got after this video is ironic to say the least.
Popculture, it´s not a bad word. All european culture was once POPCULTURE. Mona Lisa was popculture, Mozart was popculture.
Well said, Mr. Zappa...you contributed, and THANKS. I love mainly your ORCHESTRAL WORKS.
He died in 1993, not sure if youre aware
Embodiment of "scratch a cynic and you'll find a disappointed idealist"
Yeah living off the fat of the land and whining about it. Typical of his ilk.
How heroic.
@@jimmy5634 go back to bed grampa
Musical forms such as jazz, the blues, RnB, and RnR are all great but they were frowned on, and the establishment tried to stop them. I agree with FZ in most cases. He has discounted Hollywood and all that it has brought about (good and bad), definitely a cultural milestone on this side of the pond.
Hip hop as well
Well said, I was thinking the same thing about things he overlooked with this. That said he is spot on about the thinking we are god's gift to the world.
Turns out Zappa is just pretentious and talking out his ass. It doesn’t take much thought to find numerous counter examples to the things he says here.
@@ironwasp5954 name one only lol
@@diegopalominoss Blues, Rock n' roll, metal, jazz, about a thousand genres of rock, Hollywood films, Twain, Hemingway, Bukowski, Steinbeck, Poe, Faulkner, car culture, motorcycles, fashion, industrial revolution, cartoons, several art movements, plus thousands of more things. I just named a whole lot more than one. America does have a 'rich cultural history'. The problem is that you get pseudo intellectuals like this guy who think it's cool to rag on their own country. Being a guitarist doesn't give you infinite wisdom and authority over facts.
we do what we do best, 'promote' the illusion.
Boy, you are so right, and I am happy that it was explained the way you did, I can not add anything else to this .👍😊
We have Jazz, the Banjo, Comic Books, Sports...etc
He was just being Frank
Even from the grave, Zappa speaks the truth today with much needed clarity.
As an European, I can say that americans are culturally very rich. But Boy most of the people are very very square.
Sadly Frank, the American view has begun to predominate. Across the globe today, we see political movements where the only thing that matters is the bottom line. You are missed
Amen! He died too young. Miss you Frank.💔💔💔
More true today than when the words were spoken...
Zappa, Marley, Carlin...all the talent and the truth, rest in peace
The Prophet Zappa foresaw the coming of the Boeberts & the MTGs.
The dissonance of him being an actual part of American Culture talking about how America has no culture is classic Zappa, whether he realizes it or not.
He does realize it because his heritage is Greek which gave the world a great deal.
@@MrJohnnyDistortion His father was Greek and Arab. His mother was Italian and French. He’s said he considered his upbringing as Italian American because of his Italian grandmother’s influence.
@@dirtylemon3379
Thanks. I knew that he was part Greek but not all that.
He is speaking as a free-thinking individual who sees through the gaps in the american culture regardless of where he is from. If you think he is part of the American culture, you are missing the point. Dont look at his finger, look at what its pointing at!
Whatever culture America used to have, the colonists took one look at and said "we'll be having none of that!"
I think there is rich heritage and culture in this country, but it often gets watered down and co-opted by the rich and powerful in order to be trendy. In another interview Zappa says you can reduce almost anything in America to a fad and it applies here.
He forgot about the blues, jazz and rock 'n roll.
ep
lmao rock n roll is from england
@@thedragonofthewest5789 lmao no, rock n roll evolved from blues in the us
@ The Dragon of the West whats the difference? many people in america have english ancestry.
At that time, the music industry did a lot to sabotage all three of these styles and the artists they did sign
What a truly extraordinary individual he was.
If only we had you around now adays Frank. You'd be shocked. We need your outlook more than ever R.I.P
It was the Zappa diet ...that did him in..it just doesn't work for me anymore.. He was an exemplary force of nature..
Yeah…his “outlook” sure elevated us didn’t it?
He had a personal interest in your life. Bahahahaha Bahahahaha
@@jimmy5634 no his diet consisted of coffee and cigarettes
Is that ever so true? Frank Zappa really knew his stuff. it's a good thing that he was a great musician. because it gave him a way to say these things. he is definitely missed.
Out of all the languages, he chose to speak facts
I had the immense pleasure to shake Frank Zappa s hand ,a chance encounter at Dorval Airport in 1973.
Wasn't Mirabel already open in 1973?
We have , Jazz, blues , rock and roll, funk, country, r&b music, a slew of great poets, writers, painters, and of course one of the greatest artists in history FZ himself. 🇺🇸🖕🏼not bad for a couple hundred years.
Sorry i kind of laughed there but yes Edgar Allan Poe and many others.
Yes, but who founded America? Aha! It was Europeans. Thus American culture is basically an European subculture.
@Oh Wait Almost everything was built on the basis of European culture.
@Oh Wait What's the matter, truth hurts?
You went little bit too far with “ painters”.
Jazz is American culture. Blues is American culture. Rockabilly is American culture. Rock N Roll is American culture. Folk is American culture.
@Nastro Adhesivo jazz and blues along with folk-country music existed nowhere else in the world than America. It is distinctly American. RockNRoll is a derivative of blues and was not invented by industry. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I miss Frank.
That's why the Beanie Baby museum is so important. We needed as a reference point. A benchmark honoring America's achievement.
I'm a Zappa fan and like a lot of what he has to say on a wide variety of subjects. However, he neglects to mention that America is actually a very creative environment in a lot of ways, with it's own dances, art, music. Jazz and Blues for example, both American and rooted in Afro-American culture, and tons of great modern art originated and still is created in America. Zappa himself would not exist as "Zappa" or be able to make a living in music were it not for the jazz, blues, bluegrass and the shoulders of giants he was standing on in his own music. His guitar playing is often deeply rooted in the blues, as is all "progressive rock" "rock & roll" and "fusion" music. I think in this case he makes a good point about American citizen's by and large being ignorant and arrogant when it comes to viewing other cultures but he glosses over some very important facts in order to make his point.
Salt Spring Design he’s saying that america isn’t interested in promoting the part of its culture that is actually worthwhile. Instead of being proud of Native Americans, R&B, soul music, etc., America is much more concerned with promoting its superficial culture and trying to sell others something: McDonald’s, Coke, Levi’s, which is laughable, especially when the country decides to dictate policy around the world, to cultures and people with thousands of years of history on their side. We’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we’re superior. We don’t value things that are actually meaningful, like a historical dance or traditional dish. We value the bottom line and rule through the barrel of a gun.
@@matthewmartinez3596 I'm glad somebody understood his message . Beneath the surface usa has a rich musical culture . Problem is it's the crap that's celebrated .
If America actually valued the beautiful things it's produced, John Coltrane would be revered on the same level as Abraham Lincoln. It would be like how Germany and Austria revere Beethoven and Mozart, and how they proudly fund their opera houses and symphonies. The sad fact is though that most Americans now don't even know who John Coltrane is; they really are just that ignorant. I mean yeah you could say it's the government and mass media's fault that they're all like that, but who elected that government? Who consumes that media?
@@distantworlds9104 i, for one, was far more influenced by Coltrane and Bird et al than i was by the speeches of Abe Lincoln. But Im a musician, not a politician. zi was more influenced by Zappa than i was by Coltrane, I must admit, though i love both.
American attitude to cultural heritage is what he probably meant. I mean, you invented jazz - do your kids learn about jazz musicians the same way we learn about Bach and Beethoven?
Why not?
“I’m smarter than everyone else” - Zappa
He never said that, in fact he says the contrary
Another thing Frank forgot.
In the US everything is reduced to it´s ability of making money - culture as well.
The other day I heard Carol Kaye - the famous bass player of the Wrecking Crew - said: Music is a business and that´s why they hired us as we were good and very fast workers.
I wanted to say to her: No Carol, basically music is not a business. Some sort of - yes, but in general - no.
Mozart´s first ambition was to write good music. Beethoven, Bach or Brahms as well and I´m convinced that this was Zappa´s main attitude as well.
So - how can musicians survive when they think like that? And that´s where our German state money comes in. Culture in general and culture as an performance of art should be in the near of every citizen - no matter where he and she lives. That´s written in our constitution and that´s why we spend about 1,5% of our budget for opera houses, theatres, museums, concert halls, libraries, music schools etc.
That makes prof. artists much more independent and it provides a basis for the future.
The US is a rich country. But it uses it´s money not wisely.
America's identity crisis is that all identities can be marketed to, thus enabling identities that shouldn't exist
pretty sad how his words still stay true today
Only if you agree with what he's saying. It's a mentality, it's not unbiased fact. What about the blues? What about jazz? What about all the amazing American film makers? What about the iconic American painters? As well, what's wrong with cheeseburgers, coke, and Levi's? Consumerism may not always be pretty but it's necessity. It provides jobs, keeps the economy moving and let's be honest, we all like to have things. I love my Zappa, but he sounds foolish here to me.
Hell yeah Frank.you’ll always be in the souls of the enlightened
A true genius.
John Lennon said he liked Zappa but said he's an intellectual. Meaning he's smart but that doesn't mean hes right.
He was a smart fella
Prophetic.
W zyciu nie spokalem kobiety ktora by cos pozytywnego powiedziala na temat Zappy. Not only prophetic but visionary as well.
As someone who isn’t American i can verify that this is how other countries view America
Then stay the fuck away
@@michealpierson8316 if you’re talking saying stay the fuck away from America, i can assure you I’m not planning on moving there.
He’s definitely not wrong about American materialism and arrogance but we aren’t completely lacking for meaningful culture. America is the home of jazz, rock n roll and hip hop for instance.
Jazz, rock & roll, hell yeah. Hip hop...meh.
Andy Warhol's Soup can and America ate it up ...... mostly sad commentary but proves Frank was right .
Sell , buy repeat .
Consumerism is America's culture.
I wonder what Frank Zappa would think if he were alive to see what is going on in our country today?
Who cares?
He wouldn't have been surprised, he was trying to warn us the entire time.
He would speak against establishment propaganda and be labelled Russian disinformation. 100%.
@@joeydanielski962he warned us about fundamentalist religion and thought they’d have a complete strangle hold on the country - he was very wrong. A new religion has taken hold though - the PC woke left . He’d hate them
As much as he did the right maybe more
There are no such people anymore at a time when they are really needed
Frank and George Carlin!
This man is ahead of his time!
I am confused. Frank Zappa played rock and roll, music created in the U.S. Isn't that part of the culture?
Frank Zappa played rock and roll music to sell records to the lowest common denominator audience to make enough money to afford to pay for real orchestras to play his serious music. As he paid his own way throughout his career, it was necessary for him to play rock music to make money to mount the big orchestras to release albums which he knew wouldn't make a profit for him, but wanted to get that music performed anyway. That's a commitment to the music. To his art.
That said, his "rock" music was light years ahead of the banal disposable pop music of the day.
@@zolarczakl3880 Yep. In my younger days I once spent an amorous evening with a young lady who loved Rod Stewart, so that's what we listened to. After she left, I went over to a buddy's and we listened to all three acts of Joe's Garage. What a contrast.
Agreed..up to a point..
"sustain the culture, whatever it is" - that's the message.
The US gas a bunch of interesting artists, but they aren't named "Kardashian".
I'd like to see some American actually give a fair argument against anything Frank is saying here. This whole piece and especially the first sentence are some of my favorite Zappa quotes ever.
america has pop-art, abstract expressionism, edgar allan poe, charkes bukowski, velvet underground ... this is such a narrow thinking, that just an elite intellectual could make that kind of stupid statement
@@dafyduck79 Frank Zappa was a guy from the lower middle class that got where he got by working hard. Elitist is politicized bullshit and you don't even know what you're saying with it. FZ was speaking in terms of historical weight of cultures, you have the 20th century strictly speaking, which is not the argument which was called for.
Maybe being more of an intellectual than cherry-picking a few things and ignoring the whole context would be an improvement in certain cases. Fatuous and dull, that.
@@Civilizashum ... judging the historical weight of cultures is exactly that what i am talking about
i expect that kind of thinking in germany 1930s
Of course the US doesn’t have a long cultural history, we’re a young country made up largely of immigrants from dissimilar backgrounds. Our cultural heritage is hope of a better life. Quasi intellectuals like Zappa can bag on the US but there a literally billions of people who would come here at the drop of a hat if they were able.
@@timmckennie4276 Frank backing himself into an ethno-state argument unwittingly. He's riffing and I'm not sure if that's the place he wanted to go.
I don't agree with zappa, america has blues, jazz, avantgarde music, great writers, great filmmakers (orson Wells, john cassavettes, Martin Scorsese, john Huston etc etc). America is relatively young but put out great art in two centuries. I'm italian, we are surrounded by beauty, but America is not just atomic bombs and cheeseburger, just like we and other countries are not just baguette, mafia, bullfight and krauts.
That's what I often point out to anti-Americans.
This person was a real intellectual!
American Culture is dope
Wow Frank..just wow...
Bow wow
Well, you guys made jazz. Don't underestimate it!
Do your homework before thinking "americans" made jazz, god is it really that hard to google shit before looking like a complete idiot on CZcams?
I've done my homework plenty. And don't go insulting people if you want any meaningful response.
Jazz is extremely overrated as a musical form.
Abel NTL Fucking stupid comment.
Maestro I agree with you though I'm too tired to explain why.. that jazz is over-rated as a music form/genre, etc.. I love music modes but Jazz turned into a clusterfuck of almost unlistenable music. Not in the way that 12 tone music, the atonal type is hard to listen to.. just in an almost objective way of being horrible. Never could quite "get" it. And I'm american before people attack me for being a "eurofag" or something who hates the US.
Dude had a kind spirit
He nailed it.
we also have comic books and rock music. and frank zappa.
yeah, but rock music was pioneered by mostly british bands....... they have much more legendary rock bands than USA......
itkojecockot Pioneered Rock and Roll? Who influenced these British bands and created excellent rock and roll before the Britah Invasion?
Designer fashion is a French, Italian, and English invention. Those places have a long culture of bespoke tailoring.
Levi originated as a working class jean 🤔
Designer fashion is §h!t though
Absolutely Correct Sir.
Frank didn't always play fair. Yes we have a large population of chuckle-heads but we also have a strong heritage and a strong cultural society.We have blues/jazz, blue grass, country/western. The western settlement (the gold rush) a two party democracy, the homestead, a cornucopia of many different styles of cooking. I agree with Frank...that we be more respectful to other countries and stop feeling that we are the best thing since sliced bread. My father used to boast that we are the greatest country in the world. In some ways that's true in other ways it's not. Being proud of your country is natural, but to think some one's country is inferior is just ignorant.
The Greeks had democracy a couple thousand years before the U.S. existed, and "western settlement" was mostly stealing real estate from the people who had been using it for centuries, which isn't something I'd classify as a cultural achievement. Other than that, I agree with most of what you've said. He does gloss over the obvious like jazz and blues, not to mention inventive weirdos like Harry Partch (and himself), but on the other hand, how many contemporary Americans would know an Elmore James record or a Sun Ra record if it bit them on the ass? I would guess maybe 5% if I were in an optimistic mood. America seems to be well past its cultural peak, but to be fair that's probably also true of a lot of countries.
“So why do you think America is shit?”
“Uh i watched a video where frank zappa gave his opinion and now I dont want to live here”
Sounds like my girlfriend after I introduced her to Frank Zappa
Typical counter-counter culture
I don't think it's as simple as that. Many other celebrities have said similar. George Carlin for one...
@@davideldred.campingwilder6481 you may be right. This is a 3 year old comment to be fair. I was probably just trying to be edgy.
How true this analysis is! Well done Frank Zappa!
America is myopic.
Its okay to be a young country. I like frank but he minimizes when he paints with broad strokes at times
What a wise guy he was ... look at "America" now ... millions of starving and homeless people ... hey, what`s up, not enough oil???
Millions of starving people? The poor people are the fattest ones in the US.
@@christopherwarren4293 Because they eat only unhealthy cheap food ... starving does`t mean "fat" or "thin" ...
Talk is cheap. Now he’s dead and forgotten.
@@jimmy5634 "Talk is cheap. Now he’s dead and forgotten." WHAT? Nonsense! Look at CZcams.
Frank sounds hangry. Get him a Snickers.
American guy speaking the harsh truth here......
That man knew where it was at! Way ahead of his time
My dude literally ignoring blues and jazz and rock and soul and Twain and Fitzgerald and Hemingway and Pollock and Kubrick and Welles...
The six minds you named would most likely agree with Zappa here, so there's that.
@@as7river I love Zappa but what he's saying here is foolish. He has America to thank for his own success. There's no way an artist like him would have flourished like he did had he come out of any other country at that time(save for the UK). All the music Zappa was influenced by was American too(Johnny "Guitar" Watkins and all the old-school rhythm and blues/boogie music, jazz, etc). He's ignoring all the beautiful culture and art America has created (including his own).
@@KickflipGnasty I don’t believe FZ is denying that America has its own culture. He’s just stating that Americans don’t care about their culture. He’s right. Most don’t care.
@@ChuckyChives He's saying more than that here. He's negating the presence and impact of American culture, simple.
Always thought this. Oh hey, we also have football
You mean American hand egg?
Yeah a sport that causes permanent brain damage to its players and we arent certain yet what kinda damage to its viewers
Baseball let's not forget Abner Doubleday!