Frank Zappa as Dadaist: recording technology and the power to repeat

Abstract

Frank Zappa's work has been persistently misconstrued by the pop industry. This paper seeks to relate his music to the tradition of the European avantgarde (especially Dada). Using the film theory of founding dadaist Hans Richter, Zappa's much criticized “self-indulgence” is interpreted as sabotage of commercial manipulation. Zappa's attention to the technical aspect of recording is examined, along with his concern to disrupt conventions of representation. He is compared and contrasted to the post-war classical composers Stockhausen, Cage and Boulez. A case is made for him as a composer who refused compositional ideologies, adopting instead a collage aesthetic. It is also argued that his eclecticism avoids the “mildness” that has been noted as a feature of postmodern polystylism.

Keywords:

• Frank Zappa
• Recording technology
• Dada/Avantgarde
• Rock
• Postmodernism
• Theodor Adorno