Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Iconoclastic musician and composer Frank Zappa was known for his trenchant cultural commentary. Apparently, he once stated that all the good music had already been created by the composers of an earlier era who stereotypically wore wigs. Would you please help me to find a citation Reply from …
Tag Archives: Frank Zappa
Quote Origin: You Can’t Be a Real Country Unless You Have a Beer and an Airline
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did the Frank Zappa really say that a proper country needs a beer and an airline? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1989 “The Real Frank Zappa Book” was published by the well-known songwriter and musician, and it included an instance of the remark mentioned above. Zappa was not …
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Quote Origin: The Two Most Common Elements in the Universe Are Hydrogen and Stupidity
Harlan Ellison? Frank Zappa? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a popular quotation that expresses the following idea: Hydrogen and stupidity are the two most abundant materials in the universe This notion can be expressed in many different ways. One version has been credited to the SF writer Harlan Ellison, and another version has …
Quote Origin: Abstract Art: A Product of the Untalented, Sold by the Unprincipled to the Utterly Bewildered
Al Capp? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The cartoonist Al Capp was famous for creating the long-running comic strip Li’l Abner. During the 1960s he reportedly described abstract art with the following amusing and acerbic phrase: A product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered. Today this description could be applied …
Quote Origin: Rock Journalism is People Who Can’t Write Interviewing People Who Can’t Talk for People Who Can’t Read
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The most outrageously funny quotation that I know of was spoken by the musician Frank Zappa: Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read. The perfect place to say this would have been during an interview with Rolling Stone …
Quote Origin: Writing About Music is Like Dancing About Architecture
Laurie Anderson? Steve Martin? Frank Zappa? Martin Mull? Elvis Costello? Thelonius Monk? Question for Quote Investigator: I have a difficult riddle for you. A mailing list I belong to has discussed the following quotation several times during the past ten years, and the question of its origin has never been satisfactorily resolved. Writing about music …
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