47 Quotes & Sayings By Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa (November 22, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, songwriter, composer and recording artist known as the leading figure in the development of funk music. He is recognized as one of the most innovative and unconventional artists of his generation. He has been called "the primary architect of funk" by the Los Angeles Times; "the Thomas Edison of funk" by Rolling Stone; and "America's greatest living rock composer" by Guitar World.

If you end up with a boring miserable life because...
1
If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it. Frank Zappa
So many books, so little time.
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So many books, so little time. Frank Zappa
Interviewer: 'So Frank, you have long hair. Does that make...
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Interviewer: 'So Frank, you have long hair. Does that make you a woman?' Frank Zappa: 'You have a wooden leg. Does that make you a table? Frank Zappa
Definition of rock journalism: People who can't write, doing interviews...
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Definition of rock journalism: People who can't write, doing interviews with people who can't think, in order to prepare articles for people who can't read. Frank Zappa
5
The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, 'All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could be in the Garden of Eden if you had just kept your fucking mouth shut and hadn't asked any questions. Frank Zappa
Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
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Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. Frank Zappa
Well, in this world of basic stereotyping, give a guy...
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Well, in this world of basic stereotyping, give a guy a big nose and some weird hair and he is capable of anything. Frank Zappa
My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a...
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My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can. Frank Zappa
There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over.
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There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over. Frank Zappa
Take the Kama Sutra. How many people died from the...
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Take the Kama Sutra. How many people died from the Kama Sutra as opposed to the Bible? Who wins? Frank Zappa
If you want to get laid, go to college. If...
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If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library. Frank Zappa
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Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate yourself if you've got any guts. Some of you like Pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what to read. Frank Zappa
I think it is good that books still exist, but...
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I think it is good that books still exist, but they do make me sleepy. Frank Zappa
I never set out to be weird. It was always...
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I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird. Frank Zappa
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.
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Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. Frank Zappa
Republicans stand for raw, unbridled evil and greed and ignorance...
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Republicans stand for raw, unbridled evil and greed and ignorance smothered in balloons and ribbons. Frank Zappa
Behind each breakaway movement is a breakaway demagogue who will...
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Behind each breakaway movement is a breakaway demagogue who will set up his breakaway demagogue government. Frank Zappa
18
I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world. If you're out there and you're cute, maybe you're beautiful. I just want to tell you somethin' – there's more of us UGLY MOTHERFUCKERS than you are, hey-y, so watch out. Frank Zappa
19
Art is making something out of nothing, and selling it. Frank Zappa
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Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST. Frank Zappa
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Jazz isn't dead. It just smells funny. Frank Zappa
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Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. Frank Zappa
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All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff. Frank Zappa
24
A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians. Frank Zappa
25
The Ultimate Rule ought to be: 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchin'; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty. The more your musical experience, the easier it is to define for yourself what you like and what you don't like. American radio listeners, raised on a diet of _____ (fill in the blank), have experienced a musical universe so small they cannot begin to know what they like. Frank Zappa
26
The rock and roll business is pretty absurd, but the world of serious music is much worse. Frank Zappa
27
For the record, folks; I never took a shit on stage and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973. Frank Zappa
28
I like to watch the news, because I don't like people very much and when you watch the news ... if you ever had an idea that people were really terrible, you could watch the news and know that you're right. Frank Zappa
29
Well, I'm not here to impinge on anybody else's lifestyle. If I'm in a place where I know I'm going to harm somebody's health or somebody asks me to please not smoke, I just go outside and smoke. But I do resent the way the nonsmoking mentality has been imposed on the smoking minority. Because, first of all, in a democracy, minorities do have rights. And, second, the whole pitch about smoking has gone from being a health issue to a moral issue, and when they reduce something to a moral issue, it has no place in any kind of legislation, as far as I'm concerned. Frank Zappa
30
The more you can escape from how horrible things really are, the less it's going to bother you...and then, the worse things get. Frank Zappa
31
A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a license to behave like an asshole. Frank Zappa
32
There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. Frank Zappa
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Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. Frank Zappa
34
Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff. Frank Zappa
35
The United States is a nation of laws, badly written and randomly enforced. Frank Zappa
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I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner? Frank Zappa
37
The Ultimate Rule ought to be: 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchin'; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty. The more your musical experience, the easier it is to define for yourself what you like and what you don't like. Frank Zappa
38
There is more stupidity around than hydrogen and it has longer shelf life. Frank Zappa
39
There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another. Frank Zappa
40
Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something. Frank Zappa
41
Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass. Frank Zappa
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Music is always a commentary on society. Frank Zappa
43
The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows. Frank Zappa
44
Art is making something out of nothing and selling it. Frank Zappa
45
One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds. Frank Zappa
46
No change in musical style will survive unless it is accompanied by a change in clothing style. Rock is to dress up to. Frank Zappa