xy

“The first thing you have to do if you want to raise nice kids, is you have to talk to them like they are people instead of talking to them like they're property.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“I've smoked ten marijuana cigarettes in my life, and probably the last time I had one near my face was twelve, fifteen years ago. And the reason I did was because, since I do smoke, people would say, "Here, smoke this, you'll get high." So I smoked it, and it gave me a sore throat and made me sleepy. And I must either presume that that's what high means, or something was wrong. But I've never had a positive result from smoking marijuana. It just wasn't my cup of tea. And I never used LSD, never used cocaine, never used heroin or any of that other stuff.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“The bassoon is one of my favorite instruments. It has the medieval aroma, like the days when everything used to sound like that. Some people crave baseball…I find this unfathomable, but I can easily understand why a person could get excited about playing the bassoon.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“Shes a valley girl
In a clothing store
Okay, fine…
Fer sure, fer sure.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“Why should I smile when I'm sitting here with you?”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“The biggest threat to America today is not communism. It's moving America toward a fascist theocracy, and everything that's happened during the Reagan administration is steering us right down that pipe … I really think that. … When you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view, and if that code happens to be very, very right wing, almost toward Attila the Hun…”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“We're not talking light-hearted foolishness here — when we go for stupid we go for BIG STUPID — like people who shoot at you on the freeway, or the Rambos and Rambo-ettes who blow people away in shopping malls and fast-food restaurants with automatic weapons.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“I have four children, and I want them to grow up in a country that has a working First Amendment.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“The creation and destruction of harmonic and 'statistical' tensions is essential to the maintenance of compositional drama. Any composition (or improvisation) which remains consistent and 'regular' throughout is, for me, equivalent to watching a movie with only "good guys" in it, or eating cottage cheese.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“Every socialistic type of government… produces bad art, produces social inertia, produces really unhappy people, and it's more repressive than any other kind of government.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“On Ventura, there she goes
She just bought some bitch'n clothes
Tosses her head n flips her hair
She got a whole bunch of nothin in there”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“Being interviewed is one of the most abnormal things that you can do to somebody else. It's two steps removed from the Inquisition.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“To me, absurdity is the only reality.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“When God created Republicans, he gave up on everything else.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“There is no hell. There is only France.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

“You say your life's a bum deal 'n yer up against the wall. Well, people, you ain't even got no deal at all. 'Cause what they do in Washington. They just takes care of Number One. An' Number One ain't you. You ain't even Number Two!”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer