Frank Zappa's Influence On Linux and FOSS Development

Roblimo writes "Zappa's 'Dinah-Moe Hummm' is totally about Linux, at least in spirit, while the song 'Montana,' with its talk of zirconium-encrusted tweezers and dental floss, 'is obviously about Mac users.' Not only that: In the early '70s Zappa wrote a song called 'Penguin in Bondage,' an obvious foretelling of the anti-Linux lawsuits and threats from SCO, Microsoft, and other evildoers. Zappa was also a heavy user of the Synclavier, an electronic music machine that was a precursor to today's 'studio on a computer' recording and sound editing software. According to an article on DevX, today Zappa would no doubt be using Linux and Ardour for most of his recording and composition."

Comments

Well Hold on There

[eldavojohn]

According to an article on DevX, today Zappa would no doubt be using Linux and Ardour for most of his recording and composition.

I do not agree with this statement. There is a lot of doubt in my mind. As I listen to Zappa albums, I constantly find new things mixed into them. Often I tell a friend about a great Zappa song but they haven't the patience to listen through five minutes of weirdness just to get to a great guitar lick intricately backed. Anyhow, I would wager that Zappa's thirst for this kind of mixing would lead him to the industry standard: Pro Tools. I highly doubt a professional musician would stray from that but if Zappa dumped some cash into Ardour development and increased its support then maybe. But right now, audio recording on Linux isn't the greatest. Pro Tools is often augmented with dedicated hardware ... I am unaware of how you would do this with Ardour. I also have had one hell of a time trying to get a dual core processor with plenty of ram to record in Linux and also play back what you're recording on top of several tracks without delay.

In my hobby projects, I have given up on audio recordings in Linux although I must say I was impressed with Ubuntu Studio when I was trying to layer guitar tracks a few years ago. It just seemed that the audio bus could not keep up when recording through my M-Audio USB input box ... like a lot of things in Linux it could have been a configuration error but I spent a lot of time on that. Unfortunately, all musicians are not computer savvy and they certainly do not like messing around with getting software working in the studio.

Re:Well Hold on There

[elgo]

According to an article on DevX, today Zappa would no doubt be using Linux and Ardour for most of his recording and composition.

...I would wager that Zappa's thirst for this kind of mixing would lead him to the industry standard: Pro Tools. I highly doubt a professional musician would stray from that but if Zappa dumped some cash into Ardour development and increased its support then maybe.

You highly doubt a professional musician would stray from Pro Tools? What about Logic Studio, Digital Performer, SONAR, and the reams of other Digital Audio Workstaitons? Many professionals use these as well, often integrated with Digidesign's high-end TDM hardware. Logic in particular destroys Pro Tools in terms of features and price and many are making the switch. Pro Tools' integration with Digidesign's proprietary hardware has become a handicap in the prosumer price range particularly, as Digidesign's hardware is trounced, in terms of features and sound quality, by other less expensive offerings.

But right now, audio recording on Linux isn't the greatest. Pro Tools is often augmented with dedicated hardware ... I am unaware of how you would do this with Ardour. I also have had one hell of a time trying to get a dual core processor with plenty of ram to record in Linux and also play back what you're recording on top of several tracks without delay. In my hobby projects, I have given up on audio recordings in Linux although I must say I was impressed with Ubuntu Studio when I was trying to layer guitar tracks a few years ago. It just seemed that the audio bus could not keep up when recording through my M-Audio USB input box ...

That might be where your problem lies. M-Audio's hardware is worse than Digidesign's (although they are the same company) ! All kidding aside though, M-Audio driver support for Linux is sketchy. My M-Audio Delta 1010LT works beautifully under Linux with the ICE driver. It requires some configuration, but so does setting up a digital audio workstation in OSX or Windows - especially Windows. Also, latency and the like depends on the distro you're using. The reality is that Linux has tons of free audio software, and could easily be used to replace my Logic Pro setup, except for the lack of commercial plugins and sound libraries. As this is fixed, Linux will be more viable.

Like a lot of things in Linux it could have been a configuration error but I spent a lot of time on that. Unfortunately, all musicians are not computer savvy and they certainly do not like messing around with getting software working in the studio.

Good point. Once Linux is packaged well for musicians and audio professionals, I believe it could supersede Windows as the #2 platform for digital audio. Then again, in 10 years, maybe Haiku will be up there as well, with its BeOS underpinnings. For a good example of what Ardour can do/be when combined with proprietary DSP, check out Harrison Mixbus. http://www.harrisonconsoles.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=42 It is under $100 (or was last time I checked) and features that Harrison sound combined with Ardour's power. It is OSX-only at the moment, but it will be available for Linux eventually. I've already used Mixbus to mix a few projects via Logic; once it is available for Linux it will replace Ardour as my main Linux DAW of choice.

Re:Well Hold on There

[sg_oneill]

Theres a reason Zappa might well be using Pro Tools.

Its because he already was. Zappa was one of the original pro-tools users, before his death. I cant find a reference online, but I do remember him marvelling in one of the music magazines about pro-tools crossfades and how he used them extensively.

Now the thing with musical software, is people tend to pick a DAW and stick with it. Pro-tools , other than the hardware capabilities which is where pro-tools does shine , is no greater, or necesarily worse than say cubase or sonar, but people stick with what they know and stick there.

That said, he might well have been impressed with Sonar's score transcribing capabilities. Cakewalk was always good at that stuff.

What's ardour's midi capabilities like these days? I havent used it since early versions (when admitedly setting up JACK taxed me so far I ended up reformatting and returning to cubase.

Re:Well Hold on There

[PopeRatzo]

I'm not saying Frank never used Pro-Tools, but it sounds like analog hardware was his primary focus.

Actually, he was a pioneer of digital systems for music. He gave up composing for real musicians for a good long while, using only his Synclavier.

However, I have to disagree with anyone who believes Zappa was some sort of FOSS pioneer. There is disagreement about his own beliefs regarding copyright and intellectual "property" but his legacy regarding IP is awful. His estate has gone to the very unusual length of sending cease and desist letters to cover bands simply for performing his music live. We're talking about tribute bands for god's sake, who are probably working for free beer and keeping his legacy alive. His wife has sicced lawyers on former members of the Mothers of Invention for performing his music or even mentioning his name. While trying to protect his legacy, it's a good way to insure that he's forgotten by future generations.

While I admire Zappa's work, there are plenty of indications that when it comes to the music business, he was a dick to a lot of the people he worked with. The people who are in charge of his estate, especially his widow, are even worse.

Re:One question remains

[NecroPuppy]

I always thought that one was about BeOS.

I don't think so.

[Pojut]

Frank Zappa was one of the greatest musical geniuses that our species has ever produced. To even remotely insinuate that we could assume his intentions or possible course of action is douchebaggery of the highest order.

Show some fucking respect.

What does the synclavier have to do with anything?

[Anonymous Coward]

Zappa was also a heavy user of the Synclavier, an electronic music machine that was a precursor to today's 'studio on a computer' recording and sound editing software.

What does this have to do with anything at all? The synclavier was not open source or Linux based. Also, the synclavier did not lead to any FOSS music production tools. In fact, even now, the vast majority of studio work is done on mac OS or windows. How does this synclavier relate to the point they are trying to make? Sounds to me like they are drawing correlations that do not exist.

Nope. Not at all.

[MarkvW]

Frank would be using the best stuff in whatever format. He wouldn't be constrained by Linux, or Windows, or Mac, or whatever.

Appropriating Frank's memory to endorse anything is just wrong, man.

Re:Fanboy posting

[oldspewey]

Actually after taking a second look at the "logic" presented in TFS, it starts making more sense.

Zappa is best appreciated when really stoned or tripping out on acid or mushrooms. That's when the connections and the lyrics in his music suddenly seem so brilliantly clever like an inside joke that nobody else in the room - or in the whole universe - can understand. Similarly, the connections and leaps of logic in the summary are the kind of thing that won't speak to you unless you just sucked back a few bowls or you're otherwise in a state where you could spend 30 straight minutes examining the wrinkle patterns on the backs of your hands.

If you don't like this submission, you're clearly not high enough.

Re:I don't "get" Zappa

[Purity Of Essence]

You can definitely acquire a taste for Frank's music. As a young teen, the first time I listened to Zappa I didn't really like it at all, except for a couple jokey tracks like Valley Girl and Jewish Princess. Those appealed to my Dr. Demento mentality but not much else. Later as a adult with much more musical experience, I could appreciate it much more and it began to grow on me like a fungus. For the last fifteen years or so it's been almost the only contemporary music I can tolerate.

$RANDOM_DEAD_GUY$ would TOTALLY use $RANDOM_OS$!!!

[lumenistan]

Newton - FreeBSD
Leibniz - Solaris
Donny from the Big Lebowski - QNX
Phil Hartman - BeOS
Moses - OS2/Warp
Hammurabi - MS DOS 5
Rush Limbaugh - Windows Vista

Re:Points added for Zappa, lost for making no sens

[garyisabusyguy]

Maybe... just maybe they can lay a claim that prior exposure to Zappa albums may make a person more likely to adopt Linux...

For instance, my early years of tripping to Billy The Mountain while playing Risk might, just might, have made it easier for me to accept software packages that sings its own tune, an os that requires text file manipulation to properly use a display adapter and made me willing to install Linux on a Sparc10 even though it took me a couple of weeks to replace the Sun bitmap with a penguin

So there you go, prepare for a career in Linux by receiving brain damage while listening to Zappa

Re: Acquiring a taste for FZ

[chub_mackerel]

Yes, Acquiring a taste for Zappa can be done, even for the uninitiated/unsuspecting.

When I was in college I had a cassette with "Thing Fish" on it, and my roommate accidentally took it home with him for summer break. He got a delivery job that summer. The company truck had a cassette deck in it but no CD player. Since my roommate had no cassettes, he decided to give "Thing Fish" a listen (or three). Once he started listening to it he really loved it. This is a guy who previously had pretty mainstream musical tastes.

So I'd say as long as you're open to the weirdness and not too easily offended, you should give it a shot.

The article might have one thing right

[Bemopolis]

"Dinah-Moe Humm" might, in fact, be about Linux. Namely, the lyric "I got a spot that gets me hot, and you ain't been to it."

Accoriding to the Rock and Roll Heaven Gazette

[ClosedSource]

Buddy Holley, Ritchie Valens, and the "Big Bopper" are Windows fans. Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison couldn't be reached for comment.