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 ZappaRead
Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the quality of rock journalism and its participants.
Frank Zappa's quote sarcastically points out a perceived cycle of incompetence within rock journalism, suggesting that journalists lack writing skills, interviewees lack communication skills, and the audience lacks the ability to comprehend what's being presented. It highlights the superficiality and absurdity in the world of music criticism and media.
Themes
Rock JournalismCritiqueSarcasmMediaIncompetence
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a discussion about the state of music criticism.
More from Frank Zappa
All quotes βThe richest people in the world aren't particularly smart or happy. And the happiest people in the world aren't particularly smart or rich.β¦ That leaves me making music. But we can't talk about that.
Frank ZappaRead
Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are in my opinion more dangerous than songwriters who celebrate sexuality. Freedom of speech, freedom of religious thought, and the right to due process for composers, performers and retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels consummate this nasty bargain.
Frank ZappaRead
Don't mind your make-up, you'd better make your mind up.
Frank ZappaRead
Music is always a commentary on society.
Frank ZappaRead
I'm more interested in melodic things. I think the biggest challenge when you go to play a solo is trying to invent a melody on the spot.
Frank ZappaRead
Similar quotes
Grandma told me Mama was once caught by the Principal for writing in the front of her book, "In Case of Fire, Throw This in First." I have never had so much respect for Mama as the day I heard this.
Erma BombeckRead
She was, in fact, quite a pleasant looking girl, even if her bosom had clearly been intended for a girl two feet taller; but she was not Her. The Egregious Professor of Grammar and Usage would have corrected this to "she was not she," which would have caused the Professor of Logic to spit out his drink.
Terry PratchettRead
Oh, he did his best to make their short lives miserable, because that was his job, but nothing he could think up was half as bad as the stuff they thought up themselves.
Terry PratchettRead
He would have felt safe if alongside the Dentrassis' underwear, the piles of Sqornshellous mattresses and the man from Betelgeuse holding up a small yellow fish and offering to put it in his ear he had been able to see just a small packet of cornflakes. But he couldn't, and he didn't feel safe.
Douglas AdamsRead
Comedy should speak truth to power. It should always be aimed upward. When it's aimed downward, it's called bullying.
Jimmy DoreRead
Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.
Gore VidalRead