The true meaning of “funky nothingness”
Frank Zappa’s Funky Nothingness features a compilation of songs that truly fit the title. The album is 25 songs long, including over three and a half hours of music. With the tracks ranging in length, lyricism and instrumentation, there is truly something for everyone on this record.
The album features a wide variety of various musical influences. There is clear R&B, classic rock, experimental pop and even some motown influences at work throughout the tracks. There are also different versions of the songs throughout the album which allows the listener to hear the different possible stages the tune might have gone through while it was being produced.
The album starts off with “Funky Nothingness,” a short track that earned its name with all the different sounds on display. The record concludes with a sped up version of the same song dubbed “Fast Funky Nothingness,” making for a simple, yet all-encapsulating, full-circle moment.
The song “Tommy/Vincent Duo” takes on two different forms before its final formation: “Tommy/Vincent Duo I” and “Tommy/Vincent Duo II.” Each version gets progressively longer until the final 21 minute song. As it progresses, you can hear the rock influence start to peak through as well as some funky disco melodies.
In another series of the same song, “Twinkle Tits-Take 1, False Start” and “Twinkle Tits – Take 2” the listener is able to follow along and see how he tweaked and switched the melodies around to get the final track “Twinkle Tits.” The final version of the song takes the listener back to the ’70s, featuring a variety of higher pitched instrumentation paired with heavier guitars to really give off a sort of “hippie” vibe.
“Sharleena,” is for all the listeners craving that classic ’70s funk rock vibe. This song sounds like it came right out of an album from that era and also features much more vocalization than some of Zappa’s other songs on the record. The listener can also enjoy “Sharleena – Unedited Master” to see the phases that this spunky song went through before reaching its final form.
Another pairing of songs “Chunga’s Revenge – Basement Version,” “Chunga’s Revenge – Take 5” and “Chunga’s Revenge – Take 8” are all various versions and various lengths of the same song. Though it is a bit unclear which version of this track is the final, it is interesting to hear how all the different sounds can work together in different orders to create a unique rendition.
Though some of the songs don’t have demo tracks to see where they came from throughout the album, Zappa took the meaning of “Funky Nothingness” and created an album that everyone can find something great in. Whether it’s in the rock inspired guitars, R&B adjacent vocals, or that classic ’70s hippie and funk sound, once the long songs are given a chance, something truly special will be found in it.
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