Have I Offended Someone?

Frank Zappa | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Zappa Records
• ASIN: B0000009TU
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,181 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #45 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Comedy Rock
  • #81 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Progressive

Track Listings

1. Bobby Brown Goes Down [Remix]

2. Disco Boy [Remix/Reconstructed]

3. Goblin Girl [VSO'd to Slower Speed]

4. In France [Remix]

5. He's So Gay

6. SEX

7. Titties 'n Beer [Different Edit][Version]

8. We're Turning Again [Remix]

9. Dumb All Over [Live][#]

10. Catholic Girls

11. Dinah-Moe Humm [Remix/Reconstructed]

12. Tinsel Town Rebellion [Live][#]

13. Valley Girl

14. Jewish Princess

15. Yo Cats [Remix]

Editorial Reviews

From the Label

Although Zappa did not provide notes with the Offended? master tape, this compilation could be considered his idea of a "Best Of," and indeed, this collection features many of the tunes that first attracted legions of fans to his music. The aforementioned "Valley Girl," with vocals by daughter Moon Unit, was Zappa’s highest charting US single ever, reaching #32 in Billboard and earned Grammy nominations for Moon and FZ (his second), while the accompanying album, 1982’s Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch, reached #23. But despite the commercial acclaim of the single and album, Zappa’s ironic sensibilities were lost on the public and the media. Said Zappa in an interview with Josef Woodard, "The worst thing about that record is the fact that nobody really listened to it... The whole coverage of the song barely mentioned what the song was really saying, that these people are really airheads." Nevertheless, the song’s success triggered a movement of sorts, with "Valley Girl" T-shirts, lunch boxes, cosmetics, and offers for a TV series and a film (eventually made without Zappa’s participation). A few years earlier, Zappa’s 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti (which spawned the US hit "Dancin’ Fool," a depiction of the male of the species in a disco frenzy) also contained two of his most razor-sharp and funny portrayals, "Jewish Princess" and "Bobby Brown Goes Down," both of which are included on Have I Offended Someone? Both songs sparked controversy. "Jewish Princess" brought a protest from the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, who asked the FCC to ban it from radio airplay. Zappa said the song was satire, threatened to sue, and refused to apologize. He’s quoted in The Real Frank Zappa Book as saying, "...unlike The Unicorn, such creatures do exist—and deserve to be commemorated with their own special opus." "Bobby Brown Goes Down" is perhaps the oddest of Zappa’s successes. This colorful tale of a young man's encounter with a dyke named Freddie" would never get airplay in the US, but it reached the top ofthe charts in Norway and Austria, was Top Ten in Germany and remains a favorite in territories where English is not the primary language. Said Zappa to Matt Groening in a 1992 Guitar World interview, "I don’t think anything has outsold Sheik Yerbouti, partly because "Bobby Brown" keeps becoming a hit every ten years... I think it was back on the charts again in Norway. For no apparent reason, it was back." Have I Offended Someone? also contains two previously unreleased live versions of popular tunes: "Tinsel Town Rebellion," Zappa’s picture of music business execs and musicians joined in an insincere tango in Hollywood ("Did you know that in Tinsel Town the people there think substance is a bore/But if your New Wave group looks good they’ll hurry on back for more... But then again this system works as perfect as a dream/It works for all those record company pricks who come to skim the cream") and "Dumb All Over," Zappa’s scathing rap on televangelists, and one of the most remarkable performances included here.But Have I Offended Someone? is more than great music and humorous lyrics; this collection illuminates Frank Zappa’s fearlessness in dealing with "sensitive" subjects and underscores his courage in refusing to back down for fear of media, corporate, political or religious censorship or disapproval. His year-long campaign in the mid-80s fighting the PMRC and album rating stickers is well documented, particularly in the "Porn Wars" chapter of The Real Frank Zappa Book. His dedication to the cause of artistic liberty is examplified by his testimony before the Maryland State Legislature, which opened with these words: "It is my personal feeling that lyrics cannot harm anyone. There is no sound that you can make with your mouth, or word that will come out of your mouth, that is so powerful that it will make you go to hell."As Ed Sanders’ liner notes for Offended? point out, "It is clear from my decades with the Fugs that there are oodles of humans out there who thirst for the lascivious chants of Have I Offended Someone?... I also know there will be oodles who will listen askance at this gathering of the Zappa legacy." The selections included here are bound to provoke negative reactions from many quarters—potentially offended parties being women, men, gays, jews, catholics, musicians, music business executives, the religious right and the French. It should be noted, however, that Zappa steadfastly defended freedom of speech for 30 years, persistently writing songs about sensitive (but truthful) issues, even in the face of attack and criticism ("rock" and otherwise).Oh yes, about "rock criticism." Zappa never shied away from saying what he really thought about rock critics. His most famous quote on the subject is included in the chapter entitled "Sticks & Stones" in The Real Frank Zappa Book; "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."

Product Description

This CD is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1997 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defender of Article 1 of the Bill of Rights..., October 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Have I Offended Someone? (Audio CD)

This is a great cd! Most of the tracks have either been remixed, remastered, edited or totally reconstructed by FZ himself. Dumb All Over is a live never before released gem with a great FZ guitar solo! The sound is fabulous. Zappa perfected a genre that could be called song-stos or short stories in song, using the rhapsodic techniques he had developed. The interest of the listener is kept through myriad changes in the drum meters, riffs, fills, background vocals, special effects, unusual chord sequences, swift tranformations in mood and tone, and the like. It's a powerful genre, and Zappa's researches point out a new direction for American operatic form. There is something in this collection to offend everyone - ..., Jewishes princesses, feminists, Christains, satanists, record executives, the Musicians union, young women from the San Fernando Valley, partisans of the Parisian toilet kiosk, insecure young men who like to dance in clubs, Jimi Hendrix fans, and punkers with chops, to mention a few. Satirical anthropology, pure and simple.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for those wh want to get to know the real Fank Zappa, October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Have I Offended Someone? (Audio CD)

Forget the Commercial Ballehoo of Stictly Commercial: The best of Frank Zappa that humorless pot of unemotiolnal Frank. If you want to learn about the real Frank Zappa buy this album. Not only does it have Zappa classics like Bobby Brown Goes Down, Dumb all over and Titties and Beer (The theme song of saturday nights with the guys) it also has liner notes about the real Frank Zappa. THe Caring Zappa. The Zappa that wants to do away with Censurship of any kind. So just forget about purchasing his greatest hits and get this album. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun fun fun, April 18, 2003

By 

Bill Allison "Bill Allison" (Southwest Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Have I Offended Someone? (Audio CD)

This is about as good of a compilation as one could ask for, at least on one cd anyway. Some will say that Frank had a lot more "offensive" stuff than what is on here, but whether or not you find it to be offensive, well, I guess that just depends on what kind of person you are. Let's see, I'm not Jewish, I'm not Catholic, I'm not gay, I'm not a Conservative, and I'm not a religious fanatic. Even if you are a member of one of those said groups, chances are you won't be offended either. Everything is done in such a light-hearted fashion, it's really hard to get stirred up over anything that's here. It's all in good fun. Much like "Strictly Commercial" and "Cheap Thrills" this is great for newcomers and like another reviewer said, if you have any musical integrity whatsoever, it will inspire you to dig deeper. It's good for anyone really, whether you're just a casual fan or a die-hard. This is essential.