OK, you totally have a point about Brian's latest, and, hey, let's not forget the majority of what he released after Pet Sounds. Rubbish.

As for one being able to "hear" what they're trying to communicate, I believe it's Cage who wrote a piece that has to be played by machine because it is intended to last 600 years or so (feel free to correct me on that, because I don't recall exact details). The idea of a piece where notes last for months or weeks or whatever reminds me of this "band" I saw once. I had slipped into the audience at an open mic with the intention of performing. But, before the mic would open, a featured group would perform. I figured "no sweat," as this place had a fairly solid rep. So these six guys get up onstage and start tuning their guitars and feeding back. Eventually they stopped tuning.

But the feedback went on for an hour.

Literally.

An hour.

Now, I am not opposed to feedback (see the Hendrix and Who and Dream Syndicate CDs in my collection for further proof) when it's used musically. This wall of noise not only was too loud for me (especially hard considering I was wearing earplugs) and all of the close to 100 people in the bar (not including the few girls who, IMO were obviously the girlfriends of the fellas on stage) but 100% amelodic and went on, non-stop for an hour. And I don't mean the way the Ramones would play an hourlong set, where a song would end and they would just go right into the next one. I mean
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

FOR AN HOUR!

To my left was a fan of Tricky and Portishead. To my right was a Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground freak. So it's not like these were folks who didn't like "experimental" music. These were folks who like weirder music than most, and this still annoyed them enough to bitch about it to me for a week.

So, did anyone in the bar get what they were going after? Sure didn't seem like it to me. (And don't count the girlfriends, because girlfriends are REQUIRED to pretend to like their boyfriend's band. It's kinda the rules.) The guys onstage were looking fairly serious--this was no prank!-- and mildly confused; they didn't get why people didn't seem to be enjoying themselves.

So, no, you don't necessarily " 'hear' what they're trying to communicate in their most densely "conceptual" music as well as if one is listening to Beethoven or Mozart or The Beach Boys." Sure, it matters whether or not the music speaks to you; but the difference between the excrement released by the Dave Matthews Band or Grateful Dead and the "pieces" released by Cage, et al is wider than the gulf between a song and a mechanical error.

As for the "if one is interested" bit, I became interested in Zappa through an ex-girlfriend. Some of his songs made me laugh. And I suppose, with a little more effort, I could "get" them all.

But, (and this is the same complaint I have about Ani, and Prince, and the Stones after 1978, among others) Zappa needed an editor. If a 3 CD retrospective only contains a handful of songs good enough for multiple listens, then it shoudl have been one CD!

And, Rockstar, this is not meant as an attack toward you. You certainly seem to be an intelligent, kind fella. But this is something I care passionately about, and I talk too much in general. So, don't take this personal (just in case!). After all, you are in the SIASL tribe, which guarrantees your taste isn't COMPLETELY terrible! LOL!