Jason's favorite

Our good friend Jason B. has worked at the Music Library for a year now. He's graduating at the end of this semester with his Master's degree in Library Science. Most of the students that work at the Music Library are music people--they're working towards their first music degree. Jason's undergrad degrees are in English and history, making him our resident music enthusiast! Regardless of degrees, everyone at the Music Library is thankful we've had Jason around this year and will be sad to see him go.

So for fun, I asked him to do a blog entry on his favorite CD in the Music Library. Here's what he had to say:

"Ok, I was asked to write a little something about my favorite CD here at the USC Music Library. That’s like asking a particle physicist which type of quark is his favorite! How can one decide? They’re all so awesome! Hmmm, well, charm type quarks are pretty cool… Anyway, for today I’ve decided that my favorite CD is Apostrophe (‘) by Frank Zappa.

The first side (keep in mind this CD was originally released as a record, you know, those flat, round, and black plastic things) follows our Inuit hero Nanook as he battles the evil Fur Trapper. Each track segways into the next, and Zappa really gets to put out some of his favorite tricks: timing and mood changes, sound effects, and unique instrumentation. And of course, we’re treated to some of Frank’s incredible guitar work and fantastic composition. See, you can still rock if you know how to read and write music!

The last half of the album is individual songs, but don’t fret, the rockin’ don’t stop! Zappa never does simple, straight-forward rock, but these compositions are a little more foot-tapping. “Cosmik Debris” and “Stink-Foot” are great, and the album’s title track, “Apostrophe (‘),” features Jack Bruce from Cream in a blistering bass solo. All-in-all, one of my favorite Zappa albums. Check it out! And if you really like it, try it’s companion album, Over-Nite Sensation."