title: The Man Who Hated Everything
instrumentation: flute, sax, trombone, piano, electric guitar, vibraphone, drum set, 2 violins, cello
duration: 12 minutes
written in: 2015
text: Alex Temple
“A total blazing hoot.”
—George Wallace
“[Zappa] would have positively adored Temple’s terrific The Man Who Hated Everything”
—Nashville Scene
In The Man Who Hated Everything, I pay tribute to Frank Zappa, particularly his early work with the Mothers of Invention. Some passages evoke his musical style explicitly, some allude to music that he loved (doo-wop, mid-century modernism), some have the performers improvise in response to verbal prompts, and some draw inspiration from other genre-bendy bands (Mr. Bungle, Henry Cow), or from musical iconography associated with Los Angeles (sleazy neo-noir jazz, 1960s filmstrips). At the end, the tribute becomes more of a critique — partially because that’s what Zappa himself would have done, and partially because I couldn’t bring myself to pay totally uncritical homage to someone who, for all his musical brilliance, could be pretty sexist and misanthropic.
The Man Who Hated Everything was commissioned by wild Up and the American Composers Forum.
Listen
wild Up:
Erin McKibben, flute and voice
Brian Walsh, tenor and baritone sax
Matt Barbier, trombone
Richard Valitutto, piano and voice
Chris Kallmyer, electric guitar and voice
Derek Tywoniuk, vibraphone
Matt Cook, drums
Andrew McIntosh, violin and voice
Andrew Tholl, violin
Derek Stein, cello and voice
Christopher Rountree, conductor
Live at REDCAT, 9.11.15
Recorded by Nick Tipp
chatterbird:
Celine Thackston, flute, piccolo and voice
Paula Van Goes, tenor and bari sax
Matt Jefferson, trombone and voice
Maeve Brophy, piano and voice
Mark Voller, electric guitar and voice
Jesse Strauss, vibes
R. Aaron Walter, drums and voice
Ryan Cockman, violin and voice
Maria Kistner Conti, violin and voice
Joshua Dent, cello and voice
Joseph Lee, conductor
Live at W.O. Smith Music School, Nashville, TN, 4.18.19
Recorded by Kevin Edlin
Watch
Alex Temple – The Man Who Hated Everything from Bienen School of Music on Vimeo.
Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble:
Elaina Palada, flute and piccolo
Samuel Valancy, tenor and bari sax
Daniel Chevallier, trombone
Alex Tchaykov, piano
Hampton Douglas, vibes
Philip Drembus, drums
BinXin Leng, violin 1
Amanda Beaune, violin 2
Annie Hyung, cello
Ben Bolter, conductor
with Jesse Langen, electric guitar
and members of Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble:
Dario Amador-Lage, voice
Lorenzo Pipino, voice
Cassidy Sledge, voice
Morgan Small, voice
Live at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 5.21.21