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"The Real Frank Zappa" on His Career so Far

Before starting his anarchic, avant-garde band the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa wrote chamber music and played in lounge bands. His new memoir explains how he went from a freelance guitarist to an unwitting rock star.

27:37
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Other segments from the episode on June 6, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 6, 1989: Interview with Frank Zappa; Commentary on early country rock musicians; Interview with Dennis Cooper; Review of Russell Baker's memoir "The Good Times."
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09:22

Author Dennis Cooper on Sex and Death

Cooper says his new novel Closer -- which features explicit depictions of sex acts -- is meant to disturb, but not shock or arouse. While honing in on the experiences of gay men, Cooper sidesteps the issue of AIDS; he says sexuality generates enough anxiety on its own.

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03:28

Russell Baker Reflects on "The Good Times" and Bad

Baker's new memoir, a sequel to his book Growing Up, chronicles his career as a reporter during his twenties and thirties. Book critic John Leonard says that the story, like Baker's New York Times columns, twists and turns to explore the fraught inner workings of journalism.

Review

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28:19

Rock Musician and Composer Frank Zappa

Zappa's avant-garde band, the Mothers of Invention, failed to get much airplay, in part because of their explicit lyrics. Zappa now divides his time between studio composition and live performance. He is politically active, and has fought against censorship and encouraged his fans to register to vote.

Interview

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52:30

Israeli and Palestinian activists share a vision for peace in Gaza

Tonya mosley interviews two men deeply impacted by the violence on either side of the Israeli Palestinian conflict who still believe peace is possible. MAOZ INON (mah-OHZ EE-nohn) is an Israeli entrepreneur whose parents were among the 12-hundred killed by Hamas in October of 2023, the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. AZIZ ABU SARAH (ah-ZEEZ ah-BOO SAH-rah) is a Palestinian peacebuilder. When AZIZ was only 9, his brother was arrested and tortured in an Israeli military prison and subsequently died from his injuries.

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