My early education in Zappa took a great leap the first time I heard this song (and the LP Just Another Band from LA). Yes, it resembles in some ways what could be a high schooler's vulgar musical project and as Frank says himself in this version, many of the jokes are strictly from LA local culture of the period. But now (and maybe for different reasons than in 1972 and those sentimental as well as musical) it still has much musical, lyrical and humorous merit.
Well anyway. . . if you have 40 minutes to spare, our good friends at YouTube bring you this performance of Billy the Mountain . . .
[And yes, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (aka Flo and Eddie) and aka The Turtles perform the lion's share of this piece.]
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
As far back as I can remember, I have always possessed a great appreciation for humor. I don't just mean the telling of jokes good or bad, or listening to jokes per se. Even though all kids, myself included, go through the 'knock knock" stage. (I remember when our youngest did. He would concoct the most nonsensical knock knock jokes which evoked the most hilarious laughter from himself, non-stop at the dinner table.) And I certainly enjoy certain stand-up comedians as well as humorists in literature.
Maybe I should more specifically say that the appreciation to which I am referring was (and is) for individuals possessing a natural, innate quality in their ability to inject a humorous element in ordinary conversation to the degree that they become, for lack of a better word, humorous.
I have personally encountered several of such personalities throughout the years. In the past I even enjoyed them so much that I wanted to be like them. But this mysterious, humorous quality is not something that can be taught or learned. It appears to be a genetic trait and a natural characteristic that one either has or does not, such as blue eyes or the ability to curl your tongue.
