This compelling 1985 interview with Frank Zappa conducted by legendary Washington D.C. deejay Cerphe (Don Collwell) for Baltimore TV was never aired. Either it was too edgy for local TV or, as rumor has it, Zappa refused to sign the release required to broadcast the interview. Which begs the question: why would Zappa, who was always fearless in voicing his opinions, stand in the way of this particualr interview being shown?

Two weeks after the interview,  Zappa testified on Capitol Hill at the infamous Senate Porn Rock Hearings on record labeling. Cerphe joined Zappa at the hearing and strongly spoke against censorship.

In light of the controversy surrounding the hearings, the station scheduled to broadcast the interview may have felt Zappa was just too radical for their viewership. For whatever reason, it remained unseen until it was smuggled out of the studio by someone who realized its value as rock history.

As usual, Zappa takes no prisoners as he candidly critiques the state of modern rock and roll, censorship, conformity, sex, consumerism, MTV and more.

Raw and unedited.
 

Above, the future Mrs. David Johansen—and later, the ex-Mrs. Steven Tyler—super groupie Cyrinda Foxe with another of her paramours, during the shooting of the “Jean Genie” promo video by Mick Rock.

Christmas is coming early for Bowie fans… tonight in the UK (and soon after on YouTube and torrent trackers for the rest of us). From the NME:

Rare footage of David Bowie performing on Top Of The Pops is to be broadcast on BBC 2 tonight (December 21).

The footage, which sees the singer play “The Jean Genie’” had been lost until last week, when retired TV cameraman John Henshall came forward with a copy of the performance. It was previously believed that every copy of the UK Number 2 hit had been destroyed.

The four-minute clip will now be included in tonight’s Top Of The Pops Christmas Special at 7.30pm (GMT).

Executive producer of Top Of The Pops 2 Mark Cooper told BBC News:

“Bowie singing ‘The Jean Genie’ is electric and the kind of piece of archive that not only brings back how brilliant Top Of The Pops could be, but also how a piece of archive can speak to us down the years.”

Speaking of rare Bowie footage, did you clock that picture of him performing with the Buzz that I posted here yesterday?  Notice the video cameras? It looks like they were on Ready, Steady, Go! Where’s this footage? It would be amazing if that survived somehow.

UPDATE: Here it is!
 

 
Thank you, Mark Hedden, Barry Cartwright, Spencer Kansa

 
Frank Zappa, the great American composer, guitarist, performer, band leader, record producer and film director was born today in 1940, and in this particular household, the birth of the baby Zappa is a much bigger holiday than the b’day of that other kid this week. As I type this, there is a diptych painting of Frank Zappa and the original Mothers of Invention hanging over my desk, looking down at me.

Frank Zappa would have been 71 today if he were still with us. Truly an artistic titan of the 20th century. 

Below, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention doing a splendiferous work-out of “King Kong,” the titanic instrumental centerpiece of live Mothers’ shows of the late 1960s. (I probably own 200 versions of this song on bootlegs):
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Frank Zappa reads from ‘Naked Lunch,’ 1978

Zappa/Mothers ‘Sleeping in a Jar’ animated film

 
“Callin’ Oates”: Hall and Oates at the press of a button. 

This, my friends, is what civilization has been leading up to.

When only Maneater will do.
 

 
Via Vintage Ads

 
When rock and rollers feel the holiday spirit, we all suffer. This is worse than a rat salad sandwich.

Jesus has left the womb.
 

 
There is lots and lots of great film and video footage of Neil Young throughout his long career, but one of the very best performances is the intimate 30 minute acoustic set he taped in 1971 for the BBC at the height of his powers right before Harvest came out. Part of their In Concert series, the full title was “Neil Young Sings Neil Young.”

The set list includes “Out on the Weekend,” “Old Man,” “Journey Thru the Past,” “Heart of Gold,” “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” “A Man Needs A Maid,” “Love in Mind,” and “Dance, Dance, Dance.”
 

 
A young David Bowie—soon after changing his name—interviewed at the height of his Anthony Newley fixation and a performance of “Over the Wall We Go” a seldom heard track (that I happen to love).

YouTube poster, “Eclipse1501” writes:

In London in 1966 at the Marquee Club David Bowie did a Sunday afternoon show, The Bowie Showboat, from April 10th to June 12th. At the second Bowie Showboat concert he met his soon to be manager, Ken Pitt. This recording is almost 45 years old so forgive the period live sound quality but enjoy a young entertainer. There is an audio break in the middle but stick with it!

The break occurs at 2:08 and resumes at 3:10.
 

 
Phil Ochs was born on this day 71 years ago in El Paso, Texas. To honor the man, I present Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune, an insightful documentary on Ochs directed and written by Kenneth Bowser.

Featuring Michael Ochs, Meegan Ochs, Van Dyke Parks, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Christopher Hitchens, Lucian Truscott IV, Ed Sanders, Sam Hood, Sean Penn, Tom Hayden.
 

 
An oral his­to­ry of the ori­gins of Def Jam Records, as told by Rick Ru­bin, Rus­sell Sim­mons, L.L. Cool J, Bill Steph­ney, Chuck D., Glen E. Fried­man, Hank Shock­lee, Tim West­wood, DMC, Joe Per­ry, Beast­ie Boys and others. Originally broad­cast on BBC Radio 2.
 

 
Thank you Glen E. Friedman of New York City!

 
Sheffield’s Clock DVA was formed in 1978 by Adolphus “Adi” Newton and Steven “Judd” Turner. You could categorize the group’s sound—highly adventuresome even for that fabled era—variously as industrial, post-punk, New Wave or as “devolved bebop.” They used standard rock “guitar, bass and drums” augmented with tape loops, synths, squealing horns and elements of musique concrète.

The group was associated with Throbbing Gristle as Industrial Records released their cassette White Souls in Black Suits. Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallider were sometime musical collaborators with Clock DVA as well. 

Over the years their sound became closer to the “body music” of groups like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. They were quite prolific through the mind-90s. Apparently they are active again as of the summer of 2011.

Below, Clock DVA do a fantastic live version of their “4 Hours” at the Futurama Festival (“the world’s first science fiction music festival”) in Leeds, 1980.