History Music / ZootAllures

* RepurposedPopSong:
** "Wonderful Wino" was a song dating from the early 1970's when Zappa was touring with Mark and Howie from Music/TheTurtles and was originally released on former Zappa band member Jeff Simmons' 1970 LP "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up".

** The "stones weeping greenish drops" line in "The Torture Never Stops" is a shout-out to Music/BelaBartok's opera ''[[Literature/{{Bluebeard}} Bluebeard's Castle]]'', in which the walls of the castle cry green tears.

* LongTitle: "The Torture Never Stops", "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station".

* ADateWithRosiePalms and DidNotGetTheGirl: The disco boy in "Disco Boy" sees his friend leave with the girl he longed for. Zappa comforts him with the words:
--> ''Thank the Lord that you still got hands that help you do that jerking that will blot out your disco sorrow.''

''Zoot Allures'' is a 1976 album by Music/FrankZappa. It's best known for his audience favorites "Black Napkins," "The Torture Never Stops," "Wonderful Wino," "Disco Boy" and "Zoot Allures," which became staples of his concerts for years to come.

`* AntiLoveSong: "Find Her Finer" implies that women don't like smart men, so you might as well act dumb.

'''oot Allures'' is a 1976 album by Music/FrankZappa. It's best known for his audience favorites "Black Napkins," "The Torture Never Stops," "Wonderful Wino," "Disco Boy" and "Zoot Allures," which became staples of his concerts for years to come.

* AlwaysNight: The dungeon in "The Torture Never Stops" has no natural light and is assumedly pitch dark.
--> ''A tiny light in a window hole, a hundred yards away''
--> ''Is all they ever get to know about the regular life in the day''.
* AntiLoveSong: "Find Her Finer" implies that women don't like smart men, so you might as well act dumb.

'''Zoot Allures''' is a 1976 album by Music/FrankZappa. It's best known for his audience favorites "Black Napkins," "The Torture Never Stops," "Wonderful Wino," "Disco Boy" and "Zoot Allures," which became staples of his concerts for years to come.

* TheMummy: "Find Her Finer"

'''Zoot Allures''' is a 1976 album by Music/FrankZappa. It's best known for his audience favorites "Black Napkins", "The Torture Never Stops", "Wonderful Wino", "Disco Boy" and "Zoot Allures", which became staples of his concerts for years to come.

''''
!! Tracklist

# "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station" (2:30)

'''Personnel'''

-->''There was an ad for Pinky. It was head with its mouth wide open and its eyes shut and a short haircut. And I thought : Hmmmmm, anyone who's gonna buy a plastic head to give himself a gum job [[CloudCuckooLander is right out there]]. By the time we got to Amsterdam I sent Smothers out to buy one, to use on stage. Sure enough, for $69.95 he came back with Ms. Pinky. [[CreepyDoll It was even worse than I had imagined]]. Not only is it a head, but it's the size of a child's head. The throat is sponge rubber and it's got the vibrator in it with battery pack and a two-speed motor. Sticking out of its neck is a nozzle with a squeezebulb that makes the throat contract.''

** "Wonderful Wino" was a song dating from the early 1970s when Zappa was touring with Mark and Howie from Music/TheTurtles and was originally released on former Zappa band member Jeff Simmons' 1970 LP "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up".

** "The Torture Never Stops" was a popular staple of Zappa's live shows and can be heard live on ''Music/ZappaInNewYork'' (1978) and ''Music/TheBestBandYouNeverHeardInYourLife'' (1988).

** "Mrs. Pinky" is about a sex doll, a theme that Zappa would revisit later on ''Music/JoesGarage (1979)'' during the tracks "Stick It Out" and "Sy Borg", and on "Thing-Fish" (1985), during "Artificial Rhonda" . In the trailer for ''Film/BabySnakes'' (1979) an inflatable sex doll is described as "Mrs. Pinky's larger sister".

** The line "you never go doody/ that's what you think" in "Disco Boy" shares a similar theme with "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" on ''Music/SheikYerbouti'', where Zappa sings: ''"Don't fool yerself girl, it's goin' right up yer poop chute."'' It's brought up again during "Crab-Grass Baby" on "Thing-Fish" (1985).

--> ''A tiny light in a window hole/ a hundred yards away/ is all they ever get to know about the regular life in the day''.

* BawdySong: "Mrs. Pinky", "Find Her Finer" and "Friendly Little Finger" (though the latter is instrumental).
* BigBad: The evil prince ("He's the best, of course, of all the worst. Some wrong been done he done it first") in "The Torture Never Stops".

** "Black Napkins" would later be reworked as "Pink Napkins" on "Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar" (1981).
** People being locked up in "The Torture Never Stops" brings back images of "Concentration Moon" and "The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny" from ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney''. Joe too is locked up on side 2 of ''Music/JoesGarage'' (1979).
** The iron sausage mentioned in "The Torture Never Stops" is a throwback to the sausage (penis) in "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast" in Music/{{Apostrophe}} and would be referenced again during "Dong Work For Yuda" on ''Music/JoesGarage'' (1979).

** Near the end of "You Are What You Is" from "You Are What You Is" (1980) the line "give me a five dollar bill and an overcoat too" from "Wonderful Wino" is repeated.
** The line "you never go doody/ that's what you think" in "Disco Boy" shares a similar theme with "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" on Music/SheikYerbouti, where Zappa sings: ''"Don't fool yerself girl, it's goin' right up yer poop chute."'' It's brought up again during "Crab-Grass Baby" on "Thing-Fish" (1985).

* CreepyDoll: "Ms. Pinky".

--> ''Thank the Lord that you still got hands/that help you do that jerking that will blot out your disco sorrow.''

* EpicRocking: "The Torture Never Stops".

--> ''You oughta now know of all your education/you're gonna wind up working in a gas station''

* ShroudedInMyth: Manny the Camper in "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station". All Zappa ever said about him was that he was ''just anybody named Manny who had an RV (...) It's probably bullet-proof. One more thing is maybe he'll return to Managua. You could go unnoticed in such a place.''[[note]]This last sentence is a reference to the lyrics from "Yo' Mama" from "Sheik Yerbouti" [[/note]] (Quoted from "They're Doing the Interview of the Century, Part 1", 1993 interview by Den Simms and Eric Buxton.)

** When Zappa played "Black Napkins" in Ljubliana, Yugoslavia, on November 22, 1975 he introduced it with the following words: ''"This is an instrumental song, it's a tender, slow, moving ballad sort of song that cares with it the implied message that the complete woman must also have an asshole..."''
** The wino in "Wonderful Wino" loses ''"control of his body functions on a roller-headed lady's front lawn"''.

--> ''"A tiny light in a window hole/ a hundred yards away/ is all they ever get to know about the regular life in the day"''.

* BrokenRecord: "All men be cursed!" in "The Torture Never Stops".

* TheMummy: "Wrap like a mummy 'til you finally unwind her" in "Find Her Finer".

* PhonyDegree: "You oughta now know of all your education/you're gonna wind up working in a gas station" in "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station".

** "Give me a five dollar bill and a Florscheim shoe" in "Wonderful Wino".
** The line "Gonna fall for your line and feed you a box full of "Chicken Delight"" in "Disco Boy"

* ShroudedInMyth: Manny the Camper in "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station". All Zappa ever said about him was that he was ''"just anybody named Manny who had an RV (...) It's probably bullet-proof. One more thing is maybe he'll return to Managua. You could go unnoticed in such a place."[[note]]This last sentence is a reference to the lyrics from "Yo' Mama" from "Sheik Yerbouti" [[/note]] (Quoted from "They're Doing the Interview of the Century, Part 1", 1993 interview by Den Simms and Eric Buxton.)

* SpellingSong:

* TakeThatAudience: From "Wind Up Working In A Gas Station".

--> And during "Find Her Finer": ''Now maybe you might think this is crude''

* UnusualEuphemism: "You can poot it/ you plook it" in "Mrs. Pinky" and "find her finer" in "Find Her Finer".
* WolfWhistle: "If you should see a girl on the street (wolf whistle)..." in "Find Her Finer".

** The iron sausage mentioned in "The Torture Never Stops" is a throwback to the sausage (penis) in "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast" in Music/{{Apostrophe}} and would be referenced again during ''Dong Work For Yuda'' on ''Music/JoesGarage'' (1979).
** "Mrs. Pinky" is about a sex doll, a theme that Zappa would revisit later on ''Music/JoesGarage (1979)'' during the tracks "Stick It Out" and "Sy Borg", and on "Thing-Fish" (1985), during "Artificial Rhonda" . In the trailer for ''Film/BabySnakes'' (1979) an inflatable sex doll is described as ''Mrs. Pinky's larger sister''.
** Near the end of "You Are What You Is" from "You Are What You Is" (1980) the line ''"give me a five dollar bill and an overcoat too"'' from "Wonderful Wino" is repeated.
** The line ''"you never go doody/ that's what you think"'' in "Disco Boy" shares a similar theme with "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" on Music/SheikYerbouti, where Zappa sings: ''"Don't fool yerself girl, it's goin' right up yer poop chute."'' It's brought up again during "Crab-Grass Baby" on "Thing-Fish" (1985).

* CreepyDoll: ''Ms. Pinky''.
* ADateWithRosiePalms and DidNotGetTheGirl: The disco boy in ''Disco Boy'' sees his friend leave with the girl he longed for. Zappa comforts him with the words: ''"Thank the Lord that you still got hands/that help you do that jerking that will blot out your disco sorrow."''

--> ''"A sinister little midget with a bucket and a mop/ where the blood goes down the drain"''

* EvilPrince: Character in ''The Torture Never Stops''.
* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Several tracks.
* GratuitousFrench: ''Zoot Allures'' is actually a bilingual pun, on the French expression ''Zut alors''! - which, if you're curious, is the closest expression the French have for [[GoshDangItToHeck "Gosh darn it!"]].

* TheMummy: ''"Wrap like a mummy 'til you finally unwind her"'' in "Find Her Finer".
* MundaneMadeAwesome: "Mrs. Pinky" , a rollicking rock track about a sex doll.

--> ''"Leave his hair alone/ but you can kiss his comb."''

** "Black Napkins" was inspired by a real bad dinner that Zappa was experienced: ''"Black Napkins" is a song I've had for year or more but it was finally named last Thanksgiving when we were having this [[ForeignQueasine horrible Thanksgiving dinner in Milwaukee]]. [[MessOnAPlate Sliced turkey roll with the fucking preservatives just gleaming off it, and this beat-up cranberry material]]. The final stroke to this ridiculous dinner was the black napkins, sitting next to the dishes. That really said the most about the dinner."''
** "Ms. Pinky" was written when a Finnish fan lend Zappa his favorite porno magazine, ''Kille''. In it Zappa saw a picture of a truly awful looking sex toy. In his own words: ''"There was an ad for Pinky. It was head with its mouth wide open and its eyes shut and a short haircut. And I thought : Hmmmmm, anyone who's gonna buy a plastic head to give himself a gum job [[CloudCuckooLander is right out there]]. By the time we got to Amsterdam I sent Smothers out to buy one, to use on stage. Sure enough, for $69.95 he came back with Ms. Pinky. [[CreepyDoll It was even worse than I had imagined]]. Not only is it a head, but it's the size of a child's head. The throat is sponge rubber and it's got the vibrator in it with battery pack and a two-speed motor. Sticking out of its neck is a nozzle with a squeezebulb that makes the throat contract."''

* TortureChamberEpisode and TortureCellar: ''"The Torture Never Stops"'' evokes medieval dungeon imagery.
* TorturePorn: The female screams in ''"The Torture Never Stops"'' often sound like orgasmic moaning.
* TortureTechnician: ''"The Torture Never Stops"''
--> ''"His carving style is well rehearsed."''
* UnusualEuphemism: ''"You can poot it/ you plook it"'' in ''"Mrs. Pinky"'' and ''"find her finer"'' in ''"Find Her Finer"''.
* TheWoobie: The wino in ''"Wonderful Wino"'' is so pathetic you feel sympathy towards him.
* WolfWhistle: ''"If you should see a girl on the street (wolf whistle)..."'' in "Find Her Finer".

** Zappa sings with a German accent near the end of "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station". He used German language often in his work. The song also attack the American school system, a theme he touched before in his songs, most notably on ''Music/FreakOut'' and ''Music/AbsolutelyFree''.

* GratuitousFrench: 'Zoot Allures'' is actually a bilingual pun, on the French expression ''Zut alors''! - which, if you're curious, is the closest expression the French have for [[GoshDangItToHeck "Gosh darn it!"]].

** "Disco Boy" came about after Zappa visited a Danish discothéque called The Disc Club.

* ShroudedInMyth: Manny the Camper in "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station". All Zappa ever said about him was that he was ''"just anybody named Manny who had an RV (...) It's probably bullet-proof. One more thing is maybe he'll return to Managua. You could go unnoticed in such a place."[[note]]This last sentence is a reference to the lyrics from ''"Yo' Mama"'' from ''Music/SheikYerbouti''[[/note]] (Quoted from "They're Doing the Interview of the Century, Part 1", 1993 interview by Den Simms and Eric Buxton.)