Line #10 Music/ThePerfectStranger


1	[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_perfect_stranger_2185.jpg]]
2
3	''Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger'', aka ''The Perfect Stranger'' is a 1984 ClassicalMusic album by Music/FrankZappa, made in collaboration with composer/conductor Pierre Boulez. Since Boulez' renowned status in classical music circles the album gave Zappa more attention and prominence in that world. On his debut album ''Music/FreakOut'' Zappa had named Boulez one of his influences, so the respect was mutual.
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5	On a somewhat more trivial note, this album was the first in Zappa's back-catalog to be officially released on the Platform/CompactDisc format, via Creator/{{EMI}}'s classical music division and under the "EMI Digital" banner, owing to it being a fully digital recording, Zappa's first in his official discography. Zappa would continue to stick with digital recording and mixing technology for the remainder of his career, all the way until his death in 1993.
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7	!! Tracklist
8
9	[[AC:Side One]]
10	# "The Perfect Stranger" (12:42)
11	# "Naval Aviation in Art?" (2:28)
12	# "The Girl in The Magnesium Dress" (3:27)
13
14	[[AC:Side Two]]
15	# "Outside Now Again" (4:06) [[note]]Switched around with "Dupree's Paradise" on CD releases.[[/note]]
16	# "Love Story" (1:00)
17	# "Dupree's Paradise" (7:54) [[note]]Switched around with "Outside Now Again" on CD releases.[[/note]]
18	# "Jonestown" (7:07)
19
20	!! Personnel
21	* Music/FrankZappa: composition
22	* Pierre Boulez: conductor.
23	* Ensemble Intercontemporain: orchestra.
24	* Donald Roller Wilson: album cover design
25
26	!! Naval Aviation in Tropes?
27	* AllThereInTheManual: The booklet inside the CD explains the concepts behind the tracks.
28	* AnachronismStew: The dog in 16th century clothing on the album cover is wearing CoolShades.
29	* AnatomicallyImpossibleSex: The couple in "Love Story".
30	* AndStarring: Pierre Boulez.
31	* ClassicalMusic: Three tracks are performed by a classical orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, conducted by Pierre Boulez: "The Perfect Stranger", "Naval Aviation In Art?" and "Dupree's Paradise".
32	* CallBack and ContinuityNod:
33	** "Outside Now" appeared earlier on ''Music/JoesGarage''. "Naval Aviation In Art?" appeared earlier on ''Music/OrchestralFavorites'' (1979) and would reappear again on ''Music/{{Lather}}'' (1996). "The Girl In The Magnesium Dress" would be performed again on ''Music/TheYellowShark'' (1993).
34	** The same shades wearing dog would appear on the album cover of Zappa's ''Music/FrancescoZappa'' (1984) and ''Music/ThemOrUs'' (1984) albums. Also, dog imagery happened before in Zappa's lyrics.
35	* CoolOldGuy: The old Republican couple in "Love Story". Never mind their political opinions: having sex while you're breakdancing? That's a pretty impressive feat.
36	* CoolShades: The ones the dog wears on the album cover.
37	* CultColony: "Jonestown", about the real life murderous UsefulNotes/JimJones cult.
38	* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Subverted by "Love Story", where an old Republican couple tries to have sex while breakdancing.
39	* DenOfIniquity: "Dupree's Paradise", as Zappa explained in the liner notes:
40	--> ''Dupree's Paradise is about a bar on Avalon Boulevard in Watts at 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday in 1964, during the early morning jam session. For about seven minutes, the customers (winos, musicians, degenerates and policemen) do the things that set them apart from the rest of society.''
41	* DrinkingTheKoolAid: "Jonestown" is inspired by the Jim Jones cult, whose leader ordered his 800 members to drink a poisoned Kool Aid cocktail, killing them and himself off. This happened in a secluded place in the jungle of Guyana, called "Jonestown".
42	* EpicRocking: "The Perfect Stranger" and "Dupree's Paradise".
43	* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: "The Girl in the Magnesium Dress" is about a girl who is able to kill men with her magnesium dress.
44	* {{Instrumentals}}: All tracks are orchestral music.
45	* LastNoteNightmare: "Jonestown", a haunting instrumental piece inspired by the mass suicide of the members of Jim Jones' cult. It is also the final track.
46	* LongestSongGoesFirst: The album opens with the 12:42 TitleTrack, the only song on the album to surpass ten minutes.
47	* MinisculeRocking: The one minute long "Love Story".
48	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: The haunting track "Jonestown".
49	* OneWomanSong: "The Girl in the Magnesium Dress".
50	* PackagedAsOtherMedium: The cover looks like a baroque painting.
51	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: "Jonestown" was inspired by the 1978 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown Jonestown Massacre]] in Guyana, where cult leader Jim Jones forced the members of his group to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. This lead to over 900 deaths, including women and children.
52	* SingerNameDrop: "Dupree's Paradise" was named after one of the musicians in the orchestra, Duprez.
53	* StockSoundEffects: "The Perfect Stranger" starts with the sound of a doorbell.
54	* {{Synthpop}}: "The Girl in the Magnesium Dress", "Outside Now Again", "Love Story" and "Jonestown" were recorded on a Synclavier computer, making them effectively Zappa's first official releases with that instrument. ''Music/FrancescoZappa'' (1984) would be his first completely Synclavier played release.
55	* TitleTrack: "The Perfect Stranger".
56	* WritersBlock: The sailor in "Naval Aviation In Art?", who tries to paint while being aboard of a ship at night, but lacks inspiration.

Context Music / ThePerfectStranger