Tone
The song debuted in 1975 under the title "Why Doesn't Somebody Get Him a Pepsi?" in which almost none of the instrument parts were similar to the album version. This song is said to be one of Zappa's darker pieces fitting with the general atmosphere of "Zoot Allures." However, "The Torture Never Stops" is noted to be the darkest with lyrics such as "Flies all green and buzzin' in dungeon of despair. Who are'll those people that is shut away down there? Are they crazy? Are they sainted? Are they heroes someone painted?" along with a female's moans of pain in the background which was added by Zappa for a dirty and miserable tone. Critics claim that during the song, Zappa comes off as calm yet passive-aggressive. The song has been thought to reference atrocities of World War II concentration camps, and it's been said by critics that if so, the references to "eating a steaming pig" are tasteless on Zappa's part. Musician Michel Delville, in his essay Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the Secret History of Maximalism compared the tone of "The Torture Never Stops" to Brian Eno's album Music for Airports.
| "Rat Tomago" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Frank Zappa from the album Sheik Yerbouti | |
| Recorded | 1978 |
| Genre | Rock, Instrumental rock |
| Length | 5:17 |
| Writer | Frank Zappa |
Read more about this topic: The Torture Never Stops
Famous quotes containing the word tone:
“Boswell, when he speaks of his Life of Johnson, calls it my magnum opus, but it may more properly be called his opera, for it is truly a composition founded on a true story, in which there is a hero with a number of subordinate characters, and an alternate succession of recitative and airs of various tone and effect, all however in delightful animation.”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)
“There was about all the Romans a heroic tone peculiar to ancient life. Their virtues were great and noble, and these virtues made them great and noble. They possessed a natural majesty that was not put on and taken off at pleasure, as was that of certain eastern monarchs when they put on or took off their garments of Tyrian dye. It is hoped that this is not wholly lost from the world, although the sense of earthly vanity inculcated by Christianity may have swallowed it up in humility.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“If the oarsmen of a fast-moving ship suddenly cease to row, the suspension of the driving force of the oars doesn’t prevent the vessel from continuing to move on its course. And with a speech it is much the same. After he has finished reciting the document, the speaker will still be able to maintain the same tone without a break, borrowing its momentum and impulse from the passage he has just read out.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C)