Eat That Question, the new Frank Zappa documentary from director Thorsten Schutte, is in theaters now. The film primarily revolves around clips, interviews and a vast selection of footage; all of which takes an attention-grabbing deep-dive into the mind of the prodigious musical genius.

Not only is this newly-released rock doc chock-full of great footage and mind-blowing music; but it will make a newborn Zappa fan out of any newcomer who watches. Not to mention that it is sure to reignite the spark within seasoned Zappa fanatics, perhaps inspiring us to dust off our old collections again. The movie springs open a wondrous musical Pandora’s Box of some of the most brilliant music ever to be recorded.

Last year, we gave you a list of ‘Top 12’ Frank Zappa albums. Naturally, this got me thinking — what would a list of ‘Top 50’ Frank Zappa songs look like? Would it even be possible to assemble such a thing? What kind of rabbit hole am I getting myself into? With just over 100 albums and roughly 1,000 songs to choose from, such a mountainous task certainly seems daunting. Nevertheless, it is a challenge I am willing to accept. I also would like to encourage some, as Frank would say, “audience participation.”

So without further ado, we present to you: THE TOP 50 FRANK ZAPPA SONGS.

50. Broken Hearts are for Assholes
Album: Sheik Yerbouti
Released: 1979
Starting with the silly — here is Frank Zappa at his finest, filthiest and most in-your-face. With drummer Terry Bozzio joining in with Frank on lead vocals, this funny and fast-paced classic is sure to please… unless of course you’re an asshole.

49. Dumb All Over > Heavenly Bank Account
Album: You Are What You Is
Released: 1981
The You Are What You Is album features Zappa at his most-critical of TV evangelists and other prominent religious figures of the time. Plucked from the same album that spawned the title-track music video, famously-banned by MTV for depicting Ronald Reagan in an electric chair, are these equally-as-controversial conjoined masterworks. Enjoy!

48. Bobby Brown Goes Down
Album: Sheik Yerbouti
Released: 1979
One of the most well-known Zappa tunes — “Bobby Brown Goes Down” is once again, Frank at his most ruthlessly explicit. With bizarre story-tellings of unambiguous sexual deviance and a complete lack-of-filter, this politically incorrect gem of the late-seventies is certainly not something to bring home to your mother.

47. Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk
Album: Broadway the Hard Way
Released: 1988
From the brilliantly satiristic Broadway the Hard Way, comes this musically-dazzling and politically-scathing attack on evangelist/then-presidential hopeful Pat Robertson, as well as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Just as in We’re Only In It For The Money and You Are What You Is, this is Zappa at his most political, and features some of the most interesting and provocative music of his career.

46. Lonesome Cowboy Burt
Album: 200 Motels
Released: 1971
No — not The Velvet Underground’s “Lonesome Cowboy Bill.” We’re talking about Lonesome Cowboy Burt! Within the massive soundtrack of Zappa’s psychedelic work of cinema 200 Motels is this slapstick, spaghetti western of a song sung by the one and only Jimmy Carl Black. Alternate versions of this song, such as “Lonesome Cowboy Nando” and “Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)” can be found on the albums You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6 and The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.

45. Be In My Video
Album: Them or Us
Released: 1984
Never a trend follower and always fearlessly outspoken; here is Zappa taking on the ridiculousness and artlessness of MTV. In 1984, MTV was the new hip thing, and music videos were, sorry to say, suddenly becoming more valued by the young Gen X-ers than the music itself. Image was begrudgingly becoming more interesting than musical ability. Frank expressed this sentiment perfectly on this track: “You can show your legs while you’re getting in the car, and I will look repulsive as I mangle my guitar.”

44. Tell Me You Love Me
Album: Chunga’s Revenge
Released: 1970
This straight-forward rocker is well-known to the seasoned Frank Zappa fan, nonetheless remains a prominent favorite. With Frank, of course, on lead guitar and Ian Underwood on rhythm, this frequently-played face-melter is a blunt display of honest and direct hard rock know-how, with additional classically-trained intellect that could only come from the mind of Frank Zappa.

43. Titties & Beer
Album: Zappa in New York
Released: 1977
Starting off the ever-so-cherished Zappa in New York record, is this masterful work of musicianship, humor and onstage performance. The song would feature drummer Terry Bozzio wearing a rubber mask of Satan, playing the part of the devil; while Zappa assumed the role of the main character who’s girlfriend was gobbled up by the beer-guzzling Beelzebub. The twisted tale unfolds from there, and if you’re unfamiliar with this classic tune, perhaps you should get yourself some “Titties & Beer.”

42. We Are Not Alone
Album: The Man From Utopia
Released: 1983
This interstellar instrumental, featuring Marty Krystall on saxophone, is a shining musical treasure hiding within this frequently overlooked Zappa record. With elaborate twists and turns, plus the musical conversation between the guitar and marimba; this three-minute opus is one hell of an interesting and underappreciated listen.

41. Wild Love
Album: Sheik Yerbouti
Released: 1979
Yet another selection from the fantastic 1979 classic, Sheik Yerbouti; the basic track was recorded live at the Odeon Hammersmith in London, England and was spiced-up with plenty of studio overdubs. The song features Zappa, Randy Thornton and Napoleon Murphy Brock on vocals, Tommy Mars on keyboards, David Ocker on clarinets, and Terry Bozzio on drums.

40. Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt > On The Bus
Album: Joe’s Garage (Acts 1, 2 & 3)
Released: 1979
One part wet t-shirt contest, one part mind-bending guitar solo. These combined tracks continue the Orwellian storyline told throughout the abundantly creative masterpiece, Joe’s Garage; an album that is considered to be one of the best and most notable Zappa albums of his career. “You’ll love it — it’s a way of life!”

39. Brown Shoes Don’t Make It
Album: Absolutely Free
Released: 1967
“Be a jerk, go to work” they say with subversive zaniness in this anthem of anti-conformation. “Be a loyal plastic robot for a world that doesn’t care!” Brown Shoes represents the pinnacle of the “Freak Out” era of the Mothers of Invention, in which creating songs about rejecting societal norms was at the top of the agenda. Later on, a more upbeat version of this song can be found on the 1981 live album, Tinseltown Rebellion, recorded at the Odeon Hammersmith in London, England.

38. King Kong (1-6)
Album: Uncle Meat
Released: 1969
“King Kong” first made an appearance on the album Lumpy Gravy in 1967, however, this earth-shaking instrumental was a regular in the live rotation throughout the Zappa timeline. The Uncle Meat versions serve as arguably the most comprehensive representations of the composition as a whole. Other renditions can be found on albums such as, Ahead of Their Time, Make A Jazz Noise Here, and even a live collaboration with John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band; which can be found on Lennon’s Sometime in New York City album, under the moniker “Jamrag.”

37. The Orange County Lumber Truck
Album: Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Released: 1970
The material within Weasels Ripped My Flesh from The Mothers of Invention, consists of songs recorded between 1967 and 1969. The album presents an all-encompassing look into the madcap music of The Mothers during their prime. Sandwiched between the hippie-critical “Oh No” and the ear-splitting title track; “The Orange County Lumber Truck” is one of Zappa’s most infectious instrumentals.

36. Dinah-Moe Humm
Album: Over-Nite Sensation
Released: 1973
One of the most frequently-requested Frank Zappa songs; the silly and sexual “Dinah-Moe Humm” is a favorite among the average Zappa listener. Some hard-core Zappa fans might disagree, but the fact of the matter is, if you were a Rock n’ Roll-listening teenager in the 1970’s; you knew about “Dinah-Moe Humm.” In addition to the album version, one of the most interesting recordings of this classic can be found on the live album/movie Baby Snakes.

35. Muffin Man
Album: Bongo Fury
Released: 1975
This famous Frank Zappa standard and frequent concert-finale favorite first appears on the predominantly live album Bongo Fury. This track, recorded both live and in the studio, closes out the record which also features avant-garde legend Captain Beefheart. Bongo Fury is an essential piece of any Frank Zappa collection.

34. Eat That Question
Album: The Grand Wazoo
Released: 1972
Keyboard pioneer, George Duke got a chance to stretch out on this sonically spectacular instrumental from The Grand Wazoo. Also the title of the newly-released Zappa documentary, “Eat That Question” is a solo-filled musical wonderland, with a sound-quality unmatched by most other music of the time.

33. Trouble Every Day
Album: Freak Out
Released: 1966
“There’s no way to delay that trouble coming every day” — ain’t that the truth? This reality-spewing rocker is as close to a protest song as Frank has ever gotten. With raw musicianship and biting political and social commentary, this Zappa tune is no doubt one of his most important and rousing compositions. An alternate version known as “More Trouble Every Day” appears on the live epic Roxy & Elsewhere from 1974.

32. A Pound for a Brown
Album: Zappa in New York
Released: 1977
“A Pound for a Brown” is a recurrently-performed instrumental that can be found on a myriad of Zappa recordings. The song first appears on the 1969 album Uncle Meat, under the title “A Pound for a Brown on the Bus.” The classically composed Yellow Shark version is also a most-impressive presentation. However, this rendering from the 1977 Zappa In New York album is the adaptation that stands above the rest.

31. Be-Bop Tango (of the Old Jazzmen’s Church)
Album: Roxy & Elsewhere
Released: 1974
“Be-Bop Tango” is the brain-boggling final song from the famous Roxy & Elsewhere album. It’s a dazzlingly extraordinary warts-and-all performance, packed-full of audience participation and that special kind of spontaneous theatrical beauty which could only come from a live Frank Zappa experience.

30. Dog Breath
Album: Just Another Band from L.A.
Released: 1972
Here is yet another standout Frank Zappa song with several different recorded versions. This variation from the 1972 live album Just Another Band from L.A. features Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan on lead vocals, as well as Ian Underwood on Keyboards and vocals. Other versions of the song, such as “Dog Breath Variations” and “Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague” can be found on the albums Uncle Meat, The Yellow Shark and You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert.

29. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
Album: Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Released: 1970
One of Zappa’s most well-known songs, “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama” is a heavy and humorous rock anthem, with creatively complicated changes and Frank’s unmistakable trademark guitar stylings. No doubt, one of the most approachable of Zappa tunes, this track is definitely an important highlight for the novice listener.

28. The Torture Never Stops
Album: Zoot Allures
Released: 1976
“The Torture Never Stops” is another fan-favorite and live staple. This creepy and comical composition is one of Zappa’s most popular. With hauntingly brilliant musicianship and Frank’s hair-raising storytelling, this track is pure perfection. Other appearances are included on Zappa in New York, The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life and You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 4.

27. Advance Romance
Album: Bongo Fury
Released: 1975
Recorded live in concert at Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas during May of 1975, with an astonishing band lineup featuring Captain Beefheart, George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Terry Bozzio, Bruce and Tom Fowler; Bongo Fury is certainly something special. The unbridled musical talent within this blues-filled track is truly unbeatable. “I told you ‘bout the anchovies, George Duke!”

26. Montana
Album: Over-Nite Sensation
Released: 1973
A bizarre tale of a cowboy, some dental floss and a pair of Zircon encrusted tweezers. Montana is one of Zappa’s most famous hits, and is no doubt one of his more, as they say, “radio-friendly” tunes. Go ahead — jump right on and “ride like a cowboy into the dawn of Montana.”

25. Florentine Pogen
Album: One Size Fits All
Released: 1975
One Size Fits All features some of the absolute best material ever released by the great Frank Zappa. With standout Zappa alumni such as Napoleon Murphy Brock on lead vocals, flute and tenor saxophone, George Duke on keyboards and Ruth Underwood on vibes and percussion; “Florentine Pogen” is almost as good as it gets.

24. Uncle Remus
Album: Apostrophe
Released: 1974
From the highly-renowned Zappa classic Apostrophe, comes this uniquely melodic ballad focusing on racial injustice. “We look pretty sharp in these clothes, unless we get sprayed with a hose,” sings Zappa. The main piano part is played soulfully by George Duke as Frank croons the vocal melody, revealing the social justice side of the modern day Stravinski.

23. San Ber’dino
Album: One Size Fits All
Released: 1975
Beginning with the amusing opening line, “She lives in Mojave in a Winnebago, his name is Bobby, he looks like a potato,” this proverbial Zappa tune is one of those songs that everyone loves, whether Zappa newcomer or seasoned pro. This song features Johnny “Guitar” Watson on vocals and Captain Beefheart (billed as Bloodshot Rollin’ Red) on harmonica. “Come on with me down to San Ber’dino!”

22. Blessed Relief
Album: The Grand Wazoo
Released: 1972
During recent live performances with Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil would often describe “Blessed Relief” as an under-appreciated song; and I completely agree. “Blessed Relief” is just that: a melodious come-down following the musical whirlwind that precedes this serene composition from The Grand Wazoo.

21. Andy
Album: One Size Fits All
Released: 1975
Andy is the quintessential Zappa song. With Frank’s flawless guitar wizardry and the great Napoleon Murphy Brock tearing up the lead vocals, this eighth track from the 1975 masterpiece, One Size Fits All is some of the best music you’ll ever hear in your life.

20. Cosmik Debris
Album: Apostrophe
Released: 1974
Not even psychics are safe from Zappa’s razor-sharp scrutiny. Cosmik Debris tells the tale of a guru and a not-so-gullible customer who snatches up the psychic’s magic crystal ball and turns the tables on the swindling con-man. The incredibly ingenious instrumentation mimics the storyline and paints vividly cartoonish pictures that bring the music to life.
“Now, who you jiving with that Cosmik Debris?”

19. Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Album: We’re Only In It For The Money
Released: 1968
We’re Only In It For The Money is a contemptuous commentary on the hippie subculture of the late-sixties. At a time when “flower power” was dominating pop culture, Zappa, as usual saw right through the trends of the time and went after them with unrepentant ridicule. Even the cover artwork was a direct parody of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album. “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black” is one of the most imperative highlights on this psychedelic masterwork. It’s “a little bit of vocal teenage heaven, right here on earth!”

18. The Gumbo Variations
Album: Hot Rats
Released: 1969
Guitar solos, overdubbing and musical innovation galore! Hot Rats is an all-around outstanding work of musical genius, and “The Gumbo Variations” is the most epic of songs within this ground-breaking record. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again; if you don’t own Hot Rats, you don’t have a Zappa collection.

17. I’m the Slime
Album: Over-Nite Sensation
Released: 1973
“I’m the Slime” was one of Zappa’s most popular and also most subversive. The song tackles the subject of brainwashing and conditioning via “a tool of the government” known as television. In an ingenious work of seditious artfulness, Zappa and his band even got away with performing the song on Saturday Night Live, broadcasting the song’s message into the homes of thousands of unsuspecting American citizens.

16. Cheepnis
Album: Roxy & Elsewhere
Released: 1974
A Godzilla-sized poodle is on the loose and heading toward the power plant! Who will stop this horrendous monster?! Inspired by the low-budget monster movies in which Zappa loved so dearly, “Cheepnis” is a rawkus rollercoaster of musical virtuosity. It truly is a movie for your ears. Everybody could use “a little more cheepnis.”

15. Concentration Moon
Album: We’re Only In It For The Money
Released: 1968
The politics and social commentary peppered throughout We’re Only In It For The Money are still very much relevant to this day. Particularly in songs like “Mom and Dad” and “What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?.” “Concentration Moon” however, focuses on the admonition of possible internment camps, in which were rumored to be deployed by the coming Nixon administration to quell the rising tide of leftist radicals. Although written about different people in a different time, the message within still resonates with the struggles of present day.

14. Zomby Woof
Album: Over-Nite Sensation
Released: 1973
Featuring the cartoonishly out-of-this-world vocal stylings of Ricky Lancelotti, “Zomby Woof” is debatably the most impressive composition on Over-Nite Sensation. With exceedingly complex musical arrangements and cutting-edge recording techniques which elevate the album to a new level of sound, this seventeenth Zappa/Mothers album lives up to the hype. The album was one of Zappa’s most successful, climbing to number 32 in the US album charts, where it remained for most of 1973.

13. The Black Page (#1 & #2)
Album: Zappa in New York
Released: 1977
Originally written as a drum solo, the initial Black Page arrangement was revamped by Zappa to become The Black Page (Part One). Then Zappa went to work once again, to create The Black Page (Part Two) for those folks “who might enjoy the melody of the Black Page but couldn’t really approach it’s statsical density in it’s basic form” as Frank explains in lengthy detail to the boisterous New York City audience on the Zappa in New York album. It’s one hell of an impressive feat of musical inventiveness. So, as Mr. Zappa recommends, “Get down with your bad self, so-to-speak, to the Black Page.”

12. Sofa (#1 & #2)
Album: One Size Fits All
Released: 1975
Both from the same album, Sofa #1 and #2 are two versions of the same recognizable tune from summer of 1975. Sofa #1 is a gorgeous instrumental, while Sofa #2 is a bizarre rendering sung almost entirely in German. “Und du bist mein sofa!”

11. Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow > Nanook Rubs It > St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast > Father O’Blivion
Album: Apostrophe
Released: 1974
Great googly moogly! Considering all these songs are intentionally strung together, and are meant to be listened to as a whole; leaving one out just wouldn’t make sense. The first side of the legendary Apostrophe album features some of Frank’s most beloved compositions, and these four songs are some of the most iconic of Zappa’s entire catalogue.

10. G-Spot Tornado (The Yellow Shark version)
Album: The Yellow Shark
Released: 1993
The original “G-Spot Tornado” can be found on Zappa’s 1986 release, Jazz from Hell. However, it is this orchestral version (also being the final onstage performance from the modern day composer) that is truly tear-inducingly breathtaking. Tom Waits once described The Yellow Shark album as “awe-inspiring; a rich pageant of texture and color.” The Yellow Shark would be Frank Zappa’s final album before his death in 1993.

9. Watermelon in Easter Hay
Album: Joe’s Garage (Acts 1,2, & 3)
Released: 1979
Following the despondent monologue and epically heart-wrenching guitar jam of “He Used to Cut the Grass” and also the “Easy Meat”-imbedded Xenochrony of “Packard Goose,” comes one of Zappa’s most celebrated guitar instrumentals. “Watermelon in Easter Hay” concludes the final act of Joe’s Garage, with it’s mournful guitar stylings which render it a picture-perfect musical musing to convey the fantastical fits of depression the main character is experiencing. The solo is followed by the finale “A Little Green Rosetta,” as the album departs into the fading echoes of musical pandemonium.

8. The Grand Wazoo
Album: The Grand Wazoo
Released: 1972
What do you get when such an unbound force of creativity is confined to a wheelchair? You get some of the most incredibly complex musical creations ever devised. Following what is known as “The Rainbow Incident,” where Frank was pushed off stage by a crazed fan at The Rainbow Theatre in London, England; Zappa focused his creative prowess to produce both Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. The title track on the latter, featured here, is among some of the most highly-renowned material of his entire career.

7. Big Swifty
Album: Waka/Jawaka
Released: 1972
Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo are the pinnacles of Zappa’s jazz-fusion era. This mammoth instrumental known as “Big Swifty,” clocking in at over 17 minutes, is Zappa’s big band/jazz masterpiece. With 15 musicians, over 30 instruments, and lots and lots of overdubbing; Zappa shaped this gathering of musical talent and created one of the most interesting pieces in the history of modern music.

6. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Album: Freak Out
Released: 1966
This Zappa classic and musical milestone can be summed up by the following text from the album’s liner notes: “On a personal level, freaking out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricting standards of thinking, dress, and social etiquette in order to express creatively his relationship to his immediate environment and the social sctructure as a whole. Less perceptive individuals have referred to us who have chosen this way of thinking and feeling as ‘freaks,’ hence the term freaking out.” The message continues then concludes with the ever-so-tempting sentence, “We would like to encourage everyone who hears this music to join us… become a member of The United Mutations… FREAK OUT!”

5. Inca Roads
Album: One Size Fits All
Released: 1975
Inspired by “Was God an Astronaut?,” the bestselling book from author Erich Von Daniken, Inca Roads is a fantastical musical journey thrusted by the out-of-this-world creative dexterity of an all-star cast of distinguished Zappa allumni. George Duke, Chester Thompson, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler and Napoleon Murphy Brock are all present on this celestial prog-rock tour de force. Enjoy the ride!

4. Strictly Genteel (London Symphony Orchestra version)
Album: The London Symphony Orcherstra Vol. 1 & 2
Released: 1983 & 1987
Here is Zappa flexing his classical muscle. Originally from the soundtrack album 200 Motels, “Strictly Genteel” is solid proof that the world of Zappa, while zany, can also be stunningly beautiful. In pure Zappa fashion, the clashing of the logical and the absurd is what makes this modern classical stand out above any of the music being recorded at this time. This particular recording is nothing short of breathtaking. Other versions can be found on 200 Motels, Orchestral Favorites and Make a Jazz Noise Here.

3. Village of the Sun > Echidna’s Arf (Of You) > Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?
Album: Roxy & Elsewhere
Released: 1974
To think of playing just one of these tracks without the other two would be downright sacrilege. Within this musical trifecta is some of the most complex musical sorcery ever assembled. “Echidna’s Arf (Of You)” and “Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” in particular, feature some of the most mind-boggling explosions of musical complexity you’ll ever hear. No words can properly describe the overwhelming creative splendor that are these three compositions. So instead… just listen.

2. Joe’s Garage
Album: Joe’s Garage (Acts 1, 2 & 3)
Released: 1979
Coming in at number two is the most iconic of Zappa songs, the smash-hit title track from the 1979 three-act magnum opus Joe’s Garage. This all-encompassing musical excursion travels the rock n’ roll timeline, from the days of doo-wop, surf rock and the bastions of Beatlemania, to the decadent years of heavy metal, punk and new wave. The overall theme of the record is the fictional concept of an Orwellian existence, wherein music has been made illegal. “If the plot of the story seems just a little bit preposterous,” explains Frank in the album’s liner notes, “just be glad you don’t live in one of the cheerful little countries where, at this very moment, music is either severly restricted… or, as it is in Iran, totally illegal.”

1. Peaches En Regalia
Album: Hot Rats
Released: 1969
“Peaches En Regalia” is arguably the most concise, cohesive and celebrated work of art from modern day composer, Frank Zappa. Within these three minutes and thirty-nine seconds is what can only be described as ‘quintessential Zappa.’ Recorded on 16-track equipment and featuring groundbreaking recording techniques, overdubs and tape-speed manipulations; Hot Rats, and “Peaches” in particular, is the high-standard of now well-known advanced recording methods and stands as one of the most recognized instrumentals in the history of rock n’ roll.

From the genre-bending memories of Freak Out to the dust of The Grand Wazoo and from the days hanging down at Joe’s Garage to the cosmic classical brilliance of The Yellow Shark; Frank Zappa colored our world with shades never seen before. Such a mind of musical genius cannot and will not be duplicated.

Let’s be honest — the sheer scope of Zappa’s genius cannot be summarized within 50 selections. There are no best songs. There are no worst songs. Beauty can only be determined through the eardrums of the listener, and that’s why you’re here… for the music.

I think this delving into the vast world of Frank Zappa can best be concluded with perhaps the most famous and the most important of Zappa quotes: “Information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, wisdom is not truth, truth is not beauty, beauty is not love, love is not music, music is the best!”

Arf.

-Written by Joseph Conlon