What Is 200 Motels?
FZ:
Domestic press come in New York?
Engineer:
Okay, we're rolling.
FZ:
. . . Also.
Jim:
Well, can I ask you a question about the movie?
Howard:
Yeah.
Mark:
Sure.
Jim:
I mean, what, what is it?
Howard:
Well . . .
Mark:
Tell him, Howard, you . . .
Howard:
I'll tell ya. As far as we're concerned 200 Motels is, is like a surrealistic documentary, you know. It's just a collage of real events and, and time spent on the road and, and conceptual byproducts of the actual guys in the group and things that happened. It's really hard to explain, it's one of those things you've got to see, you know.
Jim:
Well, still. So tell me, you haven't told me. What is it?
FZ:
200 Motels is a surrealistic documentary, but it might also be helpful to think of the overall shape of the film in the same way you might think of the shape of a piece of orchestra music, with light motifs, harmonic transpositions, slightly altered repetitions, cadences, atonal areas, counterpoint, polyrhythmic textures, onomatopoeic imitations.
Howard:
Heh?
FZ:
Et cetera. That means imitations of the sounds of nature.
Jim:
Yeah, well. In the first place I hate orchestra music. Hate it. And I have no idea what any of those things are, you know. I don't know what you're talking about. I only like rock & roll. Tell me, is this a rock & roll movie or not?
FZ:
This is a rock & roll movie. And it is also an or what, not an or not. Granting the fact that The Mothers tend to operate somewhere on the uttermost fringes of your real life rock & roll consciousness, the film is an extension and a projection of the group specialized view of and participation in this intriguing area of contemporary human experience. In other words, two— Ha ha ha!
Mark:
You're not dreaming.
Howard:
I'm so sleepy.
Mark:
You're not dreaming.
FZ:
200 Motels . . . Ha ha ha!
Howard:
Am I dreaming?
Mark:
You're not dreaming.
FZ:
. . . deals with things like . . .
Howard:
I dreamt I saw 200 Motels . . .
FZ:
Groupies! Life on the road!
Howard:
. . . with Frank Zappa . . .
FZ:
Relationship to audience!
Howard:
The Mothers Of Invention.
FZ:
Group personality chemistry!
Howard:
Theodore Bikel!
FZ:
Macrobiotic food and tie-dye shirts!
Howard:
Ringo Starr! Keith Moon!
FZ:
Et cetera. It deals with things. In ways you might not expect or approve of, simply because The Mothers is not your average sort of pop group.
Howard:
Say that again.
FZ:
And if for instance we have experiences with groupies on the road in Winnipeg Ranger, Ranger Alert . . . theses experiences will not be very ordinary, no, siree! Our relationship to audiences is not ordinary, no no no. Our group personality chemistry is not ordinary . . .
Mark & Howard:
Ha ha . . . ha ha ha . . . ha ha . . .
FZ:
Therefore an ordinary documentary based on our exploits wouldn't be ordinary . . .
Howard:
No!
FZ:
And a surrealistic documentary extended from these circumstances might seem to be just a little peculiar at first.
Howard:
Don't let it shake you though.
Jim:
Well, okay, if you can't tell me what it is, and you obviously can't, tell me what happens in it, you know. Something. Anything. Help me! God!
