Day 14: Frank Zappa - '

Dear Nathaniel,

I am writing to you now, even as you lie across from me in your beautiful coffin. This will be the last time I will ever be able to play you a full album with you in the room. I know you like this one too since I've already played you it when you were born. This is quite a silly album and I think it fits well.

Tomorrow we have the impossible task of finally putting you to rest. I really hope I'll be able to make you proud and say what I have written for you well. I know I will never again have the pleasure of being able to sleep in the same room as you. So for now this will probably be the last time in a long time that I will be able to sleep as well as I could before. I love you Nathaniel, and I know you are well within the gentle arms of angels.

I really think this album is appropriate for you tonight. It's the type of album a little boy would find a lot of joy in. I had always wanted to play you Frank Zappa to teach you more about the fun that music can be, I will of course play you more of his albums as time goes by, I really hope you like this one. Playing it, just like playing Close to the Edge and the Hermit by Mountain Ash bands, the three albums I played you the night you were born makes me feel very close to you again.

Writing these I have always felt like you've been right in the room with me. Now that you're right here I feel it even stronger than before, and I'll always have this memory with me forever. I know I started late tonight, but I just wanted to play it for you when we were all settled in bed as a nice goodnight.

This is also a really short album, a little longer than Pink Moon, but still ten minutes shorter than most 70's albums. Either way it's a great little experience. It's really hard to describe exactly what type of music Frank Zappa plays. It can be described under the general banner of experimental or progressive rock, but I think Frank Zappa with all his different styles and periods can simply be looked at as it's own genre. His music was always changing, but unlike David Bowie Frank Zappa's music wasn't defined by the music that was popular at the time, but rather by Frank Zappa himself. This is something that I find really admirable about Zappa's music.

I love the jammy style of all of Frank Zappa's recordings, it has a very loose and organic feel to it, something that I really do like in music, especially if it turns out sounding this good. I feel like I've just daydreamed this whole album away, but that is one of the beautiful things about music I suppose.

I love you so much my angel Nathaniel, in a way I am really looking forward to tomorrow, but I'm also dreading it. It feels like I will be able to say goodbye tomorrow in a way that I could never do before, but I just don't know if I'll ever be ready to do so. That's why I suppose it's good that a date had to be set eventually.

I'm glad I'm starting to feel tired, I want to be all rested for tomorrow, and I know that I'll be able to sleep so safe and sound when I'm next to you and your mam. We have the window all open too so the morning light can come in. I hope we get some sunshine tomorrow, it would be nice. I hope you like all the silly songs tonight, especially this last one, Stink-Foot.

I will dream of you, as always my love, even as you lie right next time me. I hope you like the service tomorrow. We have our lovely Vicar Gareth looking after the whole thing, he's a great man and will make everything just perfect, just like you. Goodnight my sweet angel Nathaniel. I hope you sleep well tonight.

Love from Dad.