"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff"

Frank Zappa’s declaration that all the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff is laced with his signature irony and skepticism toward musical orthodoxy. On one level, he’s referencing the monuments of Western classical music, composers like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, who are often depicted in portraits or statues wearing elaborate wigs. Zappa’s phrase “people with wigs and stuff” pokes fun not only at their appearance but also at the almost religious reverence afforded to the canon of classical music.

Such a quip carries implications about originality, tradition, and the evolution of musical art. By suggesting all the “good” music is already done, Zappa is addressing the frequent lament among artists and audiences that innovation is no longer possible, that the masterpieces already exist and modern creators can only imitate or dilute older forms. There’s a deep ambivalence in his words: on one hand, it signals respect for the classical titans whose music set staggering standards of composition, complexity, and emotional power. On the other, it mocks the pedantic attitude that nothing new can reach the level of these historic figures, a position Zappa resisted throughout his own genre-defying career.

Zappa’s sly irreverence is evident; he was a musical iconoclast who blended rock, jazz, classical, and experimental elements, refusing to bow to established boundaries or nostalgia. His comment challenges both musicians and listeners to question received wisdom, to resist the notion that artistic value is locked in the past or tied to specific forms or figures. By minimizing these “wigged” composers to caricature and “stuff,” he draws attention to the tendency to mythologize tradition without acknowledging the creative vitality of the present. Zappa ultimately prompts reflection on our relationship to musical history: should we uphold the old masters as the gold standard, or recognize that truly good music can emerge from anywhere, in any era, from the most unlikely of sources?