Frank Zappa has a song about that
Here's a game I play as a forty-plus year Zappa fan. A lot of Zappa's songs chronicled events in the manner of a folk song, or journalism set to music. It allows me to share my love of Zappa with my internet communities, of which DU is probably the main one. But, I'm learning Facebook, so watch out.
Here's a Zappa song about the sociopaths that have captured all our institutions and Democracy itself in the name of greed.
It might be a little difficult to appreciate the connection, as there is only the song title to give this meaning, it's an instrumental.
And I leave with this Zappa quote;
YOU CAN’T BE BUSTED YET FOR AWARENESS. Maintain your aristocratic coolness –
Sincerely,
Frank Zappa, for the Mothers of Invention
Thanks for playing
-90% Jimmy
= new reply since forum marked as read
You need to pay closer attention to Zappa's nuanced political positions. He was vociferously opposed to the Republican Party, and in fact in various interviews mentioned that not only was he a registered Democrat but he was also an admirer of Mario Cuomo in particular. See here (for just one of many sources): http://www.afka.net/articles/1988-04_Register-Pajaronian.htm
While he did espouse a 'practical conservatism' it is true, he considered the Republican Party to be home to religious fanatics and / or warmongering thugs (which is why he spoke out so forthrightly against Bush Snr's Gulf War - see, for example, the transcript of his interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio). Speaking about the Clinton / Gore ticket in 1992 he said: "I’ve been a registered Democrat my whole life, but I just can’t endorse this ticket". He also was a supporter of welfare, which was one of the reasons why he rejected the notion of supporting the Libertarian Party (as, while he was undoubtedly anti-union - see final article linked to below for context - he certainly believed in helping people and considered the LP to be an anarchist type party).
However, having said all that, it's important to realize that, while Zappa was in fact a nuanced and not unconditional supporter of the Democratic Party, he was also full of many contradicting positions (these are best teased out in Ben Watson's truly wonderful, 'The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play', if you are interested in the issue further). Trying to impose a particular ideology upon Zappa is ultimately a waste of breath - since the iconoclastic DNA of the man was to eschew all parties and positions in approximately equal measure (at least publicly so). He was a mass of contradictions, but still had much that was useful to say.
For example:
Regarding his admittedly seemingly offensive / anti-gay remarks, here is specifically what he said about this issue in an interview with Playboy:
Playboy: Because of songs such as Dinah Moe Humm ("I got a forty-dollar bill say you can't make me come"
, He's So Gay and many others, you have been accused of being sexist, misogynistic and homophobic.
Frank Zappa: Some people miss the joke. In general, I was a convenient enemy and they could get exposure for their causes by coming after me. But I'm not antigay. When Ross Perot announced he was running for president, I wanted him to choose Barney Frank as a vice-presidential candidate. He is one of the most impressive guys in Congress. He is a great model for young gay men.
Playboy: But you were criticized for Bobby Brown Goes Down and He's So Gay.
Frank Zappa: But see, I'm a journalist of a sort. I have a right to say what I want to say about any topic. If you don't have a sense of humor, then tough titties.
Again, if you want to understand Zappa, you have to accept the contradictions and then ask what they represent. He was a person of very extreme (and, in my view, admirable) personal libertarian - i.e. not political libertarian - principles. It meant that, he truly didn't see harm being contained in words, but rather in ideas and concepts. So, that's why he wrote songs that also contained the word 'nigger', which in itself might cause a lot of offence to many. But to claim then that he is a racist because such words are contained within a song is to miss the context in which they are offered. To be specific, he was a satirist - and so, what was he satirizing in He's So Gay? Well, it seems pretty likely to me - based on the fact that he spent his life satirizing all parties everywhere, and all groups everywhere in equal measure - that He's So Gay was a satire on what he perceived to be the 'trend' (I don't agree with him) in the 80's of dressing up Boy George style as a trend. I think it's a ridiculous and unimportant observation, but nevertheless as a life-long watcher of Zappa, it fits into the character and obsessions of the man more accurately than any analysis you have offered.
A better and deeper understanding of Zappa's contradictions may hail, in part, from the following article: http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr171/watson.htm
The choice to delve deeper or not is entirely up to you.
Response to Bonobo (Reply #2)
