Frank Zappa on Politics
 

FRANK ZAPPA -

"Politics is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex."

"Democracy is one of those things that looks good on paper, but we've come to a crossroads in contemporary America where we really ought to decide, Do we *want* it? When you have a preponderance of people in this country who will willingly accept censorship- in fact, *ask* for it, *demand* it in the case of the Gulf War- you've got a problem. Asked random questions about the First Amendment and how they would like to have it applied, if you believe in polls at all, the average American wants no part of it. But if you ask, "What if we threw the Constitution away tomorrow?" the answer is "No, that would be bad!" But living under the Constitution is another story altogether. I've come to the conclusion that there's only one party in this country and it's divided into two parts: Republicans and Republican wannabes. Republicans stand for evil, corruption, manipulation, greed- everything that Americans think is okay after being conditioned to it during the eighties. Republicans stand for all the values that Americans now hold dear. Plus they have more balloons than God, and for a nation raised on cartoons, that tells you something. Anybody with balloons, they're okay. They don't tell you what kind of crippled people had to blow those suckers up. The Democrats have no agenda, and when they speak on any topic, they want to sound as Republican as possible while still finding a way to retain the pork. I'll be blunt with you: I'm considering running for president as a nonpartisan candidate because I am sick to death of this stuff. The "news bath" is not a warming experience; it makes me deranged for four or five hours a day. On a show for Bill Moyers called "The Class of the Twentieth Century" I said that the faces that really belong on Mount Rushmore are J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy and Walter Winchell and Hedda Hopper and maybe even Roy Cohn and Michael Milken, because
they've had the greatest impact on American society. They have shaped the way things are done in this country. One of the problems with the world in which we live is that people have become accustomed to lies upon lies upon lies............"

I really miss that guy.

Dave

Frank sure had a way with words.;)

He was spot on with the role of the media too. From the "Absolutely Free" album-


I'm The Slime
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set

You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

That's right, folks..
Don't touch that dial

Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livin'room floor

I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go

Wow!

Profound stuff.

And he's been dead for 20 years.

A lot has changed since then.

Most of it for the worse.

BTW, he was a capitalist and shrewd businessman who believed we needed to get back to original constitutional concepts.

But, not in the style you think.

In fact;

"They got lies so big
They don't make a noise
They tell 'em so well
Like a secret disease
That makes you go numb

With a big ol' lie
And a flag and a pie
And a mom and a bible
Most folks are just liable
To buy any line
Any place, any time

When the lie's so big
As in Robertson's case,
(That sinister face
Behind all the Jesus hurrah)

Could result in the end
To a worrisome trend
In which every American
Not "born again"
Could be punished in cruel and unusual ways
By this treacherous cretin
Who tells everyone
That he's Jesus' best friend

When the lies get so big
And the fog gets so thick
And the facts disappear
The Republican Trick
Can be played out again
People, please tell me when
We'll be rid of these men!

Just who do they really
Suppose that they are?
And how do they manage to travel as far
As they seem to have come?
Were we really that dumb?

People, wake up
Figure it out
Religious fanatics
Around and about
The Court House, The State House,
The Congress, The White House

Criminal saints
With a "Heavenly Mission" -
A nation enraptured
By pure superstition

Do you believe in the Invisible Army?
(Yes, indeed!)

When the lie's so big
And the fog so thick
And the facts kept forgotten
Then the Republican Trick
(Ketchup is a vegetable!)
Can be played out again
People, please tell me when
We'll be rid of these men!"



Dave

I'm a Capitalist who would like to see America get back to constitutional principles too. I just believe the Republican Party and its brainwashed sycophants are the absolute WORST people to lead us there. The only that could POSSIBLY be worse for the constitution than the Democratic Party is the GOP.

Dave

I turned on FoxNews the other day, just to see if they were still at it. Yep, of course they are. Constantly bitching about the "mainstream media" as if they aren't a part of it.:confused: And, of course anyone who doesn't agree with them is either lying, or hates and/or is out to destroy America, blah, blah, blah......................

When in the hell are you going to learn to see through all of this bullshit?

Dave

Fox news is basically the same thing as the Telescreen was in Orwell's 1984.

At work, the facility manager hung a screen in the breakroom permanently tuned to FoxNews. People complained, until he changed the channel. It only lasted a day and it was changed back. Anyhow, the arguing and bickering kept up until someone broke into the cabinet and sabotaged the damn thing. Finally, the plant manager told him to just take it down and forget about it.

This guys determination to keep the t.v. up and tuned to Fox was, at first, amusing.
But, at the final stage of his insanity, he showed a face that made some of us wonder if we were going to end up as breaking news in the "Situation Room".............. It's no wonder some people act as if having Obama in the Whitehouse is the end of the world, if they truly are as eaten up with rightwing propaganda as that guy.

Dave

It is truly scary how zombified vlunerable people can become from that stuff.

We are all subject to being manipulated.

I'm no exception.

I consider myself an extreme skeptic who keeps his guard up all the time, and I still occasionally get burned.

We are constantly being bombarded by potential manipulators.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiDMlFycNrw

It ain't just Fox that is the telescreen. Fox is just sort of blatant about it. They gain a lot more than they lose by being blatant, it seems, for the portion of the population they work on....

This is true.

I think what makes it so bad these days is that the Psychology of advertising is now applied to presenting the news.

It's blatant to you and I, Don. To some people it's gospel. It's where they go for the "truth". :eek:

Dave

I think, had he lived, he would have ventured into politics.

Maybe, but as an Independent. (Read the quote, he mentions this.) He lampooned Democrats.....listen to "Rhymin' Man"..... but utterly trashed Republicans.

Dave

More lyrics, "Harry as a Boy"

Rhonda:
Harry! harry, is that you as a boy?

Harry:
Why, it must be! he's so charming and sweet and likeable!

Thing-fish:
Harry-as-a-boy, c'mon over 'n say a few words to de nice peoples!

Harry-as-a-boy:
Hi, folks! nice to be here!

Thing-fish:
I's sure dere be lotsa folks like to know what yo' plans are...how y'intend t'be gwine about dis uncredibly serious bidniss o' growin' up in ermerica!

Harry-as-a-boy:
Well, I plan on making a few mistakes, having my heart broken and so forth, using all kinds of drugs, and turning gay as soon as possible in order to accelerate my rise to the 'top of the heap'.

Thing-fish:
Ahh! tremenjous, harry-as-a-boy, simply tre- menjous! you practicin' up fo it wit anybody in po-ticlar now?

Harry-as-a-boy:
I can't afford to study with anyone yet, since the bulk of my allowance goes for glue and grateful dead tickets, but soon I hope to be on my knees in a real homo bath house...maybe when my folks
N vacation.

Thing-fish:
Ain't you de clever one! tell us, harry-as-a-boy, howdja recide upon dis heah life-style bein' de one fo you?

Harry-as-a-boy:
It was pretty simple, really. I lost all desire for intercourse with females when they started carrying those briefcases and wearing suits 'n ties.

Rhonda:
What?

Harry-as-a-boy:
Let's face it: that would be like fucking a slightly more voluptuous version of somebody's father! I'm far too sensitive for such a traumatic experience!

Thing-fish:
You means de womens' libromation movenint done created de uncontrollable urgement to play dingle-dangle-dingle wit de personal requipment of yo own gender?

Harry-as-a-boy:
To a degree...i mean...look, I'm not stupid! I know it's all a thoroughly workable government- sponsored program to control the population explosion, and, just like every other american, I'm too
Erned with my own personal health and well being to think of devoting any of my precious time to something as boring as 'reproduction'!

Rhonda:
Harry, I used to think you were merely an over- educated shit-head, but now that I finally have proof, it's going to give me great pleasure to refer to you as an over-educated cocksucker!

Harry:
Well, to be honest with you, dearest, I sort of ...gulp, gulp...

Rhonda:
Where's the fairies on a string, harry? huh? riddle me this!

Thing-fish:
Easy there, white folks! I told y'all'd be get- tin' yo' fairies after while, 'n y'know dat sort o' thing take a little time to woik up to in yo' broadway sitchyatium! mammys step faw'd 'n hep d
' cocksucker out!

"I'm interested in the capitalistic way of life, and the reason I like it better than anything else I've seen so far is because competition produces results." - Frank Zappa

call any vegatable

Right.

But listen to the album "Broadway the Hard Way" (1988), Was.:rolleyes:

".....seriously, Ollie (North), you're a dick. Seriously Ron (Reagan), you're a dick. George (Daddy Bush), you're a dick too......"

Dave

From a previous post;

"When the lies get so big
And the fog gets so thick
And the facts disappear
The Republican Trick
Can be played out again
People, please tell me when
We'll be rid of these men!"

Dave

Trying to claim him as a staunch Republican or Democrat is silly. He was smarter than that.

Dave

That, and I think you need to read post #18 again.

He's lampooning the absurd notion that "Womens Liberation" causes men to become homosexuals.

"Easy there, white folks! I told y'all'd be get- tin' yo' fairies after while, 'n y'know dat sort o' thing take a little time to woik up to in yo' broadway sitchyatium! mammys step faw'd 'n hep d
' cocksucker out!"


Dave

Oh I understand the context Dave. Frank was nearly always being sarcastic and satirical in his lyrics.
And he had no time for the red or blue team. In fact, he would have declared sites such as this one to be a big exercise in mental masturbation, where we continuously growl back and forth about which party is at fault when we know deep down that neither side is worth a damn.
He fought galantly against censorship as it was an issue that effected his craft. It was Tipper Gore and a bunch of her ilk that he sparred with.

Oh really? ...and why is it that you frequent this joint? :rolleyes:

Well, to be quite frank, I'm not quite Frank.

Smokin' that Tundra bud tonite, eh?:cool:

Kirkland Vodka.
Bonus- you'd be hard pressed to find a better liquor bottle to use as a billyclub.

Absolut here. You shop at commie Costco? What will the neighbors say?:p:D

We all shop at Costco, especially those who live out in the bush. There's a big chunk of the store in Anchorage dedicated to bush orders, where they kit up the orders in shopping carts with name/village tags. The bush pilots then come in and pick up as many orders as they can carry and fly out. Villagers pay the pot by the pound, usually. This is how many fledgling aviators pay for their planes.

Gotta give those bush pilots their due. It's not for the faint of heart. Gramps flew the mail for FDR following the iron rail compass (RR tracks) out to Salt Lake City from LA. You had to know where the tunnels were. He also taught H.H. how to fly sea planes when he was flying the Catalina run. That was before Hughs flew the Spruce Goose in LA harbor.

It is mental masturbation, but at least it doesn't load up my computer with viruses or leave the keys all sticky the way those European porn sites do........:p

Dave

I have a pretty great wife. Mental masturbation is the only kind I need anymore.

Uhhhhh.................

BAM?

:o

Dave

Frank knew the difference between an economic system he liked and political parties he hated.

My signature at AudioKarma:

"Zappa is the best."

My AK Secret Santa sent me, 'The Real Frank Zappa Book' by Frank. Looking forward to reading it and rounding out my education.

Frank Zappa,Another Real deal in life.Damn shame people ain't really appreciated till after they are gone and missed.but he got a good taste of people that loved him in the end.Just 2 Jimi and There are others like Miles but just those 2 alone ,whereever they are have got to be blowing the roof straight offa werever they are gigging.