Recorded August 25, 1985, here’s yet another classic Zappa TV appearance that takes us back to the days of the PMRC and “porn rock”. Part one consists mostly of introductory stuff, so let’s skip right to part two:
…part three, part four (yes, there are four parts!)
Not bad, indeed it happens to be a very political discussion, ie about the kind of society you want to live in. A basic choice for all of us.
Democracy at work, at its best.
And good to see that FZ participated in this. He argued, did not offend the other party.
As for me ,after all those yeras in politics ( study centers, etc.) : what I truly dislike the most ( for society & my own children) is fanatics. Nationalists ( people believing that they’re better than the others), the extreme right ( the same + excluding all the others), in US religious fanatics.
OK, porn. Let’s focus on porn.
Nothing more porn than bird songs.
Male birds jst defend their territory against other males. That’s why they start singing.
How to transcribe that into something human, human scores, for intance for piano?
It’s
http://www.oliviermessiaen.org/birdsongs.html
The very first album I ever encountered with a warning label was Marianne Faithfull’s “Broken English.” I bought it for exactly that reason (great advertising, huh?). It also wound up being an excellent album, particularly the song for which the warning label was issued, ‘Why D’ya Do It’.
Frank was correct in his assessment that American children do not read. Neither do Canadian children for the most part. We are living in a post-literate age where all of our information is gathered in fewer and fewer places (and more easily manipulated that way) by design. As a parent, the best thing I ever did was give my son the freedom to explore his world, and affect it as he sees fit to do so. It’s only an ignorant population that is made docile by poor information. In this day and age, it’s up to the individual to educate him or herself because neither the state or the school system will do it for you. If your parent is an idiot, you’ll probably be an idiot, too. One thing FZ and I have in common, though, is by being raised Roman Catholic, we were both relatively “mind-fucked” by the age of ten. Is it such a surprise how he turned out?
@bernard: You are so right: “OK, porn. Let’s focus on porn.”
bernard, you need to read more porn. You, too, Roland. To suggest that there is nothing more porn than bird songs is simplistic at best. Porn is as complicated a human domain as any other, including music. Stretch those synapses, guys.
I could listen to FZ confront these idiots all day long. His knowledge and debating skills were far superior to any he ever faced. Thank goodness for Frank during this time. Just think how badly someone like Keith Richards would have handled this situation.
(disclaimer: I love the Stones . . . sorry Keith!)
[quote post=”47″]Keith Richards would have handled this situation.[/quote]
Or Ozzy…
(Disclaimer: I’ve been a closet fan since Sabbath…sorry Ozzie!)
And I too loved when FZ skewered the nincompoops on those “debate” shows – he was soooooo superior.
I saw him lose his temper a bit on Nightline, tho – around the same time as this one (I think, same topic anyway). Most times with Frank, he not only wanted to debate the topic, but make his opponents SEE that they were full of shit…
The guy on Nightline deserved it! Mr. Z stated it best in his tune “What’s the ugliest part of your body?”—I think it’s your mind!!
[quote comment=”418″]I could listen to FZ confront these idiots all day long. His knowledge and debating skills were far superior to any he ever faced. Thank goodness for Frank during this time. Just think how badly someone like Keith Richards would have handled this situation.
(disclaimer: I love the Stones . . . sorry Keith!)[/quote]
Keith Richards would’ve leaned back in his chair, lit another in an endless chain of cigarettes, chuckled a few times, claimed how he and Mick invented modern Rock ‘n Roll, then would’ve tried to pick up the woman to his left (it didn’t matter who, by the 80s, Keith’s standards had already fallen pretty low).
Keith’s a great rocker, and the Stones will always have a place in my collection, but compared to FZ, KR is more a mental midget than FZ’s debating partner (must be all the smack, yes that must be it).[quote comment=”421″][quote post=”47″]Keith Richards would have handled this situation.[/quote]
Or Ozzy…
(Disclaimer: I’ve been a closet fan since Sabbath…sorry Ozzie!)
And I too loved when FZ skewered the nincompoops on those “debate” shows – he was soooooo superior.
I saw him lose his temper a bit on Nightline, tho – around the same time as this one (I think, same topic anyway). Most times with Frank, he not only wanted to debate the topic, but make his opponents SEE that they were full of shit…[/quote]
It’s really not surprising that FZ lost his temper a few times. The entire debate was set up with Frank’s point of view already at a disadvantage: he was a musician (strange person), wasn’t a born again Christian (bad bad boy, that Frank), didn’t share mainstream views of the day (save children at all costs, even if those costs are your own freedoms and liberty), and was a free-thinker (a real no-no in a culture that likes to tell you what to think and feel on a daily basis. He was constantly cut-off mid sentence, while his opponents were allowed to freely speak their say.
Yes, his opponents were full of shit, but how many actual viewers walked away from that debate thinking that FZ was the actual zealot, and the very person they must warn their children about?
[quote post=”47″]Yes, his opponents were full of shit, but how many actual viewers walked away from that debate thinking that FZ was the actual zealot, and the very person they must warn their children about?[/quote]
As they say in those commercials late at night “if we can save just one child(or born-again christian) it’s all worth it!” It is my belief that Frank cleared a few minds back then. At least I hope so.
[quote comment=”428″][quote post=”47″]Yes, his opponents were full of shit, but how many actual viewers walked away from that debate thinking that FZ was the actual zealot, and the very person they must warn their children about?[/quote]
As they say in those commercials late at night “if we can save just one child(or born-again christian) it’s all worth it!” It is my belief that Frank cleared a few minds back then. At least I hope so.[/quote]
Everything that Frank predicted back in the 80s has come to pass. Do you not agree that, in North America at least, people are living in a fascist theocracy? The constitution that he held so dear has really taken a beating in the last seven years. Did he “clear” some minds back then? Perhaps, a few. But not enough to change the course of events in his own lifetime.
One consolation, though. Since my son moved into his own apartment, my collection of Zappa bootlegs have been spreading like a virus from iPod to iPod, mp3 player to mp3 player throughout his building, freely shared. I like to think that somewhere in the cosmos, the psychic energy of FZ is smiling right now.
“Since my son moved into his own apartment, my collection of Zappa bootlegs have been spreading like a virus from iPod to iPod, mp3 player to mp3 player throughout his building, freely shared.”
Not nice urbangrafitto, I´m gonna tell FZ´s widow about it … 😉
[quote comment=”432″]”Since my son moved into his own apartment, my collection of Zappa bootlegs have been spreading like a virus from iPod to iPod, mp3 player to mp3 player throughout his building, freely shared.”
Not nice urbangrafitto, I´m gonna tell FZ´s widow about it … ;-)[/quote]
Go right ahead, Roland. Neither she, nor the zft has copyright on these recordings. What is she going to do? Sue me for infringing on her right to be a tight-assed, micro-managing control freak who doesn’t have one iota of understanding of copyright law? Bring it on, baby, bring it on.
@urbangraffito: Hey Hey, I was kidding my friend. Have you ever heard of stones and the “glasshouse effect”? 😉
In the future there is no kidding in the green or red zones…
[quote comment=”438″]@urbangraffito: Hey Hey, I was kidding my friend. Have you ever heard of stones and the “glasshouse effect”? ;-)[/quote]
I knew you were kidding, of course, Roland.
I, on the other hand, wasn’t kidding in the very least (my views of the trust are well known and well documented). I won’t be bullied into silence by fear or intimidation. Will you?
@urbangraffito: No, I won´t be bullied either. But I am disappointed of the whole situation. Many things have been said, lots of things were unqualified, but many things are oh so right about the ZFT. “To protect and to serve” – The money !
[quote post=”47″]Do you not agree that, in North America at least, people are living in a fascist theocracy?[/quote] Some, but not the majority. The fact that guys like Mitt Romney & Mike Huckabee were knocked out of the Presidental primaries proves this.
[quote post=”47″]The constitution that he held so dear has really taken a beating in the last seven years. Did he “clear” some minds back then? Perhaps, a few. But not enough to change the course of events in his own lifetime.[/quote]
Every time I turn on CNN I wish Frank were still alive. I’m sure by now, he’d have the TV show he always wanted. Who do we have now? Bill Maher on HBO?