Did Frank Zappa suffer from Proto- Trump Derangement Syndrome? -

[8777BB5]

We all know the celebrities who went A.W.O.L when Trump was elected, but something not a lot of people talk about are that there were some celebrities who went A.W.O.L when Ronald Reagan was elected back in the eighties. I've always felt that Frank Zappa suffered from Reagan Derangement Syndrome in much the same way someone like Chuck Wending suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. While Zappa had good reason to be wary of some of the people in Reagan's circle (like the idiots behind the parents music resource center (PMRC)) he let his hatred of Reagan get in the way of his intelligence, which resulted in crap like Tinseltown Rebellion, The Man from Utopia, and the infamous Thing-Fish. The only good songs from this period are Valley Girl and He's So Gay, both of which are only good in the same way Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road and Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer and are certainly not as good as his prior material.

Edited because I was thinking of the parody organization from The Elephant and the Computer

 

[skiddlez]

Parents Rights Music Council

lmfao did you mean the parents music resource center (PMRC)?

 

[8777BB5]

lmfao did you mean the parents music resource center (PMRC)?

Yes that's what I meant

 

[Pozzingmyfilthyneghole]

Zappa trusted the government, then his dick glowed in the dark, and then he died of cancer.

 

[Islamic Creampie]

I don't doubt he would have went absolutely out of his Goddamn mind over Trump. I'm sure I watched some interview from the 80's where he believed the government then was on the road to facism.

Zappa certainly didn't need targets like Reagan to write bad music. He's released tons of shit. The guy was way too self aware for his own good, especially in regards to his comedy. He always came across as holier than thou.

 

[Tranhuviya]

Because the War on Drugs and Star Wars were good use of taxpayer dollars, amirite? Reagan was the sort of president whose jokes could put the world on the brink of nuclear war. I don't think being worried about him was a bad thing.

 

[Pozzingmyfilthyneghole]

Frank Zappa would have made a great POTUS with Ross Perot as his Vice President.

 

[Y2K Baby]

Because the War on Drugs and Star Wars were good use of taxpayer dollars, amirite? Reagan was the sort of president whose jokes could put the world on the brink of nuclear war. I don't think being worried about him was a bad thing.

Reagan was epic, libtard.

 

[AF 802]

OP smells of being a JIDF shill.

 

[The Shadow]

The funny part is that the PMRC was fronted by none other than notable non-Republican Al Gore's wife.

 

[GreenJacket]

Ronald Drumpfgan is Hitlerally oramge.

 

[RichardMongler]

God only knows, but I doubt Zappa would've taken a liking to Trump. He was contemptuous of authority figures in general. For those concerned if Zappa would be a flaming shitlib, he would've been a big-brained Libertarian. For what it's worth, he was an ardent defender of free speech. As a guest on CNN's Crossfire, Zappa's opening line says it all, "We're talking about words. I don't believe there's any word that needs to be suppressed."

A decent swath of leftists I know hate Frank Zappa, especially on account of his racially insensitive comedy albums from the '70s and '80s. It's refreshing to hear something like this.

 

[dopy]

he was an extremely talented and productive les claypool

 

[XYZpdq]

Yeah I'd like to chalk Zappa up as hating all presidents of all flavors rather than any particular one.

And he had magic powers from radioactive shit shoved up his nose like any good superhero so I can't hate on him.

 

[Dutch Courage]

Zappa on numerous occasions identified himself as a conservative, but I'd say he was more of a civil libertarian with a social liberal streak. He believed in capitalism, was not a fan of the commies, was a non-drug user who believed drugs should be legal (although he kicked people out of his band for drugs too). He believed in a meritocracy. Those jibe with a conservative-to-libertarian worldview. Lyrics aside, he was not known to be intolerant of gays, women, or minorities, even if he wasn't a social rights crusader. He probably was more on the liberal side of the social spectrum, despite any personal sexist impulses.

His biggest issue was censorship, and he was vocally and famously against it. Self-interest was partially behind his stance, since his own records were targeted. However, when he spoke on the matter, he was usually a lot more articulate and substantial in his thoughts than he would be on other issues. His fights with the PMRC were well-fought, and they mainly followed a libertarian course.

If he were alive today, he would be 78. At that age, you don't do much rabble rousing, and he was never really a rabble rousing type. What would he have thought of President Trump? I strongly suspect he would have been turned off by a lot of elements associated with the administration. I also highly doubt Hillary would have been his cup of tea either, and he strikes me as a type who would not have cast a vote for her to be an anti-Trump vote. He probably would have voted for a third party candidate, and focused on whatever music he had left in him.

He really was just a musician more than anything else; his acolytes paint him as a deep thinker, but while he was intelligent and articulate and often very witty, I wouldn't call him especially deep or philosophical. He wasn't an activist in the 60's, and I doubt he would have been one now. He was mostly just a guitar player, arranger, and conductor who stayed out of the political fray of the 60's and 70's, but had to step in when music was targeted.

 

[Winnie the Poohnani]

He was capable of trolling just about anyone, left or right. Bobby Brown ruffled a lot of feathers on the left, and was called homophobic and misogynistic at the time it was released, though he was satirizing the fratboy mentality. But he was also capable of throwing in casual homo jokes that seemed to mock the very idea of being gay -- I'm thinking of Broken Hearts Are For Assholes, with its "Ram it, ram it, ram it, ram it up your poop chute (Fist fuck! Wristwatch! Crisco!)". Whether he was actually anti-gay, who knows.

He hated and mocked authority, but he also mocked everyone. He did not suffer fools gladly, and I think he considered everyone other than FZ to be a fool; he did not play well with others. His statements at the neo-puritan PMRC hearings made me proud as hell of him tho.

I've read that he hated lyrics anyway, and would rather not have had them in his music, preferring instrumentals. So that might account for some of his more puerile stuff. As well as the in-jokes and the jokes that should have been a one-liner but went on for far too long (Illinois Enema Bandit).

 

[Samuel Belmont]

 

[_blank_]

Pretty sure Frank Zappa would've hated just about everything in 2018. He warned us about the shit that popular has become in "Joe's Garage" and he warned us about identity politics in "You Are What You Is."

In regards to Trump, he would've been laughing his ass off for a day at how fucked up the whole situation before going back to hating politicians in general.

Shit, just imagining what Zappa would've done with a Twitter account is staggering. I mean, in the 12 hours he would've had it before he was suspended.

 

[Stoneheart]

Pretty sure Frank Zappa would've hated just about everything in 2018. He warned us about the shit that popular has become in "Joe's Garage" and he warned us about identity politics in "You Are What You Is."

In regards to Trump, he would've been laughing his ass off for a day at how fucked up the whole situation before going back to hating politicians in general.

Shit, just imagining what Zappa would've done with a Twitter account is staggering. I mean, in the 12 hours he would've had it before he was suspended.

He also tore that bitch Tipper Gore a new one in front of the senate.

He would have been VP in 2008 with Ron Paul as President.

 

[frozenrunner]

This thread has increased my opinion of both Frank Zappa and Bobby Brown.