Two of Frank Zappa’s Political Moments
Frank Zappa performing (commons.wikimedia.org)
Frank Zappa’s music relied heavy on its usage of political themes. From his work with the Mothers of Invention to his later work released under his name, Zappa used his music as an outlet for his political views, especially during Nixon’s presidency when the Watergate story broke.
Today, President Donald Trump is a tremendously controversial figure, and many parallels have been drawn between Watergate and the Mueller investigation. Below are two songs written by Frank Zappa that echo themes of dissent. Listen to them below.
- Mothers of Invention: “King Kong (Live 1968)”
Frank Zappa spoke before this performance on politics, and the dangers apolitical citizens pose to American society. Young people are historically apolitical, yet today young voters are having an unprecedented effect on the outcomes of elections.
“We are involved in a sort of low key war against apathy, I don’t know how you are doing in apathy over there but over here we have a lot of it boys and girls. A lot of what we do is designed to annoy people to the point where they might, just for a second, question enough of their environment to do something about it” said Zappa.
2. Frank Zappa: “Dickie’s Such an Asshole (Live 1973)”
Zappa speaks on Nixon’s controversial presidency in this song. The public was very frustrated during Nixon’s presidency when the Watergate story broke, and today similar opinions are being voiced regarding the Trump administrations scandal involving alleged collusion with the Russian Government.
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