Difference between revisions of "United States of America"

Latest revision as of 14:53, 21 August 2026

Frank Zappa dressed up as Uncle Sam for a 1988 publicity shoot to promote voting in the presidential elections.

Jan Donkers: "Your friend Captain Beefheart says he comes from Mars, where do you come from?"
Frank Zappa: "Well, I don't want you to hold it against me, but I come from the United States".

- Frank Zappa, Introducing...The Mothers, 1970.

While Zappa was born and raised in the United States he was often critical of the American government, its foreign policy, organized religion, media, corporations and the consumer culture.

Track and album references to America

200 Years Old: (Pennsylvania mentioned)
Agency Man: "Let's try California..."
America Drinks
America Drinks & Goes Home
Amnerika
Be In My Video (satire of MTV)
The Beltway Bandits
Billy The Mountain
Bobby Brown Goes Down "Oh God, oh God, I'm the American dream!"
Broadway The Hard Way
Brown Shoes Don't Make It: "I'd like her do a nasty/on the White House lawn."
Camarillo Brillo "... and every newt in Idaho" (...) "by the bush in Buffalo"
A Chance Encounter In Cincinnati
Cheepnis: "Then I watched a movie from Hollywood..."
Cocaine Decisions
Concentration Moon: "American way/how did it start? Thousands of creeps killed in the park..."
Conehead
Debra Kadabra "Just across East L.A."
Dental Hygiene Dilemma: (...) a rancid motel in Orlando, Florida, with the highest MILDEW rating of any commercial lodging facility within the territorial limits of the United States"
Dickie's Such An Asshole (about Richard Nixon)
Do Not Pass Go (from the American board game "Monopoly")
Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague: "Going to El Monte Legion Stadium"
Dumb All Over
Elvis Has Just Left The Building
Emperor Of Ohio
Fembot in A Wet T-Shirt Nite: "And Mary is the kind of red-blooded American girl who'll do anything..."
Flakes: "California's got the most of them." (...) "All what we got here is American made."
The Florida Airport Tape
Flower Punk: "I'm going up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band." (...) The youth in America today is so wonderful."
Food Gathering In Post-Industrial America
God Bless America
H.R. 2911
Harry-As-A-Boy: "just like every other American, I'm too concerned with my own personal health and well-being to think of devoting any of my precious time to something as boring as reproduction!"
Harry You're A Beast: "That's you, American womanhood."
Heavenly Bank Account
Hotel Atlanta Incidentals
Hungry Freaks Daddy: "Mr. America walk on by..."
I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
The Idiot Bastard Son: "The father's a Nazi in Congress today/The mother's a hooker somewhere in L.A."
If We'd All Been Living In California...
It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary
It Can't Happen Here: "Who could imagine that they would freak out in Minnesota (...), Kansas, (...) Washington D.C.?"
It Has Just Been Passed… is about a ridiculous law in Arizona.
It's From Kansas
The Jazz Discharge Party Hats: "Once upon a time, it was in Albuquerque, New Mexico" (...) (We were in Albuquerque for a couple of days) (...) Anyway... We're in Albuquerque, New Mexico..."
JCB & Kansas On The Bus 1
JCB & Kansas On The Bus 2
Rhymin' Man (about Jesse Jackson)
Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk
Jim & Tammy's Upper Room
Just Another Band From L.A.
Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit: "A famous criminal from right around Chicago".
Let's Make The Water Turn Black: "Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares"
Let's Move To Cleveland
Lonesome Cowboy Burt "All my family from down in Texas", and "Come out here to Californy"
Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version): "I'm from Louisiana, I make lots of money, but I fucked up and committed a sin."
Love Story (about an old Republican couple)
The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival
The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
Montana
More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)
Mudd Club
Nig Biz
Orrin Hatch On Skis
Outrage At Valdez
Penguin In Bondage (Swaggart Version)
Plastic People: "Ladies and gentlemen: the President of the United States!" (...) "My fellow Americans""
Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead (about the 200th birthday of the U.S.A.)
Porn Wars
Porn Wars Deluxe
Promiscuous (about C. Everett Koop)
The Radio Is Broken
Reagan At Bitburg
Redneck Eats
Republicans
The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet: "America's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... it really makes it!"
Ride My Face To Chicago
Road Ladies: "I remember there was one time in Minneapolis..."
San Ber'dino
Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-From-Hollywood Overture
Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch: "America's polluted waters"
Soft-Sell Conclusion: "Worshipping together in the church of your dreams. Only in America!"
Star Wars Won't Work
Stevie's Spanking
Strictly Genteel: "A disaster area the size of Atlantic City, New Jersey."
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Theme From "Bonanza"
This Ain't CNN
Times Beach
Tinseltown Rebellion
Trouble Every Day: was inspired by the Watts riots
Truck Driver Divorce
The Untouchables
Valley Girl (about girls from the San Fernando Valley)
Village Of The Sun
The Voice Of Cheese: "Hello teenage America!"
Welcome To The United States
Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?
What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are? (Broadway the Hard Way version): "I got the most sanctified johnson in all Louisiana!"
What's New In Baltimore?
When The Lie's So Big
When Yuppies Go To Hell
Whiskey Gone Behind (The Sun): "I'm goin' down in Louisiana".
Who Needs The Peace Corps?: "Go to San Francisco"
Why Don't You Like Me? (about Michael Jackson)
Willie The Pimp ("standing on the porch of the Lido Hotel")
Would You Go All The Way? (for the U.S.A.?)

Various characters associated with the U.S.A. can be seen in You Are What You Is (The Music Video), including President Reagan, a Ku Klux Klan member and a Playboy Bunny
Clean American Version, a text that can also be seen on the artwork for Absolutely Free
The M.O.I. American Pageant is the name of side two of Absolutely Free (track 10-15 on the CD version)
Zappa often used the moniker "American composer" to describe himself in the most straightforward way.

US States

Category:U.S. States

Cities

Other locations

125th
Boney's Market
Broadway
Cafe au-Go-Go
Canal
Canoga Park
Canter's Deli
Cheviot Hills
Edwards Air Force Base
El Monte Legion Stadium
Fillmore East
Fillmore West
The Freak Out! Hot Spots (where all 69 locations are American)
Freak 2: Hot Spots
Garrick Theatre
Granada Hills
Greenwich Village
Hollywood Boulevard
Huntingpark
Irwindale
Jai Alai Fronton
Lankershim Boulevard
Laurel Canyon
Lincoln Center
Mojave Desert
Orange County
Pal Studio
Park Avenue
Pauley Pavilion
Playa del Rey
Royce Hall
San Fernando Valley
San Joaquin Valley
Shrine Exposition Hall
Sunset Boulevard
Uptown Hall
Wall Street
White Street
Category:Clubs And Bars
Category:Radio Stations
Category:Recording Studios
Category:Schools & Colleges

References to American institutions and brands

American Civil Liberties Union
American Medical Association
Barbie, Ken and Cindy
Boston Globe Jazz Festival
Capitol Records
Central Intelligence Agency
CNN
Department of Defense
Dodge
DownBeat
The FBI
Guitar Player Magazine
Hustler
The I.R.S.
Jack Daniels
L.A.P.D.
Life (magazine)
Look
Los Angeles Free Press
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Lucky Strike
MGM Records
MTV
Miami Pop Festival
Mormons
NBC
The New York Times
Newport Jazz Festival
Oldsmobile
PTA
Parents Music Resource Center
Pepsi Cola
Playboy
Playgirl
The President
Record World
Relix
Rolling Stone
Statue Of Liberty
Stereo Review
Studebaker Hawk
The U.S.O.
Uncle Ben's Rice
Village Voice
Wall Street Journal
Warner Brothers
The Washington Post
The White House
Ronald McDonald is mentioned in Packard Goose

Composers and conductors

Hip hop Musicians

Blues singers

Category:Blues singers

Doo-wop and R&B singers

Category: Doo-wop and R&B Artists

Jazz Composers

Category:Jazz Composers

Rock, Folk and Pop Artists

? and the Mysterians
The Allman Brothers Band
Trey Anastasio
Joan Baez
The Basooties
The Beach Boys
Chuck Berry
Jello Biafra
Black Oak Arkansas
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Pat Boone
Tim Buckley
The Byrds
John Cale
Captain Beefheart
Richard Carpenter
Les Claypool
Kurt Cobain
Alice Cooper
David Crosby
Christopher Cross
John Denver
Devo
Disco Biscuits
Dog Eat Dog
Dream Theater
Bob Dylan
The Feederz
Wild Man Fischer
Jon Fishman
Flo & Eddie
John Frusciante
The Fugs
Bill Graham (1931 – 1991) was a prominent rock concert promoter, who flourished from the 1960s until his death. He operated the Fillmore Venues.
Grand Funk Railroad
Grateful Dead
Bill Haley & His Comets
Don "Sugarcane" Harris
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jimi Hendrix
Chrissie Hynde
Michael Jackson
Ron Jarzombek
Jefferson Airplane
Janis Joplin
The Leaves
Little Richard
Living in a Box
Love (The Band)
Gary Lucas
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Madonna
The Mars Volta
Punky Meadows
Moe.
The Monkees
Jim Morrison
Ted Nugent
The Osmonds
Elvis Presley
Prince
Helen Reddy
Lou Reed
The Residents
Neil Sedaka
The Seeds
The Shaggs
Ron Simasek
Gene Simmons
Simon & Garfunkel
Nancy Sinatra
Slash
Grace Slick
Sonny & Cher
Bruce Springsteen
Steely Dan
Suburban Lawns
System of a Down
Telesma
David Thomas
Tiny Tim
The Tubes
Twisted Sister
Umphrey's McGee
Eddie Van Halen
Vanilla Fudge
The Velvet Underground
Frank Vignola
Tom Waits
Walk the Moon
Johnny Winter
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Yonder Mountain String Band

American Zappa cover bands

Category:American Tributes & Cover Bands

Writers

Comedians and TV Presenters

Politics, Religion and Business

Criminals

Fictional characters and associated media

Beavis and Butt-head
Conehead
Donald Duck
Duckman
Sgt. Fury
Hunchentoot: "He's a COMMUNIST, you dip-shit! It's your DUTY as an AMERICAN to release me so I can rid the universe of this stinking son-of-a-bitch."
King Kong
Life in Hell
Little Orphan Annie
Raggedy Ann
Ren And Stimpy
Santa Claus
The Simpsons
Superman
Uncle Remus

Scientists

Carl Sagan

Painters

Andy Warhol

Bandmembers, Supporting Cast, Family Members and Other

Note: Most of the people listed here are or were Americans and therefore would be too numerous to list each one of them indvidually on this page. Occasionally some of them might be born in another country:

Miscellaneous

Frank Zappa about the United States

"Remember: dumbness is the American way. Dumbness has created more progress for this country – just from people saying, Well, I really don't know what's going on here, but let's try this. And then they come up with something great. The best example of that is Thomas Edison. You know about the filament in the electric light bulb, don't you? He'd tried everything until he finally said, I'd be willing to try a piece of dental floss with some cheese on it if I thought it would work."- Frank Zappa in Garni Du Jour, Lizard King Poetry And Slime, interview by Tim Schneckloth, Down Beat, 1978.

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 * [[Let's Make The Water Turn Black]]: "Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares"
 * [[Let's Move To Cleveland]]
-* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt]]  "All my family from down in Texas" and "Come out here to Californy"
+* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt]]  "All my family from down in Texas", and "Come out here to Californy"
-* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)]]
+* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)]]: "I'm from Louisiana, I make lots of money, but I fucked up and committed a sin."
 * [[Love Story]]  (about an old Republican couple)
 * [[The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival]]
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 * [[Welcome To The United States]]
 * [[Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?]]
+* ''[[What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?]]'' (''[[Broadway the Hard Way]]'' version): ''"I got the most sanctified johnson in all Louisiana!"''
 * [[What's New In Baltimore?]]
 * [[When The Lie's So Big]]
 * [[When Yuppies Go To Hell]]
+* ''[[Whiskey Gone Behind (The Sun)]]'': ''"I'm goin' down in [[Louisiana]]"''.
 * [[Who Needs The Peace Corps?]]: "Go to [[San Francisco]]"
 * [[Why Don't You Like Me?]]  (about [[Michael Jackson]])