Difference between revisions of "United States of America"

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Frank Zappa was born in [[Baltimore]], U.S., but later moved to the [[Mojave Desert]].
+
__NOTOC__
  
In his work Zappa was very critical of his home country, especially the American government, its foreign policy, organized religion, media, advertisement corporations and the consumer culture. This is one of the reasons why his music was far more popular in [[Europe]].
+
[[File:Zappa Uncle Sam.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Frank Zappa dressed up as Uncle Sam for a 1988 publicity shoot to promote voting in the presidential elections.]]
  
Despite his criticisms Zappa didn't hate his country.  
+
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.
 
 
==Locations==
 
* [[Washington DC]]
 
* [[New York]]
 
* [[Chicago]]
 
* [[Mojave Desert]]
 
* [[Baltimore]]
 
* [[California]]
 
* [[Glendale]]
 
* [[Cucamonga]]
 
* [[Garrick Theatre]]
 
* [[Pal Studio]]
 
* [[Granada Hall]]
 
* [[Sunset Strip]]
 
* [[Haight-Ashbury]]
 
* [[Lincoln Center]]
 
* [[San Francisco]]
 
* [[Los Angeles]]
 
* [[Boston]]
 
* [[Hollywood]]
 
* [[Hollywood Boulevard]]
 
* [[Miami]]
 
* [[Alaska]]
 
* [[Fillmore East]]
 
* [[Fillmore West]]
 
* [[Wyoming]]
 
  
 
==Track and album references to America==
 
==Track and album references to America==
 
+
* [[200 Years Old]]: (Pennsylvania mentioned)
* [[Hungry Freaks Daddy]]
+
* [[Agency Man]]: "Let's try California..."
* [[Trouble Every Day]]: was inspired by the [[Watts Riots]]
 
* [[It Can't Happen Here]]: "Who could imagine that they would freak out in [[Minnesota]] (...), [[Kansas]], (...) Washington D.C.
 
* [[The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet]]: "America's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... it really makes it!"
 
* [[Plastic People]]
 
 
* [[America Drinks]]
 
* [[America Drinks]]
* [[Soft-Sell Conclusion]]: "Worshipping together in the church of your dreams. Only in America!"
 
* [[Brown Shoes Don't Make It]]
 
 
* [[America Drinks & Goes Home]]
 
* [[America Drinks & Goes Home]]
* [[Who Needs The Peace Corps?]]: "Go to [[San Francisco]]"
+
* [[Amnerika]]
* [[Concentration Moon]]: "American way/how did it start? Thousands of creeps killed in the park..."
+
* [[Be In My Video]] (satire of [[MTV]])
* [[Harry You're A Beast]]: "That's you, American womanhood."
+
* [[The Beltway Bandits]]
* [[Flower Punk]]: "I'm going up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band." (...) The youth in America today is so wonderful."
 
* [[Let's Make The Water Turn Black]]: "Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares"
 
* [[The Idiot Bastard Son]]: "The father's a Nazi in Congress today/The mother's a hooker somewhere in L.A."
 
* [[It's From Kansas]]
 
* [[The Voice Of Cheese]]: "Hello teenage America!"
 
* [[Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague]]: "Going to El Monte, legion stadium"
 
* [[God Bless America]]
 
* [[If We'd All Been Living In California...]]
 
* [[Willie The Pimp]] ("standing on the porch of the Lido Hotel")
 
* [[Road Ladies]]: "I remember there was one time in Minneapolis..."
 
* [[Would You Go All The Way?]] (for the U.S.A.?)
 
* [[Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-From-Hollywood Overture]]
 
* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt]]  "I'm from Texas"
 
* [[Redneck Eats]]
 
* [[Just Another Band From L.A.]]
 
 
* [[Billy The Mountain]]
 
* [[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"
 
* [[Camarillo Brillo]]  "... and every newt in Idaho" (...) "by the bush in Buffalo"
* [[Montana]]
+
* [[A Chance Encounter In Cincinnati]]
* [[Village Of The Sun]]
 
 
* [[Cheepnis]]: "Then I watched a movie from [[Hollywood]]..."
 
* [[Cheepnis]]: "Then I watched a movie from [[Hollywood]]..."
* [[San Ber'dino]]
+
* [[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."  
 
* [[Debra Kadabra]] "Just across East L.A."  
* [[Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead]] (about the 200th birthday of the U.S.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"
* [[200 Years Old]]: (Pennsylvania mentioned)
+
* [[Dickie's Such An Asshole]] (about [[Richard Nixon]])
* [[Cucamonga]]
+
* [[Do Not Pass Go]] (from the American board game "Monopoly")
* [[Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit]]: "A famous criminal from right around Chicago".
+
* [[Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague]]: "Going to [[El Monte Legion Stadium]]"
* [[Flakes]]: "All what we got here is American made."
 
* [[Bobby Brown Goes Down]] "Oh God, oh God, I'm the American dream!"
 
* [[Tinsel Town Rebellion]]
 
* [[Conehead]]
 
* [[Mudd Club]]
 
* [[The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing]]
 
 
* [[Dumb All Over]]
 
* [[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]]
 
* [[Heavenly Bank Account]]
 +
* [[Hotel Atlanta Incidentals]]
 +
* [[Hungry Freaks, Daddy (1966 - Los Angeles)|Hungry Freaks Daddy]]: "Mr. America walk on by..."
 
* [[I Don't Wanna Get Drafted]]
 
* [[I Don't Wanna Get Drafted]]
* [[Valley Girl]]  (about girls from the San Fernando Valley)
+
* [[I Left My Heart In San Francisco]]
* [[Cocaine Decisions]]
+
* [[The Idiot Bastard Son]]: "The father's a Nazi in Congress today/The mother's a hooker somewhere in L.A."
* [[The Radio Is Broken]]
+
* [[If We'd All Been Living In California...]]
* [[Love Story]]  (about an old Republican couple)
 
* [[Truck Driver Divorce]]
 
* [[Stevie's Spanking]]
 
* [[Be In My Video]]  (satire of [[MTV]])
 
* [[What's New In Baltimore?]]
 
* [[Porn Wars]]
 
* [[H.R. 2911]]
 
* [[Let's Move To Cleveland]]
 
* [[The Beltway Bandits]]
 
* [[Republicans]]
 
* [[Do Not Pass Go]] (from the American board game "Monopoly")
 
* [[Jim & Tammy's Upper Room]]
 
* [[Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?]]
 
* [[Hotel Atlanta Incidentals]]
 
* [[Orrin Hatch On Skis]]
 
 
* [[It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary]]
 
* [[It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary]]
* [[The Florida Airport Tape]]
+
* [[It Can't Happen Here]]: "Who could imagine that they would freak out in [[wikipedia:Minnesota| Minnesota]] (...), [[wikipedia:Kansas| Kansas]], (...) [[wikipedia:Washington D.C.|Washington D.C.]]?"
* [[Broadway The Hard Way]]
+
* [[It Has Just Been Passed…]] is about a ridiculous law in Arizona.
* [[Elvis Has Just Left The Building]]
+
* [[It's From Kansas]]
* [[Dickie's Such An Asshole]]  (about [[Richard Nixon]])
+
* [[JCB & Kansas On The Bus 1]]
* [[When The Lie's So Big]]
+
* [[JCB & Kansas On The Bus 2]]
* [[Rhymin' Man]]  (about [[Jesse Jackson]])
+
* [[Rhymin' Man]]  (about [[Rhymin'_Man#Notes_About_This_Song|Jesse Jackson]])
* [[Promiscuous]] (about [[C. Everett Koop]])
 
* [[The Untouchables]]
 
* [[Why Don't You Like Me?]]  (about [[Michael Jackson (CC)]])
 
 
* [[Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk]]
 
* [[Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk]]
* [[Ride My Face To Chicago]]
+
* [[Jim & Tammy's Upper Room]]
* [[Nig Biz]]
+
* [[Just Another Band From L.A.]]
* [[I Left My Heart In San Francisco]]
+
* [[Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit]]: "A famous criminal from right around Chicago".
* [[Theme From "Bonanza"]]
+
* [[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)]]
 
* [[Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)]]
 +
* [[Love Story]]  (about an old Republican couple)
 +
* [[The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival]]
 +
* [[The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing]]
 +
* [[Montana]]
 
* [[More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)]]
 
* [[More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)]]
 +
* [[Mudd Club]]
 +
* [[Nig Biz]]
 +
* [[Orrin Hatch On Skis]]
 +
* [[Outrage At Valdez]]
 
* [[Penguin In Bondage (Swaggart Version)]]
 
* [[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]]
 
* [[Star Wars Won't Work]]
 +
* [[Stevie's Spanking]]
 +
* [[Strictly Genteel (The Track)|Strictly Genteel]]: "A disaster area the size of Atlantic City, New Jersey."
 
* [[Take Me Out To The Ball Game]]
 
* [[Take Me Out To The Ball Game]]
* [[JCB & Kansas On The Bus]]
+
* [[Theme From "Bonanza"]]
* [[The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival]]
+
* [[This Ain't CNN]]
* [[Emperor Of Ohio]]
 
* [[Agency Man]]: "Let's try California..."
 
* [[Outrage At Valdez]]
 
 
* [[Times Beach]]
 
* [[Times Beach]]
* [[Food Gathering In Post-Industrial America]]
+
* [[Tinseltown Rebellion]]
 +
* [[Trouble Every Day]]: was inspired by the [[wikipedia:Watts riots|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]]
 
* [[Welcome To The United States]]
* [[Reagan At Bitburg]]
+
* [[Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?]]
* [[Amnerika]]
+
* [[What's New In Baltimore?]]
* [[This Ain't CNN]]
+
* [[When The Lie's So Big]]
 +
* [[When Yuppies Go To Hell]]
 +
* [[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.
 +
 
 +
==Locations==
 +
* [[125th]]
 +
* [[Alabama]]
 +
* [[Baltimore]]
 +
* [[Boney's Market]]
 +
* [[Broadway]]
 +
* [[Cafe au-Go-Go]]
 +
* [[California]]
 +
* [[Canal]]
 +
* [[Fembot in A Wet T-Shirt Nite#Notes About This Song|Canoga Park]]
 +
* [[Canter's Deli]]
 +
* [[Cheviot Hills]]
 +
* [[Chicago]]
 +
* [[Cucamonga]]
 +
* [[Detroit]]
 +
* [[Downey]]
 +
* [[Edwards Air Force Base]]
 +
* [[El Monte Legion Stadium]]
 +
* [[Encino]]
 +
* [[Fillmore Venues|Fillmore East]]
 +
* [[Fillmore Venues|Fillmore West]]
 +
* The [[Freak Out! Hot Spots]]  (where all 69 locations are American)
 +
* [[Freak 2: Hot Spots]]
 +
* [[Fresno]]
 +
* [[Garrick Theatre]]
 +
* [[Georgia]]
 +
* [[Glendale]]
 +
* [[Glenoaks]]
 +
* [[Granada Hills]]
 +
* [[Greenwich Village]]
 +
* [[Hollywood]]
 +
* [[Hollywood Boulevard]]
 +
* [[Houston]]
 +
* [[Huntingpark]]
 +
* [[Irwindale]]
 +
* [[Jai Alai Fronton]]
 +
* [[Kansas]]
 +
* [[Lancaster]]
 +
* [[Langley]]
 +
* [[Lankershim Boulevard]]
 +
* [[Las Vegas]]
 +
* [[Laurel Canyon]]
 +
* [[Lincoln Center]]
 +
* [[Los Angeles]]
 +
* [[Massachusetts]]
 +
* [[Miami]]
 +
* [[Mojave Desert]]
 +
* [[Monterey]]
 +
* [[New Jersey]]
 +
* [[New York]]
 +
* [[Ontario]] (California)
 +
* [[Orange County]]
 +
* [[Pal Studio]]
 +
* [[Palmdale]]
 +
* [[Palo Alto]]
 +
* [[Park Avenue]]
 +
* [[Pauley Pavilion]]
 +
* [[Pennsylvania]]
 +
* [[Playa del Rey]]
 +
* [[Pomona]]
 +
* [[Reseda]]
 +
* [[Royce Hall]]
 +
* [[San Diego]]
 +
* [[San Fernando Valley]]
 +
* [[San Francisco]]
 +
* [[San Joaquin Valley]]
 +
* [[San Quentin]]
 +
* [[Santa Monica]]
 +
* [[Shrine Exposition Hall]]
 +
* [[Sun Village]]
 +
* [[Sunset Boulevard]]
 +
* [[Uptown Hall]]
 +
* [[Utah]]
 +
* [[Ventura]]
 +
* [[Virginia]]
 +
* [[Wall Street]]
 +
* [[Washington]]
 +
* [[Westchester]]
 +
* [[White Street]]
 +
* [[Wyoming]]
 +
* [[:Category:Clubs And Bars]]
 +
* [[:Category:Radio Stations]]
 +
* [[:Category:Recording Studios]]
 +
* [[:Category:Schools & Colleges]]
  
 
==References to American institutions and brands==
 
==References to American institutions and brands==
* The [[CIA]]
+
* [[American Civil Liberties Union]]
* The [[F.B.I.]]
+
* [[American Medical Association]]
* [[The White House]]
+
* [[Barbie]], [[Ken]] and [[Cindy]]
* [[The First Lady]]
+
* [[Boston Globe Jazz Festival]]
* [[The President]]
+
* [[Capitol Records]]
* The [[IRS]]
+
* [[Central Intelligence Agency]]
* The [[FCC]]
+
* [[Wikipedia:CNN|CNN]]
* The [[U.S.O.]]
 
* [[PMRC]]
 
* [[PTA]]
 
* [[M.P.A.A.]]
 
* [[MCA]]
 
* [[PTC]]
 
* [[PCP]]
 
 
* [[Department of Defense]]
 
* [[Department of Defense]]
* [[Statue Of Liberty]]
+
* [[Dodge]]
* [[Moral Majority]]
+
* [[DownBeat]]
 +
* The [[Wikipedia:Federal Bureau of Investigation|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]]
 
* [[Mormons]]
* [[CNN]]
+
* [[NBC]]
* [[MTV]]
+
* [[The New York Times]]
* [[MCA]]
+
* [[Newport Jazz Festival]]
* [[MGM]]
+
* [[Oldsmobile]]
* [[MGM Records]]
+
* [[PTA]]
* [[Capitol Records]]
+
* [[Parents Music Resource Center]]
* [[Warner Brothers]]
+
* [[Pepsi Cola]]
 
* [[Playboy]]
 
* [[Playboy]]
 
* [[Playgirl]]
 
* [[Playgirl]]
* [[Hustler]]
+
* [[The President]]
 +
* [[Record World]]
 +
* [[Relix]]
 
* [[Rolling Stone]]
 
* [[Rolling Stone]]
* [[The New York Times]]
+
* [[Statue Of Liberty]]
* [[The New Yorker]]
 
* [[Guitar Player Magazine]]
 
* [[Life Magazine]]
 
* [[Relix]]
 
* [[Record World]]
 
 
* [[Stereo Review]]
 
* [[Stereo Review]]
* [[DownBeat]]
 
* [[The Washington Post]]
 
* [[Los Angeles Free Press]]
 
* [[Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra]]
 
* [[The Village Voice]]
 
* [[Newport Jazz Festival]]
 
* [[Barbie]], [[Ken]] and [[Cindy]]
 
 
* [[Studebaker Hawk]]
 
* [[Studebaker Hawk]]
* [[Oldsmobile]]
+
* The [[U.S.O.]]
* [[Lincoln]]
 
* [[Dodge]]
 
* [[Pepsi Cola]]
 
* [[Jack Daniels]]
 
* [[Lucky Strike]]
 
* [[Aunt Jemima]]
 
 
* [[Uncle Ben's Rice]]
 
* [[Uncle Ben's Rice]]
* [[Burger King]]
+
* [[Village Voice]]
* Ronald McDonald is mentioned in [[Packard Goose]]
+
* [[Wall Street Journal]]
 +
* [[Warner Brothers]]
 +
* [[The Washington Post]]
 +
* [[The White House]]
 +
* [[Wikipedia:Ronald McDonald|Ronald McDonald]] is mentioned in [[Packard Goose]]
  
 
==Composers and conductors==
 
==Composers and conductors==
* [[Charles Ives]]
+
* [[Charles Amirkhanian]]
* [[Conlon Nancarrow]]
 
* [[Robert Craft]]
 
* [[Fred E. Graff]]
 
 
* [[George Antheil]]
 
* [[George Antheil]]
 
* [[John Cage]]
 
* [[John Cage]]
* [[Joel Thome]]
+
* [[Elliott Carter]]
 +
* [[Aaron Copland]]
 +
* [[Robert Craft]]
 +
* [[The World’s Greatest Sinner (The Film)|Fred E. Graff]]
 +
* [[Michael Hedges]]
 +
* [[Charles Ives]]
 +
* [[Moondog]]
 
* [[Kent Nagano]]
 
* [[Kent Nagano]]
 +
* [[Conlon Nancarrow]]
 +
* [[Chris Opperman]]
 +
* [[Leo Ornstein]]
 +
* [[Walter Piston]]
 +
* [[Gardner Read]]
 +
* [[Roger Huntington Sessions]]
 
* [[Sid Sharp]]
 
* [[Sid Sharp]]
 +
* [[Joel Thome]]
 +
* [[Jack Tillar]]
 +
* [[Joe Stuessy]]
 
* [[Michael Zearott]]
 
* [[Michael Zearott]]
* [[Leo Ornstein]]
+
 
 +
 
 +
==Hip hop Musicians==
 +
* [[Arsonists]]
 +
* [[Action Bronson]]
 +
* [[Mike E. Clark]]
 +
* [[Wikipedia:DJ Signify|DJ Signify]]
 +
* [[Wikipedia:Z-Trip|DJ Z-Trip]]
 +
* [[I'm The Slime#Notes About This Song|Ill Bill]]
 +
* [[Dance Contest#Notes About This Song|J Dilla]]
 +
* [[Dirty Love#Trivia|J*Davey]]
 +
* [[Madvillain]]
 +
* [[MF Doom]]
 +
* [[Little Umbrellas#Notes About This Song|Mr. Dibbs]]
 +
* [[Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire]]
 +
* [[Tyler, The Creator]]
 +
* [[Uncle Remus#Notes About This Song|Young Chris]]
  
 
==Blues singers==
 
==Blues singers==
Line 204: Line 299:
 
==Doo-wop and R&B singers==
 
==Doo-wop and R&B singers==
 
* [[:Category: Doo-wop and R&B Artists]]
 
* [[:Category: Doo-wop and R&B Artists]]
 +
 +
==Jazz Composers==
 +
* [[:Category:Jazz Composers]]
  
 
==Rock, Folk and Pop Artists==
 
==Rock, Folk and Pop Artists==
* [[Elvis Presley]]
+
* [[? and the Mysterians]]
* [[Bob Dylan]]
+
* [[The Allman Brothers Band]]
 +
* [[Trey Anastasio]]
 
* [[Joan Baez]]
 
* [[Joan Baez]]
* [[Beach Boys]]
+
* [[The Basooties]]
* [[Jimi Hendrix]]
+
* [[Wikipedia:The Beach Boys|The Beach Boys]]
* [[Jim Morrison]]
+
* [[Chuck Berry]]
* [[The Grateful Dead]]
+
* [[Jello Biafra]]
* [[Janis Joplin]]
+
* [[Black Oak Arkansas]]
* [[Punky Meadows]]
+
* [[Blood, Sweat & Tears]]
* [[Peter Frampton]]
+
* [[Pat Boone]]
* [[Christopher Cross]]
+
* [[Tim Buckley]]
* [[Michael Jackson (CC)]]
 
* [[Madonna]]
 
 
* [[The Byrds]]
 
* [[The Byrds]]
* [[The Village People]]
+
* [[John Cale]]
* [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]
 
* [[Sam The Sham & The Pharaos]]
 
* [[Sky Saxon & The Seeds]]
 
* [[Simon & Garfunkel]]
 
* [[Sonny & Cher]]
 
* [[Keith Moon]]
 
* [[Twisted Sister]]
 
* [[Helen Reddy]]
 
* [[Grand Funk Railroad]]
 
* [[Wild Man Fischer]]
 
 
* [[Captain Beefheart]]
 
* [[Captain Beefheart]]
* [[The Velvet Underground]]
+
* [[Richard Carpenter]]
* [[John Cale]]
+
* [[Zappa Picks By Larry LaLonde Of Primus#Background Information|Les Claypool]]
* [[Lou Reed]]
 
* [[Mötley Crüe]]
 
* [[Jon Fishman]]
 
* [[Larry LaLonde]]
 
* [[John Frusciante]]
 
* [[Henry Kaiser]]
 
* [[The Leaves]]
 
 
* [[Kurt Cobain]]
 
* [[Kurt Cobain]]
* [[Tom Waits]]
 
* [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]
 
* [[Jello Biafra]]
 
* [[The Monkees]]
 
* [[Bill Graham]]
 
 
* [[Alice Cooper]]
 
* [[Alice Cooper]]
* [[Devo]]
 
* [[Trey Anastasio]]
 
* [[Tiny Tim]]
 
* [[Tim Buckley]]
 
 
* [[David Crosby]]
 
* [[David Crosby]]
* [[The Allman Brothers Band]]
+
* [[Christopher Cross]]
* [[Neil Sedaka]]
 
 
* [[John Denver]]
 
* [[John Denver]]
* [[Jefferson Airplane]] and [[Grace Slick]]
+
* [[Devo]]
* [[Chuck Berry]]
+
* [[Disco Biscuits]]
 +
* [[Dog Eat Dog]]
 +
* [[Dream Theater]]
 +
* [[Bob Dylan]]
 +
* [[The Feederz]]
 +
* [[Larry Fischer|Wild Man Fischer]]
 +
* [[Jon Fishman]]
 +
* [[Flo & Eddie]]
 +
* [[John Frusciante]]
 +
* [[The Fugs]]
 +
* [[wikipedia:Bill Graham (promoter)|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]]
 
* [[Little Richard]]
* [[Kiss]] and [[Gene Simmons]]
+
* [[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]]
 
* [[The Residents]]
 +
* [[Neil Sedaka]]
 +
* [[The Seeds]]
 
* [[The Shaggs]]
 
* [[The Shaggs]]
* [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]]
+
* [[Ron Simasek]]
 +
* [[Gene Simmons]]
 +
* [[Simon & Garfunkel]]
 +
* [[Nancy Sinatra]]
 +
* [[Slash]]
 +
* [[Grace Slick]]
 +
* [[Sonny & Cher]]
 
* [[Bruce Springsteen]]
 
* [[Bruce Springsteen]]
* [[Bon Jovi]]
+
* [[Steely Dan]]
* [[Amboy Dukes]]
+
* [[Suburban Lawns]]
* [[Joni Mitchell]]
+
* [[System of a Down]]
* [[The Turtles]]
+
* [[Telesma]]
* [[The Fugs]]
+
* [[David Thomas]]
* [[The Osmonds]]
+
* [[Tiny Tim]]
* [[Nancy Sinatra]]
+
* [[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]]
  
 
==Writers==
 
==Writers==
 +
* [[William S. Burroughs]]
 +
* [[E.E. Cummings]]
 +
* [[Jules Feiffer]]
 +
* [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]]
 +
* [[Eberhard Kronhausen]]
 +
* [[William Manchester]]
 +
* [[Religion|Thomas Paine]]
 
* [[Robert Sheckley]]
 
* [[Robert Sheckley]]
 
* [[Cordwainer Smith]]
 
* [[Cordwainer Smith]]
* [[William S. Burroughs]]
 
* [[Jules Feiffer]]
 
 
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]
 
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]
  
 
==Comedians and TV Presenters==
 
==Comedians and TV Presenters==
 +
* [[Steve Allen]]
 +
* [[Roseanne Barr]]
 +
* [[John Belushi]]
 +
* [[Lenny Bruce]]
 +
* [[A Most Immaculately Hip Aristocrat|Lord Buckley]]
 
* [[Johnny Carson]]
 
* [[Johnny Carson]]
* [[Steve Allen]]
 
 
* [[Pee-Wee Herman]]
 
* [[Pee-Wee Herman]]
* [[Lenny Bruce]]
+
* [[Larry King]]
 +
* [[Harold Lloyd]]
 
* [[Soupy Sales]]
 
* [[Soupy Sales]]
* [[Roseanne Barr]]
 
 
* [[Rod Serling]]
 
* [[Rod Serling]]
* [[3 Stooges]]
+
* [[Annie Sprinkle]]
* [[Harold LLoyd]]
 
  
==Politicians, Religious leaders and Business People==
+
==Politics, Religion and Business==
* [[George Washington]]
+
* [[Spiro Agnew]]
* [[Thomas Jefferson]]
+
* [[Jim Bakker]]
* [[Abraham Lincoln]]
+
* [[George H.W. Bush]]
 +
* [[Jimmy Carter]]
 +
* [[Jerry Falwell]]
 +
* [[Larry Flynt]]
 +
* [[Al Gore]] and [[Tipper Gore]]
 +
* [[Billy Graham]]
 +
* [[Orrin Hatch]]
 +
* [[L. Ron Hubbard]]
 +
* [[Reverend Hymers]]
 +
* [[Rhymin'_Man#Notes_About_This_Song|Jesse Jackson]]
 +
* [[Religion|Thomas Jefferson]]
 
* [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
 
* [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
* [[Spiro Agnew]]
+
* [[John F. Kennedy]]
* [[Richard Nixon]]
 
 
* [[Henry Kissinger]]
 
* [[Henry Kissinger]]
* [[Jimmy Carter]]
+
* [[C. Everett Koop]]
* [[Ronald Reagan]]
+
* [[Religion|Abraham Lincoln]]
 
* [[Ed Meese]]
 
* [[Ed Meese]]
 +
* [[Merrill Lynch]]
 +
* [[Sun Myung Moon]]
 +
* [[Richard Nixon]]
 +
* [[Oliver North]]
 +
* [[Bob Packwood]]
 
* [[John Poindexter]]
 
* [[John Poindexter]]
* [[Oliver North]]
+
* [[Ronald Reagan]]
* [[C. Everett Koop]]
+
* [[Oral Roberts]]
* [[George Bush]]
 
* [[Billy Graham]]
 
* [[Jerry Falwell]]
 
* [[Jim Bakker]] and [[Tammy Bakker]]
 
 
* [[Pat Robertson]]
 
* [[Pat Robertson]]
 +
* [[John D. Rockefeller IV]]
 +
* [[Rothschild Venture Capital]]
 
* [[Jimmy Swaggart]]
 
* [[Jimmy Swaggart]]
 +
* [[Strom Thurmond]]
 
* [[Robert Tilton]]
 
* [[Robert Tilton]]
* [[Oral Roberts]]
+
* [[Religion|George Washington]]
* [[L. Ron Hubbard]]
 
* [[Reverend Hymers]]
 
* [[Jesse Jackson]]
 
* [[George Lincoln Rockwell]]
 
* [[Al Gore]] and [[Tipper Gore]]
 
* [[Strom Thurmond]]
 
* [[Orrin Hatch]]
 
* [[Barry Goldwater]]
 
* [[John D. Rockefeller IV]]
 
* [[Ted Turner]]
 
 
* The [[Iran-contra affair]]
 
* The [[Iran-contra affair]]
 
* The [[Cold War]]
 
* The [[Cold War]]
 +
* [[The World Church]]
  
 
==Criminals==
 
==Criminals==
* [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]
+
* [[Bobby Beausoleil]]
 +
* [[Al Capone]]
 
* [[Michael Kenyon]]
 
* [[Michael Kenyon]]
 
* [[Gordon Liddy]]
 
* [[Gordon Liddy]]
* [[Al Capone]]
+
* [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]
 +
 
  
 
==Fictional characters==
 
==Fictional characters==
* [[King Kong]]
+
* [[Beavis and Butt-head]]
 +
* [[Conehead]]
 
* [[Donald Duck]]
 
* [[Donald Duck]]
 
* [[Duckman]]
 
* [[Duckman]]
* [[Uncle Remus]]
+
* [[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]]
 +
* [[Little Orphan Annie]]
 +
* [[Raggedy Ann]]
 
* [[Ren And Stimpy]]
 
* [[Ren And Stimpy]]
 +
* [[Santa Claus]]
 
* [[The Simpsons]]
 
* [[The Simpsons]]
* [[Raggedy Ann]]
 
 
* [[Superman]]
 
* [[Superman]]
* [[Little Orphan Annie]]
+
* [[Uncle Remus]]
* [[Santa Claus]]
+
 
  
 
==Scientists==
 
==Scientists==
 
* [[Carl Sagan]]
 
* [[Carl Sagan]]
 +
 +
==Painters==
 +
* [[Andy Warhol]]
  
 
==Bandmembers, Supporting Cast, Family Members and Other==
 
==Bandmembers, Supporting Cast, Family Members and Other==
Line 375: Line 523:
  
 
==Miscellaneous==
 
==Miscellaneous==
* [[United Mutations]]
+
* [[Richard E. Byrd]]
 +
* [[Church of American Secular Humanism]]
 +
* [[The Flag Salute]]
 +
* [[Great Society]]
 +
* [[Hawaiian Lunch]]
 +
* [[The Log Cabin]]
 +
* [[Willie Mays]]
 +
* [[Palladium]]
 
* [[The Plaster Casters Of Chicago]]
 
* [[The Plaster Casters Of Chicago]]
* [[Hawaiian Lunch]]
 
* [[KABC-TV L.A.]]
 
 
* [[Mark Spitz]]
 
* [[Mark Spitz]]
* [[Halloween Concerts]]
+
* [[United Mutations]]
* [[The Palladium Shows]]
+
* [[Utility Muffin Research Kitchen]]
 +
* [[The Vault]]
 +
* [[Vito's Studio & Store]]
 +
* [[Wallich's Music City]]
 +
 
  
 
[[Category:Countries]]
 
[[Category:Countries]]
 +
[[Category:Targets]]
 +
[[Category:Conceptual Continuity]]

Latest revision as of 17:54, 1 January 2023


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

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

  • 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.

Locations

References to American institutions and brands

Composers and conductors


Hip hop Musicians

Blues singers

Doo-wop and R&B singers

Jazz Composers

Rock, Folk and Pop Artists

Writers

Comedians and TV Presenters

Politics, Religion and Business

Criminals


Fictional characters


Scientists

Painters

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