Frank Zappa on Crossfire (1986)

[Fe 26]

I don't believe it was just the right. It was more like the conservative left. Plz remember that Tipper and Gore are both Demo.

A true republican would be insulted and made sick by the idea that the big bad satan loving, dope smoking, left government would have any say in how their kid was raised (this is an exageration of what one would say, not my own feelings.)

People who want to use the gov to force religous morality on everyone are a sick blend of what is wrong with both parties. AND, to my knowledge, always screwed things up more when they get their way. Like with proabition.

[gamevet]

4:53 Incest in America never used to be such a terrible problem Mr. Zappa. That's come about in the last 20 years.

It wasn't a problem, because it was kept hidden from the public. There wasn't a problem with the Catholic church either.

[g0zen]

You can't deny that the religious fundamentalist right were a big factor those days, I mean they were the 'moral majority' crowd that got Reagan elected and were the main base he supported. They're more akin to Bushite Republicans now than anything one would probably consider a 'true' small-government conservative. The 80s were the high times for the Dobsin cult and Pat Robertson. I think it was around the time the 700 club and TBN were established.

As for Tipper Gore and the like, well, I already said that this rock music thing was a sick transmutation of the fundamentalist right with the Big Brother nanny state of the left. Everyone was trying to hit the big 'family first' demographic from different angles, and on this issue they just sort of met in the middle and joined forces against the Constitution.

[Fe 26]

what you do is you equip everyone with the skills and critical thinking to decide for themselves.

good luck with that.

[K3V]

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2664570 Here's Zappa's second Crossfire appearence.

"Mr. Zappa, who's on your side besides the Dead Kennedys?"

"Common sense."

lol

[Mman]

What the hell are these songs about incest that dude keeps talking about? And I love the things people invent as problems (lol, a wave of incest is coming upon America). Frank Zappa was an amazing guy. Most people wouldn't be able to sit there and still sound intelligent while a dumbass is ranting and insulting you.

edit: the guy on the left in the 2nd crossfire seemed actually reasonable. Hard to believe that.

[Mr-K]

He owned them SO hard. That's the whole crux of the libertarian/liberal/post modern view of everthing

That's actually an incredibly conservative viewpoint, technically. True conservatism is dead these days.

[g0zen]

Not really, it's more an ultra-libertarian viewpoint. Which, while some of them may consider themselves conservative, is really divorced from what a conservative has been since atleast the 80s. You see this strain of libertarianism a lot in pop culture; Penn & Teller, South Park, etc.

[Diff-chan]

Not really, it's more an ultra-libertarian viewpoint. Which, while some of them may consider themselves conservative, is really divorced from what a conservative has been since atleast the 80s. You see this strain of libertarianism a lot in pop culture; Penn & Teller, South Park, etc.

Indeed, Ill also note that we have moved so far to the neoconservative right these days that saying things like, "i dont want the government to spy on people without warrants" and "I believe we should go to war only when confronted by a serious, real threat" makes you one of those darn liberal hippies.

[JefmcC]

I love Zappa, but I think his view is a little unrealistic. Not nearly as unrealistic as those assholes on the show with him.

Regarding the second video, I don't see the harm in labeling any media for content. To me, it's the best solution that makes the most people happy. A label acts as a scapegoat for artists to do what they want, it also gives the artists something to point to every time a stupid parent tries to blame them. IMO, labeling media for content does much more good for the artists than it does any other group of people.

1) Artists
2) Consumer
3) Parents
And in a distant 4th the conservative American right wing nut job that wanted to label it in the first place. In fact, they lose in the end. Content labels = free reign for the artist.