Media Criticism

I am going to spend this week discussing the blurring of media, politics and music in America. This discussion will span different periods because there are deeper stories than the Toby Keith-Dixie Chicks debate after 9/11. This post will revolve around the “conservatism� of Frank Zappa, the prolific composer and musician.

I need to start by saying that I am not a huge fan of Zappa’s music especially his solo work after the Mothers of Invention disbanded. I see virtues in a lot of his work though the experimental nature of his 50-plus albums means that there are hits and duds for every music fan. My right to like or dislike Zappa’s music was something the artist fought for during his career.

Everyone should check out Zappa’s debates with blowhards like Robert Novak in an episode of Crossfire in the midst of the music censorship scandals of the mid-1980s. Frank Zappa was concerned about censoring music even though the music he was defending (Van Halen, Prince) may not have figured prominently in his musical tastes. His belief in freedom of speech seemed to pit him against fellow conservatives who were concerned about moralizing speech instead of tolerating the beliefs of others.

Frank Zappa’s conservatism was truer than the ideological beliefs of Dennis Hastert (good bye, Denny), Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh combined. Modern conservatism is rife with morality and an obscene defense of capitalism’s worst aspects. Zappa’s conservatism is libertarianism which is the elimination of government influence in every aspect of American life. This libertarianism existed without a moral bent because Zappa did not want sexuality and musical tastes dictated by the government. Modern-day conservatives and libertarians should realize that Frank Zappa is an example of pure belief in an idea. I cannot abide by the claims of parties to a higher ground because there is no purity in political ideology. Frank Zappa may not have made my favorite music but his political beliefs were admirable in a society based on labels, political or musical.