Though Frank Zappa has been gone for over 20 years, it’s no surprise that fans continue to find meaning in his work. The songwriter was ahead of his time, fusing political satire with an incredible level of musicianship. Thus, when an interviewer has the opportunity to chat with someone named Zappa – specifically his daughter Moon Zappa – he naturally has to ask what the virtuoso would think of modern times.
In an interview with The Spec centered around the new Eat That Question documentary, there are a lot of “what would Frank think…” type questions to arouse the imagination. First, Moon Zappa likened her father to Jesus in the interview, saying “I’ve definitely always felt the responsibility of growing up with a father of that magnitude — it’s like having Jesus for a dad. You don’t want to misrepresent. There was pressure to be a good person and to uphold the family brand of integrity…”
Later on, she was asked about how Zappa would react to the Internet and the age of digital music. She responds generically, saying, “This is a fun topic to put to the masses, because I think even putting it into that form invites people to think for themselves and imagine what Frank would be up to today, in the political landscape and as far as all these technologies go. An invention may get hatched just from posing the question to people speculating!”
Naturally, the interviewer presses forward with imagining what Frank Zappa would be up to today, asking her about his potential views on social media. “I’m sure he would have made some collages. I’m sure he would have rejected aspects (of social media). I’m sure he would have explored and mutilated aspects and gone in many, many directions. Think about what he did with the (music censorship) PMRC conversations in Washington and how they became music! He was always synthesizing and integrating the culture around him. He was very, very contemporary in that way.”
Finally, the interview concludes with a question about what Zappa would have thought of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Her response is right on the money.
“The thing I will say (about Trump) is just because you have no one to answer to, it doesn’t mean that you should be the person to be in charge of things. My father always said respect is something to be earned. It doesn’t matter if you’re the pope or a police officer or a teacher, it has to be earned. And you also have to be reasonable and think of the greatest good for the greatest number of people and to consider differences and really take that seriously. I just don’t see that in Trump.”
Too bad we can’t vote for Frank Zappa for President…