Bob Dobbs and guests explore Frank Zappa’s scripts, including Thing-Fish and Them Or Us. They also explore the forces that shaped Zappa’s work, and how his work shaped art and society.
Bob Dobbs is a Zappa researcher and McLuhan scholar. He is joined by regular contributors Roxana Flores Larrainzar and Bert Hill.
Recorded December 5, 2015
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:08:01 – Universal Spin
00:14:01 – Marshall McLuhan & Media
00:17:49 – Artists & The Vortex
00:29:03 – Postmodern Communication Theory
00:40:37 – James Joyce & Finnegans Wake
01:04:12 – Monster Magnet & ‘Unplugged’
01:10:07 – Posthumous Personalities
01:16:42 – Tim Carey / World’s Greatest Sinner
01:26:39 – Film & TV’s Influence
01:37:08 – Vorticism and Joycean Themes
01:51:22 – The Cosmic Vortex
02:06:06 – Media & Technology
02:16:00 – Acoustic vs Tactile Space
02:23:26 – Art, Perception, & Vortices
02:37:16 – LaRouche’s Geometry
02:45:38 – Quantum Reality
02:53:00 – Culture Shaping Reality
03:01:43 – Military-Industrial-Entertainment Complex
03:09:05 – Theodor Adorno
03:16:57 – Dancing at Zappa Concerts
03:19:02 – Pop Culture
03:27:02 – Navigating the Cultural Vortex
03:50:06 – Reaction to “Freak Out”
04:00:11 – Composers & Philosophers
04:15:23 – Global Theater & Social Change
04:42:50 – Journalism, Criticism, and Survival
04:52:17 – Walter Benjamin
05:00:49 – Zappa’s 179 Influences
05:12:36 – Doo-Wop
05:20:59 – Early-Life Music Influences
05:49:05 – Them Or Us Book
06:12:18 – Postmodern & Paramodern
06:20:18 – Chapter 9 of Them or Us
06:37:04 – “Concentrated Technological Ignorance”
06:42:15 – High vs Pop Culture
06:52:51 – The Evil Prince’s Plot
07:03:04 – Allegory of Zappa’s Charade
07:09:44 – Kingfish & Black Stereotypes
07:23:30 – Thing Fish & AIDS Conspiracy
07:37:41 – Technological Ignorance
07:41:59 – Colonial Exploitation & Conspiracies
07:44:09 – Reality TV & Moral Decay
07:55:21 – Racial Identity & Societal Roles
07:59:00 – Televangelism
08:03:40 – Harry’s Sexuality
08:07:02 – Recap of Thing-Fish so Far
08:12:17 – Social Commentary
08:17:49 – The American Dream
08:24:00 – Nativity Scene
08:30:10 – Hawaiian Lunch
08:34:47 – Francesca’s Offer
08:37:30 – The Evil Prince
08:46:39 – Harry’s Degradation
08:49:06 – Theatrical Humiliation
08:51:58 – Thing-Fish Conclusion
08:52:40 – Symbolism and Satire
08:59:57 – Vortex and Reality
09:11:49 – Integration of Art, Media & Science
09:17:46 – Final Thoughts
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