From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thing-Fish
Thing-Fish
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Allmusic [1]
Thing-Fish Zoot Allures, You Are What You Is, and Ship Arriving Too Late
to Save a Drowning Witch.[2]
In promotion of the album and proposed musical, a
layout was prepared for Hustler magazine in 1983. Larry
Flynt paid a total of $55,000 for the spread and for the
Thing-Fish mask and Ob’Dewlla ’X’ doll.[3] Zappa also ap-
peared on Late Night with David Letterman to promote the
musical, showing photos of the unfinished mask and
doll.[4][5]
Story
The government has experimented on inmates of "San
Quentin" penitentiary turning them into strange,
Studio album by Frank Zappa hideous creatures known as "Mammy-Nuns". The story is
narrated by The Thing-Fish, who speaks in an exaggerat-
Released December 21, 1984
ed Negro patois, hence his name is meant as a pun on the
Recorded 1980 – 1984 at UMRK Amos ’n’ Andy show’s "Kingfish." He is ostensibly some
Genre Progressive rock, art rock, experimental rock, sort of leader amongst the Mammy Nuns. This was done
hard rock using a substance known as "Galoot Cologne" (cuh-LOG-
nuh) which was invented by an Evil Prince (and part-time
Length 90:58
theater critic) living underneath Virginia, to get rid of se-
Label Barking Pumpkin lected "highly-rhythmic individj’lls" (blacks) "an’ sissy-
boys" (gays). Before long, members of both groups "be
Producer Frank Zappa
droppin’ off like flies". Being unable to return to their
Frank Zappa chronology original jobs (because "they nackins growin out they bod-
ies"), the Mutant Mammy-Nuns are forced to perform in
Them or Us Thing-Fish Francesco Zappa a Broadway musical about their plight. During a stage
(1984) (1984) (1984)
show of the Mammy-Nuns, Harry and Rhonda (your aver-
age white, middle-class couple) are invited on stage and
Thing-Fish is a 1984 album by Frank Zappa. Released as put in chains by Mammy-Nuns and are forced to witness
an "original cast recording," it is a concept album with and perform many twisted things. At one point, the racist
strange characters and a bizarre story revolving around a evil prince performs a riveting operatic number with a
government plot to kill African Americans and homosex- group of "Broadway zombies" explaining that the Mam-
uals by way of an engineered disease. This is told to us by my Nuns ending up on Broadway is a terrible thing be-
mutant black ex-cons who are performing a musical. All cause "all the best music on Broadway is native". Since
lines between performance and audience are blurred, as he is a part time theatre critic, he explains his plan to
it is a play about a play, and about some people who go to write a terrible review of the work, to ensure that only
see the play, and the story behind the play. traditional Broadway entertainment remains on Broad-
The album’s story comprises the soundtrack to an way. In "flashback" segments, we learn that as a boy, Har-
unproduced Broadway musical and contains many ref- ry briefly became homosexual after he lost all desire for
erences to famous plays. Originally released as a intercourse with females because of the women’s libera-
triple-vinyl box set, much of the album’s material orig- tion movement, before falling in love with a rubber sex
inates from heavily overdubbed versions of recordings doll called "Artificial Rhonda." Harry also suffered from
originally released on albums like Tinsel Town Rebellion, an addiction to sniffing glue, and was a fan of the Grateful
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thing-Fish
Dead. Rhonda is impregnated by Quentin, a service sta- the end of the first act. There were two versions of the
tion employee, the son of Quentin Robert DeNameland, a 1986 Rykodisc CD release—later pressings fix some sound
video preacher, working out of Las Vegas, Nevada. After quality problems and add some additional comments by
this occurs, she gives birth to The Crab Grass Baby, who is Brown Moses (Johnny "Guitar" Watson) to the song "He’s
an apparently robotic infant with a broad vocabulary and So Gay." The same commentary also appears on a rare EP
large genitalia. As rebuke for Rhonda’s cheating, Harry version of "Won Ton On." Earlier pressings feature the
works a brief stint as a truck-driver, running string beans original vinyl mixes of three tracks ("Prologue," "Harry-
to Utah. During this time, Rhonda becomes engrossed As-A-Boy" and "He’s So Gay"), but are otherwise identical
in her career, and participates in the widespread female to later pressings.
conspiracy known as the women’s liberation movement.
She becomes infatuated with her job, and seems to have Original 1984 Vinyl Release
a severe personality disorder which leaves her split be-
Side one
tween being a stereotype of a little girl, interested in cute
flowers and potpourri, and a deranged, sex-crazed brief- No. Title Length
case fetishist. During "Briefcase Boogie" Rhonda embarks 1. "Prologue" 2:56
on a 7 minutes masturbation sequence during which she 2. "The Mammy Nuns" 3:50
has sex with her briefcase, and verbally abuses her hus-
3. "Harry & Rhonda" 3:36
band for being "a cocksucker" and "a worm, a fucking
worm". The bizarre conclusion occurs when The Thing- 4. "Galoot Up-Date" (Originally "The Blue 5:29
Fish meets the Evil Prince, who has taken some of the Light", from Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981)
Galoot Cologne in an attempt to see if he is immune to Side two
it. He is turned into what sounds like a partial Mammy
No. Title Length
Nun, as he begins speaking "de vernacuhluh". Thing-Fish
and Evil Prince chat about "tater husbandry" at their old 1. "The ’Torchum’ Never Stops" (Originally 10:32
Alma Mater, and the work ends with a public service an- "The Torture Never Stops", from Zoot Allures
nouncement against using Galoot Cologne, and a back- (1976)
wards rendition of the track No Not Now. 2. "That Evil Prince" 1:17
3. "You Are What You Is" (Originally "You Are 4:31
Cultural relevance What You Is", from You Are What You Is (1981)
The story of the Thing-Fish surrounds the creation, pre- Side three
sumably by the US government, of an insidious sub- No. Title Length
stance, which is to be added to the water supply to kill 1. "Mudd Club" (Originally "Mudd Club", from 3:17
off blacks and gays. This is a reference to the Tuskegee You Are What You Is (1981)
Syphilis Experiment, and also gives voice to a conspiracy
2. "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing" (Origi- 3:14
theory that AIDS was engineered. Racist and homophobic
nally "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing", from
sentiments were common the group subject to parody by
You Are What You Is (1981)
Harry and Rhonda, during this time period, and blacks
and gays were an oddity, viewed as exotic, unsettling, 3. "Clowns On Velvet" 1:38
and dangerous. Zappa created this work to harshly satire 4. "Harry-As-A-Boy" 2:51
these views, as well as to take a stab at the world of 5. "He’s So Gay" 2:48
Broadway which he viewed as bland, uninspired, and for-
mulaic. This formula is discussed during the Thing Fish Side four
-- "I want faeries on a string! I want wind rushing down No. Title Length
the plain!" -- and then as though to deliberately unsub- 1. "The Massive Improve’lence" 5:07
stantiate them, bizarre, unsettling acts occur, with the
2. "Artificial Rhonda" (Originally "Ms Pinky", 3:30
disclaimer that the Mammy Nuns will have "faeries on a
from Zoot Allures (1976)
string for your ass just a little later".
3. "The Crab-Grass Baby" 3:48
Track listing 4. "The White Boy Troubles" 3:35
Side five
On the original 1986 CD issues, the tracks "The Massive
Improve’lence" and "Artificial Rhonda" were at the be- No. Title Length
ginning of Disc 2, rather than the end of Disc 1. The 1995
track listing is closer to the way the songs would appear
in a performance of the musical, Artificial Rhonda being
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thing-Fish
1. "No Not Now" (Originally "No Not Now", 5:50 • Chuck Wild – piano
from Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning • Jay Anderson – string bass
Witch (1982) • Ed Mann – percussion
• Chad Wackerman – drums, vocals
2. "Briefcase Boogie" 4:10
• Ike Willis – vocals, cast, guitar
3. "Brown Moses" 3:02 • Dale Bozzio – vocals, cast
Side six • Arthur Barrow – bass guitar
• Terry Bozzio – drums, vocals, cast
No. Title Length
• Napoleon Murphy Brock – vocals, cast
1. "Wistful Wit a Fist-Full" 3:53 • Steve DeFuria – Synclavier
2. "Drop Dead" 7:56 • Bob Harris – keyboards, vocals, cast
3. "Won Ton On" (Backwards version of "No Not 4:20 • Steve Vai – guitar
Now", from Ship Arriving Too Late To Save a Drown-
ing Witch (1982) Production staff
• Bob Fletcher – costume design
1995 Rykodisc CD Release • Ladi Von Jansky – photography, cover photo
• Bob Stone – engineer
• Mark Pinske – engineer
Personnel
Cast References
• Thing-Fish—Ike Willis [1] "allmusic ((( Thing-Fish > Overview )))".
• Harry—Terry Bozzio www.allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/
• Rhonda—Dale Bozzio album/r53174. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
• The Evil Prince—Napoleon Murphy Brock [2] "Thing-Fish lyrics.". Information Is Not Knowledge.
• Harry-As-A-Boy—Bob Harris http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/Thing-
• Brown Moses—Johnny "Guitar" Watson Fish.html. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
• Owl-Gonkwin-Jane Cowhoon—Ray White [3] "THING-FISH Online!". The First Church of
APPLIANTOLOGY. http://home.online.no/
Musicians ~corneliu/thingfish2.html. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
[4] The David Letterman interview can be viewed on
• Frank Zappa – arranger, composer, director, vocals,
YouTube
producer, Synclavier, guitar
[5] Frank Zappa Videography
• Tommy Mars – keyboards, vocals
• David Ocker – Synclavier
• Scott Thunes – vocals, bass guitar External links
• Johnny "Guitar" Watson – vocals, cast
• Release details
• Ray White – vocals, cast, guitar
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thing-Fish&oldid=467345331"
Categories:
• 1984 albums
• Concept albums
• Frank Zappa albums
• Triple albums
• Capitol Records albums
• Barking Pumpkin Records albums
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