Published in Spain the first book that analyzes Frank Zappa's political discourse in the Reagan era

Frank Zappa en el infierno (“Frank Zappa in Hell”) is the title of a new book by the Spanish publisher Biblioteca Nueva. It’s the first analysis written in Spanish on Frank Zappa, one of the most important American rock musicians of the 20th century, and his work. Written by Manuel de la Fuente Soler, a lecturer of Media Studies at the University of Valencia, the book analyzes the role that Zappa played as a political activist in the 80s. In those years, Zappa campaigned intensively against the conservative government of Ronald Reagan.

Frank Zappa en el infierno looks into Zappa’s work focusing on his opposition to conservative politics. It’s the first time that an analysis on Zappa’s work is carried out in Spanish, and it’s also the first time that a book deals with the links of his songs with American politics, a totally new topic even in the literature in English. With a prologue written by Jenaro Talens, a professor at the University of Geneva and also expert in Zappa’s work, the book looks into the meaning of the countless actions undertaken by Zappa in order to make people aware of the dangers of reaganism. In addition, his most important songs, in which he expressed his political opinions, are analyzed.

In preparation for this book De la Fuente Soler spent nearly five years doing research and collecting information, and he consulted the archives of several libraries in the United States. The author describes Frank Zappa en el infierno as a “study on the validity of rock music as an anti-establishment movement, a historical journey through how rock and politics influence each other”.

One of the most original, avant-garde and iconoclastic voices in rock music

Frank Zappa (1940-1993) is one the most outstanding rock musicians ever. And also one of the most prolific: he recorded more than 70 records and directed 8 movies in his thirty-years career. He also toured many times around the world and recorded with musicians such as John Lennon, The Chieftains, Sting or Steve Vai.

Zappa’s rock has two main features. Musically, he is known for fusion of styles: he wrote classical music (which has been conducted by Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Kent Nagano, among others) and we can find very different styles in his music (not only classical and rock, but also jazz, reggae and computer music). With regard to his lyrics, they are usually very ironic and critical towards the society he lived in. Therefore, his influence is evident in The Simpsons. The creator of this TV show, Matt Groening, has confessed several times to being a Zappa fan, and the scripts of the episodes show the influence of the humour of the American musician.

Through his songs, his records and his concerts, Zappa tried to urge young Americans to exercise their right to vote and make them aware of the necessity of getting interest in politics to face the government actions of the Reagan’s Republican Party. He even testified in the U.S. Senate in 1985 to defend the right to free-speech in rock music, in danger at that moment due to the political decision to censor rock songs with explicit content.

The publication of Frank Zappa en el infierno coincides with the release of a new Zappa record, Trance-Fusion, a CD he finished before his death, a work that his fans have been awaiting for a long time.

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