A Token of My Extreme

Infobox Song
Name = A Token of My Extreme


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Frank Zappa
alt Artist =
Album = Joe's Garage Acts II & III
Published =
Released = November 19, 1979
track_no = 1
Recorded = Village Recorders, LA
Spring 1979
Genre = Rock
Length = 5:30
Writer = Frank Zappa
Composer = Frank Zappa
Label = Zappa Records
Producer = Frank Zappa
Tracks =
prev =
prev_no =
next = Stick It Out
next_no = 2
Misc = "A Token of My Extreme", by Frank Zappa, is a song on the 1979 concept album "Joe's Garage" ["Part II"] . The main character from this triple-album rock-opera has his mind messed-up by Lucille then "finally does something smart" and "pays a lot of money to L. Ron Hoover and the First Church of Appliantology."cite journal | last = Prince | first = Michael J. | title = The Science Fiction Protocols of Frank Zappa | journal = Chapter&Verse | publisher = PopMatters Media, Inc. | date = Spring 2005 | url = http://www.popmatters.com/chapter/Issue3/zappa.html ]

Plot

Appliantology is shown as an insincere religion, which cooperates with a "malevolent totalitarian regime." This is an apparent reference to Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard.cite journal | last = Carr | first = Paul | coauthors = Richard J. Hand | title = Frank Zappa and musical theatre | journal = Studies in Musical Theatre | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–56 | date = December 2006 | url = http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/abs/10.1386/smt.1.1.41_1 | id = ISSN|1450-3159}] Joe, doubting his sanity, asks 'mystical advisor' L. Ron Hoover what his problem is and is told that he is "a latent appliance-fetishist." Joe asks if it is time "to come out of the closet," and is told that he should "go into the closet". There, he can have "a lot of fun" achieving sexual gratification using machines. Joe is informed that the best appliances speak foreign languages, which leads to the next song, "Stick it out". This song derives from another piece called "Tush Tush Tush" from 1973. [cite news | last = Staff | title = Frank Zappa on CD (and LP), Part I-III | work = Stereophile Magazine | pages = Vol. 12., No. 1. | date = January 1, 1989 | url = http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/73/index5.html ] cite book | last = Miles | first = Barry | title = Zappa | publisher = Grove Press | date = 2004 | pages = 431 | id = ISBN 080211783X]

Analyzed in secondary sources

This song was analyzed in "Zappa", and also in "Academy Zappa".cite book | last = Watson | first = Ben Leslie | title = Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology | publisher = SAF Publishing Ltd | date = 2005 | pages = 171-187 | id = ISBN 0946719799] Carr and Hand mention that the song is "A satire of L. Ron Hubbard (1911–86) and the Church of Scientology.", in their study of Zappa in the journal "Studies in Musical Theatre". They described the work as "an ironic precursor" to Carlton's "Return to the Forbidden Planet".

ee also

*Scientology in popular culture

References