Thing-Fish

Thing-Fish is an album by American musician <a href="/facts/Frank_Zappa/S9jReVdI">Frank Zappa</a>, originally released as a <a href="/facts/Double_album/x6999LvF">triple album</a> <a href="/facts/Box_set/3UF4l4gx">box set</a> on <a href="/facts/Barking_Pumpkin_Records/awSdV4hI">Barking Pumpkin Records</a> in 1984. It was billed as a <a href="/facts/Cast_recording/EkGfdx8r">cast recording</a> for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.
The album's storyline is inspired by <a href="/facts/Broadway_theatre/6USkK8x9">Broadway theatre</a>, <a href="/facts/AIDS/RqLIEMuJ">AIDS</a>, <a href="/facts/Eugenics/e7w6aSUV">eugenics</a>, <a href="/facts/Conspiracy_theories/sNr2Kmh8">conspiracy theories</a>, <a href="/facts/Feminism/RRqUvGmk">feminism</a>, <a href="/facts/Homosexuality/gNy8Nvl0">homosexuality</a> and <a href="/facts/African_American_culture/anuqQ15t">African American culture</a>. It involves an evil, racist prince/theater critic who creates a disease intended to eradicate African Americans and homosexuals. The disease is tested on prisoners who are turned into "Mammy Nuns" led by the story's narrator, Thing-Fish. The <a href="/facts/Story_within_a_story/ynzTylMW">story within a story</a> is a <a href="/facts/Satire/dqFS5vIL">satire</a> of a <a href="/facts/White_Anglo-Saxon_Protestant/B3MSj66k">White Anglo-Saxon Protestant</a> couple, Harry and Rhonda (actually played by Italian-Americans), who attend a play performed by the "Mammy Nuns", and find themselves confronted with their pasts: Harry presented as a homosexual boy, Rhonda presented as a <a href="/facts/Sex_doll/qKBGBvK3">sex doll</a> brought to life.
The story was constructed during the recording sessions, which included producing new <a href="/facts/Overdub/9BmXfGuK">overdubs</a> for recordings which previously appeared on Zappa's albums <a href="/facts/Zoot_Allures/MK6axvrB">Zoot Allures</a>, <a href="/facts/Tinseltown_Rebellion/DuBM2DDx">Tinseltown Rebellion</a>, <a href="/facts/You_Are_What_You_Is/bJbzTQwf">You Are What You Is</a> and <a href="/facts/Ship_Arriving_Too_Late_to_Save_a_Drowning_Witch/4XSmYdeY">Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch</a>. The release of the album was delayed when <a href="/facts/Barking_Pumpkin_Records/awSdV4hI">Barking Pumpkin Records</a>' previous distributor, <a href="/facts/MCA_Records/6cusG5np">MCA</a>, refused to distribute the album. It was instead released by <a href="/facts/Capitol_Records/5parUIfs">Capitol Records</a> in the United States, accompanied by a "<a href="/facts/Warning_label/bJNvGgw6">Warning/Guarantee</a>" written by Zappa himself. Thing-Fish was initially received poorly by critics, who criticized the use of previously recorded material, but has since been reappraised for its highly satirical content.

Thing-Fish open-in-new

Thing-Fish