Here’s an uncontroversial opinion: Frank Zappa’s Thing-Fish is totally insane. It’s a 1984 parody of a Broadway musical that attempted to satirize the AIDS crisis, South African Apartheid, the Religious Right, and a host of other social concerns by positing a government conspiracy to turn homosexuals and African Americans into duck-billed, potato headed monsters called “Mammy Nuns.” Much of the plot is narrated by one of these mutants, who happened to be Kingfish Stevens from the old Amos ’N’ Andy show. To be clear, it wasn’t supposed to be actor Tim Moore, who played the character on TV, it was supposed to be the actual character Kingfish. In any case, by 1984, hardly anybody remembered that show anymore.
 

Thing-Fish, left; Kingfish, right. Who could have foreseen that this opus would be viewed as problematic?

It’s a mess that tries to do way too much (it was initially released as a triple LP), and at the SAME TIME it’s lazy as all hell—it’s full of callbacks to older Zappa albums, and too many of its tracks are old instrumentals repurposed with Ike Willis’ narration. But most fatally of all, the work availed itself HEAVILY of the tropes of minstrelsy. That conceit was intended by Zappa as a means to attack bigotry and to underscore ongoing unfair media representation of African Americans, but it’s easy to see it as cringeworthy as all fuck even if you know Thing-Fish’s backstory and you get its in-jokes. Though the maddeningly continued relevance of its satire has somewhat rehabbed its reputation in hindsight, and all the callbacks are fun for devoted Zappa trainspotters, it was seen as a deeply alienating failed work in its time, and it remains justly regarded as a monumental dud from Zappa’s most creatively fallow period (it arrived on the heels of The Man From Utopia, saving THAT album from being regarded as Zappa’s worst).

But whether the LP succeeds conceptually or not, it birthed some of the most bizarre and indelible imagery of the rock era. The Mammy Nuns themselves, based on the title character’s depiction on the LP cover, look like Howard the Duck sculpted from feces. It’s a shame that Zappa never actually produced his musical, but given that the album biffed so hard, maybe it’s for the best. An authorized production WAS eventually staged in London in the early oughts, and judging from available clips, it looks pretty bonkers.
 

 
Don’t hold your breath for an authorized commercial video release of that.

If, despite all its demerits, Thing Fish is your thing, or if you’re simply keen to own a legitimately unique piece of Zappa memorabilia, the Thing-Fish mask in the possession of Zappa’s estate is going up for auction:

A molded foam latex mask of the Thing-Fish character featured on the cover of the 1984 Frank Zappa album of the same name. The mask is fitted with numerous wires designed to manipulate the face. Accompanied by a copy of the album.

 

 

 
Interesting to note that the description is vague as to whether this was the particular mask on the album cover, but there can’t have been too many of these. The item is one of several lots from the Zappa estate in Julien’s Auctions’ “Icons & Idols—Rock ’N’ Roll” auction taking place next Friday, November 4th. It’s not the first batch of Zappa possessions to have been offloaded by the Zappa Family Trust, a concern that’s fostered massive divisions in the Zappa family and become increasingly controversial in its approach to the stewardship of Zappa’s legacy in just two years since the death of the musician’s wife and original trustee Gail Zappa. The Trust’s auction a year ago featured some truly incredible items, including a massive trove of claymation figures from Bruce Bickford’s Baby Snakes video. In this auction, though, the Thing-Fish mask is the most interesting item by far; should this devolutionary trend continue, I’d expect next year’s auction to mostly feature items dumped out of the Zappas’ kitchen junk drawer (ONE HALF DOZEN CERTIFIED ZAPPA-USED BOTTLE OPENERS ONLY $50,000 COME ON BUY THAT SHIT AHMET WANTS A BOAT).

Non-Zappa highlights of the auction include collage elements Kurt Cobain used to make the album cover for In Utero and 15 firearms from Engelbert Humperdinck’s gun collection. I’m going to say that again, because it’s pretty fucking fun: 15 firearms from Engelbert Humperdinck’s gun collection. The auction catalog is viewable here. If you intend to bid, best of luck to you.
 

 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Everything you need to know about the Frank Zappa auction
Frank Zappa as record label honcho in ‘From Straight to Bizarre’