The Centre Cannot Hold » Frank Zappa

1973 – Richard Nixon proclaims that he is “not a crook”

Loki — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:00:09 +0000

While addressing a group of 400 newspaper editors from the Associated Press, President Richard Milhous Nixon proclaimed “I am not a crook.” On the face of it, a remarkable assertion for any head of state to feel was actually necessary to make. But then, Nixon was somewhat paranoid, and the slowly unfolding Watergate scandal was only making him more so. (Although to be fair, is it really paranoia when they really are out to get you?)

He was also lying, or at least, there is considerable evidence that suggests that he was lying, most notably the fact that his successor’s first act on taking office was to issue a Presidential Pardon for Nixon – even though he had not been convicted of any crime (usually considered a pre-requisite for pardoning).

Nope, he was a crook all right.

Referenced in:

Son of Orange County — Frank Zappa

1971 – Montreux Casino burns to the ground

Loki — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:23:50 +0000

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention liked to say that they brought the house down when they played. One time, they really did.

Montreux Casino’s entertainment complex caught fire during a concert Zappa and the band played on December 4, 1971, when some idiot fired a flare gun into the ceiling, which was covered with a flammable rattan surface. The entire complex burnt down, taking with it all the instruments and equipment belonging to the band. As the smoke billowed out across Lake Geneva, it was observed by the members of Deep Purple, who had arrived in Montreux that evening to begin recording their next album.

The events they witnessed that night led them to write a song about it. Bassist Roger Glover is credited with the song’s title – “Smoke on the Water” – and although all five members of the band are credited as the writers and composers, and Ritchie Blackmore composed what may well be the most recognizable guitar riff in rock and roll history…

Referenced in:

Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

1965 – The Watts Riots begin

Loki — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:42:53 +0000

On August 11, 1965, a random traffic stop in Watts, a depressed area of Los Angeles with a largely negro population was the spark that set the racial tensions in the area on fire.

Lee Minikus, a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer, pulled over Marquette Frye, whom Minikus believed was drunk. But then Minikus made a tragic error of judgement – he refused to let Frye’s sober brother drive the car home, instead radioing for it too be impounded.

As tempers frayed, and the crowd of onlookers grew, someone threw a rock at the police – and that was all it took to start the avalanche. When the riot was finally ended, 6 days later, 34 people had been killed, more than a thousand injured, and nearly four thousand arrested. It was the worst riot in LA history until the Rodney King trial verdict in 1992.

Referenced in:

One More Time – The Clash
Trouble Every Day – Frank Zappa
In The Heat Of The Summer – Phil Ochs
She Is Always Seventeen – Harry Chapin