Who would have expected this?

In a 1991 interview, Zappa reported that he was a registered Democrat but added “that might not last long—I’m going to shred that”.^[104] Describing his political views, Zappa categorized himself as a “practical conservative“.^{[nb 13]}He favored limited government and low taxes; he also stated that he approved of national defense, social security, and other federal programs, but only if recipients of such programs are willing and able to pay for them.^{[1]:315–16, 323–24; 329–30} He favored capitalism, entrepreneurship, and independent business, stating that musicians could make more from owning their own businesses than from collecting royalties.^[105] He opposedcommunism, stating, “A system that doesn’t allow ownership … has—to put it mildly—a fatal design flaw.”^{[1]:315–16, 323–24, 329–30} He had always encouraged his fans to register to vote on album covers, and throughout 1988 he had registration booths at his concerts.^[13]:348 He even considered running for president of the United States as an independent.^{[13]:365[106]} …

In early 1990, Zappa visited Czechoslovakia at the request of President Václav Havel. Havel designated him as Czechoslovakia’s “Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture and Tourism”.^[113] Havel was a lifelong fan of Zappa, who had great influence in the avant-garde and underground scene in Central Europe in the 1970s and 1980s (a Czech rock group that was imprisoned in 1976 took its name from Zappa’s 1968 song “Plastic People“).^[114] Under pressure from Secretary of State James Baker, Zappa’s posting was withdrawn.^[115] Havel made Zappa an unofficial cultural attaché instead.^{[13]:357–61} Zappa planned to develop an international consulting enterprise to facilitate trade between the former Eastern Bloc and Western businesses.^[78]

And of course, Brown Shoes Don’t Make It which I saw them perform live!