Interesting to read everyone's thoughts here. I do think the song fits the general pattern of Zappa targeting conformity and the sometimes invisible constraints individuals impose on their own thinking. It's not incidental that Zappa considered the hippy movement to be just one more manifestation of mass conformity as evidenced in his other songs. Interviews with Zappa reveal that he remained bitter throughout his life that the LA recording industry favored bands emulating The Byrds to his own experimental approach in the mid-60s. David Crosby tells a revealing anecdote about Zappa standing under his window playing "Who Are the Brain Police?" full blast.
Interesting to read everyone's thoughts here. I do think the song fits the general pattern of Zappa targeting conformity and the sometimes invisible constraints individuals impose on their own thinking. It's not incidental that Zappa considered the hippy movement to be just one more manifestation of mass conformity as evidenced in his other songs. Interviews with Zappa reveal that he remained bitter throughout his life that the LA recording industry favored bands emulating The Byrds to his own experimental approach in the mid-60s. David Crosby tells a revealing anecdote about Zappa standing under his window playing "Who Are the Brain Police?" full blast.