Philémon

You so called “FANS” should be ashamed of yourselves. You are a disgrace to everything Frank and Gail stand for.

What exactly does Gail stand for (c’mon, let us in on the secret)?

Frank is so certainly dead.

And by “dead”, I mean the entire point of his life’s work and art. Don’t get me wrong, the spirit is alive in all the fans his music has touched, but Frank has truly died into the commodity that Gail and the FZT need him to be in every way.

In the tone of the society that we now live in, filled with shit-loads of self-conciously “hip” post-modernists who ALL have their “hip list” just hanging off of their sleeve and constantly reinforced in their oh-so-precious You Tube site, this “commodity” Frank fits perfectly: devoid of the true, simple point of MUSIC IS THE BEST, his new form is an “image-corpse”, sucked clean of all the life, inspiration and communicativity that the REAL Frank always poured out of himself by the minute.

He’s a POSTER now, a VAULT RELEASE, an i-Tune. He’s a mustache, a one-dimensional symbol who’s very own style of speaking (”Zappanese”) is even a source of potential income, dare anyone even TRY to share or enjoy what flowed naturally from the man’s heart and mind for 53 beautiful years on this earth.

I don’t think anyone could have put the current situation any better, MarcoJ. You’ve described essentially what the ZFT has created since December 1993: a Frank Zappa puppet with GZ pulling the strings (and that’s why any other incarnation of FZ is such a threat — be it weblogs, tribute bands, REAL FANS).

STOP IT….YOU’LL HURT YOUR THROAT…

With my opinion is little to be the power which emerges from KUR which frightens the Zappa Family. This site which endangers the obsolete attitude of the Zappa Family, a little as this old French continent which is believed in right good and in the shelter of the revival. The blindness and the immobilism are only the symptom of this disease which corrodes this family and the gesticulations and these threats are only the reflection of their impotence to control the migratory flow of the work of Frank Zappa. They know well that that Ci belongs to them only thanks to some documents signed and that the gasoline even of its music is impregnated in the recesses deepest of our brain, they will seek them there, will finish they by us trépaner, to oblige us to still deposit some tickets green on the memory of Frank. The world becomes increasingly sordid. Good luck with all. I makes a point of leaving a homage by the same occasion, a thought for François Béranger a French artist, singer with texts which did not chew its words, A Frank and François.

Frank is so certainly dead. And by “dead”, I mean the entire point of his life’s work and art. Don’t get me wrong, the spirit is alive in all the fans his music has touched, but Frank has truly died into the commodity that Gail and the FZT need him to be in every way.

In the tone of the society that we now live in, filled with shit-loads of self-conciously “hip” post-modernists who ALL have their “hip list” just hanging off of their sleeve and constantly reinforced in their oh-so-precious You Tube site, this “commodity” Frank fits perfectly: devoid of the true, simple point of MUSIC IS THE BEST, his new form is an “image-corpse”, sucked clean of all the life, inspiration and communicativity that the REAL Frank always poured out of himself by the minute.

He’s a POSTER now, a VAULT RELEASE, an i-Tune. He’s a mustache, a one-dimensional symbol who’s very own style of speaking (”Zappanese”) is even a source of potential income, dare anyone even TRY to share or enjoy what flowed naturally from the man’s heart and mind for 53 beautiful years on this earth.

I shouted it before and I’ll shout it again: Gail Zappa is a painfully angry, bitter and resentful widow. If SHE never got the Frank that she wanted in terms of companionship and interaction (much less fidelity), then NO ONE GETS HIM.

Sorry I’m coming off so damned depressive and doom & gloom. It’s just that everything Frank did and created was about making CONNECTIONS and breaking down BARRIERS. Even before his death, the mechanations were already in place (FZT) to set up more barriers and dig more moats than an entity could conceive of.

The only “teeth” that would have any effect would be the ones that forces Gail Zappa to realize that Frank and his work was meant for a much bigger world than cuddling in the living room instead of going down to the studio to work……

Why is the state of things so unbelievably pathetic?

I a

The petition is toothless. A boycott would be better

In terms of it actually pushing the ZFT into making a U-turn, I guess you’re right in saying the petition is toothless. It has however made 1000+ people aware of what is going on, and it has also given them an opportunity to express their view of things. That in itself is an accomplishment — one that gains weight as the number grows. A boycott cannot/should not be “organized” I think. To boycott or not to boycott is, and should remain, a personal decision.

A quote from DC DogfoodJingle:

Does anyone have a list of all the defendants named in this lawsuit?

There are multiple lawsuits issued — most of them Cease & Desist letters. The most serious one is GZ vs Zappanale (the German Zappa tribute festival). For a list of current lawsuits, have a look here.

I somehow signed twice … but I’ve already asked the petition’s author to have one of them removed, so stop looking at me like that!

A quote from Maroual:

This petition list is growing fast, 200+ people signed after me in less than 24 hours

Is that still with all the ‘JOKE NAMES’ on it?

All those ‘JOKE NAMES’ have been justly voided. This is serious bizniz…

This petition list is growing fast, 200+ people signed after me in less than 24 hours

Is that still with all the ‘JOKE NAMES’ on it?

>>>>>>As for *new* releases, wait for a while and buy them second hand from used or independent music stores

Word up. This is what I do since the cds are too expensive when new. I bought Civ Phase 3 direct from the “trust”, years ago, but that’ll likely be the last time I do that.

Used cds can also be had via Amazon’s website, from the “auth. resellers” program. They often have new cds at used prices since the FZulu catalog just doesn’t seem to move units as much as it did before (certainly not the obscure titles like Perfect Stranger).

First thing I do when in search of my FZ fix is head straight to my friendly neighborhood independent new and used music store (which I’ve been doing for years, now). Not only is the quality of the CDs/DVDs top notch, but as you mentioned they are also relatively cheaper, and in the spirit of *keeping things local* I’m happy to support a local business than keeps my dollars in the community where it is needed, not in the coffers of the U.S. Democratic Party or Goil Zupra’s lawyers: Fleece, Fear, and Foible.

There’s an ugly little weasel ’bout three-foot nine
Face puffed up from cryin’ ‘n lyin’
‘Cause her sweet little hubby’s
Suckin’ prong part time
(In the name of The ZFT)

Get a clue, little shrew
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Us thinks you’re a jerk
Would he really choose The Widow to do His Work? Unh-unh