14 thoughts on “A Frank Zappa Street For Amsterdam”

  1. …so, you’re saying that Gail Zappa is litigious? Hmm.

    I hadn’t heard that one yet….TODAY.

  2. I don’t know how gining a name to a street is organised in A’dam. Knowing the Dutch I guess it will first of all be put on the agenda of a specific municipal committee, which will make a proposal to the City Council. Yes, when people believe in boundaries, they become part of them.
    Thus : both logics & common sense ( institutional border crossing) tell us : Good to foresee a petition. The hard way.
    Further suggestion for the NL ( strong in church organ music). Organise a concert as soon as there’s an agreement on the FZ street. A concert for Organ & Drums. Both are each other’s mirror image. It’s about playing with three physical ( body ) elements, connected / disconnected: # 1 is the right hand, #2 is the left hand,# 3 are both feet. Exactly the same( both are one man’s bands) , making use of different devices: the European hand made musical computer from the 17th & 18th century and the African ( now global ) drumset.

  3. I’m absolutely sure that the Dutch can make it. It’s about guilt. Why?

    – FZ complained about the way he was treated by the Dutch ( they just runned away with the money).

    – Later there was the Holland Festival, with a lot of FZ music concerts. Been there.

  4. For sure the Dutch can make it. They’re truly innovative minds.
    I’m sure they can deliver. They can make musicians cross borders. For instance playing FZ music on church organ & drums. Or anything else / comparable.

    They happen to be far beyond this:
    The German psychologist Dr. Weisenhutter interviewed the musicians of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and found them beset by psychogenic illnesses. The players are impotent. They hate new music. After playing it they cannot engage in sexual activity. This is understandable, for musicians are emotional people and if a musician is not convinced of the validity of what he does, his sexual life is bound to suffer” ~ from Boulez – Composer, Conductor, Enigma by Joan Peyser (Schirmer ISBN 0028717007)
    Source : http://www.overgrownpath.com/2007/12/surgeon-generals-warning-inner-cities.html

  5. Hopefully there are no pot / drug heads in the institutional yellow brick road in the NL. The Dutch, why should they success in it ? And what the hell has Dr. Weissenhutter do do with the streets of the NL ?

    Is “bernard” impotent ? Does he suffer from psychogenic illnesses ?
    Is he emotional ? Can he play church organ and drums at the same time ? Is he part of City Council ? Can he see the print by the dots?

    Questions, questions, questions …

  6. Gail has the right to determine how and where FZ’s name is presented. Imagine Frank Zappa Street at the corner of Pat Robertson Avenue?

    Plooker Says:
    December 4th, 2007 at 6:19 pm

    I named my cats Flo & Eddie, do I need permission from Gail?

    But which one is Mark and which one is Howard, Plooker?

  7. 1. My suggestion for the Dutch was to celebrate the new street name with a concert, where FZ music might be played in an innovative way. Why not combining old & new? Church organ ( the dutch are truly strong in this) and drums? Or other new innovative combinations to take it further? One of the elements in the FZ system was exactly to have a look at the past, deconstruct things and take them further in a new innovative way.
    2. FZ often complained about classical musicians, performing his music ( two completely different subcultures). The – hopefully funny – quote from the book explains why classical musicians ( for instance people who play church organ) turn their back to modernity ( ways too difficult). Another missed opportunity.
    3. The Dutch are able to deliver because they’re well organised ( at least that’s what they pretend to be). The Holland Festival might be helpful, as they did in the past. Anyway the petition is the right way to start. Good luck, Dutch friends.

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