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This whole monstruousity was originally conveived February through March 2001 by the members of The Big Note - a Frank Zappa YahooGroup. After an arduous gestation period, this site was birthed on April 11 2001. True to the essence of collaborative effort, these people are held responsible.

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Dream Police State

Zappa Story #11
Has anybody else out there, as a result of over-listening, ever seen Frank in their dreams? Well it's happened twice to me and it was really, well, psychedelic. Here is how they went: (and - you know - it's a dream, so take the unlogical things seriously... Just like the Dangerous Kitchen)
DREAM ONE: A friend of mine and I was walking in a large street near here and we saw that FZ had come to Turkey for a concert. I said to my friend, "Whoa it's great, the guy is dead and still gives concerts!" The concert was in an apartment, so we went up there like it was a regular thing, and saw him playing in a small saloon - with a bunch of people sitting on the floor listening to him.
He was playing Disco Boy and Dinah Moe Hum. My friend got bored and said, "let's go out", so we got out of there. Later on, in the evening when I returned home, Frank was concluding the concert in my room, alone and as I came in, he finished a solo. I begged like a small child for him to continue, but he said "no" - while putting his guitar into the case.
Then, HE started to talk like a small, naughty child: "Heh-heh, I won't play anymore". He began running, with small steps, just like a fast-motioned comedy movie. I started to run behind him, but he jumped out of the window onto a basketball court (at a school, near our apartment), which was filled with water - and looked like a small lake.
I looked around, and asked people on the street if they had seen a man with a moustache and long hair, but no one had and I couldn't find him…
DREAM TWO: I had gone to visit a house with my family and when I looked inside of one of the rooms in the house, I saw Frank and Jean-Luc Ponty. I thought "they're recording 'Canard Du Jour!' - cool!" and I went in (this dream occurred before I heard the actual song). They offered me to join the jam on drums. I thought it would be groovy.
At that moment, Jimmy Carl Black popped up, saying he was going to play the drums with me. I saw a really strange drum set that I can't describe, but I remember it looked like a bed. Before recording began, I accidentally got out of the room, and couldn't find the same room again after searching many corridors.
Any comments?
DRagonfly

anybody else out there seen Frank in their dreams?
Seen him??? Hell, I AM him - in my dreams, of course...
unlogical, just like the Dangerous Kitchen
I find nothing "unlogical" about The Dangerous Kitchen. Hell, I AM a dangerous kitchen - in my dreams, of course...
DREAM ONE: FZ had come to Turkey for a concert and I saw him playing Disco Boy and Dinah Moe Hum. My friend got bored and we got out of there.
Herein lies the first deep-seated, psychological problem. You have very few friends and the ones you have suffer from poor taste, bad judgement, and shitty timing (you can trust me on this as I have studied deep REM characterizations extensively; my associates refer to me as the Dream Reader. Back in my crazy, misspent youth, I wrote (what I believed was) a hit song on the topic. But then, some schmuck from Spooky Tooth heard the test pressing at a party, and ripped off the idea - creating some insipid dreck about the textile industry. But I digress...). Even so, your desperate (and somewhat pathetic) need for acceptance with your peers leads you to commit the same crimes against art as they and you hate yourself for your weakness.
I begged him to continue, but he said "no", and started running. I looked around, but I couldn't find him.
Deep-seated, psychological problem #2 lies in the self-loathing that became apparent in the first part of your dream. Frank obviously didn't approve of the way you left the show earlier, evidenced by his refusal to play later. This, of course, drives your self-esteem even lower. The fact that Frank eludes you in the race and escapes shows just how low your opinion of yourself has become - you could not even beat a middle-aged, unhealthy, 3-pack-a-day smoker in a foot race. The fact that he made his escape via a submerged basketball court supports this, as FZ (who despised athletic competition in ANY form) demonstrates his physical superiority over you. It also shows you may have an unhealthy fetish for the "Hot Rats" album - but hey, who doesn't?
DREAM TWO: Frank and Jean-Luc Ponty will record 'Canard Du Jour' [and] offered me to join the jam with drums
Oh, oh; now we have a problem. We're crossing that fine line between dream and delusion... Hold still DRagonfly; we'll need to get an accurate sleeve measurement for your new Rubber Shirt.
I accidentally got out of the room, and couldn't find the same room again in many corridors.
That clinches it; DRagonfly, you need help. This second dream brings forth all of the angst that's crippling you psychologically. Not only does FZ have a very low opinion of you (in your subconscious, of course); he would rather hang out with Jean-Luc Ponty (whom Frank despised even more than athletic competitions) than suffer your presence. Even the overtures by Jimmy Carl could not compensate for Frank's obvious displeasure...
To be vilified by your hero; do you have any idea how close to suicidal/postal you are (do they have McDonalds in Turkey)?
DRagonfly, we're your REAL friends at TBN. None of us would ever have gotten bored and suggested we leave that first concert. We feel your pain... I don't think I am off-base in suggesting that you seek qualified, medical attention for your apparent low self esteem - knowing all the while that we at TBN are pulling for your complete recovery!
If you feel the need to talk this out with any of us, might I add, don't bother...
I don't think I am off base in suggesting that we're all Bozos on this bus.
SOFA

I don't think I am off base in suggesting that we're all Bozos on this bus.
So, I guess you don't want to know about my dream with Peter Frampton...
SHARLEENA

I didn't say that... Is it juicier than DRagonfly's?
Wait a minute! He doesn't keep popping in and out, saying "I'm in you", does he? 'Cause if so, you and my wife have the same dream.
Come to think of it, maybe you ARE my wife. I always wondered why I've never seen the two of you photographed together. How could I be such a fool?
SOFA

As long as Jesus doesn't think you're a jerk then you're ok in my book.
BHJ

I always thought that TDK was a dreamy song, although Franks aim of music was to get the listener to a higher level of consciousness... whatever, here comes the serious part...
Considering that what you say (about yourself) is true, I'll take your analysis seriously. Ok, I have few friends, but those I have are the ones that I can really trust - though their taste doesn't always match mine. I have few friends because I refuse to be a part of a fake society. And, by the way, I don't hate myself.
The reason I couldn't reach him comes from, not that I see myself weak, but from Frank's (how can I put this) irreachability? And that court never represented sports to me; it takes place in my subconscious because I see it everyday. (And I am a WRMF cover fetishist, by the way. I even wear it.) And is that true that Frank hated Ponty? If it is true, I didn't know it at the time of the dream...
Suicidal? Thanks anyway, but I'd rather not. I enjoy existing. What do you think I do, turn off the lights of my room every evening, and turn up the volume of the black metal in the background, while I bury my face into the pillow? (Yes, "they" have McDonald's' here, and make "us" go and eat there. You know who the both sides are, right? )
DRagonfly, we're your REAL friends at TBN.
Thanks, SOFA. I know you all are. It's great to have a friend who is double-knit all over. But I don't need any medical... shit, because - however you defend it - I'm not sick. To help you out a little, I should tell a bit about myself…
First, I am someone who's a bit bohemian, I would say a "Dadaist" (but I find it silly for people to title themselves with ideologies, which they can never fully express themselves). Like every human being I have some desires, I can simplify them as: 1) Expressing myself, which I choose to do through art - mainly in music. 2) I am a teenager and I need SEX (but I'm not exactly in touch with the opposite camp). 3) I am in love, or if you prefer, I'M IN FUCK. That's it.
DRagonfly

I'll take your analysis seriously
DRagonfly, I am truly sorry. None of what I posted in response to your dreams was intended seriously. Like Frank used to say, "It's strictly for entertainment purposes only - not to be taken internally". I have no more insight into other people's dreams than I have knowledge of their genitalia (in other words, I know enough to get me into trouble). Anything from that "analysis" that implied you are weak or self-hating, was a joke. Nothing more.
I am WRMF cover fetishist by the way. I even wear it
This I knew (well, not the wearing part of it). I simply thought the water filled court fit in well with the empty tank on HR out of which Christine Frka peers…
And is that true that Frank hated Ponty?
Okay, I can't tell you what interview it came from, but it was after the 88 tour and I think it was before the diagnosis. The interviewer was asking what happened to make the 88 tour fall apart. Then he asked about the litigation with the original mothers. Then he touched on FZ's relationship with Beefheart and Flo & Eddie. Finally, Frank said something to this effect (not a direct quote) "I bear no ill will towards any musician that has ever played with, or for, me - no matter what the press has led you to believe. I would gladly play music with any of them again - with the possible exception of Jean-Luc Ponty". When pressured for a reason why, FZ responded that there were times when JLP was "subhuman".
Yes, "they" have McDonald's' here and make "us" go and eat there. You know who the both sides are, right?
Yes, I do; another joke gone amiss. About a decade ago in the US, we had a couple of incidences where disgruntled US Postal employees "snapped", and wound up walking into a fast food restaurant with an automatic rifle and opened fire on the crowd. This brought the term "going postal" (going crazy) into popular use.
And although I am tempted, I am not going to make any jokes about your self-description (you have no idea how tough it is for me to pass on that). You sound like a pretty nice person to me; one that I would enjoy the company of, no matter what the situation.
I am a teenager, I need SEX. I am in love, or if you prefer, I'M IN FUCK.
I may be fat, floating, and maroon, but I do remember my teenage years. You have my sympathies...
Falling in love is a stupid habit. - FZ 1987?
The best to you, my friend.
SOFA

SOFA,
This sort of misunderstanding seems to pop of from time to time. While I don't want to destroy any cherished TBN traditions, what do you think of the idea of making unwritten rules #'s 1 & 2 (I think that's all we have right now?), written rules, presenting them to new members upon induction, thereafter reverting to "unwritten" status?
I addressed this question to SOFA, but I welcome a response from anyone that knows what the hell I'm talking about and has something to say on the subject.
Poodle

Hmm... That must be that unwritten rule! Never to take anything seriously going on in the posts. As I am interested in psychology, I was just excited to find somebody who can discuss something serious about it but... well, next time.
Sorry about missing the postal joke, a decade ago I was trying really hard to get every local joke going around, but - how the hell did I miss that one?
You sound like a pretty nice person to me; one that I would enjoy the company of, no matter what the situation.
Sure I am SOFA, one of the nicest, most open-minded and humble people you can find - I'm just a little ugly on the side... (no matter what the situation? even if my hair grew down the side of my kimono?)
Falling in love is a stupid habit. - FZ 1987?
Sure is, like everything else in life. But wait, did you ever see me claim that I am smart at all?
Thanks,
DRagonfly

Frank Zappa


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