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He talks with contempt about people who "want to live forever" by not smoking and doing lots of healthy things, and he's definitely lived what he preached by puffing and being ill for the last 12 to 16 years of his life; at the cost of his loved ones and fans.

That's pretty harsh!

Nothing about Frank made me sick. I think he was good intentioned in most that he did, not that that made him right all the time. His extramarital affairs don't garner my admiration though I'm sure in his mind he was doing nothing wrong.

I don't like the cover of the Wild Man Fischer album that Frank produced parodying a real life situation where Larry threatened his mother with a knife. I found this quite distasteful. Even though I have been amused by Wild Man to some degree, the exploitation of mental illness is questionable. Granted I'm of the "there are no sacred cows philosophy" it doesn't mean that everything is funny or well thought out.

Frank's hardcore stance against drugs was somewhat hypocritical. While he constantly criticized drug use he surrounded himself with drug users (especially in the early years) and he marketed himself to that crowd. He also was a chain smoker which in my eyes is a more dangerous habit than your average marijuana user.

Likewise, Frank's hardcore stance against the American educational system that led to withdrawing his children from the public school system asap is suspect. While the Zappa children have had varying degrees of "success" much of that derives directly from the Zappa name. Frank always said that his kid's biggest problem was their last name but that is bunk. Could any of the kids have got the opportunities they had without being FZ's son or daughter? I don't think so.

The truth is I did put FZ on a pedestal as a teen and in my younger adult years. Now I don't put anybody on a pedestal. Why I needed that in my younger years was because of a lack of self-esteem and looking for some guidance. FZ did provide me with some of that and he continues to be a source of inspiration in many ways and my favorite entertainer and composer of all-time. But now I just look at him as another guy who was smarter and more gifted than me in some areas - not necessarily better than me.