I'm Not Sure Who Wins Here

The announcement that Warner Brothers is acquiring Rykodisk reunites the late Frank Zappa with the record label that caused him great consternation during his career. On the one hand, I get the feeling Zappa would be appalled by this turn of events, as he obviously had considerable disdain for the label. On the other, Ryko eventually released Läther, a sprawling, eight-sided record that Warner's refusal to release may have signified the beginning of the conflict between artist and label, and now Warner is responsible for it.

At the time of the Ryko release, it seemed like that was the end of the long, strange trip of that particular record, but now that it's going to be considered a Warner Brothers release, the whole saga takes one more step.