So a faithful reader, fine friend and all-around good guy emailed the other night with a very intriguing question.
Naturally, I answered promptly, something I do out of professional courtesy whenever someone gets in touch and, well, just to be polite. A lot of the folks who write to me are very free and open and intelligent and giving people and sometimes that creates a back-and-forth dialogue, which is very cool.
Never hesitate to hit the send button.
Even if you find what I write abhorrent and abominable and awful and thats just the As ... even if you detest and despise and doom me to a fate worse than death because of what appears here, always understand that Im willing to read every word you write.
And Ill always reply.
Well, there have been one or two exceptions over the last 20 years, but theyve been few and far between.
I love and appreciate any contact with readers.
Who wouldnt?
Just the other day, I got a call from my First Fan -- he penned a letter to the paper for which I worked in 1990, saying he liked my writing -- and I enjoyed catching up with him and whats been going in his life.
The next day, a postcard from a reader arrived, asking if my wife and I were OK in the wake of the deadly tornadoes that plowed through Eastern North Carolina the week before Easter.
Sometimes readers send homemade CDs containing music they know I care about ... other times, its a long out-of-print book they think Ill enjoy ... later, it could be photos documenting a trip to their favorite beach or a dream vacation to Liverpool or the Galapagos Islands.
And all of this makes me feel part of something much larger than a guy sitting at a keyboard once a week, trying to make contact with people, most of whom hell never be lucky enough to meet.
But then there are the hard core regulars, the ones who, over the years -- be it 20 or 10 or five or a matter of months -- have become the embodiment of those who Get It, who understand, who grasp the notion that a slender thread can sometimes lead to an unbreakable bond.
One them asked me the following essential question: If the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame decided that it had to -- for whatever reasons -- delete some of the artists who had already been inducted, who would you delete?
And this was half of the list -- and my responses:
Tina Turner or Aretha Franklin? ... hmmm ... this isnt easy. Im going to have to say goodbye to Tina, since her solo career revolves around a single LP (Private Dancer), though I love Nutbush City Limits, from her days with Ike, who beat her. She sang with the Stones on the 81 tour and, of course, is featured in Gimme Shelter, the movie, not the single, but Aretha is Lady Soul. Enough said.
The Grateful Dead or the Band? This is the toughest choice on the board ... the Dead lasted longer, had more fans, recorded more albums, toured all the time and yet, for all that, only had two studio LPs I even listen to anymore: Workingmans Dead and American Beauty. The Band was only around for a decade or so, but they were Dylans band and Ronnie Hawkins band and then, their own Band. I listen to Rock of Ages far more than Live in Europe 72, their best live LPs. And then again, The Weight and Ripple are both so fine ... as are Uncle Johns Band and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down ... I guess it comes down to a personal choice and Ive chosen to lose the Dead. Close call.
Tom Petty or the Eagles? This, to me, is a high school vs. college question, and I think Ill let the Eagles fly away, though I love Witchy Woman and Take It Easy ... and I believe that On the Border is arguably their finest work ... but Hotel California isnt as important to me as TPs debut LP, the one with American Girl and Breakdown and then that band just stayed together and evolved ... the Eagles added Joe Walsh and that wasnt playing fair. Kind of like the Yankees signing ARod. No, Im afraid Im taking the Heartbreakers in this one. (However, Ill take the Eagles version of Tom Waits Ol 55 over anything TP and his group ever recorded.) And I really respect Peaceful Easy Feelin ... but the Damn the Torpedoes record is amazing. The problem with TP is that hes been hanging around Dylan too much and hes never going to be him, that whole Traveling Willburys vibe. Wait a second ... Im going back to high school and changing my mind. Breaks my heart, but TP goes. Cant believe I cant make up my mind ...
David Bowie or Iggy Pop ... Im torn. Ripped up. Jagged pieces and stellar glam. Im going to jettison Jimmy Osterberg because, as much as I admire the Stooges, I was never really a fan. Thats on me. But Bowie pretty much defined my high school daze with Ziggy Stardust, and that wham-bam thank you maam blast near the end of Suffragette City still knocks me out. And he put out such diverse LPs, from Aladdin Sane to Young Americans, and then was putting out fire with gasoline and his Station to Station is still among the best Ive ever experienced, with all that Thin White Duke vibe and TVC15 and well, you know. Iggys an important influence, but Bowies better.
Paul Simon or Rod Stewart? Ahh, man, youre killing me: I couldnt do without either one. The smart thing to do would be to kick Rod to the curb, but Im afraid I cant do that. I know, I know: S&G defined who I am, with all those hits like Sounds of Silence and Hazy Shade of Winter and I Am a Rock and At the Zoo and Scarborough Fair and The Boxer and America and Mrs. Robinson and Bridge over Troubled Water. And Pauls had an incredible post-60s career. My choice is almost indefensible ... except that Rod rocked, had more soul in his left little finger than Paul had in his whole body and recorded songs that still make me shake my head with wonder. Sure, he was sloppy where Paul was polished ... and his band wasnt technically anything like the ensembles that Simon assembles. But, well, when I think of the best LP ever recorded, Every Picture Tells a Story is right up there and when I hear a tune like Handbags and Glad Rags, I smile. I know Rod dallied in disco and that should eliminate him, but Country Comfort and side one of Never a Dull Moment resonate. Plus all his work with the Faces: I cant imagine a world without Stay With Me and the way the boys pull out all the stops in concert: everyone gets a quick solo and Rod carries it home. Besides, Maggie May might be the best coming-of-age song ever written ... then again, Paul Simons Duncan is in the mix, as well. OK, OK ... Im leaving him down by the schoolyard with Julio ... its just, well, a reason to believe.
So that was a lot of fun and I just thought Id share it with all of you. Thanks to the reader who fired my imagination.
Feel free to rip my choices or, better yet, to send off a challenging question of your own.
As you know, Im up all night.
