30 Questions I’ve Always Wanted to Ask JOHN MENDELSSOHN: Big Star Fanzine Reprint [1977]

Text by Bernie Kugel / Big Star fanzine, 1977
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

This interview was originally printed in Big Star fanzine, issue #2, dated August-September-October 1977. It was written by its publisher, Buffalo (NY) Musician Hall of Fame Inductee Bernie Kugel, who kindly and granted permission for this reprint.

John Mendelssohn  is a well-known and respect music and culture critic. At the time of this article, he was gaining name for both is snarky and funny album reviews, and for his two bands, Christopher Milk and then The Pits. He also released some solo recordings, such as Sorry We’re Open (2010) with pop sounds that belied a history of insecurity and depression (as most writers will attest to about themselves). He often writes about that history now, which is quite evident in this interview.

Over time, as the recordings dwindled, he focused more on his writing, including a number of non-fiction books (such as the much lauded Kinks Kronikles and Waiting for Kate Bush) and a blog. He has made some serious moves over the years, living in such diverse areas as SoCal, England, Germany and Upstate New York, some of which revolved around marriages.

Like Lester Bangs, who was arguably better known, Mendelssohn’s contribution to rock writing cannot be underplayed, as he was part of a voice in the very late ‘sixties and well into the ‘seventies, helping create a form of creative non-fiction that influences the way people discuss the entertainment world at large even today.

Click on these links to check out his informative and fun BLOG called Mendel Illness, WRITING SAMPLES from his earlier days, some of his MUSIC, FICTION, and VIDEO AND MOTION GRAPHICS.

Two things to note are that Mendelsson also has been known to spell is name with a single “s” so don’t let that mislead  you, and that anything in [brackets] was added by me in 2015. – RBF, 2015

Christopher Milk publicity shot: John is second from right

John Mendelssohn’s been making unique, personal, great pop music for some years now with only some of the best of it surfacing on records like his old band Christopher Milk’s great Some People Will Drink Anything [Reprise Records, 1972 – RBF, 2015] LP and his new band the Fits’ fine debut EP on Bomp! Records. But there are other fine John Mendelssohn compositions that have as yet not seen the light of day. Incredible stuff too, like the amazing “Bring Back the Sixties” and the simply majestic “Prepared to Love” among the hours of unreleased Mendelssohn songs.

We’ve been very fortunate to be in contact with John the past few months, and he’s been kind enough to send along some of his unreleased tapes which will be covered in upcoming Big Stars in great detail. But for now, we thought we’d satisfy all you die-hard Mendelssohn freaks out there with this little by-mail exchange I had with him recently. But hang on, ‘cause there’s lots more Mendelssohn-Milt-Fits fax-n-pix comin’ your way soon. And remember, before you decide to move out west, Hollywood can be cruel. Now, Milk on…

1. Did you have aspirations for rock superstardom as a kid?

Up until the time I saw Hard Day’s Night, I dreamed not of rock stardom, but of a career as a professional baseball or basketball player, in spite of the fact that I never exactly excelled at either. (I was very small up until the age of seventeen, which had a little to do with it.)

2. What were your earliest attempts at bands like? What were your earliest original compositions like?

The Fogmen (Santa Monica High School, 1965), The Rubber Souls (winter, 1965) were both Beatles imitations in velour turtlenecks and Thom McCann boots. The Consouls (summer, 1965) was run by three older geezers and played soul music, very poorly. The 1930 Four played English stuff, jazz and a couple of Ray Charles things, and won the Battle of the Bands sponsored by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce in 1966. I was thrown out in May 1967. My earliest compositions were lame imitations of my favorite records.

3. What were the early days of C. Milk like? How did the group come together?

Hectic, silly, young and innocent, induplicable [sic] fun. Ralph [Oswald] and I began playing together in April 1968. The Kiddo joined in April 1970, with Mr. Twister. Forgive me if I don’t get more into it, but I’s boring to get so detailed about a group that no longer exists, and hasn’t for nearly four years.

4. Were you satisfied with the first [self-titled 1971] Milk EP when it came out (and the reaction towards it)?

No, but explaining why would take too long and ultimately prove not worth the trouble so far as I can see.

5. Why didn’t Mr. Twister ever appear on vinyl?

Because he couldn’t carry a tune to save his life and was used sort of as comic relief on stage only.

6. Were you happy with the release of the first album? What did you think of the generally negative reaction it got from “critics”?

No. If we’d spend one-tenth the time on the vocals that we did overdubbing seventy-five thousand guitar parts I might be able to listen to it today without cringing. Since most of Warners either hated us or were embarrassed by our presence on the label, it was doomed from the beginning. Also, I think Chris Thomas is a horrible producer [Thomas has produced, among others, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Roxy Music, Badfinger, The Pretenders, and The Sex Pistols), although he was at that time of the sessions a very dear friend. I’ve come to believe that it deserved the reaction it got. (Essentially, C. Mil’s biggest problem was that ours – or, more accurately, Ralph’s – ambitions far exceeded our abilities as musicians. Of course, I didn’t realize this fully until much later.)

7. Do you have favorite songs off the first LP?

“Tiger,” “A Second Hard Viola” (which I still think Rod Stewart ought to record) (that’s me on drums), the last part of “[The] Babyshoes [Bittersuite Sad Songs That She Inspired].” (If Ralph’s techniques equalled his melodic inventiveness he’d be the best guitarist in rock.)

8. What were the final “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” [1973] single sessions like and did the band immediately break up after being dropped from Warners?

Great fun for everyone save The Kiddo, who disliked the way I recorded and mixed he bass (I produced, but didn’t give myself credit because my work as a critic had made us so many powerful enemies). We broke up almost immediately after the single flopped, having no manager, no label, no agency, no gigs, few fans.

9. Did ya go solo and record things solo before the invention of the Pits, and how did that band come about?

I began working on my own stuff a couple of months before the Milk officially called it quits. The Pits came about because I realized that my trying to synthesize everything on an ARP Odyssey [analog synthesizer] wasn’t’ working.

10. If you had to choose a few songs which have influenced your writing of songs the most, which would you choose?

“Here, There and Everywhere,” “Waterloo Sunset,” “For No One,” “Tattoo,” and so on far into the night. I’ve always been the soft to succumb unhesitatingly to a beautiful melody and a poignant or amusing bunch of lyrics. “For No One’s” my all-time fave.

11. What’s the normal day of John Mendelssohn like today?

Wake up, get out of bed, have a bowl of Team [cereal], some apple juice, several cups of coffee, re-read the LA Times’ Sports Section 85 times, go in den/studio and brood, make lunch, go back into den to sulk until mid-afternoon, go run mile as fast as possible and play basketball or tennis at Fairfax High School (alma mater of Phil Spector), come home, sulk until Marie comes home from work, eat dinner, get high, make love, watch TV or brook some more (or sometimes work on prose or new song), wonder why it’s taking so long to put new Pits line-up together, go to sleep.

12. If you had to briefly characterize your songs what would you say they’re about?

All manner of things, whimsical and wondrous. People are forever comparing me to Sparks, which I detest with a passion.

13. How many songs have you written in your life and which are your favorites?

Around forty. Favorites: “Prepared to Love,” “Autumn Approaching,” “Where’s My Jane?”

14. Do you have a favorite and least favorite rock critic?

Favorite: Lester Bangs, even though he no longer returns my calls. All-time least favorite: Ed Ward [at the time, writing for Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, and Creem].

15. What do you think you’ll be doing at age sixty?

Brooding.

16. Why aren’t you singing on the new Pits recordings?

I’m very insecure – with good reason – about my voice. But I am getting better.

17. If you had to choose between journalism and songwriting, which would you choose?

Not between songwriting and journalism, but between music and prose. (Sitting at my Hohner String Vox [electric keyboard] for hours on end trying to make a song work isn’t the fun part: recording and performing are infinitely more enjoyable.) I’d take music.

18. Do you envision a day when the Pits will play Dodger and Yankee Stadiums?

I’d settle for the Santa Monica Civic.

19. Do you think superstardom will change you?

Probably a little. In this regard, one couldn’t do better than Bev Bevan [English drummer for the likes of The Move, ELO and Black Sabbath], who’s remained one of the nicest guys and best friends in the world in spite of everything.

20. Do you regret anything you’ve done in this life?

To be honest, there aren’t a lot of things I don’t regret. I’m not one of nature’s happier sorts as a general rule. (When it comes to finding a way to be miserable, even when it appears that everything’s coming up roses, I’m topped only by Chris Thomas.)

21. What would you like written on your grave when you have to go to the popstar heaven in the sky?

Here lies John Mendelssohn.

22. What advice would you have for rock journalist types and somewhat saner folks who want to pursue the road to being a superstar?

I’m the last person anyone in his right mind would come to for advice.

23. Are you generally cheerful or optimistic would you say?

Not hardly.

24. Why haven’t there been more live appearances by the Mendelssohn bands?

We couldn’t get bookings. God knows we rehearsed enough.

25. If you had to put your lifetime goals in twenty-five words or less, what would they be?

I’d like one day to be very happy.

26. What do you think of the (formal) education you’ve had?

Roughly 95% of the teachers and professors I had over the course of sixteen years of schooling ought to be shot, or at least allowed never again to open their stupid yaps within hearing of impressionable youngsters.

27. If you could live in another decade than this one, is there any particular one you’d choose?

I think I could learn to love the present century’s ‘forties and ‘sixties (and probably ‘twenties) in perpetuity.

28. What would you do if there was no rock-n-roll?

Not play quite so loud.

29. Do you have favorite books and authors and films and TV shows and foods?

Authors: Tom Wolfe, Philip Roth, Frederick Exley. TV: “Saturday Night Life” with Tony Kaufman (who with Albert Brooks is one of the two funniest men in America), “M*A*S*H,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “60 Minutes.” (I used to be dedicated to “All in the Family,” which I know longer enjoy, to the point at which I once came off stage in Irvine at 7:20 and was back in my favorite chair in my house in Laurel Canyon some 62 mile away in time to watch, having broken every possible traffic law in-between. Incidentally, a corner of said chair is visible in one of the photographs of me on the back of the Milk album, taken a few houses after I had my wisdom teeth extracted.) Food: Marie’s world-famous (ask Mr. and Mrs. B. Bevan of Birmingham, England, if you don’t believe me) fried fish, Marie’s world-famous chef salad, just about anything at Au Petit Café on Vine in Hollywood.

30. Do you have any final word to your fans across the world?

Some day

KATE BUSH: A Celebration of Principles

Text by Lynne Bevan
Images from the Internet
© 1985 FFanzeen

The following article/interview with Kate Bush was originally published in FFanzeen #13 in 1985, written by Lynne Bevan.

At the highest level, a transatlantic phone connection can be “the next best thing to being there,” and at the worst, a near disaster. Amplified buzzing, humming, another disturbing effects can put a damper on the most intriguing of conversations. So when Kate Bush placed a call from somewhere in the British countryside to this Stateside writer, apprehension was being developed at both ends. The anxiety was quickly dissipated\, however, when Kate’s charming accent clipped through the line with hardly a disturbance to bother with.

We rapidly adjust to the five hour time difference between us and being to converse: about her, naturally, and the music she creates.

“I’m concerned with promoting the music. I’m not really concerned with promoting me,” she professes.

The statement is an accurate one. Kate keeps her private life tightly under wraps. Whatever information is discovered about this 26 year old singer-songwriter-producer must be leaned from interviews, or more importantly, from the music itself.

Nineteen-seventy-eight was an auspicious year for Ms. Bush. Records being played most often on the British airw2aves during that time were mostly banal and inane. The initial reaction to her debut single, “Wuthering Heights,” was one of incredulousness. How did this young upstart get to challenge those musical stalwarts, anyway? After a couple of listens, “Heights” became firmly entrenched in the minds of the record buying pubic and speedily soared right to the top of the charts. The whirlwind journey of the single, and later The Kick Inside, her album debut, triggered other enticing prospects for the deserving songstress. The start-making machinery was in full swing and Kate went ‘round and ‘round.

“I wanted people to like my music,” she recalls. “It was fantastic that people received it so well. My schedule was so full, and I had so much to think about. I went to Australia, Japan, and Europe. In-between from coming from Japan, and going to Australia, I recorded the second album.”

The success was admittedly sweet, though problems occasionally developed to thwart Kate form her ascension to the top of the heap.

Reflecting on her choice to record a second album hot on the tracks of her initial smash, she stated, “That’s the only time I’d ever been in that situation, and though that’s how I wished it to be, I feel it’s not good to be releasing an album between promoting an album. The success of the first album was so great, that I couldn’t ignore the opportunity of pushing that success.”

Kate’s subsequent releases outlined her continued involvement into new territory. “Lionheart,” “Never For Ever,” and most recently, “The Dreaming,” could be compared more to journeying into uncharted waters rather than following a well-trailed path. You won’t find this lady altering her style to suit the average Joe. A quick spin through one of the discs proves this out. What’s forcefully apparent is that she refuses to be bullied into playing it safe.

Kate’s situation seems to be more the exception than the rule. Many corporate heads tend to champion high chart position and able at the mention of artistic freedom. To parlay some of that artistic freedom into big bucks may be what some record executives dream about but scarcely expect.

No matter. The connection between Kate and her label is real peachy. A carefully crafted bunch of songs are periodically handed over and are eventually released to the waiting public.

Admittedly, Kate has more razzle dazzle success in her native England than in North America. The mass sterilization of today’s radio doesn’t leave much room for esoteric offerings, however good they are.

What propels the serious music listener to plunk down the cash for one of her albums, anyway?

“I wish I could actually pin down the quality that enables me to keep working and keep people enjoying it, so I wouldn’t worry so much,” says the artful Bush. “Whenever I made an album I do everything I can to make sure, within the time allowed, that every song is as good as I possibly can make it.”

There’s been many printed words assembled regarding Kate and her career, but The Dreaming becomes the focal point since it’s the most recent of her releases.

“Many people keep finding new things within The Dreaming,” she offers. “By the third or fourth tie of listening to it, they will hear some of the things that we’ve put there in layers. Some of my favorite experiences are listening to albums. When you start listening to it a few times, you start hearing things that you’ve never heard before.”

It is true that The Dreaming is over two years old. The thinking here is to create a quality product; one that satisfies the artist’s creative guidelines. And if the procedure is a rather lengthy one, that’s just the way it is.

Well, Kate and I have been discussing matters for at least an hour. Her fans would be chagrinned lest I omit a much requested matter: the original release date of a new album has come and gone. We have all been milling about, waiting for something new. When will Kate comply?

“I’m very pleased wit the songs that I’ve got so far,” she volunteers. “I think they’re different than the last album.”

Pressing further on the matter elicits this response: “I always feel wary about talking before anything is completed.”

Whether or not the new album, when released, will be able to grab a coveted position on the charts is anybody’s guess. Kate says it best: “When the time is right for Americans, if it will be, then it will be.”

Reflections of Out Magazine's 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums of All Time

Text © Robert Barry Francos
Images from the Internet

At a doctor’s office, I looked through their magazine rack and in the corner of my eye, I noticed the following enticement on the cover of the October 2008 issue of Out: “The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time).” As I scanned the list, I notched off the ones I own.

Despite my large collection, there are many on the list I do not own, because I don’t care about the output of musicians like George Michaels, Madonna, Culture Club, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Donna Summers, Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, and The Smiths/Morrissey. There are also places where I am definitely lacking, with the B-52s, Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Le Tigre, and Nina Simone. Mind you, in some cases I do have recordings by the artists listed above, but not the ones mentioned on the list (e.g., I have Cher’s first few albums, but not the later and the boringly techno/disco Believe).

Note that this is listed as their Rank, the Artist’s Name, and the Album Title.

009 Cyndi Lauper: She’s So Unusual – While “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was not only played ad nauseum when it came out, I was actually able to get past it and enjoy it now. Still, I don’t think it’s the best song on the release, what with “Time After Time” and some of the other quirky tunes there. As a whole, her previous release by her band Blue Angel was a more solid piece of work, but Unusual has much higher production values. Besides, though it’s not on this album, her live version of the Brains’ “Money Changes Everything” may be the hardest she’s ever rocked post Blue Angel.

012 The Velvet Underground & Nico: The Velvet Underground & Nico – For some reason, I didn’t really get into this until the early ‘90s, over 20 years after its release. That just shows the power of this disk. While cuts like “European Son” still put me off, I actually like the entire first side, and the first half of the second. There is a lot to recommend here, such as “Sunday Morning,” the three Nico cuts, and of course the opus, “Heroin.” And no, it did not make me want to actually try the crap.

037 Blondie: Parallel Lines – This certainly is not Blondie’s strongest release, even if it is one of their most popular. For me, they have never had a collection as strong as their first, eponymous release, on Chrysalis. “X Offender,” “In the Sun,” and “Attack of the Giant Ants” are just some of the great pop songs on this pre-New Wave collection.

038 Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis – Absolutely classic Dusty, who could sing the contents of a magazine and make it interesting. She had one of those pure voices that practically had the power to heal (when she wasn’t wearing it out by over-practicing – check out the bio about her, Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield by Penny Valentine and Vicki Wickham, which is so worth reading). Her version of “Windmills of Your Mind” is the standard-bearer for the tune (that has been covered umpteen times), though “Son of a Preacher Man” was a bigger hit.

049 Patti Smith Group Horses – Patti at her absolute best. There is not a weak cut here. Even the two 9 minutes cuts are riveting through and through, from beginning to end. Tales of suicide, insanity, and free money flow and this just whips by. While I still think her stuff now is strong, this is my favorite collected work. I remember a time when women would flock to clubs dressed in the white shirt and skinny black tie, like a uniform of solidarity.

058 Liz Phair Exile in Guyville – While I bought this album because of its hype, I don’t get it. Yes, I understand it’s a feminist deconstruction and rethinking of Exile on Main Street, but man, the woman cannot sing. You may be surprised that I totally respect Phair for what she does, but I cannot listen to her. I made it through the CD twice, and while I’ll still keep it around for reference, unless called for in some research, it will stay on my shelf and off the player.

064 Patti Smith Group Easter – Honestly, this is not one of my favorite Smith albums. The saving grace for me is “Frederick.” Part of my feeling this way is Jimmy Iovine’s over-production. Patti’s music from this period is still pretty raw, but it gets drowned in studio techic. I would rather hear the rawness of “Ask the Angels” or “Ain’t It Strange” than this version of “Rock and Roll Nigger” or “Space Monkey.”

067 Husker Du Candy Apple Grey – Okay, I know that two thirds of the trio are gay, but I’m not so sure how this is a gay album. Gotta be truthful, of my Husker Du collection, this isn’t one I played all that often. I know, I know, everything they did was gold, Jerry, gold, but I like their earlier, grittier stuff. Mind you, now I sound like someone who complains how Patti Smith’s comeback wasn’t angry anymore, but this was a bit too thrash metal for my tastes.

068 Nirvana Nevermind – The year that punk broke, my ass. This is as punk as is Green Day and Good Charlotte. In other words, it’s not very. However, unlike the output of those other two bands, Nirvana’s stuff was killer good. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was way overplayed on the media, but it still holds up after all these years. I bet at some point, if he had lived, Cobain would have gone the way of label mate Elliott Smith (no, not that, I mean singer-songwriter), as so many of the state’s grungsters did. He would have been great at that, too. As the Beatles created rock with Sgt. Pepper’s, Nirvana created the whole grunge thing, which was not punk, but something else, in the same way that hardcore was not New York-style old school punk, but something new.

075 Carole King Tapestry – For a number of years, this was the largest selling album in the world (replaced by Frampton Live, if I remember correctly, which was then swamped by the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, then Thriller. Of all of those, Tapestry is the only one to which I would voluntarily still listen. It’s amazing to think of the number of top-of-the-charters came off of this, both for King and the likes of James Taylor and even Aretha Franklin. Her blonde-blue eyed-Jewish soul made the listener feel so far away, needing a friend, and for some, a natural woman. Earlier, King and then-husband Goffin were one part of a trio of duos that wrote the soundtrack of the pre-Beatles ‘60s. Her pop songsmithy lasted well into the ‘70s, and this, her first solo release I believe, proved that she was not just a pretty pen, but had the unique voice to hold it up.

078 Various The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack – I was working in a (no-longer existing) Baskin-Robbins abutting Sheridan Square when this opened at the Waverly’s midnight show, and I sat there soon after it opened by myself the first time, surrounded by perhaps a dozen male couples making out. I could actually hear the screen. The next time I went, about 6 months later, it was a zoo. I had learned the music from the original British stage soundtrack, which I liked immediately. I thought it was smart that all the male voices were high pitched, except for Frank N. Furter’s, with Tim Curry’s rich basso. Some of the changes that had been made sort of annoyed me, such as that the film cut out a verse from the “Over At the Frankenstein Place” song, the break for “Time Warp” was moved, and Meat Loaf’s great “Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul” number erased the unique word phrasing and spacing; but I thought it was great having Barry Bostwick - the original (re: real) Danny Zucco -playing Brad, and Susan Sarandon playing a surprisingly good Janet. I was especially happy with the replacement of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’s Graham Jarvis with the elegant Charles Gray. But there really is no Rocky Horror without Curry, and he proved why in this film. If you want a laugh, find the Australian stage version, and listen to the whiney, high-pitched FNF, that will have your neighbor’s dog barking. Despite all the changes, this film has certainly become rightfully iconic, building its own synergy, but it’s especially good when you can actually hear it.

088 Husker Du Zen Arcade – This and Double Nickels on the Dime (or, as I like to call it, Going 55 on Highway 10, show why the Du were so highly regarded. The songs are tight yet simple (without being simplistic or formulaic) tunes with biting lyrics, wrapped in just a few brilliant flashes of a catch phrase. They were criticized at the time for going merch mad (i.e., signing to a major label), but with this rich a legacy, it would be hard to not be impressed.

090 Kate Bush The Kick Inside – Honestly, I wasn’t fond of Kate at first. I saw the videos for “Wuthering Heights” and “Rolling the Ball,” and was just not impressed. It wasn’t until I heard “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” that I stood up and noticed. Then I went back and bought the album, and found it grew on me. That being said, I find the whole myth of “sensitive soul who is a recluse” thing kind of silly. Most likely the woman has agoraphobia, which does not make her “sensitive,” it makes her psychotic (which somehow reminds me of a Rita Rudner joke: “You know that saying that neurotics build castles in the sky and psychotics live in them? My mother cleans them”). Bush has had many more hits in the UK, but other than the overrated “Running Up That Hill” she never reached an equal goddess-hood here. Personally, I think it was the disco beat she added that dragged her down (i.e., “riding the wave”), much as with the stunning Lene Lovitch, who I believe sabotaged herself similarly with “New Toy.”

094 Various Hair Original Broadway Cast – I wrote a previous blog about my relationship with this soundtrack (dated September 15, 2008, if you want to check it out). When one buys it now as a CD, it also includes songs left out of the original LP, which had been released to an uncaring audience as Disin-HAIR-ited. While at the time I agreed that it was not as superior, as I’ve listened to the modern joint version, it feels right that it should all be together rather than as separate pieces. Anyway, the original release, which is what is listed here, was not a soundtrack as much as it was a touchstone. So many of the songs have become ingrained into culture and covered by the hip to straight.

100 The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – I’m not sure what makes this a gay recording, actually. Is it the bright colored uniforms? Nah, that’s too cliché, frankly. Even talking about his album in this context seems bizarre, because it fits into nearly any category. This is not just one of the most important albums in a list “Greatest, Gayest Albums,” it is possibly the most important one ever. Given my druthers, there are other Beatle albums I enjoy more (such as For Sale and Help, but there is no denying what this one brought to the genre. It not only effected (and affected) rock and roll, but nearly all genres.

As with all lists, even though this is compiled from “more than 100 actors, comedians, musicians, writers, critics, performance artists, label reps and DJs,” it is still extremely subjective choices for a select group; as any student of mass media, there are always a “bias of communication” (as posited in a famous book by Harold Innis). For instance, where is Wayne/Jayne County and/or the Electric Chairs? There are two on the list by Rufus Wainwright, but none by his more talented sister, Martha? Where’s The Tom Robinson Band/TRB? The Soundtracks to Cabaret and The Wizard of Oz? Lesley Gore? And no “like budda” Barbra? Sacrilege!

I respect this poll, but find it lacking as any other one could be. I seems if they had just gone and asked 100 people on either Christopher Street, and then again on West Street, each version of this list may have been entirely different.

This sounds more critical than I actually mean it to be. I enjoyed going through this list and remembering all the stuff I’ve listened to over the years, and thank the mag for the opportunity to reminisce.