[Beth Curran]

Jim wrote:



My worry is that I want somebody who writes about our local experiences
and
transcends them.  Heck, I can't even have Neil Young, apparently.  

But, short of them, who does?  Who can be our cultural poet?  Who can
bring our
romantic places, our dreamy lands, into their proper significance?  Who
can
transcend for us?  

**************************

Jim, we're forgetting about the Boss.  Although his scope is narrower
than the Oils', he's written fluently on issues that are uniquely
American but relevant in other parts of the world.  And both he and the
Oils weave the lyric and music together in their best songs so that the
sum is greater than the whole of the parts.  My favorite example of that
from MO is Scream in Blue, which has downright stupid lyrics IMHO -
until you hear them with the music, which adds that horrific violence so
that the result goes straight for the adrenal glands.  I'm not so
familiar with Springsteen's work, but think of the relentless,
unchanging beat in Born in the USA that combines with the lyric to pound
the protagonist to his knees.

While we're at it, let's duct tape Jewel to a chair and bitch-slap her
until she stops writing those fewmets she calls poetry. - Beth