Thanks.
Olga Brunner
Davie
Editor's Note: At press time Brunner reported tiny palms were being planted in place of the shady oaks that disappeared. Cheryl Ellett, a secretary at the Town of Davie, said officials would investigate.
She's just gotta have her Jim: I loved Bob Norman's story about Bully and look forward to the movie ("A Bully Market," September 7).
Jim Schutze writes books that are impossible to put down. I am truly sorry he has given up true-crime novels. I've read every one of his and have recommended them to everyone. No one has disliked any of them, and we are all sad to see him give this up.
Thanks.
Lois Krieff
via the Internet
Sunday Driver stands for New Times, motherhood, and the American wail: Thanks for coming out to our shows and for writing the column (Bandwidth, September 7). I'm glad you enjoyed the music. The Metal Factory is very mad about the article, but every single thing you said was 120 percent true. Maybe it will be a wake-up call for them, but I doubt it. I think they will always be stuck in the '80s. I will let you know about our next show. Thanks again.
Alex of Sunday Driver
via the Internet
Two has-beens don't make him write: I don't disagree with Rob O'Connor's assertion that Sting has lamed out considerably since the Police ("Sumner Vacation," August 31). But I must take exception to his assertion that Lou Reed and Robbie Robertson are "pseudointellectual[s]," who "discarded [their] principal players at the first sign of advantage."
Pseudointellectual? Reed and Robertson have always been two of the most creative, intelligent, uncompromising, and risk-taking artists in the recording industry. And age has never slowed either one of them creatively.
As for O'Connor's claim that both discarded band members for personal gain, I'd point out that neither has achieved huge popular appeal in his solo career. And neither has tried. It took Robertson more than a decade before he put out his debut eponymous solo album after the Band's "Last Waltz" in the late '70s. As for Reed, "Walk on the Wild Side" was more an oddity as a minor hit than a career direction. I would also question whether the Velvet Underground and the Band broke up exclusively because their leaders decided to go solo. That assertion is simplistic and probably not based in fact.
Both have pursued considerably different sounds as solo artists, with Robertson turning toward his native roots and Reed following his muse toward whatever eccentric direction he has seen fit. Neither has taken the pop route Sting chose.
Finally, I would disagree the ensemble work in The Dream of the Blue Turtles and Bring on the Night lacked creative chemistry. I saw that band live in 1985 and was blown away. We may disagree on this point, but one thing is inarguable: trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was not part of that group. It was his funky sax-playing brother, Branford, ripping it on stage and on record.
Pseudointellectual indeed!
Adam Matza
Hollywood
Another rube admits taking one for the team: I just read Emma Trelles' article about the Telecard Dispensing Corporation ("The Grift of Gab," May 18). Where were you guys three years ago? I also lost thousands of dollars with TDC. I flew down to Florida in early February, and I was there when they closed down their headquarters and forced myself and the remaining employees out into the streets. I also attended a court proceeding when Rock Sound Communications filed for Chapter 7. I heard so many different sides to the stories of who did what to whom that I came back home to New Jersey not knowing whom to believe. Your story helps make some sense of it all. Thanks.
Daniel S. Collins
via the Internet
