Pete C

Yes, I remember "Honest Tom" Pomposello. I believe Oblivion records did an album of his. He died fairly young. Did you also listen to Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch (Paul Aaron)? Is that the same Ashley Kahn who writes the books about famous jazz albums?

Not if you talk back to the books.

I had a creative writing student once who was full of malapropisms. On the first day of class I always asked students what writers they liked enough to read multiple books by. This woman rattled off a long list. "You read a lot," I said. "Oh, I'm a ferocious reader!" she said. I may be the only person whose favorite Mad series was "Those Horrifying Old Cliches," where a cliche would get a grotesque illustration. I remember Incurable Romantic: it was a little bug wearing a gladiator's helmet and sneezing: an incurable Roman tic! That series may have been my introduction to bad punning, which I adopted with relish (unfortunately, mustard was not up for adoption at the time).

Boobus Americanus H.L. Mencken Lord Baltimore

Most of the sets are available on Spotify. A few gaps though, like Vol. 4. I had a couple of the LPs. I remember one with Perfume Suite. But were the war bonds promo announcements included on those LPs? I don't remember them.

Oliver Platt The Platters Bobby Plater

I prefer to end the sentence with a preposition: Such things wars are fought over.

Is this the material that was released on LP in the '70s from acetates that Mel Torme had recorded or collected?

Yes, I remember him as the latter. Anyway, nice to hear that he lived so long.

William of Orange Fiona Apple Darryl Strawberry Lester Young Sharon Olds Chevy Chase

WACs Henry Waxman Madame Tussaud

Buffalo Bill Eddie Rochester Anderson The Boys from Syracuse

Alan Hale Alan Hale, Jr. Bob Denver

For you he's on at a reasonable hour. Sid's got that classic New York Jew delivery. Some of those WKCR guys have been on air for about 40 years, like Schaap and Sharif Abdul Salaam (whom I first knew of as Ed Michael). When I started listening to WKCR DJs included Fred Seibert, who was with MTV from the beginning, and Rich Scheinin, who started Oblivion Records and now writes for San Jose Mercury News. I think I first became aware of WKCR in 1970 during the Coltrane marathon, and I did lots of all-nighters in August of 1973 listening to the Bird marathon, just before starting college.

Weldon Irvine James Weldon Johnson James P. Johnson

One of those guys I can appreciate but have trouble reading. Too grand & maximalist for my taste. He was teaching in the writing program at Columbia my first semester in 1978, but being a rookie I didn't get my first choice of workshop instructor and was stuck with a total mediocrity named Hilma Wolitzer (whose daughter Meg has subsequently eclipsed her).

Wow, I may go to that.

I'm not a big fan of Auster's fiction, but that's a brilliant book, especially the first part. I taught it once in a course on experimental nonfiction. Before Hustvedt he was married to one of my favorite writers, Lydia Davis, who is the mother of the son the other half of that book is about.

Sydney Pollack Sidney Lumet Les Freres Lumiere

I did a few gigs with Joel Forrester, and one of the things he must have learned from Monk was how to throw curveballs to put you off balance. Thank heaven for the steady Dave Hofstra. There's that line in "Round Midnight" where Dexter tells Lonette McKee, "Listen to the bass player." In some situations, truer words were never spoken. You've got to get up pretty early in the morning to listen to Gribetz. Does he still have that spot? (IIRC, Tuesdays at 5AM). I first met Sid in the late '70s, pre-KCR, when he was running a poetry reading series at the West End.

Human League Wade Legge Fernand Leger

Tessie O'Shea Nessie John Locke If you got there by dropping the L, where does that leave Aeneas?

But, as is often the case, not interesting ones. Poor Amiri may have to add Shepp to his schitt list. By the way, did Baraka drop the Imamu from his name because he learned that it was presumptuous to take on such an honorific as soon as one changes religions?

Swiss Toni Tim Berne Basel Fawlty Christian Bale Adam West Mayor Linseed

Hit it, Charles! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HZFaasCamY