But i’ll give you “Grapes of Wrath/Of Mice & Men/Cannery Row,” “Johnny Tremain,” and “The Great Gatsby” as novels as close as we deserve to the *Great American Novel for the last century. Updike and Roth are trying too hard to write one, and Bellow wrote literature, which may (depending on who sets the criteria) disqualify a book from consideration.

But “The Book of Mormon” is my quiet candidate for unappreciated work of fiction of the 19th century, hiding behind the vast bulk of “Moby Dick,” the high impact of “Little Women” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (whatever their literary merits) and the obscuring baroquely Victorian ornaments of “The Scarlet Letter” and “The Last of the Mohicans.” Toss in “Knickerbocker Tales” by Irving and Poe’s “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” along with Longfellow’s “Tales from the Wayside Inn,” and you’ve got that era covered.

But there’s plenty to anticipate from this century without asking Thomas Pynchon to step out from behind his “Simpson’s” persona and actually write something that you can read.

Oh, and Michael Chabon.

I saw Cream there. And wasn’t that Jack Bruce’s band?

Could Howard at least be honest enough to start his interminable money-grubbing emails to me with the thrilling idea of the 48 state strategy? Rewards for lawlessness? Republicans set those primary dates, and the little pitbull that couldn’t ate it alive. He’s a virtual Republican. And that’s not progress. He might be a master of internet money scrounging and obscuring his unseemly ties to guys like Kennyboy, but that’s not hardly progressive.

Oh, I forgot the stupid obscenities. Blast. Jehosaphat! And we like rolling in the dirt but no Sherman tanks please. I don’t think they’re still clanking along except when the generals drive to MSNBC to make Keith look like he’s not a pouf with incredibly bad Brylcreem.

I’m pretty much committed to the idea that Don GeLillo has kumped the shark (though Great Jones Street is astounding) and Tom McGuane won’t actually write any more. TC Boyle may erupt at any minute, just after Martin Amis makes an ass of himself.

So who do you think is going to write something really good? Maybe Walter Moseley. Certainly, James Lee Burke, but nobody’s considering him for being seriously, like Elmore Leonard and other guys that can’t carry his jock.

I think it’s time for Thomas Pynchon. Mason & Dixon was Jonathan Strange before anybody heard of that book. That’s a fact, jack. Jonathan Strange was superb, but it wasn’t actually as good as Lemprierre’s Dictionary.

But anyway, get and read a copy of Oryx and Crake. Brilliant

Meanwhile Caliban’s talk about Frost’s version of “Rock and Roll” reminded me of my college days when I heard a copy of a Frost album and absolutely fell in love with that song. I’ve wanted a copy of the album, or even just that song for years. Caliban’s talk got me to go to YouTube where I found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFqbfYzUxqc
a recording from the Grande Ballroom. The song is as great as I remember it. It’s also a video of “I’m so glad” that I haven’t downloaded yet. Now if only I could save the video…

But I’m not lying about those encounters at the Birmingham Teen Center. Procol, Salty Dog, through the roof. Teagrden and Van Winkle, who said Seeger had feet of clay.. Played ping-pong with Skip. And Gary Brooker bought me a coke. Co-cola. And they didn’t just play Salty Dog with our friend Danny Harteau on Bill Scollins shoulders. Then they played Whiskey Train and Power Fused. Chopped up churned out weeks of greasy, spark plug burned out powerfused. We were kids. This was inspiring.

Actually, I never lie about anything. Most definitely about Detroit.

Obama wins wecause HoDean ws so pissed off. That’s why immense numbers of voters don’t count. Thet probably equal the morons that voted for nader. Howard Dean is an idiot with an axe to grind. He fucked over Kerrywhen Kerry was the actual hero. If you don’t understand this your fucking dumber than Georfe Bush. Nobody’s that fucking stupid. Not possible

A junkie ran down a lady a pregnant dancer
She’ll never dance but the baby was saved
He shot up some china white and nodded out at the wheel
And he doesn?t remember a thing

Maybe it was that NYT fashion mag heroin chic thing. But slap a little Maria Mckee into that delivery. I do think Mitch and Detroit (great name for a band, balls got some heft) banged it out. But the urgency of the vocals was always driven percussively by the staccato chords, and the vocals are what some people call bad singing and I say is nearly perfect espression.. None of the Velvet songs by Lou Reed were anything but settings for plays,probably., but once he blew through them, there was less of a need to act them out..

Listen. Laurie Anderson didn’t just latch onto some schlub with a …schlub or Chris Noth.

Nancy. Were you always an original Detroit riotttgrrl. Back in ’69, it was a boys club, to our chagrin. Or did you find your way there through Silver Bullet? What’s the greatest song Seger ever made? And you can’t say Ramblin. And you can’t say Heavy Music. Noah? You know that one? Brilliant but no. I mean, I’m not trying to be a jerk. You think Bob and Iggy rule. They were really good, but SRC and MC5 were so much better.

First Family wedding? First snout out of the cockpit. These aholes bail.