Stone Throwing

For the first time in eight years, I could pick up an article by Robert Hilburn and clench my fists and yell, “Right on!”

Rolling Stone’s recent “lists” have been sickening, and it’s about time someone from the “overground” press socked it to ‘em.

Compiling a list of great rock ‘n’ roll singles and skipping the ‘50s (and selling it to the masses) negates a reason for such a list itself, and I’m personally sick of the assumption that the early ‘60s were lean years for rock.

Names like Phil Spector, James Brown, Bob Dylan, the Temptations, Dick Dale and Goffin & King were hitting their stride then, and the Beatles’ absolutely best live performances were taking place before Rolling Stone’s “cutoff point.” Soul, folk-protest, girl groups, surf bands and the British Mod explosion were all at their crucial breakouts during this so-called “lean era.”

DOMENIC PRIORE

Monterey Park