At 02:08 PM 10/26/03 -0800, you wrote:
>From: "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com>
>> So my question, for those who were really around then -- what was up with
>> that?  Did you think the critics were nuts?  Did it affect your buying
>> habits, and you had to come back later and get this good stuff?

I used to read Rolling Stone and Creem in my high school days but where I
lived
was so remote (Bartlesville OK) many of the LP's they lauded you couldnt find
unless you drove 45 miles south to buy them. Wal-Mart, K-Mart, TG&Y didnt
carry
them - I didnt see a Ramones or a Clash LP in a rack until I went to
Peaches in
Tulsa. 

I think the biggest influence on my tastes back then was radio. I was
fourtunte
to live where I had good Top 40's that boomed in at night (WLS in Chicago, WHB
in Kansas City, KOMA in OKC) and one-or-two FM AOR stations (KMOD in Tulsa)
that still programmed a wide variety of music but played mostly Rock during
the
Disco era. (KMOD used to play Stevie Wonder, to REO Speedwagon, Led Zep,
Greatful Dead, and Dwight Twilley Band all in one hour)   My only regret was I
couldnt pick up a good R&B station where I lived - most were low wattage AM's
that couldnt make it to Oklahoma.

>And with the generally underwhelming reception given to first-wave LA power
>pop (Plimsouls, The Beat, still among my all-time faves) I realized that the
>rock rags were useful as a heads-up to what was being released, but that I'd
>actually have to make up my own mind about what I liked. Imagine that!

Thats true - Though I remember a glowing review of "Get The Knack" in Rolling
Stone in 1979. Along with working in radio, I think thats why I love songs
that
are immediate and catchy  - ones like "Stacy's Mom" that jump out of the
speakers and grab your ears. I'm impatient listening to a new song waitng for
the hook to come around. 
Billy G. Spradlin
http://listen.to/jangleradio