RATTLE & HUMPH
Medford, Mass.
U2 "bombastic"? Compared to who? Liszt? Gilbert and Sullivan? Marilyn Manson? Gilbert O'Sullivan? Doug Henwood ["Bono Meets Dr. Shock," Oct. 31] should push the button on his radio--from NPR to music--occasionally. That way he'd know that U2 is "expansive" or "grandiose." You need two guitars to be "bombastic," man. C'mon.
MICHAEL BARRY
HENWOOD REPLIES
New York City
Bombastic, yes. Pompous and bloatedly anthemic too. And I speak as someone who won the "Best Music on a Radio Show About Economics & Politics" from the Village Voice, in its Best of NYC 2005. By the way, I almost never listen to NPR. Too dull.
DOUG HENWOOD Producer, Behind the News WBAI, 99.5 FM