[Strangler Lewis]

Since we're sharing, my disaffection is similar to Alex's, though perhaps less pronounced. My father came from Germany as a refugee and lived with secular Jews on a farm in the midwest before reuniting with his mother in New York. Perhaps due to this background, his tastes ran from classical to country and folk to Broadway shows. Combine that with my parents' silent majority fear of all things hippie, and you can imagine there wasn't any rock and roll in our house.

Still, in third grade, I would be teased to name "Five Rock and Roll Songs." After "Smokin' in the Boys' Room" and whatever I might have seen on Wonderama the previous Sunday, I was done.

That said, I generally preferred the country and folk music because I could hear the lyrics. Whether it's opera or rock and roll, presenting something containing words where the words can't be understood has always struck me as about as competent as hiring a phone representative with a thick accent. So bring on the Billy Joel. I can usually understand what he's saying.

I also have always been leery of what struck me as an inappropriate level of self-surrender and devotion that music fandom (or adherence to most causes) appears to require. Part of being a moderately unhealthy five, perhaps, but there it is.