Confessions

McGarick,

Never, ever be embarassed by Todd Rundgren! Although his philosophy may not be your cup of tea (I presume you mean his vaguely spacey zen-liberal musings), for my money the guy ranks up there with Brian Wilson and Lennon/Macca as the greatest pop songcrafter of my lifetime. I would certainly acknowledge that he experiments even more aggressively - and often less successfully - than either of the above (Zappa comes to mind). OTOH, if you were to compile all of his great successes in one box, you'd have an astonishing set.

As to what is really embarassing:

I'm a big fan of "General" Johnson, the lead singer of the group Chairmen of the Board. You may remember the song "Just Gimme a Little More Time". Johnson also wrote, among many other songs, "Patches" - one of the sappiest lyrics ever penned through the course of human history! I smile every time I cue it up.

Marty

BTW - fun thread.

As far as my room clearing choices go:

early Phillip Glass (Northstar)
a fair bit of Frank Zappa's and Tom Waits' repertoire will usually do the trick
the first Feelies cd
half my Zydeco collection - nothing like fiddle and accordian to send them screaming from the sofa
the demented alt country band 16 Horsepower is an acquired taste, for sure

Many others, too. I listen anyway...screw 'em!

Marty