A Plethora of Answers!!!

Lefty supplies this sextet of queries. Thanks Lefty!

1. What play/performance have you seen the most times?
Probably Pippin. I've seen many productions, including: My high school's (they did it when I
was in seventh grade). A theater group's in college. A local high school's (I was as a judge
for the Paper Mill Playhouse's Rising Stars program). And I directed it for another high
school several years back. That production was an unadulterated nightmare--a school with no
theater program to speak of that hadn't done a musical in decades; a music director fresh
out of college who was presiding over a dessicated music program and was completely
overwhelmed; paltry turnout for auditions; a horrible attendance rate at rehearsals; no
orchestra or even a piano player for rehearsals (the actual shows were done to a MIDI
keyboard, the songs having been programmed in - except for two songs which were, and I am
deeply, deeply ashamed to even admit it, done to a CD of the Original Broadway Cast
recording with the vocals (somewhat) faded); a part-time, unpaid, absentee choreographer;
and in me a director who had only one other show under his belt. Just bad all around. But I
do like Pippin as a play, even after all that, and would love a chance to do it right one
day.

2. What U2 album have you owned the most times in different formats?
I've owned The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Boy, October, Achtung Baby, War, The
Unforgettable Fire, and Under a Blood Red Sky on cassette and CD. I've never owned a vinyl
album at all.

3. What's your top five U2 songs? What's your five worst U2 songs?
Top Five:
1) "Where the Streets Have No Name" - Greatest. Rock song. Ever.
2) "Please" - Oh how I long for a jazz cover.
3) "Walk On" - Moves me every damn time I hear it.
4) "One" - This will stand the test of time, I predict.
5) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" - The quintessential U2 track.

Rapidly moving up in the ranks and with an outside shot at cracking the top five at some
point are "City of Blinding Lights," "Acrobat," "When I Look at the World," and "Mercy."
("Mercy" is an unreleased song that was leaked with the How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
stuff - it was going to be on that album at some point. It's a killer, killer epic track,
very much a joyous union of classic and modern U2 sounds with some of the structural sense
of "Bad." Can't wait for the proper commercial release.)

Bottom Five:
1) "Elvis Presley and America" - A largely improvised first take that sounds like it.
2) "Miami" - Too laid-back and lazy.
3) "4th of July" - U2 shouldn't do instrumentals.
4) "Paint It Black" - U2 has done some great covers ("Satellite of Love," "Unchained Melody,"
"Everlasting Love" - but this one is very bad.
5) "Fortunate Son" - This is worse.

4. What music do you "rock out" to (other than the boys from Ireland)?
The artists I listen to a lot don't tend to rock that hard - Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan,
Sting, Radiohead, Neil Young, Tracy Chapman, Aimee Mann, Dire Straits, Paul Simon, Queen,
The Who - some solid rockers there, bit mostly theatrical rock or quieter
singer/songwriter-type stuff. The hardest stuff I listen to regularly is probably Living
Colour - Corey Glover has a hell of a voice.

5. What CD, Movie, and TV show are you embarrassed to own or watch, but enjoy them a lot?
CD: Time-Life Christmas. Some real cheese on there, but still essential.

Movie: Karate Kid, Part II - The drum thing isn't nearly as effective as the crane move, but it's still pretty cool. And I love that they pick up exactly where they left off. I like the ending of the first film, and appreciate the benefits of ending on that high, but always wanted a little bit of a denouement.

TV Show: The Apprentice. A ridiculous show with just-banal contestants and a stiff and
aggravating Donald Trump that I still watched pretty much three full seasons of.

6. What's your favorite Meme you've done?
I like those "100 things about me" things, personally - good fun and a lot of material.

Until Whenever