Sp... Sp... splutter splutter! Listening to the recent word podcast I was deeply disappointed to hear Mark Ellen and David Hepworth make disparaging remarks about Aretha Franklin's appearance at the Obama inauguration. Firstly, I am amazed by how far you missed the point. Like Rev. Joseph Lowery who gave the final prayer, and who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr, Aretha's presence at this event has massive historical resonance. The songs that Aretha recorded with Atlantic in the 60s which coincided with the protests and violence of the emerging civil rights movement were very important, and to see her standing there in her funny hat singing at the inauguration of a black president was very poigniant because of that context, regardless of song choice, which was always going to be shit and not in her hands, or the present quality of her vocal chords. That does not matter, she is Aretha, the quality of her early work is beyond compare, (and remember she wrote and arranged and played piano on loads of those tunes) and for that alone she deserves ongoing respect until forever. Nothing bad should ever be said about Aretha and particularily not by old white men who profess an interest in the pop music that she and people like her invented. Surely anyone that knows anything about popular music knows at least that? Think!

Contentious choices some of them, but of course there can be only one No.1. And kudos to Sonic Youth for the whole band getting on at no.2.

http://www.thewvsr.com/ugliest.htm