From: "Nigel Price" 
Subject: (urth) The mind boggles
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 00:46:17 -0000

I've been *ever* so self-disciplined and managed to hold myself back from
entering the who-has-the-best-hymns debate (a bit of everything at
Cirencester Baptist Church, from jazz to early music), but Nutria wrote:

>>I wrote Wolfe a decade ago a list of questions,
>>including what kinds of music he likes best...
>>(I didn't bother to ask about rock; I'd read
>>enough Wolfe already). He replied that he favors
>>filk, and that was his hobby music. So, SF all
>>the way when it comes to old Gene!

Peter Wright told me that when he stayed with GW, he discovered that our
favourite author listens to rock music while he exercises on his exercise
bike in the morning and that he, Peter, had been introducing him to the
delights of Iron Maiden, whose music, he maintained, had made a favourable
impression. I just found this all too mind boggling for words. GW is almost
my father's age! (I think the only album of popular music my father owns is
an Emmylou Harris record, but that's just an abberation and he never
actually plays it.)

I was interested in GW's use of the traditional folk song "Flash Company" in
the story of that name, though, and wondered which version he had been
listening to. The lyrics quoted in the story are slightly different from
those I'm familiar with in the version sung by June Tabor. Any ideas,
anyone? (I'm assuming that Iron Maiden have never recorded this particular
ditty.)

Nigel (bass, guitar, mandolin)


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