RE: “Things To Do” [July 26], in which Senior Editor Ned Lannamann encouraged Mercury readers to see Neil Diamond at the Moda Center. “No one’s taken more knocks than the perennially uncool Neil Diamond,” Lannamann wrote, “and yet here he stands, more than 50 years after his first hit, ‘Solitary Man,’ still packing arenas and making grandmas happy as countless hot-new-things have fallen by the wayside.” Lannamann also wrote a piece about the deep cuts in Diamond’s catalog [“Play Me: Neil Diamond’s Best Albums”] and a glowing review of the concert on Blogtown.
I don’t normally deal in false outrage, but “perennially uncool”?? Sounds like somebody couldn’t get tickets. Listen: I was there. I can assure you that Neil Diamond has more cool in his yellowing old man toenails than you have in your whole body (probably, I don’t actually know you). And no, I’m not geriatric, and yes, I have a thriving career, and also, if you’re wondering, I get laid on a fairly regular basis. So, you know... there.
xoxo,
Zulema Renee Summerfield