If the Rolling Stone co-founder really believes Marvin Gaye couldn’t “articulate” on the level of Mick Jagger, he doesn’t know “What’s Going On.” — Dear Mr. Wenner, I just finished reading and listening to your new interview in the New York Times, and my head is truly spinning. In fact, I’m still scratching it (my head, not the Q&A). As the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, you are an inspiration and a rock &…

Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had were over before they began. — “Most people have nothing to say — NOTHING to say. And most people give you the same conversation every single day. It’s just the same old pattern, and you’re none the wiser for knowing someone for five years. That’s why I do this music-business thing. Because it’s communication with people…

They’ve aged like fine wine, but smash status on Billboard’s Hot 100 ended up being well beyond their reach. — Popular taste can be so confusing. So can Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, which measures popular taste in music. I spent a large chunk of my youth obsessing over chart numbers in Billboard magazine, particularly on its all-encompassing Hot 100, which was a weekly religious experience. Casey Kasem, a titanic…

“Iconic.” “Party.” “Brunch.” If you can’t say something nice… — We live in a culture of indecipherable abbreviations, trendy buzzwords, psychobabble, and professional jargon that I don’t recall people saying or writing with such regularity pre-social media and 24/7 Internet news. …

When “enlightened” White people still judge us by what we’re wearing. — A great poet once said (actually, it was Daryl Hall — and he was singing): Some things are better left unsaid. The other night, someone offered a tip to a friend of mine, and it definitely deserved to be filed under “Stop talking.” My friend shared the exchange with me…

Are homebodies without a passport happier than the rest of us? — I once had an interesting conversation with a young man from Melbourne named Keith, who presented a bold idea to me: People who travel often (for “fun,” not for work) are usually running away from something — whether they realize it or not. I carefully considered his point of view…

It’s OK to say “gay” — as long as you’re not in Florida — but let’s just banish these offenders from polite conversation. — I’m old enough to remember when “queer” was a dirty word, scarlet letters gay people were expected to wear with shame. “He’s queer,” the old church lady might say, whispering “queer,” because it was just too awful to say out loud in polite Christian company. It wasn’t until the great…

An open letter to the grand old party of hypocrisy and B.S. — You people are all bluster and bravado these days, but as always, it’s only an act. You love to talk tough like your patron saint John Wayne, like America today is still the Wild Wild West and you’re riding in on white horses to save it and make it great…

I can’t believe anyone’s actually asking that question. — I read an article the other day (one of several I’ve since come across) that singled out the great, legendary Willie Nelson as the 2023 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame least deserving of the honor. I was expecting George Michael, The Spinners, and even Missy Elliott…