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Wednesday saw personal bias leaking onto the Tom Morton Show, as I found myself detailing the albums I was supposed to listen to and love, but couldn't. These included, I confessed (not for the first time) everything by the Velvet Underground. Everything by the Beach Boys. And everything by Arthur Lee and Love.

Now, I'm more than aware that I'm on very dodgy ground here. These are not just three of the most acclaimed acts of all time, but three of the most influential on, specifically, Glasgow bands from the late 70s onwards.

The thing is, I can't help it. I think Lou Reed's insufferable on any level. Love sound so weedy they barely exist, and the Beach Boys, ESPECIALLY Pet Sounds, produced psychotically overwrought, utterly tedious obsessive-compulsive nonsense-with-gloss.

This, as you can imagine, provoked objections, though not as many as you may think. However, it's only fair to reprint the cogent and saddened thoughts of Mr K Thomson...

Hi Tom,

I'm all for having a tilt at sacred cows, but knocking "Forever Changes" is a step too far. I would still say it is my favourite album of all time. Try it one more time.
How can anybody not get "Pet Sounds" and the Velvet Underground? That music changed the landscape forever, and it still sounds fresh, because there were great melodies throughout the albums, unlike the Led Zeps and other assorted heavy bands of the day. Try "Loaded", it shows a softer more melodic side to Lou Reed's work with nary a hint of darkness.

I know you never got The Doors, but leave Love alone. They were astounding, and the fact that Arthur Lee could still perform perfectly until his death, even after many years incarceration, proves what a true seer he was. Certainly a flawed genius, just like Lou and Brian, but all genii nonetheless.

All the best,
K.