Letters for September 11, 2014

Mark S. Allen mailbag

Re “Being Mark S. Allen” by Jonathan Mendick (SN&R Feature Story, August 28):

Was shocked by your Feature Story on Mark S. Allen. That TV guy annoys me on so many levels. He's a veritable hack; his voice, his face, his everything is irritating. I see him all the time. And now to have him staring at me from newsstands all over town! Sacramento and SN&R deserve better. Such a well-crafted, skillfully written story about a wretched hive of scum. I feel like I know him well enough to speak with authority on the matter.

Mark S. Allen

via email

Strong consensus

Re “Labor pains” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R News, September 4):

“Pedres told The Sacramento Bee that there was a unanimous decision by the labor council’s executive board to fire Camp. But CLC Vice President Dean Murakami, who represents the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers, said he was never included in that decision.” Translation: We asked everyone who agrees with us whether they agree with us. The decision was unanimous.

Mark Jones

Sacramento

Changing classical-music world

Re “Sactown symphony saga” by Jeff Hudson (SN&R Stage, September 4):

There are lots of professional musicians in the greater Sacramento area who were not members of the Sacramento Philharmonic who have bachelor’s, master’s and PhDs in music. The growth of music programs in universities has assured this. There are many who have done their “10,000 hours.” Some of these play in the “semipro” orchestras (Auburn, Folsom, Camellia) and provide musical leadership. That’s a good thing, because audiences who might not want to drive an hour to Sacramento or Davis or San Francisco can enjoy good and often exciting live symphonic performances in their local areas by people who are friends and neighbors.

Maybe this changing scene—which I think may not be unique to Sacramento—is symptomatic of a cultural and economic change as regards classical music that we’ll only understand on the macro scale—maybe over the course of decades.

Kay Miller

Folsom

Hip-hop in good hands

Re “Hip-hop is dead, long live hip-hop” by Janelle Bitker (SN&R Music, September 4):

I appreciated the article about Aerial and his new album release, Revivolution, because his story is a hip-hop story that deserves coverage. His careful consideration about the messages that go into songs and his willingness to be a role model in hip-hop is admirable. We hear so many stories about the most extravagant, the most hedonistic and the most separated from actual reality that we may often forget what truth sounds like. Aerial’s album is a breath of fresh air. Also, the fact that he’s 22 and having his album-release party on his birthday at the Sol Collective means that Sacramento’s next generation of hip-hop is in good hands.

Paul Willis

Sacramento