CONTINUED FROM P.4PAGE TW0city, or just talked. Named after Mary Marvel,she was the center of her parents’ universe.Be<strong>in</strong>g as dorky as a young teen could possiblybe, I was very shy around her. She was alwayssweet, go<strong>in</strong>g out of her way to talk to me. Itwas a little odd: I remember the house as dark,Otto work<strong>in</strong>g all the time, Ione <strong>in</strong> the background,but Mary was a ray of light. Smil<strong>in</strong>g,always with friends over or wait<strong>in</strong>g to go out,she seemed to live <strong>in</strong> almost a different worldfrom the one her parents lived <strong>in</strong>.More often than not, when I arrived at thehouse (mostly on Saturdays but sometimeson Sundays), Otto would be work<strong>in</strong>g. I wouldhang out all afternoon read<strong>in</strong>g Golden Agecomics, pulp magaz<strong>in</strong>es, and old fanz<strong>in</strong>esuntil he f<strong>in</strong>ished work<strong>in</strong>g. <strong>The</strong>n we’d talk,often for hours. Whatever I’d just read wouldbe the start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t; he filled <strong>in</strong> the backgroundand detailed context, creat<strong>in</strong>g a senseof the life he had been lead<strong>in</strong>g at the time.Stories would range from tales of the great SFfan wars of the Thirties to anecdotes aboutwriters to memories of what it was like at hisbrother Jack’s shop or work<strong>in</strong>g at Fawcett.<strong>The</strong>re are at least two more parts to thisseries, though one will probably end up onl<strong>in</strong>eonly. <strong>The</strong> end<strong>in</strong>g of this story goes from bad toworse, from the truly tragic to the even morepa<strong>in</strong>fully so.(Although my writ<strong>in</strong>g on Otto B<strong>in</strong>der is largelyautobiographical, as well as supplemented by notesI took at the time and letters from Otto, crucial toit and to any writ<strong>in</strong>g on B<strong>in</strong>der is Bill Schelly’smagnificent biography Worlds of Wonder.)F RUMSaust<strong>in</strong>chronicle.com/forumsPostmarksLETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be signed withfull name and <strong>in</strong>clude daytime phone number, fulladdress, or e-mail address. Letters should be nolonger than 300 words. We reserve the right to editall submissions. Letters may not be edited, addedto, or changed by sender once we receive them.General e-mail address: mail@aust<strong>in</strong>chronicle.comPostmarks forum:aust<strong>in</strong>chronicle.com/forums/postmarksMail<strong>in</strong>g address: <strong>The</strong> Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Chronicle</strong>,PO Box 49066, Aust<strong>in</strong>, TX 78765TIMELESS COMMENTARYDear Editor,Re: “Naked If I Want To” [Music, Jan. 8]:Louis Black should not apologize for focus<strong>in</strong>gon Moby Grape’s first album as it is the onlyone most people remember, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g me, andI was pay<strong>in</strong>g attention. Nor should he apologizefor the length of his article or its placementas the cover story. Although this article lacksthe usual personal feel of “Page Two,” recount<strong>in</strong>gthe album’s place <strong>in</strong> rock music history isstill best done by a reviewer like Louis, whounderstands the participatory as well as thecommunal nature of popular culture <strong>in</strong> general.In my view, this article is the k<strong>in</strong>d of timelesscommentary the <strong>Chronicle</strong> was made for.Ricky LevitanSWEET READ FOR A CHILLY WINTERDear Editor,Now that’s my k<strong>in</strong>d of cover story [“NakedIf I Want To,” Music, Jan. 8]! Louis Black’slov<strong>in</strong>g tribute to the first Moby Grape albumwas a sweet read for a chilly w<strong>in</strong>ter afternoonand got me to break out my copy of V<strong>in</strong>tage,the double-disc Grape anthology from afew years back, which has the album <strong>in</strong> itsentirety on the first disc (with the additionof some false starts and hilariously profanestudio chatter).What a great record! I used to have the posterthat was <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> early press<strong>in</strong>gs of theLP hang<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong> my dorm room, and though mypunk rock friends gave me a hard time aboutlik<strong>in</strong>g “hippie shit,” even they were impressedby the power of “Fall on You” and “Omaha.”<strong>The</strong> analogy between Moby Grape and OrsonWelles is particularly apt, and I guess that makesWow, the second Grape LP, the musical equivalentof <strong>The</strong> Magnificent Ambersons.I was also rem<strong>in</strong>ded of Michael O’Donoghue’snot-suitable-for-publication variation on the old jokethat gave Moby Grape its name: “What’s purple,has a lot of harpoons stuck <strong>in</strong> it, and is cha<strong>in</strong>ed toa makeshift plywood pillory?”Mal Thursdayaka J.M. DobiesCONTINUED ON P.86 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 15, 2010 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JANUARY 15, 2010 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 7
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