Not just P.R.

I have to respectfully disagree with the assertion that the plan put forth by Angela Alioto's 10-year Homeless Planning Council is an empty promise ["Empty Promises?," 7/14/04]. Alioto put together a diverse and dedicated group of community leaders to fashion a far-reaching plan that can help thousands of homeless residents live better lives. The mayor is in support of this plan, and we should all work together to get it done.

Certainly, as you suggest, the key is in the implementation and funding over the next few years. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the plan is mere P.R. We should all support the city's plans for new, well-managed supportive housing, as well as push for 24-hour easy access to psychiatric services and care for the homeless population.

We all owe a lot to Alioto and her team for the good work they did in crafting this plan.

Dan Kalb

San Francisco

Why labor's declining

Thea Lavin argues, in essence, that young idealistic organizers and the unions that hire them are to blame for the decline of the labor movement ["Striking Back," 7/7/04]. That's like arguing that young idealistic journalists, and the alternative press editors who hire them, are responsible for the corporatization of the news media.

As a former union staffer, I know that burnout is indeed an issue, as it is in any movement-based work. But Lavin's argument rests on a tragic oversimplification: that "the distinguishing variable" in labor's diminished capacity, compared to the era of the general strike, is that unions today don't hire from the rank and file. What about looking at the mass exodus of traditional union jobs to overseas markets? Restrictive immigration laws that make immigrant workers afraid to take a stand for a union? Corporations that spend millions to defeat workers' efforts to unite through the use of threats, intimidation, and highly paid antiunion consultants? The privatization of the public sector, another traditional labor stronghold? A mass media that glorifies consumerism over collective action? And some unions' orientation toward providing services to current members rather than uniting more workers? Just to name a few other variables.

Isobel White

Berkeley

Exceptional metal vocals

I have a question regarding Will York's predominantly interesting article "Voices from Hell" (7/14/04), concerning vocal choices in extreme metal. This passage confused me:

"The question is, why do musically talented bands like Neurosis, Mastodon, and others use these vocals? For most, it's a mixture of several factors: habit, time-honored tradition, unoriginality, and necessity, in varying degrees."

Unoriginality?

1) Any vocal must complement and elevate the music it lays over. I can't imagine Carcass, Darkthrone, or any of the mentioned bands without said vocal style, as, to my ears, the harshness makes a beautiful aural match. No more than I could imagine Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, or Metallica with growling or screaming vocals – the extremity would overpower and weight down the music.

2) Please explain to me how using clean vocals is a more "original" choice than the use of harsh vocals. Oddly enough, it seems the opposite is true. Try singing in a death or black metal style, with sincerity, and see how easily your voice adapts to it. Many of the leading vocalists in this genre are as easily recognizable to me as a Jimmy Scott, Nina Simone, or Nat King Cole. It not only takes talent but the same indefinable, organic quality one would find in any exceptional vocalist.

This being said, thank you for running this story. It made for a nice surprise and I certainly enjoyed reading it.

Kian Kaul

Santa Barbara

What progressives?

The nearer that we approach the 2004 election, the more that I feel abandoned by the area that likes to tout itself as the most progressive in the country. Walking out of Fahrenheit 9/11 to vitriolic old white men suggesting that we all need to vote Democrat, reading opinion pieces in the Bay Guardian that slam the most successful third-party candidate in decades for daring to run again, and suffering through dinner parties where everyone feels reaffirmed by everyone else's affirmation to vote Bush out of office have convinced me that my species is becoming endangered. Allow me to express what has now become heresy: I will not vote for Kerry. How about an addendum: I would not vote for Kerry if my state swung the election. And a grand finale: I will never vote Democrat for as long as I live.

Corey Wade

Berkeley

For the record

In "Striking Back" (7/7/04), we mischaracterized the work stoppage involving the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Workers were locked out by owners following a work slowdown.

In the July 7 Sonic Reducer, Cary Hudson's name was misspelled. The date of his performance was also misstated; his show was July 16.