Two days after the tragic, too-early demise of Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow — and I’m serious about that, by the way; he was a key figure in the success of hair metal, which for all its faults, still gave us those brilliant first two Mötley Crüe albums and, of course, Appetite For Destruction — I’m feeling like maybe there should be some tribute here at AJS. But the only thing I can think of to do is to reprint one of my seventh-grade journal entries, dated September 12, 1983 (which can also be found in abbreviated form on page 28 of Perfect From Now On — hint, hint!):

ROCK GROUPS
My favorite rock group is Journey. I like them because they have made so many good songs in the last couple of years. Another good group is Def Leppard. They have been my favorite for the past few months. There are groups like Loverboy, Men at Work, ZZ Top, Men Without Hats, Asia, The Police and Planet P who are also good groups. My favorite songs are “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top, “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats, “Foolin'” by Def Leppard and “Why Me?” by Planet P. Radio stations that I listen to are WZZR, WGRD and 95FM. They play all good songs. On television I watch channel 22, MTV. They play good songs and they keep you updated on new albums, singles, hit songs, Top Ten and group tours. My favorite video on MTV is “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top. My favorite song on the radio is “Foolin'” by Def Leppard. I think this because it has rock and a good tune in it. My second favorite song on the radio is Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize.” I think this song because it is total rock and because of the guitar. I also like the lyrics of this song.

In more uplifting news, how exciting that A Charlie Brown Christmas gets its annual airing tonight (ABC, 8 p.m.)! But my God, it’s scheduled right before Dancing with the Stars, hands-down winner of the AJS award for Most Annoying Television Show Ever. Now, it’s true that I have a considerable bias against dancing. Dancing is something people should only do if they’re getting paid for it, and even then they should only do it in private, after which they should be subjected to liberal Tasering. Will someone please explain the appeal of this show to me?

WHY I’M ANGRY TODAY
I got a $45 parking ticket.