The Difference

[tinhuviel]

On the road earlier, I switched CDs from "Sacred City" by Shriekback to "Zoom" by Electric Light Orchestra and, as it has so many times in the past, it dawned on me how radically different Jeff Lynne and Barry Andrews are from each other. How theses two totally dissimilar souls made their way into the leading roles of my musical and creative pantheon is beyond me, but there it is and it's undeniable. Aunt Tudi piped up, as she's prone to do, and said she much preferred Jeff Lynne to Barry and that she knew I was totally pro-Barry. But that's not true, I told her. There's absolutely no way to compare the two of them and therefore make a choice between them. They're like apples and oranges.

So I got to thinking of analogies and this is what I came up with.

• Jeff Lynne is Lord of the Rings, Barry Andrews is Imajica.


• Jeff Lynne is "One Summer Dream", Barry Andrews is "Faded Flowers."


• Jeff Lynne is Merlin, Barry Andrews is Mordred.


• In Jeff Lynne's world there is no Alpaca Lips. Barry Andrews' world is post-Alpaca-Liptic.


• Jeff Lynne is Herne, Barry Andrews is Thoth.


• Jeff Lynne is mythology, Barry Andrews is sociology.


• Jeff Lynne is Gandalf, Barry Andrews is Randall Flagg.


• Jeff Lynne scored the Tarmi, Barry Andrews scored the Upyr.


• Jeff Lynne represents hope, Barry Andrews represents trepidation.

How can I compare them in any way? There's no way....no way! A better question is how can I adore them and their music so much when they're so different? It defies logic.