« Previous · Next »

Peter Holsapple of Arabi, Louisiana, who identifies himself as “that guy from The dB's who played with R.E.M.”–a sly allusion to a previous nitpicker's nitpick–writes in to challenge the spelling of one of Steven Daly's Snob-approved Desert Island Discs. “My question is whether Alex Chilton's album is called Like Flies on Sherbet,” writes Holsapple. “I believe that it's spelled ‘Sherbert’ on the cover, having sent me years ago to the dictionary.”

Right you are, Peter! Our mistake. And though Chilton's sense of spelling is suspect, Merriam-Webster confirms that “sherbert” is an accepted variant of “sherbet.”

Mr. Holsapple goes on to gravely inform us, “We, who soldiered along in a band with peculiar punctuation required to spell its name, are very sensitive to such matters. Club owners used to snicker and ignore the fine in our contract rider for misspelling ‘dB's’; some hung an upside-down capital P on the marquee, though.” Fascinating. Are there any more professional rock musicians out there who wish to write in to us with their tales of spelling and punctuation woes? Perhaps the former members of one-time next big thing Jonathan Fire*Eater?