A reader named Dr. Pam Van Allen e-mailed us saying: “In the Stranger’s write-up of School of Rock’s ELO performance next month, the article characterized the ’70s and ’80s band as ‘70s power rock relics of the past.’” The doctor took issue with us calling them “relics” because ELO have concerts scheduled and a new album coming out, and she added: “Perhaps said author should check the definition of ‘relic.’” Or perhaps you should, Pam? Google’s dictionary says a relic is “an object surviving from an earlier time.” Cambridge Dictionary says a relic is “an object, tradition, or system from the past that continues to exist.” Collins English Dictionary says: “If you refer to something or someone as a relic of an earlier period, you mean that they belonged to that period but have survived into the present.” So unless you’re saying they’re dead, “relic” works. Take that, doctor!
Editor’s Note
Author and psychologist demands we look up “relic” in the dictionary.
