coffee on a recent morning at his antique-lined home in Pasadena. "You know where I got that cup?" asked Parks, an important figure on the margins of the Los Angeles pop scene since the mid-1960s, when he wrote allusive lyrics for the Beach Boys' ill-fated "Smile" album. The mug was emblazoned with the logo of the New York Flute Club, founded nearly a century ago by Georges Barrère, whose grandson Paul went on to play in the band Little Feat with one of Parks' best friends, the late Lowell George.

Michelle is shocked. She ain't alone ("Shocked Treatment," by Steve Hochman, Oct. 6). But she deserves high praise for the price of her indignation and the courage to speak up. She's taken dead aim at the abusive nature ofon the margins of the Los Angeles pop scene since the mid-1960s, when he wrote allusive lyrics for the Beach Boys' ill-fated "Smile" album. The mug was emblazoned with the logo of the New York Flute Club, founded nearly a century ago by Georges Barrère, whose grandson Paul went on to play in the band Little Feat with one of Parks' best friends, the late Lowell George.

Join two L.A. music legends from different generations as they pool their talents for a special concert, backed by a chamber orchestra led by concert master Peter Kent. Van Dyke Parks is known for his work with the Beach Boys, U2, the Grateful Dead, Ringo Starr and the Byrds. Inara George is the lilting voice behind the indie-rock duo the Bird and