The London mayoral race is heating up faster than the Antarctic Ice Shelf, and the big issue, for all you Yanks not following it, is whether or not to make it more expensive to drive gas-guzzling cars. There's been quite a bit said about it, but since people seem to care what I think just because I've written a few oddly successful songs, I'll add my two cents.

We don't need to get rid of cars that pollute more than others. We need to get rid of cars, period. I mean, if I asked you, "Hey Jim," (I'm assuming your name is Jim for the purpose of this example) "how would you like it if I filled the world with millions of boxes that weighed a ton, moved at dangerously high speeds, spewed smoke into the air, made a lot of noise  and were operated by people who tended to be drunk or angry or putting on the makeup?" You'd say, "Thom, I would like that even less than Counting Crows' last album."

I think it's time we admitted cars were a total mistake, much like Billy Corgan's solo career. Scooters, motorcycles, airplanes, trains and especially Segways were also a mistake. We need to go back to the last truly great mode of transportation: the Penny Farthing.

Imagine a world where you never need to hunt for a parking space. Imagine all the people sitting a comfortable sixty inches above the ground. Imagine car horns replaced by people saying "Cheerio," and "Well met, good fellow!"  As John Lennon would say, let's go set some cars on fire! They've already started in Australia.