Among the singer/songwriters, it was Billy Joel, frequently described as "brash" (subtext: he came from New York), who most had the courage of his convictions, and came closest to manifest misogyny, in the woman-as-knife metaphors of "Stilleto" and "She's Always A Woman." But for Taylor and Browne, as well, women were sacred objects whose acts of romantic caprice caused either salvation or baffled accusations. One of my favorite Browne lyrics, from Running On Empty (1977), his song cycle about the lot of the touring musician, runs, "I've heard all those hard-luck tales/From all of you U.S. males." This might have signaled a breakthrough, self-knowing irony from Jackson Browne!--but the song was written by his guitar player, Danny Kortchmar.