For the past twenty years, the bestselling author band The Rock Bottom Remainders—comprised of Amy Tan, Stephen King, Scott Turow and others rotating instruments, dropping in and out—have been touring, mostly raising money for charity.  Now it appears their last two performances will be here in southern California, after which they are calling it quits.

A quick dip into YouTube reveals they aren’t as bad as one might expect—Amy Tan actually has a bitchin’ body for someone who writes such melodrama.  Not that we’d expect her to be fat, but definitely softer than a wannabe Dominatrix rocker chick.  True, the RBRs are only slightly better than what the Algonquin Round Table might have produced if they practiced karaoke rather than one-line zingers, but it was all in good fun, so it’s a bit sad to see the party end.

Read more at HuffPo about their history.  And definitely watch Tan’s rendition of “These Boots Are Made For Walking.”  She sings the whole thing with her middle finger raised in “fuck you.”  Oh, these writers: never pass on a good symbol.