Edwin MacPhisto

Most of Florida isn't really the south. It's the northeast with sun.

I'm pretty sure he's just drunk.

Charley is officially a wuss. He straight-wrecked Port Charlotte, but basically peed gently on the rest of the West Coast for two hours. The sun is shining now, and it's really quite lovely out. He's saving all his hate for you.

I'm sure I've told you to get Loveless before. Do so. And get Fun House. You'll love it.

No, they just send PMs to themselves. To chat.

Spike, what sort of a school are you looking for? I'd visit a few campuses and get a feeling. There are schools like University of Michigan that have 40,000 students, and then places like Emerson with only a few thousand. Definitely check some places out, apply to a bunch, and see who treats you kindest.

Dump's That Skinny Motherfucker With the High Voice?, and Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-92. The latter was a gift, and a fine one.

Dirty Mind. You'll find Purple Rain new for $11 or $12 anywhere, so it's not really much of a deal.

Here's another stupendous interview with Alan Moore, this time discussing Watchmen 18 years after the fact and how prescient many of Moore's themes seem to be. I've been rereading Watchmen these past few days. I'm only through chapter 3 presently - it's entirely natural to spend 45 minutes on each issue. The frames are so packed with detail and the writing is so superb that I'm relishing every bit. Moreso than any other revisitation, I'm noticing expert foreshadowing and puzzle pieces that bring the entire piece together, both plotwise and thematically. Certainly the finest comic I've ever read.

Semi. He's fine and upstanding now, but when I was 10 he'd always tell me about how he and his college buddies would lay out on the porch and let Zappa, Pink Floyd, Sgt. Peppers, and Sabbath play until morning. It wasn't until many years later that I made the now-obvious connection that he must have been a huge stoner.

My dad put on Black Sabbath in the car the other day and rocked out. Hilarious.

I flip that. When I first got Pinkerton, it was the bees-knees. Loved it for a long time, and still like it. As far as pure pop pleasure and overall enjoyment, the debut holds up much better. I don't think it's terribly weak on lyrics, either. As far as witty, snappy cheese goes, it's right on-point.

Let's fix that!

1999 is pretty brilliant and probably his most unique album (as compared to the work of other artists), but I'd say far from his best. In fact, it's the one I'd call overrated. I find "Free" to be an unfortunately plain dead spot after the super-funky middle. Kills a lot of the momentum. Also, each of the long jams is about 1 minute too long. Nit-picky for sure, but it's my #4 Prince album. I'll still take it above 90% of other music. Steering back on track: Led Zeppelin IV. I don't think the people on this board overrate it, though.

Nice. I really like the way you guys have built this. Whatever the result of the match, I hope the feud keeps going afterwards. If these guys are reviewing tapes and scheming for the first showdown, I can only imagine what lengths they'll go to if this gets to 2 or 3 confrontations.

My call: The Queen is Dead. This is a really really really good album, but as far as the Smiths go, I like the self-titled and Strangeways, Here We Come worlds more.

The bonus disc on the reissue of Elvis Costello's Get Happy!!. Don't bust these out often enough.

It's funny; I downloaded it about two years ago. Love it. I was finally just going to order it before I headed back up to school, but I ran into it today. Is it my favorite live album? Might be. Transforms his normal work into an entirely different beast.

Minor spree: a used copy of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell (go $5), the Cure's Disintegration, M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts, and, stunningly, Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club. One of the best live albums I've ever heard, something I've been looking for for a year, and used for $8. Un-credible.

They're frickin' great. In addition to being better than any CD player, they're great for the car. I bought a $20 tape adapter, and now I've got my whole music collection whenever I drive anywhere. Plus, you get to name them.

My one 10 on The Black Album would be "December 4th." "99 Problems" is awful close, too.

That man supercedes "You are all the Terminators!" and takes the "biggest dork in history" crown running.

GreatOne is still looking for something blue and bigjig is getting cold feet.

Mike, here's how I'm interpreting your perspective. Correct me if I'm wrong, cause I don't want to misrepresent you: Environment and situation - such as being the head of a company vs. a low-level employee, or a senator vs. a chief executive - have no effect on how an individual acts, reacts, and makes decisions.

The Futureheads' cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love." Excellent.