Giuseppe Zangara

As goes Mole, so goes the rest of the board. The "Ombudsman" title may've been cute at first, but really, it's just giving Bob an excuse to make the same posts he always makes, this time with an inflated sense of self-importance. Off with his head.

The lyrics to "30th Century Man" are goddamned goofy but the combination of Walker's voice and the song's melody are just so irresistible that I don't care.

There's a group of people who actually believe Tilt and The Drift are the best Walker albums. While I like those two—Tilt, especially—anyone who feels that way is either 1) kidding themselves, or 2) nuts. Scott 4 is pretty much a godhead for me. The songs are just so, so good, though I notice not a one appears in your top 10. Of the ones you list, "Montague Terrace" is my favorite. Have you heard Climate of Hunter, Czech?

I hope you attack-fucked your common-law wife in celebration.

I'll have you know my Borders prided itself on friendly customer service. Buncha assholes at Barnes & Noble, though.

I got your column inches right here, Bob.

I was at a T-Mobile store recently and I swear to Christ the four employees I saw all had chinstrap beards.

Newspapers in general.

Chain restaurants, including, but not limited to, Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's.

Not since I was a child. I was six, maybe? Shin-deep for me would not have been too deep.

Top Five Prog-Era Genesis Albums 1. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 2. A Trick of the Tail 3. Foxtrot 4. Selling England by the Pound 5. Wind & Wuthering

Outside of "Working Class Hero" and maybe "God"—the latter of which is more notable for the lyrics than anything else—Plastic Ono Band doesn't have any real standout songs. Which isn't a criticism, mind you. It's just better appreciated as a whole than for any individual moment.

Subway is gross. And dirty. And they all smell funky. You ever notice that? Every Subway has the same odd aroma. Is it the bread? Must be.

Office party was this past Friday. Held at a swank country club, but the food was blah and you had to pay for the liquor. Really dull overall, so me and the gf didn't stay for long.

lol

Your math only works assuming every penny of every CD sold goes to Best Buy. Best Buy makes very little money off the sale of individual CDs alone; that's been the case as long as they've been in business. What are the specifics of this exclusivity deal? Did Axl & Co. trade off the right to royalties in exchange for the $14 million? I doubt that. That money's largely going to pay off debts accrued during the recording of this album. Then, of course, there's the idea that once people go to Best Buy, they'll end up buying a bunch of other stuff, thus helping the chain make a profit. That's what they've been doing for years, so obviously it's worked for them, but is that happening with people who buy Chinese Democracy? How many of those people are going in there, picking up the album, and getting, say, a Blu Ray player or new refrigerator while they're at it?

No Reservations is basically Lou Reed's Lonely Planet.

Also, Good Eats is a fun show. I've known a lot of girls who've had the hots for Alton Brown, including two ex-gfs and my current girlfriend. I thought it strange at first, but I guess I can see it. Funny, knows a lot about cooking, and good looking in a Thomas Dolby sorta way. Sure.

Fun fact: I have appeared in an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I can be seen (for several seconds!) sitting at a table at the [place redacted], drunk and w/ dark circles under my eyes. If it looks like I haven't slept for days, it's because I hadn't. EDIT: Caught you lookin', Kreese.

I imagine you stamping your feet and gritting your teeth as you typed that. Now how much money do you think Best Buy will lose on this? And Kreese, though this did help the album make its money back, there's no way it would've turned a profit otherwise.

I've encountered enough girls who play with their hair when anyone talks to them to make me realize the whole "she only does it if she's into you" thing to be overstated. Or maybe I'm just a stud.

Accepting the fact that there was no way this album was going to turn a profit anyway, that's about as a good a first-week posting you're going to get from a new GNR album in 2008.

The writer himself doesn't fall into that line of thinking, though, yes, anyone familiar with West who would think that is displaying a certain naivety on his part. Given that a lot of Pitchfork hip-hop reviews in the past have often been a shameless showcase for their writers to show just how much they supposedly know about rap, I like that Plagenhoef doesn't kid himself about who he's writing the review for. Where he asks "So why is this approach, from this guy, now such a problem?" after citing acts like Battles and Dan Deacon ("wtf do they have to with Kanye West???"), it makes sense as people who go to read a review of the new Kanye West album at Pitchfork Media are likely going to have a passing familiarity with those artists. This isn't The Source.

Decent bagels & spreads, some OK lunch sandwiches. Anything with "Spicy" or "Southwestern" in the name tends to be very spicy, yeah, but almost completely devoid of flavor. Haven't tried their regular coffee, but they make a good vanilla latte. Discuss.

Since I'm never going to stop eating there no matter how much I fool myself into thinking otherwise, my latest Einstein Bros. fave is the asiago bagel dog.