Giuseppe Zangara

I'm hoping for this generation's Howard the Duck.

This is going to be playing at a one-screener theater in my neighborhood. They serve beer at this joint; that might help.

This does look like it's gonna blow. I don't know that I have the stones to sit through nearly three hours of this.

Well, it was either this or start another thread in the Literature folder that no one will post in.

What a weird question. I wasn't aware society had imposed age limitations on soda consumption. I don't do caffeine anymore, so I won't try this, but that's cool they're making the jump to cane sugar. Whole Foods-brand soda has cane; it's also caffeine-free. I think I'll go to Whole Foods today.

Was Phil strung out the one time it wasn't balls-out awesome?

haha, yes, TMC 1982!

http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...hilton&st=0

White like Me: A Confession, by Toryn Abraham

Loved this. The last 30 pages floored me. Have you read any other Bolano? Last Evenings on Earth and The Savage Detectives were good and Nazi Literature in the Americas was a hoot. Whenever I brought the latter with me in public I always left the book jacket at home, as I didn't need that kind of attention.

I realized awhile ago that, if you get past whatever negative associations you've attached to her, Paris Hilton becomes attractive.

So gay!

That's creepy that Vitamin X saves pictures of board members. Blackmailing? Wank material?

Byron, you are gay. Probably the only funny filter in this board's history.

Good writing is always important. While encountering someone with similar taste as myself is nice, I like it when a writer takes a point of view I don't agree with and makes me understand where he's coming from. I'd much rather read a reasoned, concise piece on why, say, Dear Science doesn't work than read someone who says little more than "this album is great because these songs move me."

I think it's agreed that allmusic is better as a reference point rather than a serious critical source. As for superior alternatives re: criticism, the old Stylus site (it hasn't been updated since 2007, but all the old content can still be found here) had some good stuff. I like some of the writing on Fast 'n' Bulbous, too. Pitchfork occasionally delivers, but with who knows how many writers contributing up to 25 new reviews each week and a penchant for pushing an ideology rather than talking about records, it's understandable that a lot of it is garbage and that good stuff is easily lost in the mix. So, given the structure of the site, there could be some fine writing on which I'm missing out. I've mentioned elsewhere that I liked both the reviews for 808s & Heartbreak and Chinese Democracy from Pitchfork, so there's that. The single best review I've read there was Dominique Leone's Da Capo-worthy look at the Beatles's Let It Be...Naked.

Czech or Agent should spin these posts re: music critcism into its own thread. It could be an interesting discussion.

I've noticed that as well. Conventional wisdom long held Leonard Cohen's Phil Spector-produced Death of Ladies' Man to be a major-league turd. I don't remember the original one-star allmusic review verbatim, but it was roughly two sentences long, neither which were very kind. Now it has four stars and is a glowing piece of critical revisionism. Which is fine. Not because I like the album myself (though I do like it quite a bit), but that allmusic is willing to reflect opinions that change over time. On a semirelated note, previously three-star rated, certified classic In the Aeroplane Over the Sea now sports five stars. The accompanying piece is still the original kind, if flummoxed, appreciation. I'm sure there's a rewrite in the works.

Here's Erlewine on the most recent Nickelback platter, Dark Horse. Later on, there's a Body Count reference I appreciated. The album gets two stars, adding to Kreese's comment that these star ratings can't be taken seriously. I mean, the guy ripped this band/album to shreds. Two stars feels like a mercy rating.

I've always used allmusic as more a reference point than a serious critical source. If I'm looking to get into a band and don't know where to start, I go to allmusic and see which of that band's albums get the check mark that indicates a good place to begin. I have, occasionally, read some really solid writing at allmusic. Like Thom Jurek's piece on Miles Davis's On the Corner. I've also read some bullshit, like this.

Found it. http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...p;hl=jude%20law Thread turns pretty bad by the second page, so I stopped reading it.

It certainly explains EHME's tough guy braggadocio.

I once posted a picture of Jude Law, claiming it was me from a session at Glamour Shots in the mall. Jingus believed it really was me. Though I guess gullibility, cerebral palsy, and being a genius aren't mutually exclusive.

You're recommending a power metal band based on someone saying they liked an A.C. Newman song. I'm sure you have no idea who A.C. Newman is, but that you did this reminds me when someone would make a thread like "What are some good jazz records?" and Corey Lazarus would suggest, in all seriousness, an album by a metal band with Zombie in their name.