The Man in Blak

As much as I'd like to have a crack at some of YNA's picks, I'm not sure that it's really fair to simply throw them back on to the draft board for others to pick, as it could give a major advantage to certain people in the draft order, who would immediately have access to games that were picked in earlier rounds. I'd recommend that we keep his list as is, but simply skip his turn the rest of the way.

Some bitter tea for a certain Cubs fan:

Yeah, I completely forgot about Dopesmoker. Made me think, though; since he's already got some Neurosis on his list, should he take the similarly-titled Dopethrone instead of Through Silver in Blood?

Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) Probably an overdraft, considering how few have had the chance to play it, but it's too good to pass up. One of the best non-fantasy RPGs ever and the best game on the Saturn by a country mile.

Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)

If I had to shoot a guess for Agent, I'd go with: Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!

Not if they figure that the game is a niche title anyway (ding!) and, as a result, that it's not worth the heartache trying to broker deals with all of the major software retailers when they can get a comparable cut off of Nintendo's digital distribution model (once packaging costs are cut out of the picture).

All right, with Agent going on the clock a couple of hours ago, we're officially at the end of the draft. Here's who is still left on the clock: VX has 4 picks. Coat has 5 picks. Steviekick has 3 picks. RHR has 3 picks. Agent has 2 picks. Do we just want to say that, once 12:00 pm Friday rolls around, all draft picks that are still left on the board are forfeit and then proceed to the voting part of this thing for the weekend?

Yeah, that's just sick. *crosses the top two picks off of his list*

Yep, that's correct.

These guys are currently "on the clock", so to speak. These guys haven't come up yet, but yeah, they'll each have three picks when their turn comes around. Well, except for Agent, who jumped the gun with the Agoraphobic Nosebleed, but I don't see any need for any kind of great upheaval there, so yeah. And thank you for updating the page.

Currently on the clock: bps21 (4 picks) Can pick at any time: StevieKick The Coat Is My Father (5 picks) Cowboy Numbers (1 pick - replacement for Live Era: '87-'93) Vitamin X (4 picks)

I think the overall quality of the game is debatable, but I'll always have a place in my heart for Donkey Kong Country, thanks to its involvement in Blockbuster's video game competition waaaay back (mid-90's). I got a free year of rentals for snagging the top score at my hometown Blockbuster.

Currently on the clock: StevieKick Can pick at any time: the Sperm The Coat Is My Father Also, Cowboy Numbers needs to pick a replacement for Live Era: '87-'93.

Secret of Mana (SNES)

I read this everywhere and yet, whenever I take some random sampling of Ellis, it comes across as Chuck Mangione bullshit. Please tell me I just have terrible luck and haven't found the right starting place with this guy.

Metroid (NES)

Oops, nevermind, my computer clock settings were off and I thought my pick was up.

You probably got the GNR album because it contains recordings from multiple live performances; it's not eligible for the draft.

I like Slanted & Enchanted and I considered taking it as a part of my final three, but it just didn't match my needs at that part of the draft. I wasn't taking it over Eno or Ol' Tom and I had already taken a fair deal of indie rock to that point anyway...so it was hard to rationalize taking it instead of Laughing Stock, which I probably could have taken 15 rounds ago, if I were picking on my personal preference alone. That being said, somebody could probably swoop in at the tail end of this draft and, using nothing but the leftovers, still put together a killer list of 20 albums. There's an absurd amount of stuff hanging around out there.

Brian Eno - Another Green World So, the story goes that Eno was hit by a car in 1975. Bed-ridden and weakened for months, he had only the sub-audible strains of eighteenth century harp music to subsist upon and, thus, he re-calibrated his perception of sound to match the surroundings. The albums that immediately followed (this one, along with Discreet Music) were a striking departure from the glam-rock science-cum-vampirism that had previously characterized his solo career, so much so that all subsequent returns to those old stomping grounds (Before And After Science, Another Day on Earth) appeared to leave even Eno himself unfamiliar with his previous self. But perhaps another realization informed that shift in tone because, for every re-awakening that emerges forth from Another Green World ("St. Elmo's Fire", "The Big Ship"), there's a darker implication in tow ("In Dark Trees", "Spirits Drifting"). An understanding that, for all that he had accomplished and all of his influence as an artist, the car didn't stop and it might very well be impossible to ever take anything that important for granted again. Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years The last leg of his indispensable 80's output and home to the fractured anti-rock groove of "Hang On St. Christopher", my personal favorite song out of his catalogue. The fact that it's surrounded by a number of his more recognizable tunes - "Way Down In The Hole", "Innocent When You Dream", "Temptation", "Straight To The Top" - only strengthens its case as one of his most under-appreciated records. Philosophical axiom for your consideration: "Never trust a man in a blue trenchcoat, never drive a car when you're dead." Talk Talk - Laughing Stock Post-rock. Hate the term all you like, but there's a reason for it; there's not enough energy here, harmonic or otherwise, to qualify it as jazz, not enough backbeat to even consider passing through any inspection as rock. Just a dull ache, methodical, a persistent longing that could very well remained unfulfilled, forever. For Mark Hollis, the tree does not fall in the forest but, instead, bends to the very ground, years of weight eventually dragging it downward so that there is no simple crack, no explosion of timber, no aftermath. Just contemplation...and a subtle reminder along every inch of the way that you're sinking, that you can't move and that, no matter what ray of light may glimpse through the trees, you can't keep it from ending any other way.

And congrats for somehow stepping on one of my last three picks with Here Come The Warm Jets. Asshole.

Seriously, though, he picks: Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Paul's actually out for the weekend so, now that the 24 Hour Vitamin X Watch has completed, I can go ahead and post the three picks that he PM'd to me over the weekend. In fact, I'll even write up a little bit about each of them, since we've trended so closely in our picks throughout this whole thing. Crash Test Dummies - Jingle All The Way Probably a little obscure, but I can see where you'd want some Christmas songs to keep you company, if you bought into this whole desert island nonsense rather than treating it as a simple metaphor to drive discussion, of course. Korn - MTV Unplugged Hmmmmmmm. Maybe Paul knows something that we don't know about that cover of "Creep." Weird Al Yankovic - In 3-D You know, it is kind of peculiar that we've lasted this long without somebody picking up some humor into their collection, so pretty savvy pick. I definitely wouldn't have thought of grabbing this one.

Grand Theft Auto - Vice City (PS2)