I thought the Cranberries had run their course by then. Zombie was '94, I think. Did they have anything notable after that? I can't remember.

Totally agree.

Totally. Taking that trend further, it always seemed to me like early-80's music was custom made for being 10 years old or so. Everything was brightly colored, bands had distinct looks, you had superstars like Michael Jackson and Madonna and Prince and Springsteen. It's hard for me to even imagine what that time…

It's weird, and I don't like it, but I think Orgy's version was the first one I really knew. I've long since forgotten about it, and love the New Order version, but if I'm honest with myself, that's the one I knew most, at the time.

Oh, Stabbing Westward. I knew them from their spot opening for Depeche Mode on their 1994 tour, and that one song they had, which I kind of liked, but never bought. Seemed a bit too on-the-nose as wanting to be NIN.

It's weird to me that I saw Smashing Pumpkins' original lineup on the Mellon Collie tour, before the OD/drummer firing/D'arcy going nuts/band breakup/starting again with completely different guys/I guess maybe they broke up again?/I've long since stopped caring about the band and consider 2000 their true conclusion.

Good piece. Who would have thought 1996, of all years, could make for a compelling story about the music scene?

Only jumping in for the X-Men reference, but a few points:

Funny, I just re-watched this movie, and was inspired to listen to the album again. For me, the album was always pretty much just the first four songs, followed by the last four. I wasn't into the heavy Pantera/Rollins Band stuff in the middle, which always seemed a bit off-genre. I'd rather there been more…

I think they could have arguably won the soundtrack album for Cool World, too, though I never owned it to hear what else is on there besides the Bowie song.

That Zelda map in the first issue was wondrous.

As a kid, I don't remember anyone ever picking up dog poop—either our dog's, or anyone else's. Dog poop just sat there, waiting for you to step in it. The development of this new "picking up the poop" trend over the past few decades may be a good idea over-all, but it really reduces the appeal of owning a dog.

I liked Bernie more than Hillary. And I do think the support for Hillary from within the party probably squashed any number of potential candidates who might be better than her—I think Bernie was probably lucky he got as far as he did.

If I can, I think what you're pointing at—arrogance, or any of a slew of other possible, and possibly-legitimate, issues with her personality—are fair game for rejecting someone on a personal level. But in the context of this election in particular, I just can't see how arrogance can be a deal-breaker when it comes…

We still have the debates yet—we can hope!

I'd like to think you're right, but I'm afraid Trump's campaign, successful or not, will only serve to normalize his type of behavior. Someone coming along in four years and saying/doing the same things probably won't get a peep of a reaction—anyone interested in maintaining the same kind of media presence will…

I couldn't say how different America is from other countries in venerating their soldiers—I would think that would be fairly universal. That said, I think America's relationship with its military is partly informed by residual guilt from Vietnam, when some leveled criticism not just at the war in general but at…

I was just telling my gf it's probably their best song. Yeah, this'll pop up somewhere on the interwebs. Good show.

Weird, I have it through my Apple TV. Playing Let Down now. Sorry you're not seeing it.

Surprisingly, they are as I type. I had no idea.