Oh, Bro Hymn. I think I just teared up (again) reading that lyric they dedicated to Jason Thirsk. As cliched as it sounds, that band was truly never the same after he died.

Yeah, betting on wrestling is a shade above backyard wrestling on the stupid scale.

The All Ages compilation is all kinds of awesome. It's the clear cut answer to the "If you could have only one Bad Religion album…" question.

I don't think the rise of hip hop had much to do with the demise of punk. I see what you mean about hip hop being to the early 90s what punk was to the late 70s, as a cultural reaction/movement, but "punk rock" rose and fell in the 90s with Alternative Rock. Because it really is music for adolescents, people don't…

It's funny to think that maybe Greg Graffin isn't all that bright and that he stole all those lines from papers he graded at Cornell or whatever.

Yeah yeah, Rushdie, play the old bait and switch now. But I'm on to you. Just try publishing something with the name Salbass on it. Just try it.

It seems like his baby more than the other guys' in a way. MCA was into the political/spiritual/snowboarding/directing thing, ADRock is always ADRock, but Mike D always seems to be the most self-aware in a pop culture sense and shaping their image and vision for each record. I like it too.

I was 13 in 1990, so yeah, this series was written for me too. It's such perfect adolescent music because all you think about is
authenticity, identity, subverting authority figures, etc. Well, that and girls
and/or boys… I think the bands
that are highlighted here in 1990 are such a perfect start to this
series,…

Hopefully the "this is punk, this is not punk" debate has gone the way
of the dodo (or, if you prefer, the buffalo, MxPx fans) , it's all
ancient history now, other than the obvious influence of MTV,
Grunge/Alt. Music, etc. on acts that used punk-like trappings to get
famous. Hopefullly, the 90s have taught us that…

I seem to remember a big dragnet of gimmick posters and trolls a while back, back when they first started flagging comments with member input. Maybe War on Oates got swept up in that? Glad Billy Corgan survived, though, since you know, he's really Billy Corgan.

I like the intent of this article, but "Bodhisattva Vow" is so boring, it's hard to imagine anyone who doesn't already like Beastie Boys deciding they must have this album based on that song. However, I agree that the spiritualization (is that a word?) of the Beastie sound begins and ends with MCA. It could have…

I think the entire run from Check Your Head-Ill Communication-Hello Nasty is essential.  Assuming you already have Paul's Boutique, start with Check Your Head and Hello Nasty, then on to Hot Sauce. Next is Five Boroughs, which is an outlier, in the sense that it's in the spirit of their 80s stuff, while Hot Sauce is…

Doesn't make sense to me, because if the literary elitists have an axe to grind with Rowling, why "out" her and indirectly guarantee that the book will be a #1 bestseller, spawn sequels, etc?

I literally just watched the mini-documentary from the Episode 1-3 DVDs last night (long story, don't ask)  and I guess I didn't realize that those buildings are still just out there, from when LucasFilm actually built sets on location. Huh. You should totally be able to rent that location for parties or something.

Matt Fraction is cool. The rare comic book writer who isn't a complete sociopath or egomaniac. I would have no problem listening to these songs all summer. Well done by both contributors.

Definitely intrigued by that FF story. Have they collected it somewhere in a trade or hardcover edition? Only saw single issues online. 

Not to be "that guy" or anything, but Scarlett's Black Widow only became interesting with Whedon involved with the backstory, dialogue, etc. Whedon has a way with developing female superheroes that has never been matched. So, Kojima directs with a story by Whedon and maybe you have a movie there. 

"Himself" is great because you can relate to different parts of the act as you get older, have kids, etc. Everyday, I am reminded of the bit about the dad taking the kid to football practice for 18 years, only to have the kid score the big TD and say "Hi Mom!" to the cameras. Kids, man. Brain damage indeed.

Mine too, except  throw in Steven Wright's HBO Special (the first one, I think) and you have my holy trinity of stand-up.

Even if you don't like ska, punk, ska-punk, or whatever, any new recording that involves Matt Freeman playing bass is worth your time.