Phrenology for diversity; Things Fall Apart for consistency.

Hey, I liked "Wake Up"!  I thought it was a really good fusion of two incredible talents putting a lot of energy into things they had been addressing independently for years.  Yeah, it was super-retro and maybe a little indulgent with that 12-min track, but dammit, the Roots and John Legend earned it and made it…

This is fine and all - I honestly don't log in often enough to care that much.

They qualify, but only if you chuck out SBS and replace it with the Mermaid Ave. records  (Vol II is more Wilco than Vol I, but both are incredible).  I absolutely do not understand why people like that bland mopey crap, especially after coming off the confrontational introspection of YHF and AGIB.  Loved that band,…

Man!  This just drives home how out of step I am with the fans anymore. I was OBSESSED with Wilco through AGIB, heard SBS, and immediately abandoned them.  The only songs I liked at all are the three you mentioned, plus Hate It Here - everything else was so toothless and despondent.  It sounded like a Don Henley side…

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver is also really good and a lot more fun.  Those Pollan books are great, but also pretty heavy.  Kingsolver's take on things is definitely lighter and a more fun read.  The part about her 8-yr. old become a chicken butcher is hilarious.  It's also a more effective…

I'd definitely throw up a couple of Riot Grrrrl anthems too.  "Hate the Christian Right" by Team Dresch and "Suck My Left One" and "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill may bonk you on the head with their point, but damn if it isn't a good point. 

And "Bad Moon Rising" is about Vietnam.  It's all metaphorical and shit.

You're just saying that about War Pigs because Ozzy rhymes "masses" with, um, "masses."  That song is the best use of a high hat on any non-jazz song I have ever heard.

Um, Adams hasn't lived here in like ten years.  Yup, since he started sucking.  Thanks alot New York City.

It's only a happy ending if you are rooting for Woody Allen, and he plays a total jerk in that movie. So, sort of?

Not a chick, so I can't help you there, but I totally agree with you.

Yeah, but Hannah puts all of that in the context of people's personal lives falling apart, which is what I love about it. It really makes the point that in the face of this big, uncaring world full of jerks, all we have is our loved ones. And most of the time, that is enough.

I still find Lolita's (book and movie) way of dealing with sexual obsession (both general and specific) more interesting and, um, exciting. Maybe because all of that repression spills over into action rather than observation(?).

Cliffy - if you liked Women… I highly recommend both All About My Mother and Volver. While not as manic, they both have great senses of humor and real empathy for their fascinating characters (unlike Talk To Her). He also really loves Cruz, and brings the best out of her, both physically and professionally. Her…

Never meant to assert myself as an arbiter of taste (my fixation on 3rd-wave ska music starts me off in a hole already), I am simply rebutting the prevailing opinion that this particular movie is a) a masterpiece; or b) a flawed masterpiece. I didn't use passive voice - get over it, it's a conversation about a…

Please tell me what I am missing in Eyes Wide Shut Chetairi. Is it the flat colors of the photography? The frozen pacing? The strained and unlikeable performances? The outdated engagement with surrealism and sexuality? Poor set designs? The underuse of the awesome Sydney Pollack? The underuse of Nicole Kidman? …

Heller - you say you have a "soft spot" for Newsome's genre of music… what type of music DON'T you have a soft spot for??? I really appreciate your enthusiasm and criticism of all genres of music - love LOUD - but you seem fairly open to all types. I mean, Noel is clearly a lover of pop music - esp. radio rock,…

Yeah, All About My Mother may only be a little funny, but it is an amazing movie with top-notch performances. I also loved Volver. But I hated hated hated Talk To Her. That may be the creepiest, most misogynist bullshit I have ever sat through (though I have only seen 1 Von Trier movie, so I am sure my standards…

Man, I love Manhattan and strongly dislike Annie Hall. When Woody Allen damns himself, he damns the whole human race as a bunch of foolish children attempting to rationalize their existence. Otherwise, he is just trying to be cute and nebbishy, which I find insufferable. Annie Hall portrays him as a hero of sorts;…