I'll second this request (and toss in a request for any good Lou Reed or Bowie autobiographies, while I'm at it).

This is like dismissing the Beatles because you don't like "Rocky Raccoon." Scharpling's appearance on the recent live HWYW is more representative (and very funny).

I have a hard time considering anything from his 65-66 albums or BLOOD ON THE TRACKS "underrated." But outtakes are fair game, so I'll go with "She's Your Lover Now" and "I'll Keep It With Mine." Also "Tomorrow Is a Long Time." And the versions of "Mississippi," "Most of the Time," and "Someday Baby" on TELL TALE…

Thanks! I thought I remembered something like this.

Has the A.V. Club ever considered a Primer or Gateways piece on experimental film? I've always been intrigued but have never known exactly where to start.

Robin Hitchcock's "Trying to Get to Heaven" and the Jim James/Calexico version of "Goin' to Acupulco" from I'M NOT THERE are the first things that come to mind. Weirdly, my favorite Byrds cover of a Dylan song is the 1965 version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," which wasn't even on an album.

I'd add RED ROSE SPEEDWAY to this list. His late 70s albums (LONDON TOWN and BACK TO THE EGG) are also pretty underappreciated - they're a little spotty, but both have plenty of great songs. And MCCARTNEY II is some kind of weirdo masterpiece, I think.

Nope; I believe that's Shelley Winters.

Hickman likes to do things like (in Fantastic Four/FF) mention a "war of four cities" in one issue, then devote an issue to each city, then spend two years building to the actual war, with a two-issue Inhumans detour. He seems to plot long-term story arcs really well; it leads to some definite decompression (which can…

Remender's Deadpool is great; there's a completely disgusting bit in the first arc that I'm shocked he got away with (if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about). It also happens to be the best Deadpool scene I can remember.

It's exciting to watch Hickman carve out his corner of the Marvel universe with Secret Warriors, SHIELD, and FF. It's sort of amazing that editorial is letting him get away with so many unconventional story structures; it's incredibly rare to see this kind of narrative ambition in mainstream comics, and I can't wait…

I'll third the Secret Avengers love. Best thing Ellis has written in a while, I think - and that double-page spread of Moon Knight in flight by Jamie McKelvie was maybe my favorite comics moment of the year.

You should be fine, especially if you read Morrison's New X-Men - Remender does a lot of neat stuff with Fantomex and the World, but it might be confusing if you haven't been exposed to those concepts before. Otherwise, pretty straightforward, and you can fill in any questions easily via Wikipedia. It's a shockingly…

Analyze Phish has pretty much become my favorite podcast. Episode 3 was the funniest thing I've heard in months, and I'm beyond excited for the live concert episode.

I just now realized that the amazing, foul-mouthed Ellen on Twitter is Ellen BARKIN and not Ellen BURSTYN. No joke - I'd assumed there was just this salty 78-year-old actress out there mouthing off. Pretty disappointing.

Check out "barringer82"'s stuff as well - his Paul Thomas Anderson and Films of the 1970s" are really excellent:

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and GHOSTS OF MARS were both heavily inspired by RIO BRAVO, so it makes sense in that context.

But nobody *wanted* REM to make OK COMPUTER. (Glad you like it, though!)

ALIEN LANES is great, but a little too fractured to be a good starting point - BEE THOUSAND is probably a better bet (and a better album in general). ISOLATION DRILLS is a great intro too, if you're looking for something more polished and immediately accessible.

Thanks, folks. I'll start with LONE STAR, then work my way outward from there.