Just checked Spotify, and if there's any link to buy the artist's music, it's certainly not obvious, 'cos I don't see one. That seems like a win-win for everyone, for them to add it; sure, you might click away and buy that one album you are currently hearing (a minus for Spotify, though the artist could give them a…

RE: Spotify - not that I have noticed, but I will look next time.

Yeah, but that was true before also. Labels weren't in the habit of bankrolling challenging and non-commercial, nor radio of playing it. Commerce was what a label was *for*.

Portishead has a legacy to benefit from, that's for sure. But I'm not sure any newer band is at any more of a disadvantage than artists/musicians have always been at (success in the arts has always been a crapshoot). See this:

I use the free Spotify, (which has ads, and reduced sound quality) but I use it primarily the way I would have used radio in the past - to discover and test-drive music, that I then purchase if I like it (ideally on Bandcamp, where I can get a lossless copy and I know the band is getting almost all the $). So I don't…

True. As much as I feel bad for legacy artists who are stuck with this situation, I just don't see any reason for anyone to ever sign to a label again. Portishead's best bet might be to get out of their contract as soon as they can, then self-release lossless records on Bandcamp or whatever. They might not make…

This may be the only time I'll ever sort of stick up for record companies, but what was their leverage to hold out for more $ from the streaming sites?

Don't mind if I do!

Yetis are very susceptible to pubic lice.

Servotron

WE ARE THE ROBOTS
DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT

Crabbin' Cabin

If you stop thinking of him as a "hoarse-voiced Knievel parody", and start thinking of him as "a white man wearing an American flag costume being injured severely and repeatedly for entertainment purposes", Ice Cube's fandom starts to make a lot more sense.

Back and to the left?

I started to suspect, that time she threatened to discharge a flintlock into my buttocks.

Unfortunately, Drop Dead Fred dropped dead.

That's pretty bad all right. I just assumed he "died" (shut down) based on the fact that we are told by narration he went to sleep ("and for the first time in his life he went to that place where dreams are born") and I don't think he ever slept (or even closed his eyes, not even to blink) before.

Eh, YMMV obviously, but to me it's darker because it's final, and explicit. Because we know his joy and satisfaction and opportunity to say goodbye are false, because his "mom" and that house aren't real.

To be fair, I thought they were aliens at first, didn't immediately realize they were mechas.

Thanks for something more substantial, and sorry for getting pissy. Tone is hard to read sometimes. I have very few nits to pick with what you have written here, except: