1. Trying to insult The New Yorker by calling it pretentious is like trying to insult Quentin Tarantino by calling his movies schlocky.

It seems odd not to even allude to Murry Wilson's emotional and physical abuse of his kids. The complaints in the song may be typical teenage stuff, but there was reason for a lot of real anger underlying them.

Yeah! People who like football are dumb! And nerds are better at sex, too!

Yeah, I'd largely agree with that, unfortunately. I feel like "Bambi" is the best thing they've done in a while, as far as enduring hooks go, way more so than anything on Champ or this — which is just disappointing because on those first releases they're so good at enduring hooks. But Forcefield still seems really…

I don't know what the specific numbers are, but I was referring to hookah bars and cigar bars that serve drinks. There are at least three in my town, but I will grant that might be more than is typical. Have a good nap!

You are aware that in many towns and cities with smoking bans, there is, in fact, at least one smoking establishment? There are still hookah bars and cigar bars, and not just in the big metropolitan areas. Generally speaking, they just need to demonstrate that it's part and parcel of their business model and then get…

I must assume that your peaceful afternoon or evening has never been interrupted by an impromptu drum circle, then. (Or maybe that's not a concern for you, because thanks, Silence, 15' Radius.)

Really? I thought Paulie could be funny to watch, but that it became clear over time that he was pretty annoying to spend time with. My sense was that Tony put up with him because he was a good earner and could be counted on, but that Paulie was basically that asshole at the bar whose intellectual reach far exceeded…

Huh. I've only watched the whole series once, but I didn't think Tony became notably less "likable" or relatable in the last few seasons, so much as his world gradually started to collapse and that impending danger made his true self more apparent.

Good fucking song, though.

What @signsofrain:disqus said. Stoners are a demographic ripe for the marketing-to, and that is only likely to increase as legalization takes hold in more and more places.

Quibble: I'm not making any claims to the comparative merits, mind you — not at all, not in a million years — but wasn't the Lost finale both more recent and almost certainly more anticipated than The Wire's?

Sorry, I hadn't had my coffee yet.

Jesus Christ, you little hipster bitches. I didn't say he sounds as good as Freddie Mercury. I didn't say he is a performer on the level of Freddie Mercury. Don't worry: nothing in my statement actually suggests that I have violated the tribal taboo by claiming that a new and currently popular artist can even begin to…

Dude, the guy sounds like Freddie Mercury, multilayered vocals or not.

How rapey did you hope it would sound?

NO LOVE FOR E.T.???

@avclub-884c4beddd8c98bb3b016bdfcc1bcdf8:disqus @avclub-9c33ea7188cb0fc5d524f4ad1e8d8fc5:disqus I don't think the complaint is that they didn't know every little detail of what would happen for the next six or seven years. The complaint is that there were major plot devices early on — from big ones like the Smoke…

I've not seen the whole thing in one straight sitting, but the first time I caught any of it was with an ex who loved it. I think she said it's basically an extended meditation on art, with Paul being turned into the statue as the apotheosis of that, and his return at the end to the workaday world a come-down from the…

SAME!