I wouldn't call either of those bands crap (OK, maybe Coldplay at their
worst), but that is a good call- I only had Attack of the Grey Lantern
but it was pretty great.It also belongs on the list of bands with
great hidden tracks.

Yeah, they did drop off the map (and possibly liked it that way, if their deliberately-anonymous-sounding band name and album titles are anything to go by). Having said that, I saw them performing at a festival in Beijing and half of the crowd was singing along to a song I'd never even heard before. Was a pretty…

Of that list of bands, I'd say Coldplay's first album probably sounds most like Travis. Granted Bends-era Radiohead is the obvious common source for both of them.

Yeah, that was the song that stood out for me. Utterly unexpected if all you know is their singles, which may have been melancholy but still sounded light and upbeat.

When I first heard Keane I honestly thought it was Travis trying to sound more like Coldplay.

I previously thought the more concentrated episodes were always better, but I haven't been so sure this season. I still much prefer whatever is going on in King's Landing to everything else, but somehow it seems to work more smoothly now and most of it holds my attention. Couldn't really say why, though.

Ah, I getcha. I think that's why I like it so much- you've got Bob Dylan doing some of his best work lyrically and vocally, but the musicians aren't going to let themselves be outdone and are doing their own thing. For me it risks sounding chaotic but ends up adding to it.

This is a horrible cliche, but I didn't really listen to any rap until I heard some Kanye West. Dude has done some truly fantastic songs. Because of that, though, something like Jay Z's Reasonable Doubt doesn't do much for me- I just don't hear the same musical creativity and variety in it.

Not sure about the long songs theory- I love BoB but I don't think many people would put Sad Eyed Lady ahead of Desolation Row. Visions of Johanna might be in with a shot, I guess. Personally I prefer BoB for the musicianship more than anything- the combination of Dylan's singing with that band is just stunning,…

I could be way wrong here, since I've never listened to any, but… for me that's covered by the “friends sit around and shoot the shit” description. My impression of podcasts is that they're radio shows for the not-owning-a-radio generation.

The Bob Dylan one is really surprising. I just don't hear much of a 'purposefully chaotic sound' to it outside of the first track and Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat (both of which I often skip- feel like novelty tracks to me). Most of it just sounds like expert musicians playing magnificent songs, and really no more…

Probably an ear.

These generally seem like very good points (not all of them, mind- e.g. it seemed far from certain to me that Hannibal was going to kill Abigail, and I haven't even spent the last X amount of time being brainwashed by him in whatever way) , but I still absolutely loved the episode- it was an incredible experience. I…

You've also got Peter Dinklage and Hodor.

I chose to interpret that as Cersei being hilariously clueless about swordfight training.

I remember enjoying the original Dario's performance- he seemed to have much more of an 'arrogant smirking swordsman' vibe to him. The new guy still feels a bit bland in comparison- a bit Starklike, in fact.

Yeah, Oberyn's rapidly become one of the best characters. Both the actor and the writers seem to be having so much fun with him.

He is becoming

I may be being stupid here, but… how do I actually watch any of them? The 'video' button for each one isn't doing anything.

I'd actually love to see the story competently recreated. Wouldn't need special effects either- a stage play version would be fine, as long as it was good.