Yeah, I see what you mean. Sitting down to watch a movie is a lot more enveloping in an immediate way, and it's usually more of a shared experience. Getting immersed in a piece of music can be a lot harder, even for me, and I get paid for it! I've been really glad this year that people keep putting out vinyl, not just…

Yeah, I need to expand my Apex listening (beyond SAW and Chosen Lords), so I will keep those suggestions handy. Thanks, littlealex and zircona.

I've been meaning to catch up on Numan for a long time. Thanks for reminding me, Card!

That sounds like a really good year.

Maggot Brain! I haven't listened to that in a while but it's awesome.

A lot of people at the show in Milwaukee (including some people I know) had the same reaction. One jackass standing near me insisted on shouting "YOU SUCK!" throughout the entire set (which accomplished… well, I don't know what). But I'll tell you this much: I've never seen a band weather some crowd-hate that well.…

We just put that in the headline because he jokes about it in the story (in the answer to the fourth question). Just to play off the self-deprecating feel of his answer there.

Just curious
How many people commenting on this story came to it via the national A.V. Club's homepage? For some reason not everyone sounds like our regular local commenters (glad to have you all either way, of course!).

Yep! I would second Lobo Tommy on Drunk (much more stripped-down than this album, but great writing). Plus North Star Deserter (recorded with Zion/Picciotto) and Dark Developments (recorded with Elf Power), just to give you some idea of the variety of his music.

As much as I enjoyed this…
I think it would've been a lot funnier to see Louis CK just sit on a stool and read the script out loud. It's a lot easier to appreciate his wordplay when it comes straight from the source.

Nice review, Noel.
I think this band's bound to get overlooked, if only because people have such an easy time putting them in the "yep, pretty derivative of Yo La Tengo and stuff" category. But the songs on both albums have been great, and their chosen sound just suits them in a very sincere and effective way. These…

Yeah, after I heard that album I felt much less bummed about being from Florida. I saw them open for Meshuggah a few months ago, and of course they were still amazing.

Worth seeing overall…
…but it only lets you in on one perspective and one period of N'Dour's work. It's not a bad introduction for those just getting curious about the guy, and I love the live footage. I must agree with Nathan that it's quite press-releasey, without much critical perspective beyond (literally) a few…

Yeah, I think there's some interesting potential in the interludes, but for me they got in the way of enjoying the songs. Which is a shame, because there are at least a couple really strong ones here.

"Grounds For Divorce" is pretty much my favorite Big Business song ever.

As far as I know they're still part of the Melvins… and those Melvins/Big Business shows are fun as hell. Also, sorry for the lack of a track stream on this review. I'll see if we can set one up today.

That is, *our Chicago site.

Hi Zuul and Logorrhea and all, and thanks for the kind words. Compared to Aaron Burgess I'm merely metal-curious, but I've been paying more attention lately and will keep an eye out for more metal stuff for review. Suggestions always welcome, of course.

Hi Bill Lee, I just remembered out Chicago Decider site did a feature on that band a while back: http://chicago.decider.com/…

Hmm.
I could almost deal with this if not for the stupid hat and stupid vest. Also, that guitar player went from playing with Warren Zevon to playing with Adam Sandler, for the record. Sigh.