Also
Also I wouldn't expect someone like Weltschmerz to have any interest whatsoever in any form of the blues. Which I suppose is ironic in a way, given how put-upon and world-weary he proclaims himself to be.

Yep
I was confused, too, gum, but I just let it slide, as I wasn't expecting much in the way of reasoned discourse if I brought up the fact that The Black Keys aren't a jam band. Nor are they even a jam-prone blues band.

Weltschmertz
Damn. What a wentz… (Am I using the term properly?)

Re: the jace's comment
"And I dont know that Simmons and records execs are the most qualified/relevant people to start legislating when freedom of expression encroaches on other peoples pursuit of happiness."

Re: The REAL Joe's comment
"People should be able to say what they want without fear of constant scrutiny by people no one asked in the first place."

Yeah, Nope
The Imus/hip-hop issue has nothing to do with the first amendment. The government has had absolutely nothing to do with the situation, and no government body has sought to regulate the kind of speech that's at issue here.

True Lies
I caught a bit of this on TV the other day. I had totally forgotten how utterly ridiculous Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis are as a couple. Particularly that awful stripper-dance-in-the-hotel-room scene.

RE: one2ohmygodd
"My point is that good TV should do more than amuse you. And you, as the viewer, should want more than to be amused. If mere amusement engages you, count yourself among the millions to whom 'Yes, Dear' was marketed."

Enuff 'Snuff
"So did snuff films suddenly become mainstream?"

US vs. UK
infallible, I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the limitations of the British "series" system; I was just about the post something similar. On the one hand, it can be great to get these tight, well-thought-out, no-episode-wasted story arcs, but on the other hand, as you mentioned, there's little…

More about placeholders
Noel, I don't think you're wrong to hope for television shows to strive for the ideal of "a novel on film," but I do think you're working with a very limited conception of what a novel is or can be if you think that "placeholder episodes" are contradictory to its purpose. One of the major…

Questions for our esteemed A.V. Club staffers
As always, great Crosstalk, guys. Two questions/comments, though:

Methinks DJ1 doth protest too much
Why do defensive? Is there not room in the world of pop music for both albums and singles to co-exist? I think the state of the music industry might actually improve if labels can figure out how to balance both of these formats.

Question away, Thom!
I've read Ulysses four times now and can't wait until I have chance to dive in and get lost in it again. Crime & Punishment I've only read once, but I relish the idea of returning to it one day, too.

MORE MONEY = BETTER THAN
An interesting theory, Steve, but I don't think your categories entirely hold up under scrutiny. In short, I don't think popular music history *is* written by the "losers," any more than "real" history is. This is because the distinction of who is a "loser" and who is a "winner" changes over…