Blockbuster did sell/rent DVDs, at least as far back as 1999. I remember because I wanted to rent Eyes Wide Shut but all the rental copies were checked out, so I bought the one copy they had for sale for $20.

I still love 40 Oz. to Freedom a lot, beginning to end, but that cover of "Hope" is a low point for me. Taking a four-chord, mid-tempo punk track and playing it in a two-chord, speed metal fashion does the song no favors.

Same here. I'm kinda surprised the American Masters episode is being treated with such reverence in this review. It was good, because Nichols is an interesting subject, but it was a very standard hour of TV bio-documentary.

Didn't see that on my Charter cable FXHD feed. I'd say it is an issue with your provider. I've noticed things like this on other channels, but not with this. Although it must have been annoying for you, fortunately it was not an aesthetic choice by the director.

LaserDiscs weren't digital, they were analog. Later LaserDiscs did contain a digital soundtrack (AC-3 encoded, the same as the first DVD audio standard), but the picture was always analog (an FM-style modulation signal).

I don't even see the scene as coercion so much as she just knew she'd feel guilty about cheating on her long-distance boyfriend. We don't really see what happens, but it seems she's leaning in for the kiss as we cut away. Regardless, it is pretty slimy.

Sneak preview of lyrics from album leak:

This was the point where I did feel DCFC settled for lackluster. I love the first two albums, was a little let down by The Photo Album (there's still a lot of classic material there though), but I was sorely disappointed with Tranatlanticism. Beyond a couple of tracks, it all sounds really banal and boring, compared…

And a lot like the re-design Pitchfork did earlier this year, and many others. The white/off-white background, vaguely modernist non-serif fonts for headlines, and Georgia body copy…well, there's only so many things you can do with that.

Are our grades for the episodes we've rated coming back? And the community grades? I hope so, because honestly, that's what keeps me coming back to AV Club — reading the review of a show I just watched, entering my grade and sharing it on Twitter (and then conversation with friends, real and virtual, ensues).

I can't believe AV Club gave this an A-.  It is really awful.  Not only are 7 out of the 9 theories total crap that should be laughed off the screen by anyone with more than a couple of brain cells, but the film is just poorly made.  Recycling clips from Kubrick movies (and a few other films), with the "theorists"…

Good call about the '90s pretentious attitudes concerning "if you don't like this, you're sooo not cool, and I'm so much better than you."

Is that so?  In the '90s, I found Sebadoh to be one of the *least* pretentious of all the indie bands around at the time.  Matter of fact, from the "Gimme Indie Rock" single on, they seemed to be taking the piss out of indie rock as a label/genre/tag.  They were just three dudes playing whatever struck their fancy at…

I hate spunk.

Way too pretty to play Linda Lovelace, who was no beauty.  But since I love me some Seyfried, I'll watch it.

Next week on Mad Men: Some people shake hands!

Better than a B-
I can understand slapping a B- on this record after the first couple of spins, but it really is a grower. I've had the shitty-sounding leak for quite some time, so I know the record pretty well at this point. Finally getting a decent-sounding copy certainly helped my increased appreciation, but…

Wish I would have went this year, but…
The first NY ATP will always be the best ever. The lineup was just freaking fantastic all weekend, with the anticipation leading up to My Bloody Valentine at 12:45 a.m. late Sunday/early Monday morning. And then, of course, Kevin Shields and Co. literally tore the place apart,…