Passchendale was absolute garbage. I also really disliked Men With Brooms.

America loves a cappella! Really, they do. It's sort of strange.

I have a friend who's a studio singer, and one of her specialties is pretending to be a preteen or teenager. It's fucking creepy. But on the happier side: she got to do the Klondike Bar jingle at one point.

I'd say the message is a little more "Maybe it's not our place to make broad assumptions on why people act the way they do." Which is a little utopian, sure.

I think that's a really good point. One man's "simple" is another man's "dull". It's pretty much a values issue, like all consumption of art: if you don't value what Frank Ocean does on his album, of course you're not going to like it.

I think that's a really good point. One man's "simple" is another man's "dull". It's pretty much a values issue, like all consumption of art: if you don't value what Frank Ocean does on his album, of course you're not going to like it.

Kanye's an excellent producer, and I'm sure he's dabbled in using sparser soundscapes, but Kanye's is all about the bombast. Incredibly layered beats, tripled vocals, street noise, horns, strings, MIDI horns, MIDI strings. Frank Ocean's music is like this sometimes (Pyramids gets pretty busy, but it's still focused on…

Kanye's an excellent producer, and I'm sure he's dabbled in using sparser soundscapes, but Kanye's is all about the bombast. Incredibly layered beats, tripled vocals, street noise, horns, strings, MIDI horns, MIDI strings. Frank Ocean's music is like this sometimes (Pyramids gets pretty busy, but it's still focused on…

I like a lot of his longform reviews and he's one of the best liner notes writers out there, but there is something especially infuriating about his snippy one-line reviews.

For McDowell and me, that's definitely exceeding expectations.

Channel Orange is probably the album that has resonated with me emotionally moreso than any other single album, so it's not easy for me to approach it objectively. But I will say this: I think people are responding to Frank Ocean's general aesthetic, in that it's something they really haven't heard before and can't…

Channel Orange is probably the album that has resonated with me emotionally moreso than any other single album, so it's not easy for me to approach it objectively. But I will say this: I think people are responding to Frank Ocean's general aesthetic, in that it's something they really haven't heard before and can't…

The Ring is the only J Horror adaptation that captures the pervading sense of dread that is so typical of the genre. Plus, Naomi Watts and Brian Cox are really really good in it.

I really love Four Weddings and a Funeral, probably more than I have any right to. It's filled with great performances, and even Andie McDowell is okay in it! And the Funeral Blues scene (…do I have to warn for spoilers that someone dies?) is absolutely heart-wrenching.

There are cases of literally being used in that sense dating back to the 16th century, but I always find it weird when words have two contradictory meanings. Like "dust" means "remove powdery substance" and also "add powdery substance" (dusting the crops etc.).

Well, they should.

I remember a scene in the original House of Cards where all the Tories are wearing blue ribbons after their election victory - perhaps a subtle nod?

Ohhhhh Mason, honey, it's not your fault.

I went to a "hockey's back" party on Saturday, we watched Ottawa - Winnipeg, Montreal - Toronto and Vancouver - Anaheim (which was by far the most exciting of the three). Good times, but also a lot of hockey.

I haven't seen Taking Off, but I caught The Fireman's Ball the other day and was blown away. It's absolutely hilarious.