Except the Jonas brothers will never go through a crucial period of firing in the kiln of post-war Hamburg.

To be fair, your mom's pretty hot.

How about an inventory of career-ending sophomore slumps.

I don't know if the whole album is that good but as much as I like 'Roam' and 'Channel Z', 'Love Shack' but especially the oversaturation of 'Love Shack' sure kept me away from it. But there are gems here and there throughout their post 'Wild Party' output—I really like 'Legal Tender' and 'Summer of Love', but now…

"via samples and covers"

I'm betting he can't get a movie made anymore. His best movies were all no or relatively low budget genre pics at a time when Hollywood didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them—he had complete control, and probably relatively little oversight. Nowadays each new Horror film is a real financial risk—which is why they…

It's also the reason for the proverbial "sophomore slump"—bands typically got to fully workshop a full live set (about an album and a half worth of originals at most and a cover or two) before they were signed and entered the studio for what might be their only shot. So naturally the best songs got the first showcase…

You may have a point, Dogstyle—you certainly know those records better than I ever will—but I can't help but think you're also describing the changes in Pop music generally over the course of their career.

From 'Jaws' to 'Hook'.

I understand what you mean—I actually like a lot of it, especially the fact that it was a notable attempt to depict internal elements of Black culture , and to do so critically and without the usual deference to a presumed White audience that for the most part has no familiarity it. Even 'Do the Right Thing' and…

A lot of times you don't see the "awful to good" trajectory because in the old days of records, you usually weren't signed until you were at least somewhat tested—and even if you were, a terrible first album would mean you probably didn't get a second one. Of course, the two main measurements used were financial and…

I've never been a Kiss fan so I may be completely wrong here, but as a casual observer I always thought Kiss was—as Gene Simmons is—completely mercenary. Which isn't to say they couldn't produce anything of value, but when you're committed to following trends to maintain chart and financial success, you're like to…

I mentioned Stevie Wonder elsewhere, Daniel, and you're absolutely right assuming you mean 'I Just Called to say I Love You' and not 'Hello' which was by Lionel Ritchie—and which only raises the comparable point that Ritchie in his early days with The Commodores was a far cry from the guy with did 'All Night Long'…

"What happened there?"

The picture at the top
I just realized it's the Bleack-Eyed Peas after wondering for a moment too long who that guy was next to Michael Jackson. Then I thought, wait no—is that Janet? Oh, I GET IT.

That's true about '1984', but I'm going to suggest again that central to what makes the book so great (the section of Emmanuel Goldstein's 'Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism') is simply not cinematic enough to be filmable. It's the heart of the book and the solution to the mystery, if you will, behind…

'School Daze' may be sloppy, but I wouldn't call it baffling, exactly.

"plaid?"

'Bitches Brew' needs an editor. I read a description of it that had me drooling to get a copy and then I plaid it and was really let down—it lacks a consistent groove to anchor it (see also 'The Headhunters'), and though there are moments that really work, the overall effect is like slogging through ice. Later on I…

According to my parents, Pat Conroy fits the bill.