Here are a couple of the highlights to check out:

The reissues have what are clearly publicity photos from the respective time periods as the back covers on each album. The Real Thing pictures (there are more inside the cd case, and I assume, the vinyl) are indeed embarrassing.

Agreed. That record is amazing.

According to the liner notes of the reissue, he had 12 days, and he indeed created not just the lyrics but the vocal melodies. And as a result of not being allowed to mess with anything in the already-written music, the rest of the band basically let him do the nasal delivery even though he did (according to them)…

Mr. Bungle's California is as good as Angel Dust, in my book, because it captures all the weirdness of Mr. Bungle but also features songwriting and melodies, which were sometimes in short supply on their other two records.

Okay, I sit corrected. When I saw him around the same year on the Warped Tour, it was definitely Body Count.

I went to a bunch of Warped Tours between '96 and about 2004 or so. It was fun every time and I got to see a lot of great bands. For '96 and '97 the Detroit stops actually utilized the grounds of the local summer amphitheater, Pine Knob, and used their actual stage. They also set up stages in interesting corners of…

That Ice-T set was actually from Body Count, his metal band. So it only obliquely qualified as part of the hip-hop acts that year.

Heh, Wax. I don't know any of their songs beyond "California", but I will always remember that song because it's the soundtrack to one of the greatest music videos of all time. All hail Spike Jonze. https://youtu.be/M_RELjHhD2s

I also saw him live on this tour and actually got right up to the front of the stage. He did a signing at a local Detroit-area record store earlier that day and I got him to sign his foreword for Volume 3 of the Dark Horse-published manga Outlanders. That was a good day.

The other essential Matthew Sweet record is In Reverse. Blue Sky on Mars is a solid record that disappoints when compared to the three that came before it, his two '80s records are overproduced and lacking in confidence, and his output in the 21st century has been scattered with great songs, but no great albums.

What do I have to do to make you happy, Flyin' Hawaiian? Just tell me, what do I have to do?

I saw Rocket From the Crypt for the second time (the first was 19 years ago) this past weekend at Houston's Free Press Summerfest. They were awesome, and the highlight of the set was when they played the first four songs from Scream, Dracula, Scream in order.

Mila Kunis did exactly what she was intended to do, which was look great in formalwear from outer space. That had to be why she was cast, right?

Thank you, I appreciate it! It's a minor thing but it's been bugging me for several reviews now.

Time to be pedantic because I'm at home today and can actually use the comments.

I felt the same way. The writing was lazy and sloppy, and the characters were very hateable. But that ended up working in the show's favor because I wanted at least some of them to die. Plus the kills were inventive and ridiculous and it was a perfect stupid little summer series.

Wait, they're putting Heroes Reborn on in-season now instead of this summer? Oh, that's not a good idea, NBC. You're showing way too much confidence in a property that not only squandered its general audience in the second season, but almost all of its genre audience by the end of its run. The cautious summer reboot,…

Oh, we're going to have a Marvel show in which Bobbi Morse is the star? Can this just be Thunderbolts?

"Next is Tyrant, the drama series that FX is keeping around just for the people who leave their TV on all summer"