Yeah, by "what happened to Ava" I mean the way she processed the experience; I'm not trying to justify or qualify the rape.

I mean she creates groups of characters that seem to inhabit a separate reality from the people around them, which is how I perceive Wes Anderson's characters too.  But apart from that their work isn't very similar.  Maybe it's not the best simile.

Her writing usually takes place in an absurd, heightened reality, not unlike a Wes Anderson movie.  She's also a little like Tom Robbins but she doesn't write nearly as much about religion or vaginas as he does.

I think that's a pretty surface-level explanation of what happened to Ava.  There are numerous occasions throughout the book where Ava's narration should probably not be taken as the opinion of the author.  That's the whole reason she gets tricked by the Birdman in the first place.

It doesn't have to though!  Think about how much fun a pre-Walter White Jesse Pinkman show would be.  Make it a half-hour sketch show, a la "Louie."

By rights, some of the money AMC is making from The Walking Dead should go to the development of a Jesse Pinkman spin-off series.

Oh man, Jane Doe seconded.  I had that album come on as an alarm clock one morning recently; my girlfriend nearly killed me.

Maybe that's it.  I just wish the word "antique" was more descriptive; it seems like a lazy way to say "reminiscent of [prior musician X]" without having a reference in mind.  It's not like he's playing a washboard or anything.

Agreed. Totally confusing.

Minstrel Trip-Hop, is the genre you're thinking of.

Yeah, this review doesn't even make consistent sense if you ignore the grade.  How can the album both sound "antique" and push itself in "entirely new creative directions"?  Does that mean he just used instruments the reviewer had never heard before?

This grade is crazy.  And this sentence "If anything, Regions Of Light And Sound Of God resembles what a Radiohead album recorded in the 1920s might sound like," is even crazier.

I think the basement of Red Light District is in the video too.  Don't quote me on that though.

I think Macklemore's song is trying to make fun of Seattle hipsters and materialist rappers at the same time.  I'm 95% sure that the song is written from a place of hyper-self-awareness.  Maybe it's because I grew up in the Northwest and can relate to the sentiment but I think "Thrift Shop" is kind of a perfect pop…

I think Macklemore's song is trying to make fun of Seattle hipsters and materialist rappers at the same time.  I'm 95% sure that the song is written from a place of hyper-self-awareness.  Maybe it's because I grew up in the Northwest and can relate to the sentiment but I think "Thrift Shop" is kind of a perfect pop…

This is the 2nd maddest I've ever been at a statue.

Yes, technically, I was totally wrong.  Technically.

But the 2nd side has "Guns of Brixton" and "Train in Vain" and….listen, you can't unlearn stupid, so I'm not even going to try.

Here's the thing about citing Christgau's opinion to support your own: he has Springsteen and Pink in his top 5.  I think he's using different criteria to rank albums than EVERYONE who writes and reads at the AV Club.

Bought the Deluxe edition last night. Definitely worth it.