Also: A buddy of mine works at a restaurant with a bunch of college age kids who really only know Smash Mouth from the post-All Star era. He dropped "Walkin' on the Sun" on the jukebox and they dug it. When they asked him what who it was, they were surprised to learn that it was the same band that was in Shrek.

That's part of the bummer of Smash Mouth. "Fush Yu Mang" is a solid collection of tracks that's more fitting with the punk and ska scenes of the back half of the 90's without actually being a full on punk or third wave ska album. Amidst this is a funky little lounge number called "Walkin' On the Sun." It's a great…

Not really faux ska. More ska and lounge tinged rock if'n we really want to parse it out. As for the bad part, I say "fie" to that. It's a good collection of regular joe jams about regular joe problems that, frankly, have more resonance than some of the newer, slaving-to-be-authentic indie music out there. The YMMV…

I would, in fact, like to buy the world a toke.

Obligatory "Fush Yu Mang is a solid album" post because, hey, it is.

Yes. Crumpaker III.

Or the ancho BBQ sauce. That stuff is damn delicious. But on the other hand, Chiptole's barbacoa is damn delicious too. Hmmm…

We like us a good serial killer story, especially in the period of 1960-2000. During the back half of the 20th century, the serial killer came to occupy a prominent role in the American imagination and Jack the Ripper was a natural figure for the era to gravitate towards. The mass media disseminated to the public…

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to an individual to make a judgement call. My own judgement call is not to give Parker and his friend my money.

I'm all about half-elf bard chicks myself, but I now what you mean, man. I know what you mean.

You do have a point. He has been legally exonerated, so I guess on one level we shouldn't consider him convicted. And yet from another perspective I can't really call him "innocent," especially given what details we know about the case. The whole thing is, as I said, icky.

Not just tacitly supporting the work of an acccused rapist, but a convicted one as well. The co-writer, Jean Celestin was the roommate who joined in with Parker and got convicted for it (though it was later overturned). Ugh, this whole thing is an ick-sandwich.

Hmmmm… What if I know a guy who knows a guy?

Could you teach me this spell? It would be handy for social situations, especially those with loud dance music.

That whole era begs to be looked at in just such a way. A nostalgia for the fun, simple parts of the counterculture and a reactionary desire to obscure the more revolutionary aspects of the era have combined to give us a simplified sense of the period. We've lost an appreciation for just how much culture went through…

I thought the same thing. You can take license with a fictional character you just can't with real people. It actually frees up the writer in some ways. Broader statements can be made and audiences will still get the reference of, "Oh, this guy is a take off on Charles Manson."

The film that comes to mind for me is Inherent Vice. It takes place during the same era and manages to effectively evoke that era vividly without any large FX shots that recreate 60's-70's L.A. in a computer.

As someone fascinated by all things Manson, I tried, Lord did I try. I made through maybe 3 episodes. The liberties they took with Manson were pretty annoying and the overall feel was cheap. It didn't feel like a show that took place in the 60's, but a modern show trying to fake the 60's and failing. There was no…

MILF Island you say…?

I almost look at this as a mic drop moment for Portlandia. It's like the book store is living up to the very stereotype the show is lampooning. I mean, "Devaluing of Feminist Discourse" as a complaint about the show? Really? Whatever other objections they may have regarding representation of minority groups on the…