I'm happy to hear that something good came from her collaboration with David Byrne, as their album together was a real disappointment (kind of clinical and cold). Her own records keep getting better, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

I'll have to revisit Workbook. At the time it came out, I thought it was ponderous and did not play to Mould's strengths. He loves Richard Thompson, but he doesn't have the same skill set.

One of the things that makes Ghost World such a rich experience is the number of themes and asides it takes on without feeling overloaded. I think the dissolution of the central friendship is a secondary theme. I think the primary theme is how consumerism shapes our identities but this leads to marginalization and…

Fallon was a mediocre SNL cast member who was going nowhere with his career when he somehow landed Conan's old gig. His dominant trait is his overwhelming need to be liked, which doesn't necessarily translate into what makes a good late night talk show host.

I think anyone who reads individual interviews with Casale and Mothersbaugh would get the impression that Casale was the more subversive of the two (though that could just be a willingness to express such subversiveness).

I'm a little unclear why the viewpoint of "Beautiful World" is solely attributed to Mark Mothersbaugh. I think Gerald Casale is, if not equally, even more responsible for the strong cynicism of the band. It's certainly a collective effort. It's nice to see Oh No! It's Devo! acknowledged, as it is really underrated. I…

Both of Narducy's records with Verbow were quite good, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Siegel and Schuster originally created the character in 1933. Superman made his debut in Action Comics in 1938.

I'm glad to learn that Arsenic and Old Lace was Grant's least favorite film. It's an awful picture — it's hard to believe Frank Capra directed it. It is acted for the stage, which is wildly out of proportion to how it should be on screen and it's the worst Cary Grant performance I've ever seen.

How was Superman born in part out of World War II patriotism? He was created in 1933.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the notion of "adventurous Shins material." Good band, but not a band I'd call adventurous.

I'd watched an episode or two of New Girl, so I'm part of the target episode for this show. What the reviewer deems very, very hilarious, I found induced some laughs here and there and sporadic amusement. New Girl has a quirky style to fit its quirky star, which sometimes pays off and sometimes doesn't. I enjoyed the…

I don't consider the comparison mocking. I think it's accurate. If you like Wilson Phillips, it's a compliment. If you don't, then it's a sign to stay away from Haim.

Kevin McFarland twice complains about Haim being compared to Wilson Phillips (in his top song picks he finds the comparison "reductive and patronizing." Unfortunately, the reason for the comparison is that it is a fairly accurate assessment of Haim's music. Indeed, the first time I heard the album, Wilson Phillips was…

For a guy who is so revered as a songwriter, Paul Westerberg's resume is a bit scant. Compare his work from 1980 on to Elvis Costello, Prince, Neil Finn, Andy Partridge, Richard Thompson and Bob Mould, just to name a few, and it puts his relatively short peak in perspective.

"Good Morning" by Sparks is a fine one night stand song. The protagonist wakes up next to a beautiful woman and can't remember how she wound up in his bed. He wracks his brain to figure it out, at one point calling out 'good morning' in different languages, trying to figure something out about her.

Darn…I was hoping you'd ask about working with Sparks on the film version of The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman.