It took me a long time to "get" Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. I eventually came to really like it, but the memory of how off-putting I originally found it makes me never really think of it in the "greats" conversation.

Sorry SG. I know you're not an idiot really. Just lost your way a little when it comes to our lord and savior JT.

lol yeah. But also I'd argue that In Rainbows and TKOL (along with Thom's solo projects since that time) weren't big departures from what they'd been doing before in terms of sound. In Rainbows is a great record, but it's working with a lot the same sounds as OK Computer and Hail To The Thief.

Oh man, maybe The Electric Lady is the better pick than Archandroid. It's a goddamn close run thing though.

Interesting. I can totally see Daft Punk grating if you aren't grooving with their specific set of influences & interests. Here's a litmus test of whether it's worth you checking out Discovery… what do you think of this: https://www.youtube.com/wat…

The latest album is SOOO good. Its also sonically unlike anything they've done before. I'm glad they're back to innovating after a too-long period of fallowness in that area.

Basically nothing of import. Listened to a bunch of songs on shuffle. Charles Bradley was in heavy rotation.

I find it hard to believe that you haven't heard Discovery. It's pretty much canonical at this point.
I'm unsure of Beauty Behind The Madness upon reflection. The Weeknd & Drake both deserve places on the list by virtue of how influential they've been to the sound of modern pop. Take Care is a no brainer of a choice…

That was also a very hard choice for me. I go back to both about equally, and Nude is probably my favorite all-time Radiohead song. But then I thought back to when I first heard Kid A and how much it blew apart my brain…. I dunno. It's an impossible choice.

I initially had Silent Shout in its place, but I realized I go back to Fever Ray more often than I go back to Silent Shout, despite Silent Shout initially impressing me as the better record.

I don't know about 50, but here's a tentative top twenty. They're off the top of my head, so I'm sure I'll change my mind as soon as I hit send. They're also not in any order. Also, I've limited myself to one record per artist/group.

In terms of effect on the American psyche, Partisanism and trust, there's a strong argument to be made for Dick Nixon

My town is also featured briefly in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Upon further inspection, the statue appears to be a recreation of this one in Bangor, Maine https://upload.wikimedia.or…
Which, as everyone knows, is Stephen King's hometown. IT, the novel, is set in the fictional town of "Derry", so this probably qualifies as some kind of scoop.

Interestingly, the statue has a hand raised as though he is holding an axe, but no axe is present. I think IT's final manifestation will be a CGI axe.

So the new "IT" movie is filming in my town and they've erected a large statue of Paul Bunyan in our town park. Could someone with knowledge of Stephen King lore tell me if this is in any way significant?

My wife's first day of university was 9/11 and her first lecture was an American history lecture and the professor said "See. This is what you get!"

At that link you can also read my insightful, witty and well written thoughts on the movie.

I just remembered: The first international news story I remember following closely and intently was the Beslan school siege in 2004. I don't know why but I was fascinated by it.

Mine is Princess Diana's death. I remember being mad that BBC1 and BBC2 were showing the same news reports, and none of the channels were airing the cartoons I'd gotten up early to watch.