Perhaps Leland succumbs to Bob through his innate desire to transgress and fear. Part of being afraid of Bob is to be afraid of the desires Bob essentially represents/encourages in oneself. Faults are already in humans, and they can be difficult to face.

The traditional understanding of evil as a virus, something that enters hosts through fault and grows, makes possession the clearest case in the Palmer narrative. At this point it might make sense to assume that there's more than one way for evil to work in the world.

It's their most Romantic and (somehow) least affected record. They sound like the essence of what their music has always evoked in me over the years.

Reading Baldwin is generally an act of ignition.

It's less "Look at me relevantly critiquing culture!" than it seems, especially once you take it in the context of the whole song.

Agreed on your particular criticism of the album. I think the mostly low-key instrumentals exacerbate how strained Tillman's melodies can get with his more complicated turns of phrase. When I first heard the record it was kind of easy to get dulled by the music and then lose track of what he was saying. Reading the…

The ideas of the original are still impressive, but I found their execution in the narrative to be scattered. I imagine the show is much better. It feels like it isn't sure whether it wants to commit to being a deeper meditation on existence through technology or an impressionistic ride through a world trying to…

"this is fleshed out more in the anime series than the original film"

I think Twin Peaks is also a great example of a showrunner, after losing interest and battles with the powers that be, stepping back into the picture to save his story in unimaginably brilliant ways. The Season 2 finale and film both provide a clearer picture of what's going on in this world while enriching its…

As someone who didn't particularly care for La La Land's music but pretty much knew it was a shoe-in for the category, "Audition" was a no-brainer. I remember marveling at how many people won Oscars for "City of Stars." It really took that much brain power, huh?

For what it's worth, I'm more upset that Inarritu won best director for diminishing returns the next year. Ostensibly, Inarritu won for his dynamic and kinetic direction, which Miller easily outclassed.

While I personally enjoyed Manchester by the Sea and Hell or High Water more, Moonlight is stunning and what I hope wins best picture. Moonlight's complex triptych of repression was so confidently and clearly expressed by Jenkins. (He's also my pick for director.)

Same here. It was a perfect, timely meditation on America from one of its most brilliant voices.

This is why I ultimately found the film charming, but not particularly great. Every aspect of La La Land should totally appeal to my musical and cinematic soft spots, but the OST, like the film, only hit me in fleeting passages.

My biggest criticism of RTJ3 is both emcees' use of repetitive lyrical calling cards, even if they are repurposed effectively. I heard jokes and bluffs that they already perfected on the first album.

As of right now I think RTJ2 still stands as their best work. RTJ3 is a bit more ambitious, its emotional scope and run-time stretched longer. A couple of the slower tracks had me wonder which ones could be cut for the strongest version of the album, as RTJ2 was perfectly paced from start to finish. But RTJ3…

I think the version of the song they debuted in a Gears of War trailer is very different. Parts of the chorus I could pick out just had Mike rapping it. The beat itself was sparser than the album version's mix.

Same. Mike's delivery is hilarious.

The affectation on "Stars like diamonds in your eyes" became one of my favorite parts of the episode.

Spot on! His music is like our collective idea of an "old soul" set to wax. That's what sets him apart from anyone else who plays a genre (or anything involving the creative process of making a song) straight. Some people sound like blues or jazz singers, Tom Waits sounds like the memory of them, which is to say…