Nothing on Playing The Angel or anything after that is a well-written song. I don't get it. One of the best songwriters for 20 years straight and then he loses it completely.

Regardless of how you rank the albums, I still don't think there are many songwriters writing songs on par with Stuart Murdoch's current work, let alone the best of his past. His songs are all giant hooks from beginning to end.

They are such a solid bunch of performers these days, and they don't coast on old hits, Stuart's writing is still tremendous.

What carried DM from day 1 (well, let's say post Vince Clarke) was Martin Gore's tremendous songwriting talent. They would never have been known at all if not for that. He has a superb body of work. The production across their discography ranges from very interesting to very dull - some of the interesting, yes,…

Ultra is not remotely their best, however it is rather underrated. The Love Thieves, Home, and Sister of Night are straight up classics of the DM sound and style.

Not getting you at all re B&S. I was a fan from Tigermilk days, and The Life Pursuit (post-DCW) is unquestionably their best album.

You're right except without the last caveat.

For me, Radiohead has only two good albums - which are incredible- OKC and Hail. Earlier, inbetween and later are all insanely overrated.

Keep It Like A Secret pulls off that thing where you realize over time, it's basically the pinnacle of whatever that kind of thing they do is. You couldn't really take that and improve on it.

Mercury Rev's follow-up to Deserter's Songs 'All Is Dream' was also released on 9/11 and I feel the same way about it.

They seem like some of most arrogant twats ever, but not even the fun kind of rock star arrogant like say, Ian McCulloch or Morrissey, just straight up douches like someone who you would run into making women uncomfortable at an NYC bar.

I think the audience for them has changed quite a bit. Circa Homework they were pure club music, without a varied audience. Human After All didn't do much business at all. And RAM was a huge smash that housewives and kids all got into.

Really? Something like 'The Beast And Dragon, Adored' is a song that any fan of interesting rock music should really be grabbed by.

Wendy Time in particular does not hold up in any sense.

whichever version of Wilco made Summerteeth is THE ONE.

I totally get you. At some point you just can't take much more of a band, no matter what they do.

The Life Pursuit is a work of genius, there is no other word for the quality of his songwriting, and the band sounds its best on the record as well.

The Life Pursuit is unquestionably their best album. It has some of the best songs ever written, in some of the best arrangements and production ever envisioned. It is 100% perfect.

I saw them open for Interpol on, I believe, the Antics tour. They were oh so indie. My main memory was of the guitarist just jamming out viscerally with his head down the entire time, constantly pointing at the sound guys to turn it up.. he seemed out of his mind.

I loved OK Computer and despised Kid A. I hated them passionately from that point, until Hail To The Thief came out, which is genius.