Oh yeah, they could put out an album reciting Limp Bizkit lyrics over trance dubstep and I'd still love them. Have you listened to Pizza Deliverance? "Uncle Frank" and "One of These Days" (both Cooley tunes) are amazing, the latter being one of my fave DBT tunes ever.

All good points. I feel that about "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" — it would be a stone classic if it were trimmed by a quarter. Still great, but sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much.

I love them, too. So maybe we should just discuss how awesome they are, then go home and cry ourselves to sleep in our respective mom's basements rather than fight?

Yes, but my issue is that Cooley's songs are different and don't have the same bite as, say, "A Ghost to Most." The tune "Made Up English Oceans" feels like he's trying to become a singer-songwriter, rather than a pissed-off dude with a guitar. Even his voice on "AGTM" sounds muted on the live album.

I love this band, but I wonder what their next step is. I didn't love their last studio album, and I fear Cooley is losing his edge, his snarl. On "English Oceans" and the live one, it feels like he's really trying to "sing" more, and it doesn't have that feistiness that his best tunes do. They're great, though.…

He seems like a solid guy who has a good sense of who he is/the absurdity of it all. Great interview!

Hmmm. Not sure I agree. They're different animals — one a rocker, one a sad parable.

Maybe you're just not a classic rock person…?

Consider how "Jukebox Hero" mirrors the story of Bad Company's "Shooting Star," except the hero dies in the latter (spoiler alert!).

I disagree that Bad Company is…. bad. They were what they were, but "awful" is not a word that describes them.

They had a few good songs, like "Silver, Blue and Gold"(1) and "Shooting Star"(2).

This album is fucking brilliant.

He recently moved back to his home state of Nebraska—NEBRASKA!—from LA. I can see being done with LA and all, but… Nebraska?!?!?

Cole's lyrics are much more "literary," for better and worse, whereas Sweet just wants to write great hooks with syrupy-sweet harmonies. But I thought "Don't Get Weird…" was just about as good as anything Sweet's done—not as catchy, but lyrically has more depth. And the strings on the second half of the album—just…

Lloyd Cole's "Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe" is pretty close to pop perfection, as well. The last tune — indeed, the closing notes of the last tune — are absolutely beautiful.

Got almost to the end and thought he didn't ask about "Thelma & Louise." Madsen had a small part, but man, he was great in it.

Hmmm. Well, in my inebriated state, I thought it was a lot of fun and a lot smarter than you'd initially give it credit for. But since I was hammered, maybe I was wrong.
I guess the bottom line is, it would probably be good sober, but it's even better drunk.

My wife was out of town and I ordered a pizza and drank too much wine. I agonized over what to watch and finally settled on John Wick.

My lawyer is on the line.

I hear you. And typically, I try to reply coolly and thoughtfully. But the two comments I was responding to were clearly not that — the former we discussed, and the latter called the writer "a dick." So…