Hey there! Thanks for the thoughtful response. Just to clarify, there was nothing "begrudging" about my inclusion of Soundgarden. I love that band. I guess I don't really see Nirvana and Soundgarden as Beatles vs. Stones-style opposing forces.

Ha. No offense, FOHWG, but you're precisely the person I was imagining when I wrote the last paragraph.

Actually, I see Soundgarden fitting with the "what if Cobain hadn't died?" question. I don't think Soundgarden broke up because Cobain died, but I do think that the excitement felt by the leading Seattle bands in the early 90s ended with his suicide. That's reflected in a number of interviews I've read, including the…

There's plenty of stuff I'd love to cover but won't because there's simply not enough room/time to do it. Can't say this enough: Exclusion from the column doesn't equal dismissal. Just have to pick and choose subjects that I think are interesting and fit well with the overall arc of the series.

Idiotking: Man, while it's too bad that you didn't like this one as much, I gotta say I'm touched that someone would want me to write LONGER on this series. I'm a little worried about trying people's patience, since these pieces already go a lot longer than most of what we post here on AVC. At any rate, thanks for…

Hey Chuckee, I assume you used stock intros for your speeches, right? You ever hear the "This is the story of three people: Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody" intro? Pure gold.

Debate was separate from forensics at my school, but a lot of debaters did extemp. (I was one of the few non-debater extemp speakers.) I also did student congress, and took 10th in the nation at NFL nationals in 1996. (Also went to nationals for extemp in 95.) Not braggin' here, just reporting the facts.

Re: Green Day, that band didn't quite mean as much to me personally as what I wrote about here. That said, the big singles off the record—"Basket Case" and "When I Come Around"—came out in late 94 into 95, so you might see them pop up in the bubble-grunge thing in two weeks. Ditto The Offspring.

OK, back one last time …

And there's my cue to leave the comments section. Have a good Thanksgiving holiday everybody!

Whataworkout: I hear you.

You're the pitchforks and torches guy, right? Sounds reasonable.

Ha! I see what you did there. A little out of context, no?

I'm planning on sending Billy flowers for that one.

Quick Albini postscript
Hey everybody, thanks for the comments and kind words. Wanted to mention something quick that I wasn't able to fit into the essay, but I still think is sort of funny and worth mentioning:

Actually, we haven't, but we might eventually. We've been covering country, both good and bad, pretty regularly in this column.

Bring it on! You like bourbon?

"There appears to be a pattern of Steven willing to forgive stupidity and Genevieve not so much."

Ha, no. Just referring to one specific comment.

Yes.