Had a "hang out with the boys while the girls have a baby shower" gathering at my place Saturday, and my beer enthusiast brother-in-law brought a couple nice picks.

More shhhtuff…

I love Sockweb so much. Yeah, some of it is beyond silly, but "Bullies Are Mean" is a legitimately fierce track. Joanie's vocals in the outro are crushing.

They've released clips and "ideas" in the past of what it might sound like. They seem to be skewing more toward the sound in the center of Astrodrama, the jazzy instrumental portion.

Dammit, but you're, like, my musical soul mate on the AVC. Enjoy your trip. Throw the new IWABO on the ipod (or whatever).

Allen, here. Hey, @NerdInTheBasement:disqus, where in Allen?

@avclub-2ac233bc53744593f485e5752aaa692a:disqus I'm watching it to the end but all my horses are out of the race. Some baffling decisions by the judges this year.

HOLY FUCK AN ALTON BROWN PODCAST!

@TheSensitiveGhostOfSethPu:disqus You said "Dat riff!" and I knew that Smacky must have linked "Blood and Thunder".

Summer Slaughter came to town on a Friday, so I had to work and couldn't go, but I think I would have liked this year's line-up a lot. Dillinger, of course, but also Animals as Leaders, The Ocean (!!!), Cattle Decapitation, Revocation,  maybe Norma Jean and, yes, Periphery.

@avclub-d72f705337e5adcf7e33ec0381c5f5b2:disqus Isn't that punch-line kind of how the whole thing started to begin with? I thought people started the Dawes thing, because A.V. Club posted some "Dawes might be the greatest thing ever" article one day, and then the next week their album got like a "B".

I only drink coffee at work, where it is free to me. If one day it was not provided at work, I would stop drinking coffee.

That's the winner right there.

This might be too much of a local thing, but I have been known to call mine … the Texas Hammer.

I'm known amongst the people I drink with for my high tolerance, but that list right there would have me knackered for sure. Like … gone!

@avclub-ec581d0fa82907dc6f58d1e70bf346b0:disqus Thanks for the update. Just don't get down on yourself. I know "cold turkey" works for some people, but you'll probably do much better deciding limits and staying within them versus a vague, "no drinking for awhile" approach. The mind needs specifics.

< insert vegetables > tikka masala is a favorite. I used to make chicken tikka masala fairly often, because it's easy and delicious, but one night I felt like mixing it up and added roasted cauliflower and fresh peas instead of the chicken. Revelation!

I need to give it another try. The one time I made gnocchi from scratch they tasted great but were pretty dense. It was easy though.

Could just be the brands I've tried in the past, but I've never been happy with no-boil noodles. They come out too soft in the final product no matter what I try.

I'm coming out right now and saying that "seasonal" eating is stupid. Hearty stews taste just as good when it's 100 degrees outside as when it's 50. Likewise, tangy cold soups are just as tasty as the snow falls.