If the "R.I.P. Celebrity" article (which is also brilliant) is any indication, I think StarWipe is about to close up shop, having gone out in a blaze of glory.

I think they brought Klinghoffer on because he's competent and won't challenge them. They're getting too old to have someone like Frusciante in the band. They just want to coast.

Oh…neat…

It always makes me mad when I see homeless people who keep a dog.

I probably won't give this a full listen. But I did recently revisit By the Way, and I found that I still really dig it. It helped that Frusciante brought his vocals up in a lot of places to supplement Kiedis' lack of range.

I put emphasis on "lucrative." Of course I want artists to make a decent living from providing art and entertainment. But the reality is that there's countless people out there trying to grab a slice of that pie, so it stands to reason that the average slice isn't going to be much.

Yeah, I feel you. I just wonder sometimes if the streaming argument is a distraction from the idea that the talent pool might be flooded, or market saturation, so to speak. I don't have the numbers on this stuff, so please know that I'm just speculating wildly.

I'm torn on this stuff. On the one hand, I enjoy music and want to support the people who make the music that I like. On the other hand, I get annoyed when people in rock bands act like they expect it to be a lucrative career path. There's never been more new artists on the national scene (global really now), and it's…

That "Tinker Taylor" headline is pure gold. Take note, AV Club headline writers!

This nicely sums up a few of the many confusing and clunky elements of Arya's time in Braavos. Put me in the camp that's very happy she's going back to Westeros now.

The "fake" poem White Space is legitimately a pretty great poem.

I laughed out loud as soon as I saw the "Father Hats."

When I was 19 and working a shit job in my podunk Midwest hometown, I came across a huge pile of New Yorkers that a former janitor had left in a supply closet (I guess he was one of those secretly cultured janitors). I started reading them out of boredom, and I couldn't get enough. They really broadened the shit out…

If you're having trouble with bullies, you should form a gang. For names, I'd suggest the Hobo Lords, the Little Enchanters, or the Gentleman Jims.

Not sure that you have to view it through a "hipster" or "mainstream" lens. It's just the CD collection of one dude. I don't know. I guess you don't have to read it anymore if you don't want to. Personally, I just like reading his rationale for either keeping or ditching, because I'm moving soon and need some…

I like it, but I'm not sure what makes this "summer-ready." Because it's a rap song?

As I understand it, it's a biography of Alexander Hamilton through a hip-hop lens, which seems ridiculous but works somehow.

I died in a duel (I think)

I feel like I'm watching a train wreck in slow motion, powerless to do anything but gape in horror. All the forces of media Balkanization, voter short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness, reality TV values, fear-mongering, and rapidly normalized xenophobia are combining to drag the entire country down to a level of…

Amen to the earplugs at concerts. Also, IMO, the right kind of earplugs (Mack's or some other pro brand) cuts out the noise and brings everything into better focus. When I was younger, I assumed that earplugs were like condoms, a safer but less enjoyable experience. But that ain't right.