cryptique

Holy flippin' Christ, people. It was a one-liner in a sitcom. Settle down.

One of the best of all time, gone far too early. Underappreciated in his heyday ... I was glad to see him enjoying success in his later years, and he was still putting out some damn fine music. RIP.

Again. Love it.

"Night Time in the Switching Yard," Warren Zevon, Excitable Boy

I knew there'd be a thread...

Just keeps getting better the more I listen. Easily makes my top five of the year so far, and maybe my top one.

Michigan's 5-0 start has been fun ... but they better beat Purdue on 11/13 to become bowl-eligible, because I'm not sure they'll win any of the other games left on their schedule. 10/9 - Michigan State 10/16 - Iowa 10/30 - at Penn State 11/6 - Illinois 11/13 - at Purdue 11/20 - Wisconsin 11/27 - at Ohio State Their best shot at seven wins is to also take out Illinois. Penn State is a bit weaker than anticipated this year, so maybe that's how they get to win #8, but it's in Happy Valley, so maybe not. With their terrible defense, they will not beat MSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, or tOSU. (35 points

That last one's kind of dangerous in the car. 10 and 2, mister!

Apparently he had a Harvard law degree. Who knew? Always enjoyed his standup. RIP.

I didn't know I was.

Um, yeah, actually we do. Ballplayers haven't always been highly paid. That's a relatively recent phenomenon, with a few notable exceptions. It was a way to make a living, but not really a way to get rich.

I saw them live too (before they released that latest album) and they were terrific. They opened for Meat Puppets.

Whatever it is you hear, I think it may be the arrangement more than the production. The production is pretty nondescript.

That's what I was thinking. BITUSA sounds much more dated to me than BTR. In fact, I think the production on Born To Run stands up pretty well today.

Point being that there is now a huge financial incentive to maximize your statistics, or keep your body functioning at a high enough level that you can stay in the majors. There's always been an incentive -- being an MLB player has always been a pretty cool job, after all, even when it didn't pay all that well -- but in today's majors, if you have one great year and get signed to an eight-figure multi-year contract with much of that money guaranteed, you've set yourself up for a lifetime of luxury (unless you manage your money poorly). Keep playing well and you might get to sign another one

No mention of the millions of dollars that players make now? Huh. It wasn't all that long ago that MLB players had jobs during the winter to make ends meet.

I missed that whole "releasing music since 2005" thing. So I guess the Posies don't qualify (you should still get that record). So instead, I offer the following. The first one came out this week, the second came out last year. The 88 (self-titled) Ha Ha Tonka - Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South ...and if you don't have it already: Title Tracks - It Was Easy

It may not be a stretch, but no one can definitively say that because they drank, they also would have done steroids (or HGH, or whatever). Alcoholics have principles too.

Marshall Crenshaw - Dime a Dozen Guy Rock City (Big Star) - Try Again [early version] Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses Allison Moorer - How She Does It The Persuasions - Just Because Christine Perfect - When You Say Big Blue Hearts - Blame It On You Iron & Wine - Free Until They Cut Me Down Dusty Springfield - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself [live at the BBC] Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)

I'm uncomfortable when people make such (il-)logical leaps. There's simply no way to know what Ruth or Mantle would have done, and speculating about it is pointless, unless they're trying to justify today's rule-breaking, which is hardly a noble pursuit.

The album starts off really well, but it does lose steam, and rather quickly. Only heard it three or four times, however. It may yet grow on me.

Exactly the opposite for me. I think "One Wing" is the best thing they've done in years (and about the only thing I really liked on the latest album). More of that please, only harder. I don't care for "Bull Black Nova." Blistering rawk doesn't have to be boring and tuneless (which is how I feel about BBN).

The last two albums have lacked balls. I want some blistering rawk. Maybe it's time for Wilco's hardcore punk album.