bleedorange

The Liars album is great...they've been on quite an impressive hot streak as far as putting out great material.

I couldn't find the Technicolor Teeth album on Spotify...is it out yet? I think the Cloud Nothings album kicked me out of my malaise following 2011, which I found to be a subpar year for music. It kind of cleansed the palate and I've been enjoying a lot of new music this year.

The Cloud Nothings album is great, along with Spiritualized and Lotus Plaza. There are a few albums on that list that I've only listened to once or twice (Sleigh Bells, Chairlift, Julia Holter) and they were pretty good. I've heard good things about the new Beach House, but haven't listened to it yet. Here are some others I've really liked this year: The Big Pink - Future This Craig Finn - Clear Heart Full Eyes First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar Heartless Bastards - Arrow Jack White - Blunderbuss Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It Polica - Give You the Ghost Suckers - Candy Salad White R

I want to shift the conversation because, well, the "Fox News lies" and "Republicans are evil manipulators" discussions are so old and tired and unproductive. But I was thinking about the Presidency in my lifetime and wondering if we aren't just a little bit spoiled by recent history. The 20-year period between 1980 and 2000 was practically a golden age of Presidents. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were both excellent Presidents and even Bush Sr. was pretty good, sunk by his convictions that a tax increase was the right thing to do despite his campaign pledge. Of course, one common theme

You mean it's not over yet?

There's always a beef. Ron Washington has led the Rangers to consecutive AL pennants, but he's criticized on a daily basis.

Maybe not smug. Maybe Jules was looking for spiteful or invidious.

Holy cow! That's another reason Rangers Ballpark is so great. Tickets are cheap. You can bring as much food and as many drinks in as you want. Plus, it's a great park.

I've always thought the idea of plunking guys, for whatever reason, was kind of stupid.

In choosing candidates to vote for in elections, you always have to compromise...choose what issues are more important to you and what you may be able to live with. In the context of the race for President of the United States, supporting gay marriage is nice (there's no reason not to), but the President has little control over the actual issue.

Not only that, but it's a stance on an issue that he really can't do anything about. What's his decision-making process on things that really matter?

I guess Obama decided now was the right time to make the political decision to support gay marriage. I wonder what he really feels about it, though.

Nothing like watching a little bit of history on a Tuesday night!

Wow. Did you lose a bet or something?

I read Ghostwritten a long time ago, and enjoyed it a lot, but never kept up with the author's other books. With all of these recommendations, I'll have to look into them.

I think it's everywhere. Two of my wife's stepsisters (stressing that there is no blood relation at all) are in jail for manufacturing and distributing. I think it's the second time in prison for both of them. Might be the third time for one of them.

Those are definitely worth a listen.

Yeah, I'll second and third the recommendations. I've always had a take-it-or-leave-it reaction to her stuff, but this new album is really good.

No, Fort Worth. The Orange is of the Texas variety . Agree completely with your last sentence. Plus, like I said, I don't think those songs are terrible. I think the unfortunate thing is that my three least favorite on the album are all right together in the middle, which lessens the album as a whole. I'd probably rank this album fifth or sixth, which is where I thought it would rank after my first listen. So it hasn't diminshed in my eyes, it just hasn't grown into anything better, either. Still a solid album to add to Wilco's discography.

I don't think those three songs necessarily rank with the worst Wilco songs (Leave Me Like You Found Me, What Light, We're Just Friends), but they're definitely the weakest on this album. Open Mind is a ho-hum country ballad, Capitol City is a little too cutesy, and Born Alone is too busy for my tastes...it's one of the few songs where I think it would work better if they stripped away some stuff.

Unfortunately, it still drags in the middle with 3 subpar songs right in a row (Born Alone, Open Mind, Capitol City). Those are the only real weak spots on the album...it just sucks that they're clumped together.

Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light Absolutely incredible! Best of the year!

YU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Listened to it once. I liked it better than anything he's done that wasn't with The White Stripes, but it's still early.