TheMaker

Cripes, you'd never know we were in the midst of a recession on by reading this thread... I'll recommend Old Montreal, for those of us who are stuck in North America. I have yet to schedule and finance a $300k, three-year vacation there with my wife, but it nonetheless remains a beautiful example of an early 17th Century urban centre and is one of the oldest cities on the continent. It's also a fine example of multiculturalism at its friendliest and most successful.

File me under "just didn't think Tropic Thunder was remotely funny," as well. Stiller fighting the panda got a belly laugh from me, but the rest of it was profoundly stupid. Recognizing Downey for playing a one-dimensional, one-joke character seems absurd to me, but then again, I've been a fan of his films for years, not just since 2008. Go figure! And for all that Rourke deserves the accolades he's gotten for The Wrestler, I'm glad Penn won at the end of the day. Milk was the performance of his career, and it's a film that's been grotesquely overlooked this year. Other than Doubt and The Da

I guess you missed the 3.5% market share bit.

Awesome! So, what was your favourite thing about WOAD? Bruce struggling to hit the high notes, the bloated first track, or the generally awful songwriting? I'm still on the fence, personally.

I think this might be almost as good as Blacklisted. Yowza. And not to piss on Fox Confessor, but it's always been my least favourite Neko record. Star Witness is easily the best thing she's ever put to tape, but the rest of the record wobbles and lurches like crazy... kind of a classic case of a record being crushed under its own weight(iness).

It's an exercise in wheezing, hobbled absurdity at this point, I think. That Springsteen record was so dire that I couldn't even get through it, for bog's sake. Isbell, on the other hand, made a record worthy of the ones Springsteen used to make 20 years ago, before the fire went out.

Modern Times was indeed one of Dylan's worst records, in spite of the fawning ink it got, and the two and a half years since its release have done it ZERO favours. I still listen to L&T and TOOM almost constantly, but this piece of shit just sits there, offering almost nothing at all. Unitempo blooze schlock, and no real Dylan songs, let alone classics (although Nettie Moore is the record's lone bright spot). That said, I'm ecstatic that he's reportedly ditched the snoozers who have been backing him the last few years for a new record. Hopefully this pans out, and hopefully the rumours t

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/123584 "To be sure, Blu-ray is growing -- up 250 percent since 2007 -- but it still represents less than 3.5 percent of the overall market. Analysts now wonder whether Blu-ray will be able to pick up steam fast enough -- or if the future has already been handed over to online downloading and streaming alternatives. With companies like Netflix rushing into streaming as quickly as possible, that certainly seems like a strong possibility." Ouch! Hope you REALLY like those players, Blu-Ray fans! You're beyond a minority; you're in danger of becoming extinct! Wh

Not really. I've certainly failed to spot a correlation between good grammar and having more money than common sense, at least. Hey, now! All I did was bring an element of truth into a discussion about an unpopular format. As usual, the folks who are getting worked up are the ones who accept everything they're told without ever questioning it. I can't fairly be held accountable for their lack of reason, certainly.

17% is still remarkably slow growth. The PS3 hasn't had even half the impact on Blu-Ray sales that the PS2 did, to Sony's chagrin. In spite of the format's much vaunted storage capacity, I still see BR as little more than an enormous consumer hose-down. That some people are so willing to embrace a new format less than 10 years after DVD achieved market dominance, especially during a recession - and especially when most consumers are ill-equipped to realize the practical advantages of watching Blu-Ray discs - makes me think of things like shuffling, mindless zombies. Oh, and fuckin' yuppies

That'd be a resounding no, I'm afraid. As for Blu-Ray being a dead format, sure, it's too early to call it, but it's struggling in a way that DVD never did in its early development. Prices are still drastically higher than DVD in most markets, it's catching on very slowly (it's basically a cult format at this point), and we've even got electronics giants like Samsung proclaiming that even if it manages to catch on (which it hasn't yet), Blu-Ray probably doesn't have more than another five years before it's replaced by a more viable format. One, we can only hope, that doesn't whirr and clunk

I wish that assessment of Pitchfork were true, because at least then there'd be some consistency to that website's drivel. I deleted my bookmark years ago due to their capricious reviewers, fickle superficiality and meandering write-ups, but I wander back every so often to check out something like this. It was worth it just to see some shiftless asshole dismissing a song as gorgeous as Jailbird without actually commenting on it. Heh.

Man, I had no idea this was imminent. I would have sworn I visited the site last week, but I guess I missed the trailer announcement. Camerawork and audio both seem to be outstanding, and I don't think Monday has ever sounded that blistering before. Can't wait to see this! And I laughed my ass off at the passionate digression re: Blu-Ray discs. It's a dead format, guys, and with good fucking reason. Just chill, already.

Still the funniest show on television by a landslide (with apologies to 30 Rock, which I also love). I'd definitely see one of the T.O. shows if Schall were opening, but I'm waffling at the mo'.

1. No Choice in the Matter - - - 2. Sunstroke - 3. Cigarettes and Wine 4. However Long 5. Seven-Mile Island And the rest I like just about equally. All killer, no filler, I've gotta say. Really brilliant record.

I'm with Hollinger. There's stuff on here that's as good as anything Isbell has ever recorded, if not better. Sunstroke is an exceptionally gorgeous song, the first track is catchy as anything, and No Choice in the Matter may have already upset Danko/Manuel for me as the guy's best song. That's just some serious fucking Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham/Bobby Charles country-soul right there. Authentic as hell, and his singing is spine tingling. Defintely the best song of '09 to date for me (and there's been a doozy or ten already).

Yeah, it's fucking awesome when people set up dummy agencies that attack with a scintillating combination of rehearsed idiocy and sacks full of money whenever people have the audacity to criticize junk food, big pharma, tobacco and other societal ills. Way to support the structures that are destroying your country from the inside out through sheer apathy.

Dylan's Seven Curses, Mr. Tambourine Man, It's Alright, and probably a bunch more. Also, consider this another vote for 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, one of the best songs ever written. Lotsa yus are cheating. Virtually any song can be performed live with just an acoustic guitar...

Oh, I like the band, yeah. I was only being sarcastic with regards to my dismal stomping grounds. Before GLS, I had no idea that something so beautiful could exist amid such bleak and grotesque townie horror.

Yeah, but it was dripping with irony, so it doesn't count.

They're from my neck of the woods (the lovely Niagara Peninsula in sunny and snowy southern Ontario). They make lovely acoustic folk music that straddles the line between highly listenable and craggy Americana, sort of an answer to the question "What if Will Oldham led Iron and Wine?" They've got three LPs that I'm aware of: an eponymous debut, Bodies and Minds and Ongiara. You can check out a video for one of my favourite GLS songs here: Enjoy! I think they'll make for a phenomenal Wilco opener. Local boys make good, etc.

Ew, really? I'd like to think way more people are aware of Levon Helm than that song... Awesome name, though!

Wow, judging from the EPK, this one might give Blacklisted a run for its money. Not too wild about the single (which has been on MySpace for about a week, btw), but it's a far cry from terrible. (And from one artist to the ether, that cover is fantastic!)

There's a lot of superstitious nonsense in Ward's songs, but it never gets in the way of his talents, thankfully, and he has a knack for gussying it up with often lovely language and tying it in to ancient American music. Hold Time has been temporarily displaced in my rotation by Dan Auerbach's awesome solo album, but I'm already itching to give it another spin.

WOW.