Beltmann

True to form, Rodriguez bored me while Tarantino mesmerized me.

Were both pieces written by the same writer?

I can't believe I never noticed that. Damn.

Ouch.

Hiya Tristan! Hope it's a beautiful b-day!

Fricke looks just like Nate, one of my best pals from college--including the big teeth.

FYI: She's scheduled to appear on Leno this Wednesday, April 11.

Good story! Jeff's music definitely speaks for itself.

I've been listening to this a lot over the last few weeks. I think it's terrific.

Gotcha... and yeah, I think Freaks was indeed set in the early 80s, not the 70s.

Both shows were set in the Seventies, but that's pretty much where the similarities ended. Freaks and Geeks was closer in spirit to something like, say, My So-Called Life.

'Course I am... otherwise I'd be a Nickelback fan.

I see Bill Munny. I had some trouble with my avatar last week. Clearing the cache didn't work, so I just re-uploaded the image and re-started the computer. That did the trick.

Perhaps a point of interest: The first two paragraphs of this piece were published in this week's newsstand version of EW, and the "fowl" error had been corrected.

I'd argue that at their best, FoW is more than just guys out for fun; many of their tunes contain witty lyrics, relatively sophisticated characters and imagery, and killer pop melodies. Still, I mostly agree with your sentiment... except, for me, this new album of mindless rocking doesn't provide anywhere near the same level of enjoyment as do their previous albums of mindless rocking.

I teach high school honors literature, but I still feel exactly the same way... it might be honors, but it ain't that honorable.

We'll keep the spare room ready for ya, Lou! Sounds like Stacy and I missed out on a great time.

I agree. I like David Fricke a lot--even when I disagree with his opinion, I think he expresses it intelligently and with some degree of perspective.

I too was struck by how forgettable the melodies seem... I've only listened through 3-4 times, so I haven't written it off just yet, but as of now I am deeply disappointed.

I wouldn't be surprised, I guess... but I will say that I like her album a great deal. I've listened to it as much as anything else released this year.

Sing Your Way Home / Anthony Mann / USA / 1945 Tedious, formulaic B-musical that stars Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz six years earlier. For me, though, the primary historical interest lies with director Anthony Mann, who later became an ace Hollywood filmmaker best known for Westerns with Jimmy Stewart. (To these eyes, Mann's The Man From Laramie, The Naked Spur, and Man of the West easily trump anything by, say, John Ford or Sergio Leone.)

No kidding. I was genuinely surprised by how lethargic she seemed--after hearing the CD, her SNL performance was pretty much the opposite of what I expected. She looked nervous and uncomfortable, too.

Strange, once I was married I figured I no longer needed to bother with soap. I'm like Reni... I need a few snoozes to steel myself for the fact that morning, along with obligation, has actually arrived.