Morgan Grimes.

I like the show "Chuck". It's a guilty pleasure. Morgan is my favorite. He's been having a rough time lately.

And while we're here, let me update my top ten favorite albums of all time. I did my top 50 a couple years ago, and there were some egregious errors. So I redid my top ten. Again, this is favorite, not best. A best list would look very different.

10. Redlight by the Slackers
The only ska to make the list, this is the best ska album ever. It just is. I think we can all agree on this.

9. Hello Rockview by Less Than Jake
That's because I don't count this as ska. LTJ makes me feel like I have to get out of the Iron Range if it kills me. Oh yeah, I did get out of the Iron Range. Oh double yeah, I was never there to begin with. Phew.

8. Fashion Nugget by Cake
Audry gave me this album because she didn't want it. It became the soundtrack to my stoner days. We're getting to the point in the list where almost no songs are duds anymore.

7. Something to Write Home About by the Get Up Kids
Besides the glaring grammatical error, this album is great all the way through. "I'm a Loner Dottie, A Rebel" is still the best song on here. They all remind me of the way things never were, if that makes any sense.

6. OK Computer by Radiohead
This would be at the very top of the best list. It blew my mind when I first heard it, and the subsequent 20,000 listens we all put in between 1997 and now. Don't act like you didn't try to figure out what the words meant. We all did.

5. Electro-Shock Blues by Eels
It's difficult for me to describe why I love this album so much. Part of me thinks it's the repeated listenings, but mostly I think it's because I know this is the soundtrack for anything devastating that might happen in the future. It's too bad they couldn't take out "Baby Genius". Then this would be the perfect album.

4. Parklife by Blur
Numbers two through four on this list are all up for debate. I'm actually a little surprised I put this at four. Honestly it should be at three, considering that this was the soundtrack to at least three years of my life. I can probably also blame this album for 10-15% of my snarkiness. Thanks, guys!

3. The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place by Explosions in the Sky
Wow. This totally effing destroys. No matter how often I listen to this, three things are true: 1. I listen to every single second from start to finish, 2. my life feels insanely epic, and 3. I would totally step outside for a smoke afterward if I still smoked. You really need to do yourself a favor and hear this before you die.

2. Downward Is Heavenward by Hum
When I started thinking of what I wanted my novel to be about, this was my starting point. I didn't think of characters or plot, I thought that I wanted this to be the soundtrack if it ever got made into a movie. A strange way to go about things, I know, but this is so atmospheric and rocking that it's impossible to deny.

1. Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer
As if it could be anything else. Never has an album been more significant to me, never has an album had so high a strong/weak song ratio (10:0, if you care to know), never has an album rocked so hard. This is probably going to be at the top of the list until I die. I can't see anyone unseating them.

What do you think?

Weird fishes.

In honor of the new Radiohead album. Sorta.

As a follow-up to yesterday: Paul's right, I should give my $100 drawing to them. That way art could be free, and go both ways, just like that old children's favorite Bible story of Jehoshaboam and the Art Swap at Jabesh Gilead. So Radiohead, let me know your address and it's yours. And I promise I won't give away your address to the millions of other fans. Although, you did give away your phone number on an EP cover, but whatever.

This new album is a perfect storm of sorts, the kind that will become a case study in advanced marketing classes soon and very soon. Think about it. They're releasing it themselves, giving them a dramatically bigger share of the profits (like at least 8x by my math). They gave the public ten days warning, long enough for buzz to build but not long enough for people to forget. They're reestablishing the packaging as art, as it seems many people are willing to shell out the big bucks for the hard copy, which includes LPs and photos and such.

And to top it off, THIS IS AN AMAZING ALBUM. Really, it sounds like the logical follow-up to OK Computer, a few years too late. For the first time in, ok, several weeks, I'm all about simply listening to an album over and over and over.

Radiohead has a tech-savvy cult following, mainstream recognition, and a reputation for doing things unconventionally. I was trying to think of other bands that could pull this off, and I can only think of one: U2. I think that's saying something.

So here's to you, Radiohead. Thank you for redeeming an otherwise unbearably hot autumn. You are my favorite band in the interim between now and whenever the new Blur album comes out.

An open letter to Radiohead.

Dear Radiohead,

I love your new album. You guys are a fantastic band. I'm sorry to say I didn't get "Hail to the Thief," mostly because "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" were pretty dense for my tastes. But "In Rainbows" is quite solid, so kudos.

I feel guilty, however. When your site asked me to name my own price, I named 0. I basically legally stole your album. Understand that I have no extra money to pay for new music and I really appreciate your possibly unintentional generosity. I do have a plan though: If you like, I can make you some cookies. Really good ones, too. The cookie equivalent of your new album. I don't know how much it would cost to mail them to you, but I figure you deserve something from me for all your efforts, and this is what I can offer.

Let me know.

Nick

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Now playing: Radiohead - Bodysnatchers