I spent a good portion of the weekend watching Arrested Development on DVD.  In honor of that outstanding show, I present a poll.  Feel free to write-in your candidates.

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For those familiar with it, that description should be a dead giveaway.
I’m talking about Johnny Cash’s live album, At Fulsom Prison.

A friend just sent me a copy of it. I’m not very familiar with Johnny
Cash, I don’t know a whole lot about him–except he tends towards dark
stuff, and I love him for covering not only Soundgarden, but also Nick
Cave.

Of course we’ve all heard about the movie coming out about his life,
and I’m pretty ambivalent towards it–I don’t trust Hollywood to get it
right, but I don’t know enough about him to know if they did. And I’m
not sold on Joaquin Phoenix playing him, or Reese Witherspoon playing
June Carter.

But I don’t want to talk about the movie (feel free to in comments, though)–I want to talk about this
incredible album. I wish I had time to write up a decent review. I’m
hoping someone more familiar with Cash can chime in and fill in some
details (Clark?).

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One of the greatest things about New York City (and Brooklyn) is the food. I always say that when I leave New York the thing I will miss the most will be the food. And it’s delicious from the $2 Recession Special at Gray’s Papaya to a $200 dinner at Gramercy Tavern.
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The Arcade Fire’s "Rebellion (Lies)" won in meager voting last week, over Dallin I.’s objections.  Huzzah!!

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Lots of talk about the Number Five band.  I think we can all agree that U2 claims that spot — now let’s move on.  Rock and Roll is partly about iconic imagery – striking a formidable and long-lasting pose.  I argue that there is one Rock and Roll Icon that stands above the rest: Eddie from Iron Maiden.

Any other Icons of Rock that can go toe-to-toe with Eddie, the undead mascot raised from Hell by Rock and Roll?  I doubt it.

So I’m in the last month on New York City fun.  What do I need to do before I leave?

Arrested Development is being axed.

The fact that Everybody Loves Raymond lasted more than three episodes and AD won’t make it beyond three seasons reveals the sad state of America. Our darkest hour is yet at hand.

I don’t know what else to say.

In the first Irish Battle, U2 beat Van Morrison and Sinead O’Connor, 18 votes to 12.  Tough choices!

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Sometimes, the single-line description a movie in the Cable Guide is so bizarrely terse it’s extremely amusing.
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No longer will Scientologists have Tom Cruise as their MX Missile of Doom.  Tom has a new publicist, leaving his sister behind for someone who actually knows what he’s doing.  I wonder if this will save Mission Impossible 3, and if so, whether or not Mission Impossible 3 will be worth viewing.  I doubt it. 

So I was in New York this weekend visiting Kulturblog founder Steve Evans, and among other things (like the untimely demise of another outrageously popular blog) we discussed who were the top five rock n’ roll bands of all time.

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"Let Forever Be" by the Chemical Brothers won the last Thunderdome, with 10 of 18 votes.  Thanks to all for voting.

Now, for a new war to wage.

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That’s a phrase I hear tossed around, usually poking fun at music snobs more than anything. But there have been a lot of bands who after a couple albums seem to lose their original sound, and when they changed, I didn’t like them anymore.

Years later, I’ve started listening to some of their later work, and I’m liking it a lot. Bands like Depeche Mode, New Model Army, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, Flaming Lips–I guess it’s mostly 80′s bands I’m thinking of.

So who are some bands that changed, and you stopped liking them, only to end up liking them again later? Or what are some bands that you only like their early (or later) stuff? Maybe someone else can convince you to revisit the era of stuff you don’t like, and you’ll discover it isn’t so bad after all.

I’ll post a couple songs to the radio.blog, early vs. later tunes: Depeche Mode, Flaming Lips, Cure.