THIS is a CLOSE-UP?

I've been writing album reviews for Bust ever since the Aug/Sept '07 issue, and as I haven't heard from the editorial brain trust in some time, I'm assuming that I used to write for them. Here's my sum total of half-assed slipshod writing: Aug/Sept '07 -- The Mix Up ( Beastie Boys ), You Follow Me ( Nina Nastasia and Jim White ) Oct/Nov '07 -- In Our Bedroom After The War ( Stars ), Colossal Youth ( Young Marble Giants ) Dec/Jan '08 -- Cold & Kind ( The 1900s ), Oblivion With Bells ( Underworld ), La Cucaracha ( Ween ) Feb/Mar '08 -- Crystal Castles ( Crystal Castles ), The First EP ( Kerowack ) Apr/May '08 -- Funplex ( The B-52s ) June/July '08 -- Pop-Up ( Yelle ) Oct/Nov '08 -- The Singles ( Free Blood ) Dec/Jan '09 -- Fucked Up Friends ( Tobacco ) Feb/Mar '09 -- Rombo EP ( The Bloody Beetroots ) June/July '09 -- Further Complications ( Jarvis Cocker ) Oct/Nov '09 -- Love 2 ( Air ) Dec/Jan '10 -- ...

Man, this was a good year for shows. As always, I'm sure there are concerts I saw that are lost to the mists of my mind, but what follows is still a solid list. The Eagles [The Palace of Auburn Hills 2.15] -- Now, this was kind of exciting, as this was their Hell Freezes Over first reunion tour where they still actually appeared to enjoy themselves, and I was in the front row, directly in front of Don Felder and Joe Walsh. (Got a guitar pick from Don, too.) It was also the most I'd ever paid for a concert ticket up to that point: $85. Went with a bunch of co-workers from Boomers and got a free hotel room for the night all by myself. Oasis [Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 3.20] -- Their first U.S. headlining tour, off their debut album Definitely Maybe (still their best, full stop). Someone threw something at Liam, and in his nearly indecipherable accent he told the crowd he'd walk off the stage if he was hit again; of course, he was promptly hit again, and he stormed off as prom...

It's true: Jimmy Fallon can be funny sometimes.

One of the nice things about paying as much as I do per month to Charter Communications is that I have a decently robust OnDemand service. (And as a momentary aside, isn't it crazy that I'm paying for a shitload of channels in my basic and expanded service that I have never and will never watch? Why is cable one of the only areas of modern society exempt from the "free market" mentality, where the personal choice of the consumer drives media consumption? In other words, we should be at an a-la-carte approach to cable television, regardless of the urges to maintain of a digital version of corporate welfare with channel bundling. But I digress.) Anyway, part of this service includes some television (I caught up on episodes of 30 Rock as well as the first two eps in the six-part Monty Python documentary) as well as a nice mix of new and new-ish films. Quick snapshots of four recent buys are below: Trick 'r Treat -- How bad could a seasonal scare-fest be if it feat...