I've heard less than favorable things about Quantum of Solace (at least in comparison to Casino Royale) so I'm in no real rush to see it at this point. Watched this last night and was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I've been catching up on some of Judd Apatow's films lately and found this one much more mature than anything I've seen so far. That's not to say it's completely free of low brow humor, it's the direction it took towards the end of the movie that caught me totally off-guard.

Believe it or not, festival seating still happens. You'd think people would learn from history (specifically the Who tragedy in Cincinnati) but sadly that just isn't the case. I think sometimes greed gets in the way of concern for the human condition. I still don't like being in a crowd where there's no clear path for escape. This happened a few years ago at a R.E.M. concert in Atlanta where the "pit" was far oversold. I'm still not sure that the people responsible learned their lesson.

It certainly has my nomination for Thread of the Year.

Yes, it is. At least these days. My point was, people complain about the high ticket prices at these shows but usually neglect to mention that you don't have to pay the highest price (which is usually the one they mention). I saw U2 from the stands at Carter-Finley in Raleigh last year and have no complaints. The concert was such a spectacle (in a good way) that I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. The Stones are also good at giving you your money's worth when it comes to putting on these large scale type of concerts.

From reading your thread one would certainly get the impression that you believe it. Or was that just another of your exercises in troll-dom?

Nantucket could just as easily have been the band Almost Famous was based upon. They always seemed just within reach of rock n' roll's golden ring but for a multitude of reasons were never quite able to grasp it. They even recently warranted a mention in Classic Rock magazine's Cult Heroes series.

Keep in mind that this person believes Paul McCartney is dead.

When Pearl Jam spearheaded their campaign against Ticketmaster, they weren't just taking a stand against them as a monopoly, it was also an effort to keep ticket prices down. In those days everyone from Green Day to the Black Crowes also made a very conscientious effort to keep ticket prices at a very reasonable and affordable rate for their fans. Goes to show there are actually some artists that truly care for and try to look out for their fans. People complain about U2 but what's always left out is that their ticket prices were tiered on this last tour so that everyone could afford to go. For their show here (Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh), ticket prices started at $30 but fans could potentially spend up to $250, depending upon where they wanted to sit.

Several years back when Steve Earle was under attack from the right for his song "John Walker's Blues" he was quoted as saying, "“The most important thing to remember is, no matter what anyone tells you, it is never ever unpatriotic or un-american to question ANYTHING in a democracy.”

The Eagles started the whole $100 a ticket thing. Page & Plant kept their ticket prices down as a direct response to the Eagles $100 ticket prices. I paid something like $35 to see Page & Plant at the Omni in Atlanta and that was for seats in the 14th row. I saw the Stones around the same time period, also for $35 a ticket but that was from the stands at Carter-Finley in Raleigh.

I'm not a James Bond fanatic by any stretch of the imagination but this had all the touchstones of a great Bond flick. Looking forwarding to checking out Quantum of Solace next.

Same thing for people who go through brokers for concert tickets thinking they're getting some kind of better deal. Why not just buy tickets the day they go on sale? They're much cheaper and my luck has been pretty good with that in regards to scoring good seats.

No shit, Sherlock.

Watched this last night via PBS' website. You can still watch the entire movie (along with lots of extra footage) here if you so desire. Even though I consider myself fairly well versed in this era of Lennon's life (particularly after the excellent U.S. vs. John Lennon) I found I still had a lot to learn after watching this spellbinding documentary (which aired as part of PBS' American Masters series). Even then, they couldn't possibly fit everything into what amounts to a very short two hours. Highly recommended to any fan of the Beatles/John Lennon. Sean's new band, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is playing here soon. Most of his solo material over the years hasn't really interested me that much but I may just have to go check him out.

Talking about this one? If so, no, I haven't seen it.

I never really paid much attention to 180 gram vinyl and such back in the day (that was for audiophiles), but it seems the vast majority of new vinyl records I've seen these days is of at least that quality. Another thing I've noticed in recent years is that most new records are played at 45 rpm, apparently another concession to higher audio quality. What would have normally fit on one slab of plastic is now spread out over two.

Most of the new vinyl I've seen these days is of high grade quality but I definitely have my share of poorly manufactured vinyl in my collection as well.

I subscribe to Rolling Stone and have for quite some time. It doesn't mean I have to agree with their reviews of Zeppelin or any other artist. Their reviewers have just as much right to express an opinion as you and I.

I wouldn't read so much into it, that's just the media's way of sensationalizing things. I could give a rat's ass about MJ but his death definitely caught me by surprise. So much so that I figured it might be a prank of Andy Kaufman size proportions. I was also shocked by John Lennon's death but for completely different reasons. To even compare the two is an exercise in futility, something the media is particularly keen at.

It doesn't matter if it was Cadillac or not, they allowed them to use their music in a commercial, something they'd never done before.

Just trying to keep the seasonal/Christmas songs all in one thread but it's pretty clear that you (and others) have no intention of doing that.

It appears at though starting a separate thread for Christmas-related videos was an absolute waste of time.