The bigger list

The faves
All things Merge. It's their 20th anniversary, you know.
- Portastatic Some Small History, Be Still Please, Make It Sound in Tune (covers)
- Score! 20 Years of Merge Records : the Covers
- Superchunk Leaves in Gutter
- Guided By Voices: I've just been listening to them. A lot.

Andrew Bird Noble Beasts - An absolute masterpiece.

The Thermals Now We Can See - "I Let It Go"; live at the Bowery

Metric Fantasies - "Help I'm Alive"

Neko Case Middle Cyclone - "Middle Cyclone," the song, hits like a ton of bricks. Despite the disappointing live show I attended at the Wellmont, this record was just fantastic.

Dinosaur Jr. Farm - live opening for Sonic Youth. (It was the first time I had worn earplugs to a show in about twenty years.)

Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca - "No Intention"; live at the Bowery, not very exciting but sounded great.

Bon Iver Blood Bank - Good Christ, Justin Vernon has a beautiful voice.

Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion - I just got around listening to this record last week . I was seriously grooving in my cubicle.

Daniel Martin Moore Stray Age - "Stray Age"

Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted - OMG. Here's the thing about KC that makes her a step above the rest of the Idol-esque, melismatic horde: KC performs the song. She doesn't trill and leap to show off her talents. Like Frank Sinatra, she actually pays attention to lyrics and narratives of the songs, as silly and nonsensical as they may be. And that's why she's probably the best pop singer working today.

The best of the Nat King Cole Trio - "Tis Autumn"

Dean Wareham/Dean & Britta/Luna/Galaxie 500 - After reading his memoir, I loaded up on his discography and was summarily impressed. How do the Kiwis consistently write such great pop?

The Bats The Guilty Office - Speaking of Kiwis....

Nirvana Bleach reissue
Neil Young Sugar Mountain Live at Canterbuy House 1968 - "On the Way Home"

Ciao My Shining Star : the Songs of Mark Mulcahy - ... of Polaris/Pete & Pete fame; "All for the Best" Thom Yorke.

Jen Trynin Cockamamie - "Better Than Nothing"; Another great rock memoir.

John Doe & the Sadies Country Club - "The Night Life"

Dark Was the Night Red Hot compilation - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings "Inspiration Information"

Lou Barlow Goodnight Unknown - "Don't Apologize"; live solo at Mercury Lounge, cut short for me buy loud drunken Russians.

Sonic Youth The Eternal - "Walkin' Blue"; live at Terminal 5.

Nellie McKay Normal as Blueberry Pie : a Tribute to Doris Day - This is what I've been waiting for from NM: a straight jazz/standards album: no rapping, no winking, just great songs with great arrangements (by NM, herself)

AC Newman Get Guilty - Gotta admit that what I'm really waiting for another New Pornographers record, but this will do for now.

Elvis Costello Momofoku - "Shudder and Wow"; Profane and Sugarcane was good, but this is old school EC rock and soul from 2008, with Jenny Lewis and her crew backing him up.

Sondre Lerche Heartbeat Radio - "Easy to Persuade"
M Ward Hold Time - "Stars of Leo"

The Avett Brothers I and Love and You - "Kick Drum Heart"; I still can't believe these guys are on a major label.

Dan Auerbach Keep It Hid
Wye Oak The Knot

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Know Better Learn Faster - "When We Swam"; She and Animal Collective are the super indie groovemasters of Aught Nine.
Passion Pit Manners - And also these guys ^^^

The Breeders & the Amps aka the Sisters Deal - "Saints" & "Tipp City" are my go-to wake-the-fuck-up songs

The Dears Missiles

Deastro Moondagger - I love an electropop record made in some Michigan kid's basement? Why not!

Melody Gardot My One and Only Thrill - Wow. A jazz album with new songs that's really, really good.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Teddy Thompson Separate Ways - "I Should Get Up"; I don't know if I've ever heard a more entrancing swoon-worthy voice...other than Lou Barlow's...*sigh*

Japandroids Post-Nothing - This is just two Vancouver kids rocking the shit out of it.

Telekinesis!

Barbara Manning/SF Seals - Found via the Merge covers collection. There's too much good to name just one song.

X Under the Big Black Sun - "The Hungry Wolf"; Yeah, I just got around to them...; live at the Bowery.

Grizzly Bear Veckatimest - "Fine for Now"; This record just gets better and better every time I hear it

Raphael Saadiq The Way I See It - I loved Tony! Toni! Tone! and this is a stellar piece of retrosoul

Solange Knowles - "Stillness is the Move" Dirty Projectors' cover


So good and I'm ashamed I haven't listen to them more...
Burning Hearts Aboa Sleeping
Maxwell BLACKsummersnight
BellX1 Blue Lights on the Runway
Throw Me the Statue Creaturesque
Antony & the Johnsons The Crying Light - This record is exceptional but just depresses the hell out of me.
Loney Dear Dear John
Iran Dissolver
David Bazan Curse Your Branches
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
Levon Helm Electric Dirt
Pomegranates Everything is Alive
The Bad Plus w/Wendy Lewis For All I Care - Avant-jazz covers of (mostly) rock songs. It shouldn't work but it does.
Ida Maria Fortress 'Round My Heart - "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked"
Robyn Hitchcock Goodnight Oslo
The Decemberists The Hazards of Love
Eels Hombre Lobo
Young Fresh Fellows I Think This Is
Department of Eagles In Ear Park
Doves Kingdom of Rust
The Mountain Goats The Life and the World to Come
Great Lake Swimmers Lost Channels
The Love Language
The Wooden Birds Magnolia
Visqueen Message to Garcia - "Ward"; Rachel Flotard might just be the coolest, nicest person in rock music.
Heartless Bastards The Mountain
Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career
The Low Anthem Oh My God Charlie Darwin
Yo La Tengo Popular Songs - "Periodically Double or Triple"; I even bought the actual physical disc of this and I just haven't listened to it all that much...
Grand Puba Retroactive
AA Bondy When the Devil's Loose

The Disappointments
Phoenix Wolfgang Amaedeus Phoenix - Funny. I was such huge fan of Alphabetical and the follow-up and so anxiously awaiting this record...but then when they became the ubiquitous car commercial I just never listened to WAP after that first go. It's not bad, I guess, they're just not my little secret of pop goodness anymore. And maybe they're heading to Coldplay territory? And that makes me sad?

Pearl Jam Backspacer - This just didn't sound like a PJ record, in that it sounds like a conscious attempts getting back on pop/modern rock radio, to be 'catchy.' Thing is they've always been able to write catchy songs, and lyrical songs, and fun rockers, and harsh rockers, drawn jams for nights of pot smoking, and the songs sounded organic and authentic. Here...nothing sounds like that except for "Unknown Thought," and maybe "Speed of Sound."

Ben Kweller Changing Horses - How could a country album by BK be disappointing? It just is. But then, nothing can surpass On My Way.

Brendan Benson My Old Familiar Friend - "Feel Like Taking You Home"; Just couldn't live up to the pop masterpiece that was Alternative to Love.

Maximo Park Quicken the Heart

Wilco Wilco (The Album) - Unlike a lot folks it seems, I loved Sky Blue Sky. It was a bit more low-key, and maybe simpler musically than the more vast sonic landscapes of YHF and AGIB, but the songs were so so good: "Impossible Germany" and "Sky Blue Sky" and "Hate It Here" .... WTA did not have a song that good. Usually a Wilco record has music that stays with me for days, weeks, etc., lyrics I can't shake like "Jesus, etc.," or "Handshake Drugs," but I honestly can't remember what this album sounds like, except that I think "Bull Black Nova" kinda rocked.

Stuff I Just Got and haven't listened to yet
The Twilight Sad Forget the Night Ahead - I've actually been listening to this as I've been typing and holyshitsogood.
Lightning Dust Infinite Light
The Swell Season Strict Joy - Also, there once was a vid out there of Glen Hansard covering R.E.M.'s "Hairshirt" on Jimmy Fallon. If you find it, keep the tissues handy.

New Stuff I heard first live
Rock Plaza Central ...at the moment of our most needing - Canadian alt folk ensemble with stunning harmonies, and opened for an otherwise unremarkable Weakerthans show at the Bowery.
Point Juncture WA Heart to Elk - Opened for the Thermals at the Bowery; Beautiful, lilting and fun.

Stuff I haven't got yet
Grand Archives Keep in Mind Frankenstein
BOAT Setting the Paces
Fanfarlo Reservoir
Emily Rodgers Bright Day

A 2009 iTunes Inventory

Number of Songs: 6215
Number of Albums: 1358
Most Recently Played Song: "Everything is One Big Christmas Tree" Magnetic Fields
Most Played Song: "Jigsaw Falling into Place" Radiohead
Most Recently Added Album: Bleach / Nirvana (reissue)

First Song Alphabetically: "A.C. Cover" Camper Van Beethoven
Last Song Alphabetically: "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt" Camper Van Beethoven
First Song Numerically: "007 (Shanty town)" Desmond Dekker
Last Song Numerically: "90-Mile Water Wall" The National
Shortest Song: "(Untitled)" Maxwell (:05)
Longest Song: "Photogram/Om Eye Sweet Isthmus" Camper Van Beethoven (19:40)

First Album Alphabetically: (a)spera / Mirah
Last Album Alphabetically: Zen Arcade / Husker Du
First Album Numerically: #1 Record/Radio City / Big Star
Last Album Numerically: 3 Rounds and Sound / Blind Pilot

First Five Songs That Pop Up On Shuffle iTunes DJ:
"Tower Song" Martha Wainwright
"Room a Thousand Years Wide" Soundgarden
"Flume" Bon Iver
"Senor 007" Ray Barretto
"Good Feeling" Violent Femmes

Conclusion: I need to get some of that Camper Van off the hard drive....

Did I miss anything? Just the Vodka, thank God.

Dollhouse, Season 2
I intended to post episode reviews, but laziness and a sense of fruitlessness, compelled me to abstain. In other words, I would be saying the same thing every week: stand-alone eps are weak and absurd, while the interior eps dealing with the ethics and background of the Dollhouse are some of the most intriguing television drama I've seen.

Stand-alones
Eliza and Tamoh, and their characters, still interest me the least. Though, I will say both the writing for them and their performances are better than what we saw during the first season. Nonetheless, when Echo and Paul take center stage, the rest of the DHers seem to lose dozens of IQ points: Really, who thought leaving the serial killer unguarded and still alive was a good idea? Anyone can come in or out of the place, unchecked and unseen.

TPTB also hit and miss with their use of guest stars. Jamie Bamber worked out great, all sinister with the accent and the hotness...mmmm Apollo..... um. right. But they also had Michael Hogan and let him die in a car accident halfway through the ep without doing much of anything! How do you waste Saul Fucking Tigh??!!!

The Grand Arc
When we stay in the Dollhouse we see one of the best ensembles on television. And we actually learn about these people: We learn about these people: Boyd the Fixer, Topher the MD, Priya the artist, the Doctors Saunders, Ms. Adele Lonelyhearts.... And here is also where Echo and her development as a sort of emancipating leader of the Dolls makes her the compelling question mark rather then the chick in the ridiculously tight clothes.*

Specifically, "Belonging" was even better because of how it tied to the unaired season one coda "Epitaph One." We see the beginning of Topher going mental and Adele's (now the functional alcoholic) beginning softness towards him, and Echo the Protector.

Oh, and as far as "Epitaph One" goes, my only real note is that I loved seeing Olivia Williams with a machine gun more than I can say.

So, while I do look forward to the eps returning in December, I kinda hope that Fox's shunning the series during November sweeps is a sign that they'll give the show a merciful death. I don't think Joss really has it in him, story-wise, to go further than this second season without annoying the shit out of me.



*Seriously, that dress she wore at the beginning of "Belonging" was retarded. Showing off a beautiful girl is fine, but she was basically naked. They give Dichen reasonable clothes. Why can't Eliza get a break? But it must also be said: Eliza needs to learn how to walk. A girl that pretty should glide, not lumber. Christ, I'm turning into to my grandmother.

It's not men. It's just him.

Torchwood : Children of the Earth
The story contained in these five episodes (comprising this truncated Season 3) was basically what would be a 2-3 episode arc in full season would be. But over five eps the story is given room to breathe, with plenty of moments both small and revelatory, and huge and suspenseful.

Small and revelatory

• Jack has daughter and a grandson. He doesn't see them much, at her request, but helps them financially. And after the flaxen-haired grandson dies, upon Jack's orders, to save the aliens from taking the world's children... Well, let's just say Boxing Day's gonna be awkward this year. And these were the nicest bits for Barrowman, who didn't get to do his typical scenery chewing - with the quipping or screaming or anguishing - and acted like a real, mundane human for once. But we all know he's really there for the eye-candy, right? And on a Blu-ray disc those ocean-blue eyes are seriously mesmerizing.
• Ianto has a sister who lives with her family in the Cardiff projects (council estates, are they?) whom he also doesn't visit often; while good at heart, they're loud, crass, and messy. But they have a lovely kitchen table convo where he reveals that he is indeed dating his very handsome, very male boss. It was a sweet construction: the siblings living lives on opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum who rarely connect, but when the shit comes down they will help and protect and believe in one another. And of course, this follows even after Ianto's death at the hands/tentacles/poison of the evil alien.
• Oh yeah. IANTO DIED. Fuck. Again, I was happy with Barrowman here. There were lots of tears and a little yelling (WHY HIM??!!) but nothing really over-the-top. Of course, any cheesiness might've been undetectable through my tears as Ianto begged the (almost!) immortal Jack to not forget him. SHIT.
• Gwen is pregnant. Rhys is the last to know, as usual. He's pissed but get's over it. And if there's one thing I have really loved about this show, it's how they've never made Rhys into the bad guy, or the oaf, or the idiot. He's a bit of a schlub (but still cute!) with a blue-collar job, but he's not stupid or a complete doormat. He supports Gwen and helps her out with some clever ideas of his own. They're both feisty and stubborn and completely mad about each other. (I also loved her video soliloquy in the last ep, about the mysterious Doctor who suddenly not around. Well done, Eve!)
• And last, but certainly not least: The amazing Peter Capaldi, the gun, and the closed bedroom door. This was actually more stunning and heartbreaking than Ianto's death.

Huge and suspenseful

• Torchwood HQ = BOOM!
• Jack in a slab of concrete rescued by Ianto in a bulldozer! ...and a hardhat! ...and a three-piece suit! (Who will fill the vest quotient now, Russell T. Davies? WHO?!)
• Big slimy alien you can't quite see who has rage and bodily fluid issues...and maybe the DTs?
• And the kids are the crystal meth for the slimy aliens and Jack helped them - the aliens - out before? Both creepy and gross. Kudos!

Nitpicks
While I thought this short season well-executed and highly enjoyable, there were some annoyances. Mainly, a few too many repetitive scenes and establishing shots that went on for a bit too long. It's like the Torchwood PTB were so used to cramming such a story into 2-3 eps that they found themselves a bit short on time so, hey, why not another shot of the traffic roundabout at Whitehall, or wherever, one more time! Also, let's have the kids scream again, longer! and louder! And let's have the parents keep yelling at their hypnotized kids again! Some more! If it were excised of this filmic fat, the season would be damn-near perfect.

Circle of Iron (1978)
"There's nothing here to hide from." Nothing except your chin butt, Coop!

A couple weeks ago I had to catalog this forgotten gem of schlock, and when I saw it at the library I had to pick it up, if only because it starred the late, greatly sleazy David Carradine. (Though it was actually thought up by the late, great Bruce Lee who died before the project got off the ground.)

It's set in a mythical world where fighters dressed in proto-laser tag gear fight on The Life of Brian locations (only slightly used!) and have disturbingly straight, clean teeth. "Star" Jeff Cooper even looks like Eric Idle! I expected him to claim allegiance to the People's Front of Judea (please call him Loretta) and his mustachioed aggressor to be one of those tossers from the Judean People's Front. And there's Roddy McDowall. Proving yet again that he'd be in anything.

Carradine literally has a bell on his toe. The jingle is hella annoying. I mean, I don't like them on cat collars, much less humans. But he, the bell, and a bamboo flute take out five guys who have swords and maces, so I guess one shouldn't complain too much about it in his presence. Oh, and he's blind, too? He just cold-cocks bratty kids at will! He's also in a dual quadruple role! In one, he's a king of some sort, named Chang, but wears a fake tan and sounds kinda Mexican...

(The alternate title is "The Silent Flute." But dude, you can totally hear it... DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?)

Eli Wallach is in a giant pot in the desert. This ain't no Elia Kazan flick!

And there are monkey people?

Also: Boobs. Well, side-boob. And some ass, but this was the 70s so it was kinda obligatory. Poor girl gets crucified for her trouble, but sadly does not burst into song to make our weary traveler/paramour feel better.

Coop kicks a horse in the face? What is this, Blazing Saddles?

Hey, aren't those the nuke worshippers from Beneath the Planet of the Apes?

Why do quests for Zen enlightenment also involve so much sex and violence?

Zetan? Why, that's DRACULA! He's studying the perfect of perfection...or the perfection of perfect...er.... and there's some book.... fuck it, I'm totally distracted by the pointy baby blue Sumerian hats.... Apparently the endless peace and pleasure of total harmony is so great Dracula of Sumeria can't stand it anymore! He's all, take my peace, please! But Coop is like, whatevs dude, I'm gonna hang with Carradine and his noisy silent flute and kick some ass! Late, sucka!

FIN.

This life's hard, man, but it's harder if you're stupid.

Supernatural, Season 4
Bunny Colvin, Evil Angel of Darkness. Well, Kripke got some quality guest stars for this season including Robert Wisdom, Misha Collins, Kurt Fuller, and Richard from Felicity. Sadly, the casting for the females is rarely as good. I realize you can't have Amy Acker on every week but there must be some actresses in Hollywood and Vancouver that are both hot and able.

"You don't wanna go fightin' ghosts without any health insurance!" Sam, you may be a poor man's Riley Finn, but you you are no where near a Jim Halpert. (Padalecki was working his best David Copperfield with a dash of Freddie Mercury in that de-deomonizing stance.) But I do appreciate the writers' trying some deeper, more ambitious storylines (God! Lucifer! Angels at war!) and even doing a decent job with the ones they rip off.

You poor, freakish, unnatural, stumpy little bow-legged Lamb Of God. Sniff. Of course, my favorite part of the show remains the Dean and the Demian's recaps.

Merlin - Well, it's not as bad as the Flash Gordon reboot, but not that much better.

Near Dark - Lost Point Break Boys! by Katherine Bigelow!
There's plenty of bloody wanton violence - including several scenes of vamps flambe, but it moves at a dirgelike pace with a lot of WTF scenes that take you out of what little plot there is to the movie. Like, say, the relationship between a young Adrian Pasdar and some random blonde we never hear from again which is the basis for the whole damn movie. Essentially, she was a cute stranger and he was bored on a Saturday night in a small town, and she bites him when he makes with the date-rapey groping. Twu wuv!

And why does Pasdar just stand there expecting his 8-9 year old sister to outrun a station wagon of vengeful vamps (one of whom is a young Bill Paxton)?

But you do get to see Lance Henriksen with a rat tail! So there's that!

The Friends of Eddie Coyle - Subtlety writ large. Wait. No, really. And it's from the guy who directed Bullit.

Public Enemies
Funny. Michael Mann is known for action thrillers, but to me his best film is The Insider where the only action is Russell Crowe falling down on the front lawn.

Anyhoo - torture and interrogation techniques, surveillance techniques, who are the criminals? Lofty questions, all, and there was a fantastic cast in amazing costumes... but I felt so detached from it all. And the only question that's answered by the movie is: Is Johnny Depp unsurpassingly cool even with a pencil-thin mustache? (Answer: Yes.)

If you want good crime drama, go with Eddie Coyle.

Oh. It was my birthday. And I thought of this.

Sally: No, no, no, I drove him away. AND, I'm gonna be forty.
Harry: When?
Sally: Someday.
Harry: In eight years.
Sally: But it's there. It's just sitting there, like some big dead end. And it's not the same for men. Charlie Chaplin had kids when he was 73.
Harry: Yeah, but he was too old to pick them up.

You always say nothing.

Quick off-topic pondering: Why is evil Prison Break mom so evil? Is it cuz it's hard to see through a dozen layers of of false eyelashes and mascara and eyeliner? And also not to get at least some of that mascara smudged on that spiffy white pantsuit she's wearing? Must be frustrating...

Dollhouse, Week 12
So. Huh. I guess it's appropriate the season finale would be indicative of how I feel about the show as a whole: The two leads are mediocre and poorly written; the plot's a mess; and good actors (and some beautiful sets!) are going to waste.

To the pains...
Her is me. So, shiny sparkly Echo is the reason the psycho killer from Alpha's original self switched on, and he offed his handler, the original Dr. Saunders (an old dude!), and sliced up Whiskey's (Saunders 2.0) face. Why Whiskey? Because she was the #1 Doll and Alpha wanted shiny sparkly Echo to be number one. (Yes, all this chaos and death resulted from a dude wanting the new girl in school.) His obsession with Echo withstands the 40-something personalities he holds in that square head of his, and decides that she should be Omega to his Alpha and have bunches of fucked up personalities too! So they can "ascend" (when did this become fucking Stargate?) and be superstrong psycho freaks together, ruling the world or something, from a warehouse in an abandoned San Pedro industrial park. To do this, they kidnap the ....

...and for some reason Google hiccuped, the toads rained from the sky, and the rivers ran red, deleting my brilliantly bitter post about this sad clusterfuck of a show. So let's cut to the chase, as I am tired and this shit ain't getting renewed...

Acker and Kranz were fantastic and I would love to see these characters interact more. There's some lovely development here that we'll probably never get to see. Let's hope they get better shows next year.

For the first time, I liked Caroline, in the random kidnapping victim who happened to be Mike Seaver's baby sister. But she doesn't have a producer's credit like Eliza so...YA DEAD.

Ballard still sucks and he is already pushing Boyd to the background.

RE: Alpha's serial killer-ness: "I flagged it in the paperwork..." (He was an administrative SNAFU! This explains everything!)

They actually take the prospective actives pre-brainwipe on a tour of the facilities? I figured they would anesthetize them right after signing and make with the mindzapping before there were any second thoughts. Then again, these are the same folks who recruit serial killers for dangerous brainfuckery, give them weapons training, and then headquarter themselves in Tuscon. So, clearly this is SOP... ("It was only 'attempted murder'...")

"Bal-LARD and his crimesolving abilities"?! Biggest laugh of the season.

Is one of Alpha's imprints Dr. Smith?

"Friends are nice."

"You are the best?" Oh for fuck's sake. Amy Acker kicks Eliza's ass everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. Alpha totally traded down...

This is what I've been saying: Don't let Dolls have scissors.

Eyes! Like Deadwood!!!!

You don't get enough Minoan shout-outs.....

"Well, one of my personalities happens to be a multiple personality..."

Wedge. Say it again.
Wedge.
Wedge. Wedge. Wedge. Wedge.

He saved the girl. GEDDIT?!

November = Madeline Cosley. Who is she? Fuck if I know...

I'm not comfortable having people in my home who aren't delivering me Thai food.

Me neither, Alpha. Me neither.

Dollhouse, Week 11
Here's why I can't get with Caroline or Ballard as my 'heroes': They seem more concerned about being right, rather than them doing right. Flaws are fine, but this just makes them assholes. And not amusing/sorta likable assholes, like House, just annoying, obnoxious, and taking screen time from characters that are actually compelling. It also doesn't help that the actors are fairly mediocre and around more for their hotness than their charisma or talent. That's why I couldn't enjoy this ep like wanted to; there's a good story developing here but it's being hampered by its leads. That's a problem.

Good
Written by Jane Espenson - "Carrots. Medicinal carrots." "I'm gonna die in pajamas."
"It's a small world, right? I went to elementary school with Jenna Elfman."

Let's keep bald black lady Fed and send Ballard to the attic.

Victor as Dominic!!! The freakout of realizing he was Attic-ed and now temporarily in a Doll was a nice touch, and the actor did a fine EvilReedDiamond impersonation.

Tudyk!!!! - So fantastic. Hilarious, menacing, and definitely worth the wait. Eliza's had virtually no presence when they shared a scene. Next week should be interesting... (And I really wanted Alpha to break out while he was in the mindzappy room and shove Ballard into the Comfy Chair.)

Boyd. Fuck Yeah. I seriously hate Ballard for hurting Boyd. This will not stand.

Random
"The Dollhouse is underground." - They're the Mole People!!??!!1

So the LA Dollhouse was built eight years ago?

Dollhouse HQ is in...Tuscon? For christ's sake, why? Then again, a locus of evil located in that god-forsaken place does make some sense. I have feeling Cindy McCain is involved somehow...

"Caroline, you don't have to do what they tell you." - Just do what I tell you. Be free, you brainwashed freak.

Grrrrr
Echo saves the children - was this some pro bono work that's supposed to make us like the Dollhouse tech now? Why did it take up so much time and then go nowhere? Why was it so. fucking. boring?

Why is it just Caroline that matters to Ballard? He doesn't think there are other Dolls that might like to not be Dolls anymore (like maybe the one he's been fucking for the last month)? I don't buy the connection they're trying to build between them. There is no connection, writers, other than their annoyance.

Seriously, Fox: NASCAR popups? During Dollhouse? I'm guessing the demos don't overlap as much as you'd like to think...