Davey--I listened to the Futureheads again. Still pretty much feel the same. I know it's popular with some folks but I still rate it a solid notch or two below all those other bands...

Troy:

>Box sets suck. They are a money making ploy, pure and simple. Just buy the albums as they were originally released.

I realize yr first sentence is kind of an overgeneralization...I have at least half a dozen box sets that consist mostly or solely of songs that were not recorded for or released on albums, with a bunch coming before there was even such a thing as an 'album.' I don't look at my r&b label boxes--OKeh, Vee Jay, Mercury, Swingtime, Specialty, Sue, or various collections on Rhino or Chess...not to mention jazz collections--as being money grabs, at least not in the same way Capitol's doing this Beatles box. And I do have artist boxes that I believe fall well outside of that realm as well, with the Beach Boys being the most prominent example...and James Brown & Chet Baker & the Jam & Elvis & Sinatra...now, I wouldn't invest in a Posies box, but that's another story.

Agree with nobody on the London Calling bonus disc. Bonus, my pucker. I saw some of the DVD & it looked good (though they seem to use some of the interview footage from Westway to the World), but the Vanilla disc is a bore. Snooze.

Currently listening to the Ditty Bops. Very good female-fronted pop, at least as good as Eleni Mandell, better than Keren Ann, better than the new Jill Sobule. If anyone's mentioned this band I missed it. Maybe not as good as the Asylum Street Spankers, and way more on original songs, but there's a similarity there. Anyone else hear this? It's on Warners.

I Like Drugs was the Simpletones, if I remember correctly.

I like drugs
I like drugs
Makin' me high
Makin' me high