My first pre-New Year's resolution: resist the temptation to second-guess end-of-year top-whatever lists. (My second? More compound modifiers!) What's the point? Subjective opinions, to each his own, et cetera and et al. Something about one hand clapping, deaf ears, or a choir which is being preached to. In the end, it just angries up the blood, and I don't need that.

But certain actions require a measured response. So here it is: Rolling Stone cannot honestly think that A Bigger Bang is the second best album of the year. Just impossible. Did they listen to the album, or did they open up the jewel case and find a check for a million dollars? An album that crappy at number 2 (hee hee, I say... funny thing) is just counter-intuitive to the whole idea of critics lists. It's obvious that Jann Wenner sends Mick Jagger coded mash notes disguised as reviews, but this goes too far. So my measured response to this? Ess my dee, Rolling Stone.

But at least I kept it short, and that counts for something.