Six Degrees of Pitchfork.com Band Names

There is a lot of duplication in band names these days, so I decided to map out some the names of bands and artists and see where they intersect. It's kind of like six degrees of separation for band names, but in chart form. I tried to use mostly current indie artists, but I ended up including some older names to make some good connections. My only rule was that all the band names used had to come up with at least one search result on Pitchfork.com (which is more restrictive than it sounds). You can find the chart and further explanation after the jump.

The Sports Fan Viewership Hierarchy

Last night, the Atlanta Hawks' season ended in ignominious fashion with a second round playoff sweep by the Orlando Magic. It was a historically noncompetitive series and an embarrassment of the highest order for the Hawks players and organization. As a lifelong fan of this team and former attendee of the Dominique Wilkins basketball camp, last night's loss was a tough pill to swallow. The girl that I live with had a decidedly different reaction.

Lost Is About The Act Of Watching Lost

In 1992, Seinfeld aired an episode called "The Pitch" in which Jerry and George attempt to come up with an idea for a television show. They end up agreeing on a "show about nothing" that will star Jerry, center around his life, feature characters based on George, Elaine, and Kramer, and will air on NBC. In short, the show that Jerry and George create is almost identical to the real-life Seinfeld. This plot arc continued throughout Seinfeld's seminal fourth season, turning the beloved "show about nothing" into a show that was, essentially, about itself. Twelve years later, JJ Abrams et al took that concept to absurd extremes by creating an entire six-season show not just about itself, but about the entire experience of watching it. Lost is the greatest television show ever made about the act of watching itself. I'll explain why after the jump.

There's Something Going On Between PetSmart and Office Depot and I Don't Like It

I recently moved to Las Vegas from Atlanta and it's been really great. Obviously, there's a lot of differences between the two cities, but the most readily apparent has to be the geography. There's a lot of rocks here. Like, a shitload of rocks. They're everywhere. People even make their yards out of rocks, because if they didn't, a bunch of rocks would just roll into their yards anyway, so, you know, eff it.