You'll have to bring some FandtheP to Stu's on Thursday, Marc. I'm unfamiliar with their body of work so would like to hear "Ladykiller". Not sure if that's snickering I hear in the background but whatever.

As for self-indulgence v. vapidity, wanking, onanistic meanderings, self-love sessions, jerk...okay you get my point which is, arent' they pretty much all synonymous? I mean, yes, by definition, an artist is going to be self-indulgent to some extent and we hope that they do so in order to produce something we can enjoy or appreciate. We only call them on it when it seems vapid. An album like The Wall is self-indulgent but we're not likely to complain because it's (mostly) brilliant. On the other hand, the superfluous 10 minute guitar solo at a Yo La Tengo concert or any Smashing Pumpkins album after 1995 stand out as easy targets for villification.

Interested in discussing more at Stu's. Will hopefully then have made a decision as to whether or not to sever my long-term relationship with emusic, which seems to have lost not only Merge records but also the Fantasy jazz label, while none of the exciting new artists and labels available in the US available to those of us in Canada.