Why the afterlife is box office poison [Wired]

Lauded Wainwright: Box set to honor musical patriarch [The Second Disc]

Hating the Band Except for That One Guy: Sebastian Bach [Love Hate Society]

Suburban Metal Dad: Wall of Fame [Addicted to Vinyl]

In praise of Missy Andersen [Cahl's Juke Joint]

Facebook adds more relationship status options [Gizmodo]

My Dove, My Lamb [Ickmusic]

Physicists build world’s first anti-laser [Wired]

Top 40 Prince songs [Culture Brats]

House budget slashfest: NASCAR = OK. Elmo/women/mercuryless seafood = not OK. [Jeff Vrabel]

Must-hear TV: Prime-time theme songs that still rock [SomethingElse! Reviews]

D.I.Y. Dylan: Bob’s Archive box coming soon [The Second Disc]

Eight movies that inexplicably got cartoon spinoffs [Topless Robot]

Black Dub on Kimmel, plus free live track [Captains Dead]

Proof that movies are getting worse [Gizmodo]

Hear that? It’s the world’s prettiest 8-bit violin, playing you a sad song [Gizmodo]

I Am Number Four will have a sequel, and it will be written by children [Salon]

Books Without Borders: A victory for Amazon — and independent bookstores [TechCrunch]

Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek among shows coming to Netflix streaming [AV Club]

Undercover agent sneaks gun through airport’s full-body scanners five times [Gizmodo]

Every Number One single as a single track [Salon]

ET-X, the ET sequel we wish were real [Retroist]

Led Zeppelin, live in San Francisco, 4/27/69 [Captains Dead]

Remembering George Harrison [Addicted to Vinyl]

The Love Hate Society Podcast #1 [Love Hate Society]

Our culture of avarice [Salon]

What do all the numbers on your credit card mean? [Gizmodo]

10-year-old girl becomes youngest to discover supernova [Make]

Bill Withers documentary, Still Bill, reaches DVD [Addicted to Vinyl]

10 nerdiest DVDs available only in the Warner Archive shop [Topless Robot]

The second wave of children’s mobile apps is coming [Wired]

Taco Bell beef filling sparks gastrointestinal uproar [Gizmodo]

Video games turn dads into secret Britney Spears fans [Kotaku]

Elton John, mom, and memories [SomethingElse]

Never Gonna Give You Up (no, not that one) [Soul-Sides]

10 thoughts on Adele’s 21 [XO London]

Top 30 ’90s one-hit wonders [Culture Brats]

Chic, “Dance Dance Dance” [Funky16Corners]

Starbucks Trenta: Probably a bit much, unless you’re a horse [Jeff Vrabel]

All hail our robot overlords! Sci-fi’s best ‘bots [Wired]

Crafting through the ’80s [Culture Brats]

Daytrotter Session: Bela Fleck [Daytrotter]

Americans overwhelmingly prefer white meat. What happens to the dark parts? [Slate]

A semblance of order returns to the pop charts…temporarily [Popblerd!]

Photographers, you’re now officially free to shoot in public places and outside government buildings [TechCrunch]

Jimmy Buffett hospitalized after falling off stage [AV Club]

The age of extreme offshore oil is just beginning [Discover]

Apple’s top all-time apps [TechCrunch]

Social Distortion at Daytrotter [Daytrotter]

Nicki Minaj, Lil B, Kaynye West, Rick Ross: The triumph of the weirdo rapper [Slate]

R.I.P. Don Kirshner [AV Club]

In appreciation: Nile Rodgers [Popblerd!]

The top 40 ’80s one-hit wonders [Culture Brats]

THE ZODIHOAX: System of basing life decisions on spatial arrangement of distant stars not flawed after all [Jeff Vrabel]

In praise of Todd Rundgren: Pioneer, pop star, fabulously weird [Something Else]

The weekly Lostrocity: 1991′s “Voices That Care” [Love Hate Society]

Reissue Theory: Sammy Davis, compiled: Sammy in the Seventies [Second Disc]

Roger Ebert’s new chin [Gizmodo]

Learn the life expectancy of your appliances [Lifehacker]

AM, Then FM wraps up its “12 Days of Christmas” with a holiday mp3 bonanza [AM, Then FM]

10 fun facts about Krampus, the Christmas Demon [Topless Robot]

Happy Birthday, Keef Richards [The 6149]

Robyn Hitchcock streams unreleased covers of Dylan, Cash, and the Grateful Dead [Slicing Up Eyeballs]

Colin Gawel gives us all a reason to still love Christmas [Addicted to Vinyl]

The Wings for Wheels 2010 holiday mix [Wings for Wheels]

The top 40 albums of 2010 [Popblerd!]

Insane Eagles-Giants play from Sunday’s game, immortalized in Tecmo Bowl [Kotaku]

Why everyone else’s line always seems to move faster than yours [Lifehacker]

How did mistletoe come to be associated with Christmas kissing? [Slate]

The best albums of 2010 [Broken Headphones]

Top five foods you should definitely not give as Christmas gifts [Westword]

R.E.M.’s new album gets a trailer [Slicing Up Eyeballs]

2010′s top ten FAILs [FAILblog] #liftonfail

Joe Strummer, eight years gone [IckMusic]

An interview with Fred Schneider [kittysneezes]

The Discography: A one-stop website for all your music lawsuit needs [Riverfront Times]

Best albums of 2010 [Cahl's Juke Joint]

Google extends free Gmail voice calls through 2011 [Lifehacker]

The 100 best Native Tongues songs [Complex]

May your Christmas be liquid, fragile, perishable, and hazardous [Jeff Vrabel]

Top 10 musical moments of 2010: my whole world in light [XO London]

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: 1993-2010 [Salon]

Captain Beefheart, RIP [Brooklyn Vegan]

The least essential albums of 2010 [AV Club]

Games beat books 2:1 on Kindle‘s sales chart [Kotaku]

More than 2/3 of America’s broadband connections aren’t actually broadband [Gizmodo]

The Damnwells set release date for new album [Addicted to Vinyl]

Bernie Sanders delivers epic filibuster rant [Salon]

Electric eel powers Christmas tree lights [BoingBoing]

Watch the Metrodome collapse from the inside [Gawker]

The story behind “Viva Tirado” [Soul-Sides]

Cat Power at the BBC [captainsdead]

In praise of Gregory Abbott’s “Shake You Down” [Ickmusic]

Introducing the Web comic “Suburban Metal Dad” [Addicted to Vinyl]

D.X. Ferris returns with another holiday mixtape — in two volumes! [Addicted to Vinyl]

The Assassination of Yogi Bear by the Coward Boo-Boo [Wall Street Journal]

Miley Cyrus doesn’t owe you an apology [Salon]

New York: the city that never sleeps — or stops drinking tiny crustaceans with pincers on them [Jeff Vrabel]

The 25 best album covers of 2010 [Paste]

Kill the body, the head will die: Long live the (new) liner notes [The 6149]

Nicolas Cage loses his mind, for real this time [AV Club]

The most super amazing science photos of 2010 [Gizmodo]

Legacy readies new Playlist titles for 2011 [The Second Disc]

“Look inside. It’s amazing.” [MAKE]

Why is Disney hiding the original Tron? [Salon]

The top 12 ’80s holiday movies [Culture Brats]

Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses: 12/13/10 [Daytrotter]

This great eBay scam will warm your heart [Gizmodo]

2010′s biggest letdowns [My Old Kentucky Blog]

Listen to the new R.E.M. [Popblerd!]

The Christmas hit that wasn’t [The Hits Just Keep on Comin']

The Kelly Brothers, “Crystal Blue Persuasion” [Funky16Corners]

Prince turns New Jersey purple [Popblerd!]

Jazz favorites for 2010 [Something Else]

In praise of The Big Payback [Soul Sides]

“Lost” Glen Phillips record finally comes home [Addicted to Vinyl]

AM, Then FM starts another round of great Christmas music [AM, Then FM]

Willie Pickens: A Jazz Christmas [Cahl's Juke Joint]

The Twilight Singers: Live in Amsterdam, 12/8/06 [captainsdead]

New Release Report: 12/7/10 [Popblerd]

Top 15 ’80s Sex Comedies [Culture Brats]

Is this what Google +1 is going to look like? [Gizmodo]

Tron: Legacy music video for Daft Punk’s “De-Rezzed” [Retroist]

Andrew W.K. covers “Silent Night” [AV Club]

In praise of Frank Turner’s Rock & Roll [Broken Headphones]

10 board games yet to be exploited by Hollywood [Topless Robot]

The best books of 2010 [Slate]

Spotify’s U.S. launch unsurprisingly delayed again [Gizmodo]

Oneness of Juju: African Rhythms 1&2 [Funky16Corners]

Gobo Fraggle ends child abuse; a grateful nation rejoices [Jeff Stupid Vrabel]

A Miles Davis primer [AV Club]

Aretha [Wings for Wheels]

Back Tracks: John Lennon [The Second Disc]

Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Dangerous Giving [MAKE Magazine]

James Moody: 1925-2010 [Something Else!]

Fuck You, Charlie Brown [Deadspin]

An interview with author/filmmaker Steven Blush [Metal Sucks]

HBO to de-bundle and/or go online? [TIME]

Grok the Halls: Matt’s X-Mas Files Holiday Tunes Mix [Alertnerd]

Rudolph (You Don’t Have to Put on the Red Light) [The High Definite]

An unreasonably large collection of Super Mario Bros. theme song covers [The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit]

Library of Congress posts 700 Civil War photos to Flickr [The Atlantic]

Google launches its e-books store [Los Angeles Times]

Why you should be watching Jimmy Kimmel [Salon]

Chuck Lorre and the rules of the network sitcom [New Yorker]

The A.V. Club finds 20 examples of TV shows that mutated during their time on the air;

Popular Science wonders if the iTunes App Store can be saved;

WebMD teaches you how to make your own sports drink;

Slashfood shows you how to turn an old wine bottle into a terrarium;

Bob Lefsetz gets into a slapfight with Gene Simmons, and the Internet goes wild;

Michael Jackson’s run of “comeback” concerts sells out lickety-split;

Cahl’s Juke Joint reviews the least funny Bill Cosby album ever made;

Jeff Vrabel explores the seamy side of quilting (get it? Ha, ha, ha!)

Something Else! surveys the latest from Mike Marshall;

Stereogum unveils the artwork, track listing, and story behind Ben Folds’ latest, University A Cappella;

In its latest installment, the Boston Globe’s Big Picture documents some scenes from the recession;

Ickmusic’s latest Ick’s Pick looks at the latest from Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears;

Cahl’s Juke Joint reviews Hugh Masakela’s Home Is Where the Music Is;

A chimpanzee is the greatest music critic of all time;

The Decemberists invite you to stream their Hazards of Love in its entirety;

…and Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction release a free EP.

Cahl’s Juke Joint reviews Eddie Mack: The Complete Recordings and Gurf Morlix’s Last Exit to Happyland;

Eddie Money proves that the rock-musical trend has finally gone too fucking far;

Everyone’s favorite Lefsetz goes cuckoo for the new U2;

On the Trail of the Great shows some love for singer/songwriter Don McGlashan;

Ickmusic issues a disappointing update on Prince’s newest Web venture, then reviews J.J. Cale’s new album, Roll On;

Rolling Stone takes a peek inside the upcoming Zappa box, Lumpy Money;

Idolator interviews Ne-Yo;

The Beastie Boys talk to the BBC about their “strange” next album, Tadlock’s Glasses;

Wings for Wheels posts the eight funniest words in movie history;

Topless Robot counts down the eight most awesome old school 3-D flicks;

Slacktivist looks at the other side of the myth of the undeserving poor;

Kinder Trauma relives the horror of Toto’s “Stranger in Town” video;

The long-lost 20th take of “Revolution 1″ makes its way onto the Web;

Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, and Poison just made our old pal Kurt Torster cream in his acid-washed jeans;

Jeff Vrabel, a.k.a. the Michael Phelps of Monopoly, looks under the Boardwalk of the game’s 4,219th reinvention;

Styx, REO Speedwagon, and 38 Special have come up with a “rock ‘n’ roll stimulus package” that we urge every state governor to reject;

Steven Page splits with the Barenaked Ladies, breaking the tender heart of our very own Jason Hare;

…and Taylor Hanson, Bun E. Carlos, Adam Schlesinger, and James Iha debut their first single as Tinted Windows, “Kind of a Girl”:

Will Harris runs down and wraps up the New York Comic-Con;

Pet Shop Boys debut a new track, “Love Etc.”;

JJ Fad prepared to get Supersonic all over again;

Culture Bully offers an early appraisal of Morrissey’s Years of Refusal;

Green Day announces plans to release a new album in May;

Jeff Vrabel is at a 5-year-old’s birthday party, and it is on fire…and he also knows it’s still a Small World after all;

Something Else! profiles the great Jon Hassell;

Ken at Gaper’s Blog loves the Damnwells, and tells us their new album is available for free download, then focuses volume LXIX of his Unheard Music series on the very MBV-ish band Medicine;

Cahl’s Juke Joint spins the new one from George Kontrafouris, and posts a mixtape of the best songs about coffee;

Nah Right posts J.Period’s Q-Tip remix/best-of project, The [Abstract] Best;

Brandon Schott kicks off his series of Homegrown Recordings with a lovely lullaby, “All Is Full of Love”;

The Wall Street Journal makes the case for Miley Cyrus as a good role model, and praises the work of jazz archivist Anthony Barnett;

Tommy Keene makes a mixtape for Magnet Magazine;

Ickmusic has spotted some Lions in the Street, and wants to alert you to their rockin’ presence;

Slacktivist celebrates Darwin’s birthday by mourning how far we haven’t come;

Some hellbound son of a bitch robs Daptone Records;

Darren Robbins’ favorite rock star announces plans for a tour with Jane’s Addiction;

…and, of course, some poor hysterical woman missed her flight out of Hong Kong International Airport:

Something Else! looks back at XTC’s “Playground”;

Ickmusic whips up a bitchin’ old school mix;

The Lefsetz Letter publishes an essay from Bob Ezrin;

Culture Bully previews “Prom Queen,” the leadoff single from Lil Wayne’s upcoming rock album, The Rebirth;

Topless Robot compiles a list of its readers’ most traumatic videogame experiences;

China rings in the Year of the Ox, and Boston.com’s always-stellar Big Picture is there;

Mott the Hoople announces plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a reunion tour;

Brooklyn Vegan writes up Andrew Bird’s January 26th performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg;

WFMU’s Beware of the Blog points you at some recent faves from the New Bin;

The New York Times discusses a study linking coffee drinking to lower dementia risk;

The Doves stream a cut from their upcoming album, Kingdom of Rust;

Looking for a job? Fortune lists 10 companies that have never laid off a worker — ever;

The A.V. Club catches up with Mayim “Blossom” Bialik;

Largehearted Boy kicks off the seventh year of his 52 Books, 52 Weeks project;

The Telegraph relates the story of a town that, in an effort to curb crimes against punctuation, abolished apostrophes on road signs;

Our friends at Ickmusic are giving away the two-DVD set The Who at Kilburn 1977;

A Canadian professor is using math to determine whether Lennon or McCartney wrote “In My Life”;

…and Katie Couric meets Lil Wayne in one of the most surreal interviews ever: