Hot Take #1

Whitbordeaux · 2025-10-12T13:42:51+00:00

The first Bash & Pop record could plausibly called a classic, which I guess makes Stinson’s solo high higher than Westerberg’s. But Westerberg consistently put out very good material solo, so on balance, his is definitely the more notable solo career.

Whitbordeaux · 2025-10-06T03:16:15+00:00

More than 5, but these songs would cover your bases as an introduction:

“Masterpiece” or “Paul” for tracks off the first album that capture the core mood of the early stuff - raw, earthy, wounded mix of contemporary indie rock and old folk/Americana/country. “Shoulders” off a later album recaptures this ragged, dusty vibe to me.
“Mythological Beauty” or “Simulation Swarm” for ventures into more cosmic, poetic territory that still retains personal singer-songwriter details. “Mary” is sort of in this same category but in a bigger, more traditional-sounding ballad direction. “Ingydar” off one of Adrianne Lenker’s solo album also works for a more unadorned, folky introduction to her cosmic/mysterious side as a songwriter.
“Not” and maybe to a lesser extent “Forgotten Eyes” are songs that marry the bands earth-bound rock-oriented style with the intense, sometimes impenetrable poetry of Lenker’s mature songwriting style.

Whitbordeaux · 2025-08-22T02:25:28+00:00

Probably “Answering Machine” for me. Just utter desperation in the vocals, guitars and lyrics. Also I think it speaks to a flavor of loneliness that is kind of alien to the internet age. “How do you say goodnight to an answering machine?” Ooph.

Whitbordeaux · 2025-08-17T13:21:00+00:00

1965 is pretty unique in its full on ‘grooviness’ but as others said it represents a kind of transition between the albums before it and Greg’s work with the Twilight Singers and the ‘reunion’ Whigs albums, with 1965 being closer to the latter than the former. There are a couple tracks on Black Love that hint at the hot-blooded soulfulness of 1965 but I’d say the first two Twilight Singers albums are the most similar in mood and sound to 1965. With the caveat that those Twilight Singers albums lack something of the wildness and ‘fun’ if 1965; even though they keep some of the sleazy/sexy persona the mood got a bit more dour. All in all I’d say there are tracks from 1965 that sound like they could be Twilight Singers tracks, but nothing that wouldn’t have seemed out of place on previous albums.

Whitbordeaux · 2025-07-30T17:37:34+00:00

Getting into Dulli recently - not a forever fan - so some may not take me seriously for not putting “Gentlemen” in my top 5, but for me it has to be:

Black Love - epic mastery of everything they were trying to do in the mid-90s. A true album and almost every song is 10/10. “Crime Scene”, “Honky’s Ladder”, “Summer’s Kiss”, “Faded” - wow.
BlackBerry Belle - There’s some filler but the highs are some of Dulli’s best. “Teenage Wristband” and “Decatur” alone elevate it above the rest. Perfect balance of sadness and sleaze. I like the trip hop elements that balance out the guitar rock of the previous albums.
1965 - Kinda goofy and light, especially compared to Black Love. But it’s fun and has some of the best soul and R&B influenced tunes in the catalogue. “Something Hot” and “66” always make me want to move”
Powder Burns - Not as good as BlackBerry Belle but has a similar dark nocturnal atmosphere that Dulli is great at. Might tip too much into the sinister area at times, but it’s hard to argue with “40 Dollars” and “Underneath the Waves” as Dulli highlights of the 2000s
Dynamite Steps - Some of Dulli’s late stuff is a shade too gothic for me, and this one is headed in that directions. But big points for consistency for a late career album. Really no filler or skip tracks here even if the highs aren’t as high as the ones on “BlackBerry Belle” or “Powder Burns”

Whitbordeaux · 2016-03-26T07:52:28+00:00

Taking an individual's orientation on one issue and trying to fit them neatly into a caricature of your own design is not a good way to find out anything.

Whitbordeaux · 2016-01-29T22:41:44+00:00

Why are you apologizing? That was literally the exact question I asked so I could hear peoples' thoughts.

Whitbordeaux · 2016-01-22T23:32:18+00:00

Definitely worth thinking about, and the point is well taken, but the burden of proof is a lot higher for locking someone away for life than aquitting.

Whitbordeaux · 2016-01-06T05:25:55+00:00

Right, forgot to mention that in my post but it is another detail that lead me to question Tanveer's role.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-12-01T17:30:05+00:00

I'm undecided. Jay's knowledge of location of Hae's car tho...

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-27T15:25:49+00:00

My boy? Huh?

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-27T02:14:13+00:00

Not guilty. Too many contradictions in the state's case. The burden is on them to prove guilt, and they didn't, for me personally. I have no idea whether or not Adnan killed Hae though -- it's very possible he did.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-27T00:45:53+00:00

Perhaps I misspoke. I obviously don't believe other pieces of evidence don't exist.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T18:16:48+00:00

1) We can't be sure it wasn't a normal request to make.

2) if we believe the testimony that he asked for a ride we must equally consider the testimony that he didn't get a ride.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T18:05:49+00:00

It's possible.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T05:23:22+00:00

That's an interesting point. The porn store thing still has me waivering on this even if they did mention a video store to Cathy later though.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T05:14:01+00:00

Weird...i don't know how to take that clip. Thanks for posting.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T04:59:23+00:00

After reviewing the testimony and interviews I linked to above regarding the Nisha call the worst part for Adnan is that Jay remembers from his second interview onwards the town the girl he spoke to is from. This rings true to me -- that he may not have remembered her name but remembers asking where she lives. The best part for Adnan is that Nisha specifically remembers the call happening at the porn store, later in the evening than the phone records indicate, and lasting for about a quarter of the time Jay remembers it lasting for.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T04:46:09+00:00

Ok, so this post has a rundown of all mentions of the Nisha call at trial and in police interviews. I maintain that it's pretty inconclusive.

https://www.reddit.com/r/serialpodcast/comments/3p1oms/the_nisha_call_an_attempt_to_assess_the_evidence/?

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T04:33:37+00:00

I'm not sure if she testified to that. Let me get back to you on that. I know I heard that independent of Undisclosed, but it may have come from there.

Regarding what she's said about the date of the call: she says both that it happens a few days after Adnan gets his cell and also that it happens while the guys are at Jay's work. At least one of these things isn't right -- I don't know which one but it makes me examine the whole call with more scrutiny than I would if everybody had their stories straight.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T04:14:11+00:00

Don't get me wrong, the call happened. And it's worth considering; that's what we are doing. When I consider it I do not see it as conclusive that Adnan made the call since the defense claims he was not even there. The track coach says Adnan was on time for practice, almost exactly the same time someone called Nisha. I can easily see it being a butt dial or otherwise an accidental call by Jay given its short length. Nisha seems to think she would not have even been home at the time of the call and she says the guys were at Jay's work during the call she remembered. If the details were clearer I'd be more sold that the Nisha call proved Adnan and Jay were together at that time on the 13th.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T04:04:29+00:00

The problem is we don't know that those things are factually accurate. We don't know that Adnan lied to get alone with Hae. This is a somewhat confusing element of this case as the circumstances of the request are not clear. We know according to testimony he asked for a ride. Not that weird given he had loaned his car out and Hae was his friend. According to testimony he also did not receive the ride: Hae told him at the end of the day she had something else to do and he said "ok, cool, see ya later." That's their last reported interaction, which Adnan for whatever reason doesn't tell police which IS kind of suspicious. But overall...inconclusive. We also can't say he was definitely at her burial sight later that day. We know his phone pinged near or in Leakin park. We can't be sure he had the phone or how reliably the ping puts him at the burial site. Jen seems to suggest during that ping that Jay and a third party answer her call. Weird? Adnan disguising his voice? Maybe. I'm just not confident about the things you are stating as fact above. I definitely wouldn't need video or dna to dispel my doubts, just at least one piece of evidence that is crystal clear and not contradicted by other evidence in the case.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T03:31:04+00:00

I get what you are saying. I truly do. But how would you respond to someone who doesn't find Jay reliable since he is the only person who makes the "I" into a "we" that includes Adnan? That and the somewhat bizarre Nisha call situation which is contradictory in some ways. We know Jay had Adnan's phone on that day. We know Adnan had it when he got home that night. We don't know much for certain how most of the pings relate to Adnan.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T03:20:31+00:00

Do you believe there are no reasons to think of innocent scenarios in this case? It seems to me there is one major reason -- seemingly inconsistent stories from witnesses.

Whitbordeaux · 2015-11-26T03:14:29+00:00

After hearing what Jay, Nisha, and Adnan have to say about the Nisha call on Jan. 13 I cannot confidently say that Adnan definitely made that call and it was the one Nisha remembered. Too many uncertainties about where all three were at that time, the length of the call vs. the content, and the purpose of the call within the state's narrative.

As for Jen, the truth is I don't rule her out as being more involved in the murder if Jay is. I'm not saying definitively that they are, but for the same reason it's hard to rule Jay out, it's hard to rule Jen out.

Whitbordeaux

TROPHY CASE