THE TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF MAD MEN:

1. Lane Pryce, you are a bad boy!  And not a bad boy in the fun sense, either, but in the “I owe my mother country a truckload of money in back taxes” sense.  This whole subplot raises a few questions for me though: Why didn’t Lane pay his English taxes?  Why should he have to?  Why is he freaking out so much about it? What can the English really do to him from across the pond?  What is the English equivalent of Uncle Sam?  Is it the Queen?

2. “Are you drunk?” “Pearl Harbor Day, show some respect.” This little exchange between Pete and Roger prompted me to have a not-that-important-but-fun-to-consider revelation.  Almost holiday that we celebrate in America makes no sense.  We spend 12 hours at the bar on St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, but V-E and V-E Day barely get a mention.  We get the day off from work to celebrate Columbus landing on Hispaniola, but nothing to commemorate Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.  Does this make sense to anyone?  I propose the following changes to the American holiday system:

• We move President’s Day up to the Monday following the Super Bowl.  This will probably be closer to Lincoln’s birthday than the current President’s Day is, anyway.
• We replace Cinco De Mayo with V-E Day (May 8^th) as our biggest springtime alcoholiday.
• The first Monday after June 21 is a national holiday recognizing the summer solstice.  Explain to me why we get a million holidays when it’s too cold to do anything, but absolutely ZERO during the nicest month of the year.
• Every July 20 is Man On The Moon Day and is basically Independence Day Part II.
• We do the exact same things on V-J Day as we do on V-E Day.
• We change Columbus Day to Eisenhower Day.  Dewey’s birthday is October 14^th, and really, isn’t winning WWII in Europe and establishing the American highway system more worthy of celebration than a dude who unknowingly found an island somewhat close to Florida, and then annihilated its inhabitants?  Thought so.

These are all great ideas and you know it.  If any of them actually become reality, don’t thank me, thank Roger Sterling.

3. Joan Holloway (do we still have to call her Harris?) unleashes the Ginger Fury in all of its fiery glory on the unfortunate secretary who couldn’t sniff out a narc.  I still don’t know whether to be terrified of it or just cackle.

4. Watching Don comfort Joan and then proceed to drive her around town in a Jaguar as her mock husband before ending up at a bar in the early afternoon scared the living hell out of me.  For a moment, I was sure that Mad Men was about to officially jump the shark and have Don and Joan finally do the nasty.  Even if they would be the most explosive, swagged-out couple imaginable (think the 60’s Kim and Kanye), having them get together would be like LeBron James conspiring to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat.  Though it would give Roger Sterling the opportunity to go full-out Dirk Nowitzki, steal Joan from Don and completely rewrite his legacy.

5. Paul Kinsey returning in full Hare Krishna gear immediately jumped into this season’s top five “WTF just happened? Rewind the DVR!” moments, along with Betty’s first appearance in the fat suit, Don strangling a woman to death (in his sleep), Roger getting some from Megan’s mother, and Betty huffing the Reddi-Whip.  These aren’t the five most memorable moments, just the five that completely caught me off guard.

6. George Harrison totally jacked the Hare Krishna chant for his song “My Sweet Lord.”  He also got sued for stealing the melody from someone else.  Competing with John Lennon and Paul McCartney will drive you to do terrible things, apparently (Also, this song is not on YouTube in its original recorded version.  Internet fail).

7. My CSOM genes allowed me to fully sympathize with Don’s pain as he endures that horrible play that just shits all over advertising.  What did that actor major in anyway?  Obviously not acting! (Ha.)  Ladies, take note; do not take make your husband sit through a terrible play that insults his very existence.  He is liable to stay out and get completely wrecked with the office bombshell the next day while you work yourself into a spaghetti-tossing rage.

8. What will happen first?  The Don-Megan split or the Roger-Joan reunion?  Roger seems to be making the strongest moves but Joan is offering the strongest resistance.  Don sending Joan flowers under the alias Ali Khan (there are like 10 of this guy on Wikipedia) is throwing a wrench into everything.

9. Poor Peter Campbell.  He has nothing but good news, the chance to get Jaguar!  Nobody gives a crap.  Bert Cooper seems to think they’re lemons, for whatever reason.  But Don Draper steps up and announces that everyone is working weekends for the next few months and he gets a round of applause.  You can’t compete with Don’s swag, Pete.  You just can’t.

10. Quote of the episode: “SURPRISE, THERE’S AN AIRPLANE HERE TO SEE YOU!” *throws airplane statue at cowering secretary* – Joan

THE TOP 10 SONGS BY THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

10. “Warning” (Ready To Die, 1994)

Is Biggie the best storyteller in rap history?  You can listen and decide for yourself.  What’s not up for debate is that this song has been quoted by everyone from Kanye West (“Get ‘Em High”) to Drake (“November 18^th”).  And to think that Biggie was only 22 when Ready To Die came out (looking at all you seniors who thought graduating was such an impressive accomplishment).  Also let’s take a moment to appreciate the VEVO era, where rappers are allowed to use uncensored songs in their videos.

9. “Brooklyn’s Finest” (Reasonable Doubt, 1996)

I’m always a fan of rappers getting outdone on their own songs, and the most surefire way to do that is to invite the Notorious B.I.G. to appear on your debut album.  But let’s use this as an opportunity to not only celebrate Big’s sense of humor (the “2 Pac’s line”) but also Jay-Z’s incredible obsession with the late emcee.  Some interesting tidbits:

• The opening four lines of  Jay’s 2000 hit “I Just Wanna Love U” are a verbatim quote from Big’s “The World Is Filled…”
• The last song of Jay’s final pre-fake-retirement album begins with a clip from an interview with, you guessed it, Biggie.
• The “Psycho/I’m liable to go Michael/Take your pick” line from Watch The Throne: jacked from Big.  Of course this is one of Jay’s most memorable lines on the album.

There is a good chance that if you haven’t spent multiple hours in a cubicle reading lyrics to Jay-Z records off Rap Genius, around between 30 and 50 percent of your  favorite Hov lines are really Big lines and you didn’t even know it.  There’s a reason Mr. Carter calls himself “the best rapper alive.”

8. “Sky’s The Limit” (Life After Death, 1997)

2Pac gets more love as an “inspirational” rapper, but Biggie proves here (and another song higher on this list) that he can motivate with the best of them.  If Big can make it from “ashy to classy,” you can make it through midterms, finals, or whatever other much less difficult challenge lays before you.  This song also gets props for being better than the Lil’ Wayne track of the same name.

7. “It’s All About The Benjamins (Remix)” (No Way Out, 1997)

There’s only one Biggie verse on this track, and it’s not even one of his best.  But the entire beat changes right before he starts, as though it’s announcing “The King is here!” before changing right back as soon as he’s finished.  Throw in the fact that XXL called this the second-greatest rap record of the 1990’s and that it’s the best posse cut in hip-hop history (apologies to the Wu-Tang Clan), and it gets the nod over “Dead Wrong” and “Runnin’ (Dying To Live)” for “obligatory posthumous collaboration record” on this list.

6. “Kick In The Door” (Life After Death, 1997)

“This goes out to those who choose to use/Disrespectful views on the King of NY.”  Biggie’s greatest set of lyrics come about on a DJ Premier-produced banger that samples “I Put A Spell On You” and serves as a diss record aimed at [insert basically any prominent 90’s rapper here].  Big proves that whether you’re talking rhyme schemes, similes or overall swag, he’s among the most talented ever.  In case you were wondering, there are two reasons you don’t here this played at parties anymore:

1. The minute-long skit at the beginning.
2. Today’s children are ignorant.

5. “Big Poppa” (Ready To Die, 1994)

I can vividly remember the first time I heard this song.  It was 2001, I was watching the movie Hardball in an AMC theater, and I was witnessing one of the kids on Keanu Reeves’ Little League team derive magical pitching powers by listening to it on the mound.  When an opposing coach makes the kid take the headphones off, Keanu gets the whole crowd to sing it acapella and propel the team to victory.  Then he goes out to a bar and shouts it at a bunch of drunk, pissed-off middle-aged white people.  Needless to say, this was the highpoint of Keanu’s career.

But you know what the crazy thing is?  That’s not even the most famous movie scene(s) that used this song.  It’s hands down the one in Superbad when the chick bleeds on Jonah Hill’s jeans and then her boyfriend tries to kick his ass.  When a song serves as a minor plot point in two different movies that came out the following decade, we can agree it’s pretty culturally significant, right?  Throw in the fact that it’s David Ortiz’s walk-up music at Fenway Park, and this is one of the most swagged out anthems of all time.

4. “One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix)” (Single, 1995)

This has to be the most underrated “huge hit single by a hip-hop legend at his peak that spawned countless remixes” of all time (the other contender: “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five).  Ask the next rap fan you have a conversation with to name his or her five favorite Biggie songs and I guarantee that this track won’t be on the list, even though it was one of the biggest hits of Biggie’s career and took on a complete life of its own.  A timeline:

• The original “One More Chance” is released on Ready To Die in 1994.  It sounds nothing like the YouTube video and features some of the most hilariously disgusting lyrics ever said by anyone, ever.
• A remix by Puff Daddy that samples “Stay With Me” by DeBarge and features Faith Evans (Big’s wife) on the chorus is released in 1995.  It becomes a huge hit and hits #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Ashanti (remember her?) makes two records with the same beat as “OMC/SWM” in 2002, one called “Foolish” and another called “Unfoolish” that features Big’s lyrics from the first remix.

But for whatever reason, people always point to “Me & My Bitch” as Biggie’s classic love song.  Well, except Jay-Z, who closes out The Blueprint with a “One More Chance” quote (what, you thought I was done with the Hov jokes?  HA!)

3.”Juicy” (Ready To Die, 1994)

We’re officially entering the “You Can Order These Songs However You Want And Nobody Could Argue With You” zone, although I’m positive at least a third of the people reading this list lost their collective shit immediately upon seeing “Juicy” ranked so low.  And that’s not without justification; I cannot think of a single rapper who has made two better records than “Juicy” (but you can say the same thing about our top two songs – that’s the whole point).  So rather than go over why I didn’t put it above here (the beat isn’t quite as incredible as #’s 1 and 2 – that’s basically it), let’s examine why “Juicy” is such a legendary record (BTW if you think I’m using too many bullet points, remember we’re honoring the only round MC in the top 5 rappers of all time):

• It wasn’t the first rap record about drugs or money, but without its “rags to riches” blueprint, the careers of the following rappers would have been dramatically different: 50 Cent, Fabolous, Nelly (yes, Nelly), Cam’Ron, T.I., Game, J. Cole and most obviously Jay-Z, to the point where he could have been on that list at least three different times and Big’s impact on his career would still be understated.
• “If you don’t know, now you know” is the slogan of Rap Genius, the most important rap lyrics database on the planet.  If the nerdiest hip-hop fans in the world decide that one of your songs is so important that everyone who visits their site should have its lyrics on the screen at all times, you’ve done something special.
• I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to back this up, but I’m positive that more people know the lyrics to this song than any other rap record released in the 90’s except for “Baby Got Back” and the theme to Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.  In fact, if the Hip-Hop Police were real, balking at these lyrics and then trying to offer an opinion about anything rap-related within 48 hours would get you three years in the joint (other offenses would include not knowing that 2Pac’s real name was Tupac and saying that J. Cole had the best debut album of 2011).

2. “Mo Money Mo Problems” (Life After Death, 1997)

One of the dirty little secrets of hip-hop is that the world’s two richest rappers owe a significant amount of their success to Christopher Wallace.  Sean Combs (then known as Puff Daddy) was a fledgling entrepreneur who had just been fired from Uptown Records when Ready To Die put Bad Boy Records on the map.  And Sean Carter was a no-name rapper with a bit of buzz whose career took off in part to two collaborations with the Notorious B.I.G. (not to mention all the mentoring Big did to the older Jay and all the lyrics Jay felt free to jack after Biggie was murdered.  If I seem bitter about this, it’s because I’ve had too many conversations with people insisting that Eminem is a better rapper than Biggie, only to look dumbfounded when I name off 10 “classic” Hov lines that are actually Big’s.  Kids today).  Anyway, my point is that if anyone has a right to claim the ultimate rap song about money, it’s Biggie.

Speaking of the song itself, the main thing keeping it out of the top spot is Biggie only spitting one of its three verses.  I almost made it #3 for that reason until I listened to it and had to wait for his verse and then rap the whole thing before I could continue writing.  Despite Mase and Daddy being less than amazing, it’s still a timeless record because the beat and the hook are among the best ever, period.  It’s so good that you can use it to test if one of your friends is secretly racist:

1. Ask your friend if he likes hip-hop
2. If he says no, play “Mo Money Mo Problems” for him (note: 2Pac’s “California Love” is the only, repeat ONLY, acceptable alternative).
3. If he still says he doesn’t like hip-hop, he is secretly racist.

There is just no way anyone can actually dislike this song.  Also of note: rappers have referenced this song since its release more than any other 90’s hip-hop record except maybe “C.R.E.A.M.”  Maybe.

1. “Hypnotize” (Life After Death, 1997)

I’m sure that at some point during your life, you’ve been riding in a car with your father listening to hip-hop on the radio and he said something to the effect of, “you don’t need talent to rap.”  And even if I hate his guts, Bruno Mars is technically more “talented” than Rick Ross.  But once in awhile you can find a set of 16’s that are so damn mind-blowing that even your dad has to admit that it took some talent to produce.  The definitive example: “Hypnotize.”

I don’t know if “Hypnotize” is the greatest rap record ever made, but the more I think about, the stronger its case gets.  The beat is dope, and there is no other word for it.  It’s actually the perfect instrumental for Biggie because it has a great groove with a big bass line but leaves more than enough room for his flow.  And let’s end the debate right now: this is the best flow of all time.  Big’s voice is always impossibly charismatic and commanding, but the way his rhythms and rhyme schemes interweave with the music so seamlessly is hip-hop at its highest form.

Speaking of the rhyme scheme; I’ve listened to this record hundreds of times since I was a little kid and I still have no idea how Biggie came up with so many rhymes, or how he even came up with the idea to layer them the way he did.  He’s got two or three rhymes in each line, the next coming twice as quickly as the last and always leading into the next set before you’ve even processed the previous lyrical barrage.  None of it’s forced (cough, Kanye), with Big always riding the beat with that trademark calm swagger that so many rappers have tried and failed to duplicate since his death.  It’s the pinnacle of emceeing and one of the great party tracks ever at the same time, and if you need anything more to persuade you to listen to it right now, I guarantee Big’s famous ad-lib intro will hook you in.  UHH!

Bonus: “You Can’t Stop The Reign” (with Shaquille O’Neal) (You Can’t Stop The Reign, 1996)

Yeah you read that right; Biggie made a song with Shaq.  And you know what?  It’s not awful!  Biggie brought out the best in everyone.  If only he could’ve been an assistant coach for every team Shaq played for after the Heat.

For more music insights and extremely biased sports observations, follow Robert Rossi on Twitter (@RVRossi)

As summer approaches, listening to the singer’s hits is the perfect way to celebrate her life.

1.  Last Dance-  Don’t be fooled by the slow beginning.  Once this song picks up, you are guaranteed to be on your feet!

2.  She Works Hard for the Money-  Nothing sums this song better than the top comment on the YouTube video: “Imagine being a bike messenger in manhattan in the 1980′s zooming through the streets of midtown, downtown hustling for the commission with this record blasting in my ears from my panasonic headphones. That was me.”

3.  Hot Stuff-  Need I say more?

4.  Bad Girls-  Toot toot, heeeey, beep beep!

5.  On The Radio-  She really shows off her pipes in this classic pop ballad.

For more information, check out her commemorative article on The Huffington Post.

Divorce Lemonade
A young girl finds her dad passed out drunk in front of her mom’s house. So much is done with so little in this film, it’s truly great. (I apologize for the YouTube pauses, it’s the only version I could find!)

Kiwi!
The little bird who just wanted to feel the thrill of flying!

Dead in the Room
You know Patrick J. Adams from Suits, but he’s also in this suspenseful 9 minute short which keeps you guessing ’til the end. Did you see it coming? (Oh, and this was made with only $99. Crazy!)

Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson’s first film Bottle Rocket started off as a short. This is also Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson’s first major work as actors. Definitely one of my favorites.

Remember that time you jumped on stage at the Video Music Awards when Taylor Swift won Best Female Video to announce that Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time?  What about that time you made Mike Myers visibly squirm with the declaration that George Bush doesn’t care about black people following Hurricane Katrina?  Through these two incidents, you proved to America that you are destructively impulsive and irrational.  Still, over the last couple of years, you have managed to contain yourself for the most part, only reminding us just how off-your-rocker you are with the occasional harmless Twitter rant.

Until now.

I didn’t want to believe it.  I was sure it was some scheme by Kim Kardashian’s people, a publicity stunt to capitalize on a single photo opportunity between you and Kim.  I told myself, no way would Kanye stoop that low.  His people will kill this rumor so quick, it will be as though the idea was never even thrown out there in the first place.

So I waited.  I waited and I waited, and yet the myth was never busted.  It is time to face the truth.  You are dating Kim Kardashian.

Luckily for you, I am not here to judge, but rather to advise.  You see, in some cases, I would say you could play this one out.  She is an attractive girl, and you are, without a doubt, the envy of many people who would gladly trade places with you.  But here’s the thing, Kanye.  She is pure evil, plain and simple.

Let’s look at the facts, courtesy of your respective Wikipedia pages.  Yours describes you as “an American musician, film director and fashion designer”.  Hers opens with the descriptors of “socialite” and “celebutante.”  Seriously, Kanye?  You do realize that neither of those are real things, right?

Skip to the second paragraph.  You made five platinum-selling solo albums, resulting in eighteen Grammy awards.  Kim made a sex tape, resulting in a $5 million law suit.

Look, Kanye.  You’re a smart enough guy.  I don’t need to tell you about Kim’s 72-day marriage fiasco, because, well, the divorce has yet to go through, and I’m sure all of the ugly details will emerge come June, when the trial begins.  Do you really want to be part of that?  Do you really want to sit there as Kris Humphries pries the $2 million engagement ring off of Kim’s greedy little fingers?

At the very least, my guess is it will have you second-guessing your decision to rap about wanting to make her your wife.  I shudder at the very thought.

It’s too late for Kris Humphries, but it is not too late for you, Kanye.  Run away.  Run away as fast as you can.  But first, rip up whatever contract you have signed with Keeping Up with the Kardashians.  America may have forgiven you for your blunders in the past, but an appearance on the most useless reality show of all time might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Unsolicitedly yours,

Jenna

THE TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF MAD MEN:

1. Betty Draper is back, and she is her usual, conniving, unsmiling self.  She walks into Don’s new pad and creeps on Megan while she’s getting dressed.  She goes to Weight Watchers meetings and tries to suck all the optimism out of the room.  She runs home and eats whipped cream straight out of the can.  But worst of all, she tries to destroy Sally’s relationship with her father and Megan by casually mentioning Don’s “first” wife, Anna.  The takeaway: Betty sucks.

2. Before Betty sneaks her way into Don’s apartment, there’s a scene where she argues with Henry Francis about parking the car.  When Henry Francis talks about double parking, I get sad.  I mean bored.  I’ve got 3:1 odds ofn him dying before the show ends, and 4:1 for him leaving Betty by the season finale.

3. Is this the first episode where we see Don get out-creativitied… by a dude???  He knows that Michael’s ads with people getting hit in the face with snowballs is way better than his devil theme, so he leaves Michael’s pictures in the car before the pitch.  Way to be a true competitor, Don.  Rubbing it in Michael’s face that you’re his boss and he can’t do anything about it is very LeBron James-y of you too.

4. Unlike Michael getting the short end of the stick, Don yelling at Peter over the phone on Sunday morning is golden.  “Don’t throw your failures in my face!” Don yells when Peter calls, freaking out because The New York Times doesn’t include them in their profile of ad agencies.  Yeah, Peter, you sniveling weasel!

5. Speaking of weasel, Peter’s dream of Beth entering his office wearing nothing but a fur coat and underwear is the most obvious “I’m in lust with you and I want you to be impressed with my tremendous POWER” dream of all time.  Also, Mad Men loves creeping on dreams all of a sudden.

6. What’s the word to describe the Manischewitz dude macking on Roger’s soon-to-be ex-wife right in front of him at dinner?  Irony?  Karma?  Less-creepy-than-her-marrying-someone-three-times-her-age?

7. Peggy freaks out on Roger for enlisting Michael to help him pitch Manischewitz instead of her.  “I can write about anything!”  Even though Don likes Michael’s Sno Ball idea more than hers like three minutes later.  It would appear that the Michael Usurpation of Peggy that Roger warned her about is beginning.

8. I just noticed that Don lives in apartment 17B.  That’s almost 27B.  AKA… STRIP MOD!

9. Sally Draper straight serves Betty near the end of this episode.  I can’t remember the exact quotation and I don’t want to mess it up, but suffice to say that the crown of “Draper woman I’d least want to mess with” has completed its journey from Betty to Megan to Sally.

10. Quote of the episode: “Shhhh” – sound Betty Francis chugging straight from the whip cream can

A concept album is a compilation of songs that are unified by a theme, whether compositional, lyrical, instrumental or otherwise.  They are not improvised and therefore are usually based on preconceived ideas with each song connected to this theme.  Much to your father’s surprise, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds released in ’66 is actually not considered a concept album regardless of unifying theme of Brian Wilson’s state of mind, because the writers said this was not a conceived as a single concept.  To the same degree, “Sgt. Pepper” released in ’67 is arguably a concept album but to a certain degree: apparently, during the making of the album there were attempts to unify it around the notion of aging and then as a radio play about an ex-army bandsman.  Both concepts fell to the wayside by the time the final production had been edited and released.  Things to note: the fluidity of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” into “With A Little Help From My Friends,” complimented with the “Sgt. Pepper’s” reprise.  Also consider the alter-ego band that the Beatles pose as on the album cover.

The Who followed that same year with The Who Sell Out, centered on a theme of a pirate radio broadcast.  This one is pretty authentic—they even incorporated joke commercials and little jingles from the outlawed pirate radio station Radio London.  The Who also pioneered the first story-based concept album with the release of Tommy in ’69. The rock-opera tells the story of a deaf, mute and blind boy who, traumatized by his parents and uncle, attains a cult following by people who try to reach his so-called enlightenment.  Since its debut, Tommy has been turned into musical plays.

Perhaps the most acclaimed pioneer in the realm of concept albums is Pink Floyd with its series of concept albums including Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. Dark Side for example, is an album discussing the affects of greed, mental illness and the passage of time.  The band was influenced in part by Syd Barrett’s spiral into mental oblivion. The five tracks on each side of the album are designed to reflect the human experience, beginning and ending with a human heartbeat with “Speak to Me/Breathe” and “Eclipse.”  In fact, if you were to listen to “Speak To Me/Breathe,” the first song on the album, and skip straight into the last song, “Eclipse,” the transition would be nearly flawless.  Not only are the two songs compositionally similar with complimentary lyrics, but “Eclipse” functions as the climactic outro of “Speak To Me/Breathe.”   Throughout the album, Pink Floyd takes its listeners through a cohesive journey of discovering one’s consciousness—or “breathing in the air”—to the anxiety of traveling, to the passage of time, to the mourning of death and the threat of consumerism.  Dark Side of the Moon could be conceptualized with the overarching theme of observation of the human experience—remember, “no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.”

In the ‘90s, Marilyn Manson took the concept album to a whole new level with the trilogy of Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood, an abstract storyline about victims and oppression. Other acclaimed artists known for using concept albums include The Smashing Pumpkins, Coheed And Cambria, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, The Antlers and of course, Jay-Z.  And just to clarify: Led Zeppelin is not known for concept albums, but rather, for the concept of album-oriented rock in which selective songs from albums are broadcasted on radios, rather than simply singles.

Another interesting fact: while bands of the psychedelic rock era popularized the concept album, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash were some of the first artists to use concepts beginning in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Top 10 rock concept albums of all time:

1. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side Of The Moon
2. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
3. The Who, Tommy
4. David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And the Spiders From Mars
5. The Who, Quadrophenia
6. Pink Floyd, The Wall
7. Radiohead, OK Computer
8. Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick
9. The Kinks, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
10. Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

In spite of these numbers, non-Marvel fans may be thinking The Avengers is not their type of movie, but do not be fooled by the nerdiness factor.  The Avengers is an absolute must see, and here are some reasons why.

10.  The special effects.

This is kind of obvious, but as someone who usually sticks to romantic comedies, I was blown away by The Avengers.  Then again, the craziest special effect in movies that I tend to watch is slow motion as the soon-to-be lovers meet one another’s gaze from across the room. 

9.  The trailer for The Dark Knight Rises.

Sure, the trailer has been up on YouTube for some time now, but the conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece deserves every inch of the big screen.  Anne Hathaway as Catwoman?  Meow.

8.  The two post-credit scenes.

Marvel is known for rewarding the audience members who hang around to enjoy the post-credit scenes, which are well worth the wait.

7.  People watching at the theater.

From hyper-nerds in Captain America masks to wannabe-ghetto teenagers who shouted, “Damn girl!” every time Scarlett Johansson made a move, the theater I went to was packed with quite the versatile crowd.

6.  Cobie Smulders outside of MacLaren’s Pub.

For How I Met Your Mother fans, it may come as a bit of a shock to see Robin Scherbatsky dressed in a tight spandex uniform as Agent Maria Hill.  Although the role is small, Smulders has some key lines throughout the movie.  She also shoots a gun, which to HIMYM loyalists serves as a proper tribute to Robin.

5.  Robert Downey, Jr. as… himself?

I have always liked Robert Downey, Jr.  He gives off an inexplicably cool vibe, and at age 47, he remains high on my list of celebrity crushes.  Downey absolutely owns the role of Tony Stark, the sexy sarcastic billionaire who doubles as Iron Man.  He plays the role so well, in fact, that I am semi suspicious that Downey is actually Iron Man in real life.

4.  Chris Evans.  More specifically, Chris Evans’s body.

A crowd favorite ever since 2001, when America was first introduced to his abs in Not Another Teen Movie.  I like my Captain America with whipped cream and a cherry on top, thank you very much.

3. Scarlett Johansson as a redhead.

Judge me all you want for putting Scarlett Johansson’s attractiveness ahead of Chris Evans’s in this movie.  Not every girl can pull off the fiery redhead look, but as Black Widow, ScarJo rocks it like it has never been rocked before.  To quote the pseudo-ghetto teenagers sitting two rows ahead of me in the theater, damn girl!

2.  Samuel L. Jackson putting the Avengers in their place.

Samuel L. Jackson is a straight up boss, plain and simple.  If you need proof, watch him narrate this mock bedtime story, “Go the F*** to Sleep.”  Amazon sold his actual voice recording as the audio version of this hysterical book.  Boss. (Editor’s Note: The language in this video is NSFW.  Obviously.)

1.  Mark Ruffalo Hulk-ing it up.

I still think of Mark Ruffalo as the geeky guy stuck in a never-ending friend zone in 13 Going on 30, and it took me a little while to adjust to him being cast as the Hulk.  As it turns out, his endearing dorkiness works in his favor throughout the movie, making audiences root for him more when he tears it up in battle as his massive green alter-ego.

If you still are not convinced, check out this trailer.  And then go see the movie.  Seriously.