I have a serious problem with a national magazine paying a writer to talk about how awesome his girlfriend's band is.

Enh. When I read the article I figured it was published because (a) Gaiman writes pretty and (b) it's an insider/outsider look at the Dresden Dolls. I didn't take it as a review of the show or the band. (And I say this as someone who has only read *some* of Gaiman's work and has only a glancing familiarity with Palmer as a solo artist and next-to-no familiarity with the Dresden Dolls).

As long as there's full disclosure MSNBC shouldn't spank him too hard.

It's not a matter of journalistic ethics, which mean very little to nothing in rock writing. It's that the very concept is boring. Is Gaiman going to apply anything approaching a critical eye to his fiance's band? The answer utterly fails to surprise me. This is the sort of thing that should appear on his personal blog, not in national media.

Opinion pieces and personal essays appear in national media all the time. He's not pretending to write this with an unbiased eye -- it's a personal piece from the get-go.

The Eleven Best Second Albums of All Time

Some good choices:

8. My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

6. Reckoning - R.E.M.

5. Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane

3. Led Zeppelin II

Also, I think I've heard of this one:

1. Nevermind - Nirvana

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

8. My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

Psst - This Year's Model.

Psst - This Year's Model.

That's funny, because that's what I was thinking in my head. Probably my favorite Costello album.

It was an editing error. The image is of TYM, but the text mislabels it.

Oh, that explains why I was thinking it in my head. Plus the "second album" thing....