Tails
by Geffen Records
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (26 September, 1995)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Though Tails was her debut album, Loeb had already hit the stratosphere of the pop charts a year earlier with "Stay," a monster hit from the soundtrack of the film Reality Bites. "Stay" is also included on Tails, but the other 12 tracks demonstrate Loeb had more than one good song in her, even if none of them found similar success on the singles chart. Loeb's knack for infectious, buoyant pop shines through on such instantly catchy tunes as "Snow Day," "Rose-Colored Time" and "Waiting for Wednesday"; quieter, darker numbers such as "Hurricane," "Alone" and "Lisa Listen" reveal a more reflective side; and "Taffy" shows she's occasionally willing to let loose and rock as well. --Peter Blackstock ... Read more

Reviews (50)

BLAND, AVERAGE AND BORING.
Lisa Loeb luck change when friend Ethan Hawke suggested that her cheesy track STAY should become the leading single for the soundtrack of REALITY BITES back in 1994.The corny track rocketed to #1 and Loeb was the first artist with a top single without owning a record contract.After that Geffen didn't hesitate and give this College Girl a chance.But little that they knew that Lisa Loeb cards where not that well played.She recorded a bland album, listening to this album is like sitting in a coffee shop in a rainy day with improvise lyrics and all about sadness and emptyness. So an entire record of the same thing you get extremely bored and wondering why was the fuss over STAY, DO YOU SLEEP was a follower, but none of the rest tracks are worth the listen, even she reply herself on LISA LISTEN, TAFFY it's anoying, WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY is simple POP tune. No wonder this album didn't achieve platinum status just GOLD: meaning: well Geffen Records only shipped half million copies of this.Sorry Miss Loeb, you're debut was weak, your sophomore work better, but after that you jumped into indies , but still, you need a great producer to get the thing that you don't let out.

Still a strong album from Lisa!
Lisa Loeb's 1995 Tails album was very well anticipated after that 1994 megahit Stay.It lived up to all the hype.Very solid pop songs and excellent songwriting from Lisa.She has managed to stay in the spotlight for a decade making very solid songs and albums that she chooses to do.I wanted Do You Sleep to have the same kind of airplay and huge response that Stay did, keep that momentum going. Wanted it to go to No. 1 too, but it peaked at No. 18. Actually, adult contemporary stations liked that song more than the pop stations.She rocks on several songs on the second half and takes no prisoners.Loeb is one of the '90s best songwriters and this album proved that.

Pleasant but Unmemorable
Lisa Loeb burst onto the music scene in 1994 with her single "Stay (I Missed You)" from the Winona Ryder movie, "Reality Bites."The song was a huge hit, stayed at #1 for 3 weeks, and was certified gold.Remarkably, Lisa was not signed to a label; a bidding war ended with her recording "Tails" for Geffen.The CD was released with much hype in 1995, accompanied by the single "Do You Sleep?"She also wisely included "Stay" on the CD, which had only been available on the soundtrack previously."Do You Sleep?" was a solid hit - peaking at #18 in late 1995.These two singles are terrific pop-rock, although pretty tame.A third single, "Waiting for Wednesday," failed to make much impact (#83 in 1996).

Lisa was one of the first of a wave of successful female singers in the late 90s who wrote and recorded introspective, pop-rock music.A large portion of the songs are about boys or failed relationships.She's kind of an earlier, less-angry version of Alanis Morissette or a nerdier Jewel.Most of the songs are undeniably catchy, but the lyrics are too often trite and immature, such as "It's a bad day/ You're my medicine" or "Sometimes you tell the truth like you're pulling taffy."In addition, her voice is lovely but sometimes a bit nasal and monotonous.Listening to "Tails" is perfectly pleasant, and "Stay" and "Do You Sleep?" are quite agreeable.However, it's a somewhat insubstantial CD that hasn't aged well.
... Read more

Asin: B000000OU9
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing
by Open Court Publishing Company
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 September, 1999)
list price: $17.95 -- our price: $12.21
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (33)

Very well written
I quite enjoyed reading this book. Having an interest in philosophy as well as in Seinfeld, I decided to give this book a read and was very pleased with it. It provided good insite into the characters themselves and was even able to provide more understanding of the different philosophical theories (Kierkegaard and Kramer was especially interesting).I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in philosophy and Seinfeld or would like to know more about either of those.While it's not an educational book meant to teach, it's still a very interesting and fascinating read.

Because It's On TV
Watching television is a waste of time. Reading about watching television is less of a waste of time, maybe. But what about writing about watching television? There is an entire genre of academic writing now that treats TV shows as if they are worthy of analysis and even of deconstruction. In the past year I have read books about Gilligan's Island, the Simpsons, the Avengers and other spy shows, and now Seinfeld. Although the authors, usually university professors, treat their subjects seriously, they also seem to be having fun. This is the case with Seinfeld and Philosophy.

All the contributors to this volume are fans of Seinfeld and sprinkle in catch phrases from the shows here and there. They are also scholars of philosophy who can toss off references to Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein at will. As a reader with a tenuous grasp of philosophical teachings, I cannot evaluate the academic value of these essays. However, I did notice that several Seinfeld episodes were worthy of multiple comments by these professors. They seemed especially fascinated with the episode in which George decides to do the opposite of what he normally does. They also liked the Bizarro episode, in which Elaine befriends a group of friends who are the opposite of Jerry, George, and Kramer. Are philosophy professors just obsessed with contrary behavior or is there some deeper meaning here? I suppose we'll have to wait for a book on Seinfeld and Psychology for the answer to that.

Sarah Worth's essay on whether Elaine is a feminist or not is curious. Worth acknowledges that Elaine is the most stable, career-wise, of the gang (aside from Newman). She dates on her own terms and is treated as an equal by the rest of the characters. While Elaine confesses at one point that she would like to get married, I don't think that can eliminate her from the feminist category. And yet, Worth decides that Elaine is not a feminist, because she is too immoral and unethical. Elaine has too many boyfriends, is self-centered, and doesn't want to have children. While the professor might not admire Elaine, or want to be her friend, she should acknowledge that Elaine is a feminist. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

This book and the show are definitely about something
Here's the premise; take an immensely popular show and capitalize on it by writing a series of essays on philosophy and slapping a Seinfeld photo on the cover?Nope, it's much more than that.This book is very interesting, and very well done.I had several moments when reading where the correlation between the show and the philosophical concept was so direct that it is either a remarkable coincidence, or was actually written that way.

For example, philosopher Jean Paul Sartre's play "No Exit" offers an account of three characters in hell, who are imprisoned together in a room.They are sentenced to stay awake and in that room with one another for eternity. (Page 105). His thesis is that we are defined by others. Compare this to the unique end of the show where Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine are found guilty of violating a "Good Samaritan" law.Their punishment; sentenced to spend a year in a cell together.

How often do you get serious discussions about the philosophical foundations of the "Castanza Maneuver", or how Socrates and Kramer may share some of the same philosophical focus?When you can combine Plato and Elaine Bennes in the same book that is saying something.The book itself is a series of essays.Some of these are fabulous, some a bit of a stretch, but the overall effect is that the reader is exposed to countless philosophical concepts that may be otherwise unknown to many Seinfeld viewers.If the popularity of the show can help deepen the thinking of a few, then that is worthwhile.

While the title suggests a light fare, the book is anything but that.In all honesty, had the book not been divided into rather short chapters that could be read one at a time, I may not have made it through.The concepts are actually often quite deep, a stark contrast to the easy to digest commonality of the show.Where the book gets the biggest hit is in the discussion of the fact that the show is actually about everything, not nothing.

A fun read for Seinfeld fans and anyone who would like a quick introduction to some of the most highly regarded philosophical minds in history.Combine this with a discussion of whether a chicken salad on rye is really the opposite of tuna on toast, and you have a winner.

... Read more

Isbn: 0812694090
Sales Rank: 79749
Subjects:  1. General    2. History Of Philosophy    3. Miscellanea    4. Movie/Tv Tie-Ins    5. Philosophy    6. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Seinfeld (Television program)    9. Television - General    10. Television Plays And Programs   

Monopoly Game: The Simpsons Edition
by USAopoly
Average Customer Review:
Toy
-- our price: $34.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Anyone can become a megamillionaire just like Mr. Burns with thiscollector's edition of Monopoly based on The Simpsons, the beloved,sometimes-controversial animated TV series. The rules of the game remain thesame, but the old Monopoly properties are now all Springfield landmarks, with anew monorail running across the game board. Players use tiny pewter game tokensof Bart, Homer, and other Springfield characters as they purchase stores,restaurants, and homes. Who wouldn't want to buy Krustylu Studios or theKwik-E-Mart? Instead of acquiring houses and hotels, players try to accumulate monorailstops and stations on their properties. Customized Chance and Community Chestcards offer additional sly references and cartoon drawings of the characters.The cultural references are up-to-the-minute, but the educational value ofplaying strategic board games remains constant. --Marcie Bovetz, mother andformer children's librarian ... Read more

Features

• The World of Springfield and the World of Monopoly collide.
• All the rules of Monopoly and all the style of The Simpsons.
• Includes 6 collectible pewter tokens - Homer as the monorail conductor, Kang, Bart, Blinky, Santa's Little Helper and Jebediah Springfield.
• Special Offer inside the game allows you to collect additional tokens.

Reviews (22)

Simpsons monoply
This game kicks major @$$.
buy this over any other monoply game

Exxxcellent!!!!
This is an extremely great version of what is the greatest board game ever created.The rules are of course exactly the same but the Simpsons properties, money, Chance and Community Chess cards and everything else make it a fresh experience.The fact that the game board and game tokens are monorail themed does date it a little reducing it to a four and a half star rating. I would have preferred it wasn't that way with just the four train stations monorail themed.It is still great though but I would also like to have seen more game tokens of the other family members especially Grandpa and Maggie, and also other characters like Mr Burns in addition or instead of the doughnut.They could have also put Snake in the jail cell on that corner of the board rather than the traditional Monopoly criminal icon and Chief Wigum on the Go to Jail Square but maybe I'm just being picky.

This is an excellent gift idea for anyone who even only occasionally enjoys the Simpsons and a must for anyone who is a fan.Also recommended to enjoy the game even more is Monopoly Companion The Players Guide by Philip Orbanes. This book will refresh the rules and save arguments and even teach you some, such as I never knew the number of houses was limited for a reason so that you could strategise and not buy hotels to stop someone else with a set from building.Just buy the game, you won't be disappointed!

Great, Great Fun!!!!!!
This is by far the coolest monopoly edition to date; and i've seen them all. The attention to detail is amazing. You won't regret this buy. ... Read more

Asin: B00005IX8V
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games    3. Activity   

26 B Anza
Average Customer Review:
Toy

US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

This is a sporty-looking mountain bike finished in green with black andgray detailing. Features on this bike include Dekra front and rear cantileverbrakes, 18-speed index shifting, front fork shocks, mountain-bike style frame,front and back reflectors, and a black water bottle with cage. This is a greatvalue for someone who is looking for a recreational bike, however it's not thebike for serious mountain bikers, as components are not of the highest quality.--M. Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (2)

You get what you pay for!!!!
This bike came with many rusty parts out of the box, the wheel bearings were over tightned and had just enough grease on them to keep them from grinding. The fork was loose and chattered when stopping. I had to go completely over this bike to re- grease, retighten,and repair all the poor workmanship it came with to make it road ready. Spend a few more bucks and get a good bike!

Good, All-Purpose, Inexpensive Bike
I've been very happy overall with this bicycle. I wanted to have the mountain-bike style but I did not want to spend $500 or more for it. This is a good, solid bike that was very affordable and met my purposes perfectly for riding around New York City. This bike seems best used for more casual riding on the street, sidewalks, well-maintained bike trails, or mild off-roading. The parts are of standard quality but I would not say that they are made for heavy or excessive usage or for pushing the bike to its maximum limits.

I'm still learning how to adjust the gears. Even though there are supposed to be 18 in total, I've found it difficult to adjust the mechanisms so that I can access all 18 gears during an uninterrupted ride. Still, 6-12 gears for my purposes are more than enough and that's what I can easily access. The User Manual that comes with the bike is very general and for a variety of bike models. For a person unfamiliar with bicycle parts and their mechanical operations, I would not say that the guide is the easiest to understand and follow.

After my first ride, I decided that I wanted to upgrade the seat -- the basic one that came with the bike was very uncomfortable after only the first 30 minutes. Likewise, in shipping, one of the brake pads was damaged and needed to be replaced. A couple of screws had also fallen out of the box since there were some gaping holes in the box after shipping.

Overall, though, I am very satisfied with this bike. It looks great, has lots of features, and it rides well. It has met my needs perfectly and it's terrific for general recreational riding.

G. Osborn
New York, NY ... Read more

Asin: B000056CHX
Subjects:  1. Bicycles