The five things I really looked forward to this year:

Beck, “The Information”: Shit.

The Mars Volta, “Amputechture”: Wank.

Tool, “10,000 Days”: Balls.

Mastodon, “Blood Mountain”: “Sleeping Giant” and “Capillarian Crest” will kick your arse so hard.

Mark Z. Danielewski, “Only Revolutions”: It ain’t no House of Leaves. It’s probably brilliant, but it’s also off-putting.

Thomas Pynchon, “Against the Day”: It’s Pynchon, but the kind you can read, without agony and sweat, so I can actually recommend this.