"For all the influences and echoes in his work, O'Brien is an original, and like all originals, he is creating his own category. He takes the persona of hapless schlemiel and wraps it in a layer of self-aware irony that goofs on the very idea of stardom, of television itself -- and that, in turn, is wrapped in a layer of happy-to-be-here ingenuousness, both because O'Brien knows the limits of irony and because he is happy to be here."

a little wordy, but right on point

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eagerly awaiting:

a perfect circle - thirteenth step (Sept. 16)
atmosphere - seven's travels (Sept. 23)
aesop rock - bazooka tooth (Sept. 23)
non-prophets - hope (Oct. 7)