Your office space reference killed me dead in the middle of all that.
Yessss to Jonathan Hischke [and Josh Klinghoffer]. For my money, that's the best Hella album. It's the only material I've heard by a band that gets into the same zone as The Mars Volta, even though it's totally distinct stylistically. Pedals and Effects is theeee life. Juan and Nick are very high in my pantheon of rad musicians, as is Annie Clark of course. That story is super cool, I think I heard a whisper of it but never the whole situation. I agree about the method, there is something to Actor and Strange Mercy that the followups didn't quite capture, although it's still stellar work. Also we might have to have a fistfight or something, because I'm all about Houses of the Holy.
I remember hearing a while back that Juan was trying to put together a group with Annie, Kimbra, and Deantoni Parks. One can only dream how insane that project would have been.
Shut. Up.
Annie kimbra Deatoni (TECHNOSELF!!!) and Juan would be the be all end all supergroup to end all be all end all supergroups.