Wow, really? They've had some sleepy years leading up to the movie. I suspect they were spread too thin on the writing staff. But they seemed to have caught fire again this past season because it's been one of the most creative and funniest in years. IMO.
Yeah, I still laugh harder watching basically anything from the first dozen seasons that I've already seen countless times in comparison to watching these new episodes for the first time. I wouldn't go as far as saying they've caught fire, but I think you have a point that this season has been better than the last few. Last Sunday's was a pretty good episode admittedly (My cat's breath smells like cat food!), and that was a pretty creative couch gag. But for the most part, I'll stick with the classics on DVD.
As far as popular music goes, its probably for the best if I don't get started. Death to Auto-Tune!