The Fall And Rise Of Pop, Part I
Back in May, Luke Haines titillated his handfuls of observers by calling for a Pop Strike. His plea – for a week’s respite from musical production and criticism – got him a few column inches, but it […]

CANNIBAL OX – “The F-Word”
Mathematics, wounded Ox style: F1 is of course “fuck”, but F2 is “friend”, and F3 = F1 times F2 = “friction”. This, in other words, is not undie rap so much as indie rap[…]

*NSYNC — “Pop”
EVE (featuring Gwen Stefani) — “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”
R. KELLY — “Fiesta Remix (featuring Jay-Z)”
‘Besides, who’s really looking for a scorching indictment of the world […]

The plot thickens…The Observer carried a report that says that the proposed change has been pushed down the agenda since each department usually has one bill each session and as a result, there isn’t time in the next year for the much vau[…]

The best music article Salon has published in ages, even if (like me), you’re not a big two-step listener. Because its central idea – that critics and musicians simply do not take commercial music seriously enough (either as finished prod[…]

THE STROKES! – “MODERN AGE!”
warning: if you tolerate this, then your children will be next. it’s been ten years now since kurt and co., with their carefully crafted look, changed the face of youth fashion, having kids nation[…]

Starlust: (Primal-Scream.net) world (in)famous primal scream fanfiction. Approach with caution. (via Kate on ILE).[…]

RUSH – “Overture/Temples of Syrinx”
I like Ayn Rand. Granted, I’ve only read two of her novels and nothing in five years or so but I like what I know. As someone who likes both literature and social programs, this has taken […]

9% of Americans don’t know who Paul McCartney is: given name-recognition factors of politicians, historical figures, Jesus, etc. this is actually staggeringly low. Objectivity also compels me to note that the “biggest fans” (undefin[…]

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS – “My Slow Descent Into Alcoholism”
If you’re going to form a band to bring super-fresh power pop values back to indie, would it not be possible to do so without sounding quite so much like “Size Of[…]