The reeducation of Lauryn Hill: what makes a pop song? asks Salon (in publishing and royalties terms, that is). Interesting topic, surprisingly dull article. It might be this, says one guy. It might be that. says another. There’s a basic contra[…]

Punk Manifesto: Greg Griffin’s ‘punk manifesto”s core message (summary: Ask Questions) is good and infinitely repeatable. The evolutionary-biology flimflam surrounding it is original, though I wouldn’t agree with him that lyin[…]

us|against|them – an indie music weblog yo: damnation, I should be going to work, yet still the blogging madness continues. This is, as it says, an indie music weblog, and lists a lot of reviews of bands I’m far to out of touch (and Briti[…]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 4
DAVID BOWIE – “The London Boys”(no doubt available on the endless reissues of Bowie’s ’66 stuff)
Existentialist mod panic as Dave arrives in the big city and finds his trousers are cut wr[…]

Pop… Pop… Pop Musik!: A nice person writes in to ask where nylpm’s name comes from. Well, it comes from M’s 1979 hit “Pop Muzik”, and you can find the lyrics here. I had huge qualms about linking to this site becau[…]

The Funky Page: while I’ve not attempted to download any of the RealAudio files, this looks like a nice little personal tribute/resource to “hard funky soul” – includes Pigmeat Markham, James Brown, lots of other good people.[…]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 3
PINK FLOYD – “See Emily Play” (1967 single, found on the album Relics)
England’s psychedelic elite liked to dabble in their country’s folksy, ritual past, and so trendy, trippy festivals […]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 2
XTC – “Beating Of Hearts” (from the album Mummer)
XTC’s early 80s albums are thick, soupy affairs, full of knotty post-punk songwriting and an obsessive concern for England past and present. 19[…]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 1
THE KINKS – “Village Green Preservation Society” (from the album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
The Kinks are where pop “Englishness” starts, as a definable &#8211[…]

An explanatory word: as part of every themed issue, Freaky Trigger catalogues an imaginary mixtape. This month (The English Tape) I’m going to blog it first before collating it into an archivable article. So expect more reviews than normal![…]