Peaches, The Bowery Ballroom NYC, 26 July 2001
Making fun of Peaches is beside the point because she gets it over with immediately, like taking off her clothes. Like her costume, your titters are mostly gone by the first song. The show Peaches put on[…]

THE BETA BAND – Hot Shots II
It’s a fantastic summer day, a Saturday to boot, somewhere between warm and hot on the heat scale. Me, I find myself in the midst of suburban splendor, laying on a deck chair beside the pool. Mom, Dad: Love ya[…]

(Some old FT editorials resurrected from the archives for you…)
July 10, 2001
My illustrious publisher is currently off enjoying himself in the company of Greek goats (or something like that), so here’s a brief note saying that a variety […]

1. It’s June 8 2001 and I’ve a few hours to kill in London, so I walk. It’s a sunny day: most people look bored and in a hurry. Every now and then I stop and pick up one of the daily papers, which are all full of election talk. Arit[…]

The eternal quandary: how to follow up a landmark debut album? If you’re Basement Jaxx, the answer is simple: make another one just as spectacular. It’s hard to believe that it’s now two years since Basement Jaxx’s Remedy seem[…]

We live in the future, baby, you and me. How does this make you feel? The centuries have been erected with this very goal in mind, thousands of years of popular culture have been building up to this. Time had been enjoying a prolonged childhood for t[…]

Hi, I’m Michael Daddino.
Starting at 6AM, June 21st, and continuing for 24 hours, I will chronicle one day’s worth of MTV — videos, karaoke, Real World episodes, screaming teenagers, wrestling and Mandy Moore — blogging my imp[…]

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 […]

Moulin Rouge and Conservative Chaos 
It’s official. The world-historic death of the musical film is upon us. It’s been said before, but usually followed by some caveat about how (Woody Allen/Lars Von Trier/Rivette/Parker&Stone/etc.)[…]

“Ms. Jackson” and the Pop Eternity
What is it that makes “Ms Jackson” such a splendid pop song? It’s the chorus, and the backwards-shuffle drums, yes, but it’s also the story the track tells. Or, more accurately, t[…]