Pop Music Focus Group VII- Ballot: today’s the live group in London – and for everyone else, send me your ballots before the 16th December, because I’m going to get the Focus Group up when people can actually still remember the song[…]

So, after dicking about on Soulseek for many weeks, I finally managed to snag a copy of this. And it’s good. A solid, subtle listen that my tinny, underfed computer speakers are doing sonic violence to. I’m sure listened to on speakers[…]

***ATHLETE*** – yes it’s the homepage of ***ATHLETE***, and if you go there it will play you their single “Beautiful”, which I’d never heard until just now. It’s a bit ordinary, especially in its use of dynamics. B[…]

ROBBIE WILLIAMS – “Feel”
This, on the other hand, is dreck. Great opening line, but after that it’s all moody teasing and shuffly drum loops and superstar ennui and no resolutions, just a vague itch in the back of your brain w[…]

(Bedingfield-as-pop-geek-postscript: The sleevenotes for his album kick off with a pastiche of Bilbo’s leavetaking speech from Lord Of The Rings!)[…]

A few years ago a friend of mine had an idea. He had a studio in his bedroom and wanted to make pop music with it, music that would sound as much as possible like the stuff topping the charts but with more personal and idiosyncratic lyrics. I was dou[…]

Bow Wow Wow-See Jungle! See Jungle!, Go Join Your Gang Yeah ! City All Over, Go Ape Crazy !
I was in one of those warehouse garage sale places, with musty clothes, old office furinture, boxes of records and casettes and, of course a life size bl[…]

Tom’s Top Ten
GUNS N ROSES – “November Rain”
SUPERTRAMP – “Give A Little Bit”
VAN HALEN – “Jump”
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – “Let’s Take A Ride”
JUDAS PRIEST – “B[…]

Surely Travis Morrison Isn’t Really Saying That Nobody He Knows Likes Metal Machine Music? – but anyway, good list. One good joke (I won’t quote it), one good idea (the “haunted house” thing), bouncily informal writing. […]

The Real Music Martyrs: our continued look at the records Pop Idol and related projects are keeping out of the Top 40. This week there’s three Pop Idol singles in the charts so three unfortunate records are denied another week’s exposure […]