What I’ve Been Listening To[…]

I’m really intrigued by recent comparative studies of music and language processing; it seems that linguistics has more in common with musical rules than was previously thought. There are a lot of links: language and music are both universal; t[…]

Guest Editor Wanted: As you might know I’m getting married on November 1st, and I’ll be away for a couple of weeks after that. Popular will go on hiatus, and my co-editors will of course not be affected at all, so the other FT weblogs wil[…]

Mathematics and the people who inhabit it: this is the beginning of a nice idea (portraits of three mathematicians each with their favourite equation), though the webpage resolution does the algebra no favours, and I wish artist Lynn Hughes had taken[…]

Robin celebrates the British media ignoring Nigella Lawson picking an Eminem track on Desert Island Discs. But Alexis Petridis says that people did make a fuss (and that it was a Dr.Dre track). Who will lead me through this web of lies?!? On the face[…]

COMMENTARY CONUNDRA
COME DRINK WITH ME
Commentators: Bey Logan, Cheng Pei Pei, Marsha Yuen
Now here’s an example where there’s a brilliant commentary going on but jeez, the technical aspects! Logan’s a UK born Hong Kong film freak w[…]

2003 – Year Of The ‘KICK ME’ Sign: As if critics weren’t having an easy time anyway (blah blah manufactured pop idol blah blah White Stripes blah blah bling bling blah blah dance is dead), the world of pop is trying its hardes[…]

BRITNEY SPEARS FT. MADONNA, “Me Against the Music”
who knew the maternal instinct was so strong in madonna? oh, sure, the named might’ve tipped us off, but if her foray into children books wasn’t enough (and for some, it appar[…]

I saw Insomnia recently on DVD, and it’s a well-made film that manages to quieten both Robin Williams and Al Pacino. The Christopher Nolan connection becomes obvious after you’re told about it: To Pacino’s insomniac detective, awake[…]

When I was smaller I once read an album review of a New Album by A Beloved Rock Band. It was not a positive review, in fact it was a very bad one. It concluded by saying that Beloved Rock Band had frittered away what little natural talent they had po[…]