Some of you may remember my Top 100 singles of the 90s, which I ran on this site six years ago. They have been off the site for a long time now, because they’re not hugely representative of my tastes now. Occasionally I wonder what I should do […]

Tim Finney, from an ILM thread about reggaeton.
I often think about a post Josh Kortbein wrote on his blog about how he couldn’t remember the moment when he got used to house beat, but somehow it had quietly gone from seeming oppressive, rhythm[…]

Kim Wilde – “Cambodia”
Mark S says:
Writing a chart-song with this title in 1981 – Year Zero was 1978, as punky types (=me) liked boringly to remind everyone – sets some kind of dunderhead record, you’d think, for […]

Public Enemy – “Fight The Power”
Steve M says:
Clearly I picked this because I was worried there wouldn’t be enough rockist rap in the list. I still think this is their best and most succinct single, although I know the genera[…]

In the fast moving world of children’s toys and games, the humble board game is often seen to be a dying breed. How can the fun provided by slipping, sliding and breaking your nose on a plastic mat in Twister dare to compete with the joys of th[…]

i’m too angry and too sad about what’s happened in and near new orleans – and what’s been allowed to happen – to try and be clear about everything i’m feeling today, or anything, really: i always wanted to know mor[…]

The JAMMS – It’s Grim Up North (Part 1)
N. says
This record is ten minutes long (exactly). On it, Bill Drummond reads out the names of (approximately) 70 towns in Northern England over a beserk techno backing, containing bursts of train s[…]

What is the rockistest idea ever? Well, we have to acknowledge that MTV’s Unplugged notion set a good mark, but I think the Don’t Look Back series of gigs in London, which started with the Stooges at the Hammersmith Apollo last night, set[…]

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2 in a Tent – “When I’m Cleaning Windows (Turned Out Nice Again)”
Will there be mandolins, a suspicious potential punter asked before the last Poptimism. I replied that no, there would not be mandolins, but I was planning to p[…]