J-Poptimists to the Rescue

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

This song crashes in at the end of Syndromes and a Century by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (copy and pasted for accuracy) and has wiggled its way into my brain for at least the next couple days. What is it? (Note: actual song is "Fez (Men Working)," not "(Men Walking)" as listed.)

The Last John Peel Post

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I was going to do a poll on the 1982 All Time Festive Fifty but got bored about 5 songs in. It's an astonishing thing in its way though: of the 1976 tracks (also 'all-time'), NOT A SINGLE ONE survived - a handful were later reinstated for the 2000 all time poll. If you want a bit of "punk was year zero" evidence this is surely it EXCEPT I still don't think we've got to the heart of the Peel question, beyond "was he good?" or "was Burchill good?" or whatever:

- How much did he CONVERT his audience to punk and how much did he get a completely new one?

- And the really big question (for me): how come he couldn't then convert his audience to the kind of wideband listening we were talking about on Matt's post?

And the same goes for the NME too, or Pitchfork now to an extent - why is it difficult for tastemakers to move their audience's tastes? It's a question about elitism really - the difference between "knowing what's best" and "knowing what's best for you", the latter being virulently reacted against. Should media gatekeepers - like Peel or the NME - try to educate their listeners and where do the listeners say "that's enough thanks"?

Insert 'Allo 'Allo joke 'ere

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The Grills seem to be following the Sugababes' current trend of sticking sequins on their faces, and why not - not much else is going on.

OK in order of h0ttness:
1. Nadine (swoon)
2. Cheryl (good hair)
3. Kimberley (hmmm)
4. Nicola! Dude! Whitewash is not a substitute for make-up even in C18th Paris!
5. Sarah (aiyee woman, bad hair, bad hair, someone fetch the frizz-ease)

IN SUMMARY: better video than 'Call The Shots', but not as good as 'Sexy!NoNoNo'.