Transferrable poptimism?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

When you start exploring a new genre do you make any assumptions about whether the best-known acts/records/choons in that genre are likely to be the best or not? Do you think, for instance, that there must be a load of obscure better records lurking behind the famous ones that the Real Heads know about?

Of course I think for most people the answer is "depends" - but what does it depend on? For instance, here are two statements someone might make:

"James Brown isn't actually that good - there are loads of other obscure funk acts who are way better than him."

"Incantation aren't actually that good - there are loads of other obscure pan pipe moods acts who are way better than them."

I think statement #1 would raise eyebrows and statement #2 would be more generally accepted as likely to be true.

(I started on this train of thought because I realised when answering a thread on sukrat that for all I knew Merzbow might be a huge noise sell out and despised by all the real noise fans.)

MARIAH LAW: PART FIERCE

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to share this photo with you. I think in many ways it encapsulates what an ideal pop star should be like, to me.



Sunglasses at night: check
Lovely unselfconscious beam: check
Amazing coat-dress thing: check
NOT ONE BUT TWO UMBRELLAS: CHECK!

This is also another invitation to talk about the fabulous E=MC², if you like! Today my favourite song is 'OOC' and its incredible ascending bridge.