I hate the phrase 'perfect pop', and indeed the first time I ever pitched an article to the student newspaper (as opposed to writing half-hearted reviews) was a column objecting to peacon's use of the phrase to describe The Lightning Seeds. Because his article was written under a pseudonym I didn't realise I was having a go at the editor of the paper. I think I suggested that great pop was never pure and rarely simple (i.e. reversing the L Seeds' title 'pure and simple' for anyone not familiar with their work) and advised readers to check out Pram, Laika and Disco Inferno. I still think my argument stands up, even if my taste was at fault.

I think what I hate about the phrase is what Frank describes as the second use of it, which for me taints the first, by implying a kind of walled-off nostalgic recreation of the past, which somehow derives some value from its isolation: 'perfect pop' never means "Straight Out of Compton", does it?