Lazy Friday reading

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

It's a quiet and sunny Friday here in the land of popsa, and I've been catching up on my reading. Although I'm sure half of you refuse to read the Guardian's pop coverage on principle and the other half read it with needing me to tell you, here are a few recent things that I enjoyed.

Interview/profile with Sly Stone: http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/08/sly200708

I am definitely one of those people for whom the Sly myth looms large. Listening to his stuff manages to conjure up some of that 60s magic for me, even though most of the time nowadays it makes me cringe. There's nothing earth-shattering, but it's nice to at least take a little bit out of the mystery of the last, oh, 20 years of his life.

Kitty Empire: "We won the indie wars - but at what price?"
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/07/we_won_the_indie_wars_but_at_w.html

Did I miss the discussion of this? I guess we talk about or around it all the time, and I'm not sure Kitty's post add much to what we already know. Are we "embattled and tribal?"

How Billie Jean changed the world
http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/comment/story/0,,2124636,00.html
I kind of vaguely remember this period, and so enjoyed someone writing a bit of big-picture cultural context around it.

"Billie Jean was groundbreaking because it introduced the idea that a single must be accompanied by a high-production video - preferably by someone who is a bit of a hoofer - thereby transforming a run-of-the-mill song release into an "event."

When did this period end (and why?)

Anyone else read anything interesting recently?

Comments

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

what emotional needs does "indie" fulfil?

JANGJANGJANG me girlfriend's left me

shurely?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yes of course! BUT if so why are those needs much more, um, needy now?

I blame Facebook.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

oh i see, i thought you meant Indie, not indie...

this modern so-called indie is just "rock" though, most of it Adult-Orientated...

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

To me that's really kind of the same question as why emo is so popular now. Mostly emo seems to be just the same kind of whiney mopey ness of indie, with a strain of violence and mascara. I try to go back to when I was in high school and wonder whether a) all the "cool kids" would've been emos, or whether b) the world would've been turned upside down and i would've been be a "cool kid" and they'd have been the oustiders.

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

According to Ms Empire's "beddable" link, this should actually be JINGJANGJONG wtf?