As you may have noticed, things have been a little slow around these parts. As it happens, I am in fact shutting down this old blog and starting another with its very own domain name. It will be launching February 2. Watch this space.

In the meantime, though, I thought I might offer a clap clap best-of. Enjoy.

- There was the whole Blueberry Boat series, probably this blog's biggest achievement. This is a good summary post.
- I broke down the three levels of pop, probably too briefly. I've done a lot more thinking about this and a considerably longer version of this model should come out at some point.
- A very close reading of MIA's "POP," one of the best things I've written.
- Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" as a relationship you're having.
- Mutual Appreciation, fictional memoirs, realism, and the cultural hegemony of the tragic mode. (Note: nowhere near as bad as it sounds!)
- An analysis of a New Pornographers song, sort of the basis for the Blueberry Boat analysis.
- An in-depth analysis of a Billy Joel picture.
- Going to Coney Island with a 9-year-old seeing the ocean for the first time.
- I saw a crazy-ass Courtney Love concert and did an extensive analysis of the picture of some guy sucking her boob outside Wendy's.
- Home recording: it is awesome.
- A response to Steven Berlin Johnson's Everything Bad is Good For You.
- Things you should know about music critics.
- Reasons not to like music--something we don't talk about enough.
- Bill Clinton and others at the Apollo.
- LCD Soundsystem's "Yeah" and lyrical analysis v. musical analysis.
- The romanticized aesthetic of art-under-repression.
- Borat as a comic model for the 2006 midterm elections.
- The horror of Love Monkey.
- My fake application for the Rolling Stone reality show.
- A discussion of Rock Star: Supernova and the new class of "rock people."
- A fairly nasty review of Liz Phair's Somebody's Miracle.
- Freak-folk and the notion of community in music.
- Why we have payola.
- Fiction writers writing about music v. writers writing about music.
- Five books--a survey that turns all serious.
- Sex advice from a music critic. (Warning: kinda gross.)
- The use of Shania Twain in I Heart Huckabees.
- How to produce a (good) Tori Amos album.
- Kimya Dawson's "Loose Lips".
- Henry Darger and outsider artists as pop artists.
- MIA and Diplo's Piracy Funds Terrorism.
- A response to "The Persuaders," i.e. fear-mongering about advertising.
- The Cross-Manhattan Expressway.
- Playing (inadvertently) at a jambands festival in Scarsdale.
- A Prince concert.
- If music had a league commish.
- Me on my own writing.
- A historical view of American Idol and William Hung.
- More Courtney.
- Pop/rock's debt to art music.
- Nirvana: not sad.
- Genre confluence.
- The Scorpions index.
- Music and work. (And Nirvana and MBV.)
- An artistic bill of rights: the right to irony, etc.
- The dangers of peer critique in early art.
- New York when it has just gotten warm.
- Apolitical political comedy.
- Hole's "Awful." (From old Fluxblog.)
- Strong Bad Sings: a good album.
- "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex": a good song.
- Evanesence: a good band. Sorta.
- "Experimental pop," yikes. This is not what The Unicorns are.
- Mellencamp's "Pink Houses."
- Outkast's "The Rooster."
- A defense of Chuck.
- Bangs: kind of a jackass.
- The Starlight Mints' "Submarine #3."
- Music as actual language poetry.
- Culture and politics: different.


More later. Also, if anyone can find that post where I talk about Courtney Love outside Wendy's, I'd be grateful. UPDATE: Aha, found it! See above.
posted by Mike B. at 7:08 PM 1 comments