Tuesday, November 25, 2003

It's a Beautiful World

Listening Underworlds "Cowgirl" today at work. That's the one where they keep singing about "a razor of love," and it's off their Best of which just came out, and includes big hits (for a dance band) "Cowgirl", "Born Slippy", "Jumbo", "King of Snake", and "Two Months Off." All great songs, although I'll admit the music is a bit obscure. Unlike, say, Eminem or Britney Spears it requires a little effort to find. It takes effort to find such other generally unheralded treasures as Pepe Deluxe, DJ Me DJ You, The Beautiful South, Fantastic Plastic Machine, and the Cocteau Twins.

But you can find Eminem and Britney Spears in every third car stereo.

I comment on this because Mona Charen wrote an article today entitled "I Hate Popular Culture." She spends the first part of it annoyed that much of news caters to the lowest common denominator and that the Democratic Party hasn't run Al Sharpton out of the party on a rail. She then makes this one line comment. "Popular music? Whom do you prefer: Eminem or Britney Spears?"

Well, I chose neither, Ms. Charen, and neither should you. Visit Borders and look around; you'll see hundreds of CDs that don't have either Eminem or Britney Spears performing on them.

It's interesting that she doesn't go into television (other than TV news) or books or films or the theater or anywhere really. Just the sordid quality of news and Britney Spears/Eminem. I don't know if that is because those areas don't have any problems or because they aren't worth even bringing up.

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