Friday, March 11, 2005

Pop Goes The Sound Projector

Issue #13 of the U.K. magazine The Sound Projector (subtitled "A Hexagonal Conundrum") recently turned up in my P.O. Box, with a secret toy surprise in the center. While the bulk of the 170 page journal is devoted to thoughtful reviews of experimental, noise and black metal releases (and interviews with makers of esoterica), the contributors have a weakness for mainstream pop, and unlike many people with extremely "cool" taste in music, they're completely unashamed.

I'm pleased to say the Scram gang can take some of the blame for this happy circumstance. Inspired by our 2001 anthology Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth (especially Pete Bagge's essay "Raiding Hannah's Stash"), with "The Chartists" (pages 76-84) Sound Projector staffers write passionately on recent prefab tracks that skewer their hearts. The magazine's British perspective helps put B*Witched, East 17 and Kylie into perspective, and Harley Richardson's extended meditation on "The Macarena" is especially revealing. Pop fiends will want to stay tuned for features on the Monkees and Brian Wilson's SMiLE, and then it's back to the sugar-free underground with a review of Raundelunas 'Pataphysical Revue. -Kim Cooper

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