A few more stray thoughts on the discussion that was held here.

In my early teens, I was deeply engrossed in bands like Foetus, Einsturzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle, Test Dept etc, when a friend played me the album ‘Cupid and Psyche 85’ by Sritti Politti and I found myself to my own surprise (if not to say mortification,) to be instantly hooked. Listening to it for the next few months the album’s deeper layers behind its whimsical, sugary pop exterior became slowly apparent to me. It was a master class in subversion, so I thought. Nowadays I know that it always pays to keep an open mind when an artist dons a cloak made of throwaway, whimsical, cheesy or melodramatic fabric: the youtube tags for Scritti’s song ‘Hypnotise’ include the words ‘Jacques’ and ‘Derrida’; their song ‘Oh Patty’ has a trumpet solo by Miles Davis, who himself asked to play on the record; he further endorsed them by covering their ‘Perfect Way’ (from ‘Cupid and Psyche 85’) on one of his own albums.

My taste tends towards pop with underground sensibilities. However, pop that refuses to admit it is pop, such as Radiohead – as I said: nothing but scorn. Watch the video for ‘Oh Patty’. Does anyone think, in light of the song, that Miles Davis would ever have endorsed Radiohead as the supremely relevant, avant-garde artists that half the music-listening world supposes them to be?