apparently it's really funny when mariah carey goes bonkers, and yes, that's true. but i have more sympathy for her than this bunch of tossers (also interesting that everyone wants to deny that she has put out three or four classic hits):


""I'm having a Mariah Carey." -- Usher in US magazine on his stress level

On an episode of Will and Grace a character asked how bad something was, and the answer came: "Mariah Carey in Glitter bad."

Saturday Night Live's Jimmy Fallon used it in his "Weekend Update" when he said the U.S. military was searching for Osama bin Laden in all the places no one would go: "Like theaters showing Mariah Carey's film."

And, even actor Brad Pitt got in on the action in Vanity Fair when he talked about his hard time with success, saying, "I thought about pulling a Mariah Carey, [but went through 18 months of therapy instead].""

(from cdnow)

shimon and andy c: the future of drum'n'bass is novelty big beat.

i don't buy ash records anymore but burn baby burn was the year's fourth best punk-pop hit!

mya - case of the ex

well it's obvious isn't it. features the best middle-eight-type section in all of r'n'b (and there are some shit-hot middle-eights around at the moment!). features mya turning in a stealier vocal than her usual (excellent) winsomeness, and sounds even more heartbreaking as a result. features genius unexpected synth strings in the chorus and nasty swizz beats-influenced drum patterns. features mya conceding to every rule in the cyber-soul big book of rulez, and completely transcending them all, so it's the best thing ever.

key moment: all of the middle-eight-type section!

jay-z - izzo (hova) / jadakiss - we gonna make it

inseparable for me, as club smash summer jams which both use the 'glorious soul loop + "what i represent" lyrics = anthem' equation. jigga drops ultra-quotable, ultra-confident, self-justifying fuck-you rhymes, although the mood is less decadent than big pimpin' or i just wanna love u. i think this may be why it swaggers more than that stuff: it sounds like he loves having to prove his street credentials again, that he still has a connection to the life before success after spending a while bloating his lyrics with the present. this works out as more inclusive, easier to identify with than a lot of tracks from the past. and the chorus is catchy as all fuck! (nb: let's all stop with this 'new sinatra' shit, it's fucking pointless and dull.)

jadakiss is a terrible rapper by comparison, but not even he (plus fellow lox man stylez) can ruin the incredible alchemist-produced beat on we gonna make it. it sounds like french nu-disco at rap tempo, adding a tinge of sadness to jada and stylez's high-life shtick, the repeated "we gon' make it" of the chorus becoming desperate and a little bit scary. (to be fair to jada, i do like the way he lands on. the. beat. occasionally.) its also worth pointing out that when played at serious volume in a club its the hugest-sounding thing i've ever heard (ok, second to the am to pm remix).

key moments: "i do this for my culture/to let 'em know what a nigga look like, when a nigga in a roaster/show 'em how to move in a room full of vultures/industry shady it need to be taken over" - "fuck... the.. frail shit/cuz when my coke come in/they gotta use the scales that they weigh the whales with"

daft punk - digital love

more yearning, this time secretly of the indie-pop let-me-back-in-the-womb, infantile kind. but that's ok, cuz it's wrapped in one of those daft trademark disturbingly perfect disco loops! and how many indie pop songs feature such digi-guitar bad taste? none! i like this partly because i could never have dreamed it up in a million years, and cuz when it wants to it also thumps. the second half of discovery is still shit though.

key moment: the bits featured in the gap ad, of course!