Losing its edge

Much hand-wringing about the state of modern popular music of late, it seems - and much of it very much misguided.

First, the Guardian's Alex Petridis has bemoaned the fact that pop and rock have lost their "gay edge". The flaws in his argument have been ruthlessly (and rightly) exposed here. Suffice to say, though, that he conveniently ignores a great deal (though that's something his interviewees do too) while also clinging to the painfully outmoded view that gayness necessarily equates to flamboyance and edginess. One of the industry figures quoted, former Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell, hints that perhaps the real issue is that homosexuality has become normalised - but Petridis is too busy on a nostalgia trip to pay much attention.

On a very similar note, blogger Ross Keen has lamented the alleged disappearance of the political from music. Perhaps the reason is much the same as for the supposed loss of Petridis' "gay edge" - times have changed since that oft-cited high water mark of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and politically anodyne pop music is simply a reflection of the apathy of the general public towards vanilla parties who are practically indistinguishable from one another. And I'm afraid the opinion of anyone who lauds a new Paul Weller album as an attempt to fill the vacuum and address the burning issues of the day is hardly to be trusted. Lest we forget, the Tory-voting turncoat has been peddling middle-of-the-road say-nothing shite for years...

(Thanks to Ben and Dave for the links.)