Mylene: Queen of Pop

This week in the fishwrap, Charles Taylor makes the case for French pop, through the lens of the latest Mrs. Johnny Depp album. Below, longtime Phoenix critic Michael Freedberg, whom we consider our resident expert on the topic, provides his own master-class in variete francaise -- one that is necessarily weighted towards Mylene Farmer, who is the Reed to his Bangs, the Kixx to his Eddy.

The Ontario-born, London-dwelling, math-whiz musician Dan Snaith has been kicking around the electronic music world since 2000, when he released an EP called People Eating Fruit, under the moniker Manitoba. Originally, music was a part-time gig, pursued on the side while Snaith taught and pursued a PhD in math.

What goes around (goes around, goes around) comes all the way back around

We have no idea who pitched who on having the Stooges covering Madonna's "Burning Up" at the RNRHOF induction last night, but we want to have this person inducted into the Rock N Roll hall of fame, and quickly. Ironically, we missed this live last night because we were watching a rerun of last year's "Fashion Rocks," on which the Stooges play "I Wanna Be Your Dog" -- and, later on the same show, the Gossip turn the end of their "Yr Mangled Heart" into an impromtu disco cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog."

Thanks to Tia, our new obsession has a name, and it is LEMUR. Now you and your DJ friends can rock the same ridonculously fantastic super-futuro interface that Daft Punk rocks up in the pyramid, and that Thom Yorke is talking about buying. List price: a mere three grand. One device -- scratch that, one enormously fucking cool device -- that'll handle "sequencers, modular synthesizers, virtual instruments, VJ software, 3D animation tools and light control."

We caught up with our old friend Stacy Jones (Letters to Cleo, Veruca Salt, American Hi-Fi) at the tail end of his current freelance gig, which just happens to be the biggest pop tour in the universe -- let's just say he's now the Tommy Lee of tweenpop.

It's official: Only Living Witness will play a reunion show at the Middle East downstairs on June 14. Support bands are still being finalized. Tickets are not yet onsale, we'll update as soon as more info becomes available. For a comprehensive history of the band, read James Parker's interview with frontman Jonah Jenkins here, on the occasion of Century Media's reissues of OLW's two studio albums.

P&N: Putting the amp back in ampersand

DOWNLOAD: Pretty and Nice, "Grab Your Nets" (mp3)

Pretty and Nice? No and no, actually -- ugly and raucous is more like it -- but they've got "Your New Favourite Band" written all over 'em. This Boston-via-Vermont foursome (or maybe threesome? MySpace is inconclusive) infuses thrill-crazed power-pop with the mad-noisy, chimp-like energy of juvie-hardened teenage degenerates.

P&N: Putting the amp back in ampersand

DOWNLOAD: Pretty and Nice, "Grab Your Nets" (mp3)

Pretty and Nice? No and no, actually -- ugly and raucous is more like it -- but they've got "Your New Favourite Band" written all over 'em. This Boston-via-Vermont foursome (or maybe threesome? MySpace is inconclusive) infuses thrill-crazed power-pop with the mad-noisy, chimp-like energy of juvie-hardened teenage degenerates.

The Fed this, the Fed that. Metal Americans know the real reason the Dow Jones took a jump yesterday: it was the dude ringing the fucking bell, yo. See?

We love Dee Snider. Here he is describing his qualifications for appearing on the new CMT reality series Gone Country:

And here he is putting his money where his mouth is: hosting this ridonculous benefit down in Providence for the families affected by the Station hair-metal fire, on a once-in-a-lifetime bill featuring half of Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Twisted Sister, Stryper, Kellie Pickler, Tesla, Twisted Sister, and the dude from Stain'd. Get your tickets now.

The first time you hear the OUTBURST's "New York Surprise," you'll wonder if this is it, the one: the absolute worst song you've ever heard. By the 20th time, you'll be singing the out-of-tune chorus -- "You fucking did it/I know you did it!" -- to everyone you meet. In just over a month, the Outburst, a trio of teenage Dropkick Murphys fans from Quincy, have gone from anonymous MySpace geeks to 2008's first big worldwide web meme.

Belated big-ups to the Karmaloop dudes for doing a holiday party the way holiday parties need to get done: grab the biggest club-rap phenomenon of the year, bring her to town for her Boston debut, and allow her to play her Kanyeezy-approved underground hit not once but twice.