Great article on Stephen Merrit. 69 love songs one of my fav albums of all time. saw them a few years ago in the HQ. Fanatstic gig

Those are some great finds, particularly the latter two (which is a pity because I'd really like to see a decent article on concerts selling out so fast and what can be done about it). Thanks for posting them.

I liked the first 2 but I thought the last article was utter toss. Critics talking about the art of criticism has to be the most pointless thing on earth. The main point seemed to be "I like pop music and I'm not ashamed of it, here's a few thousand words to back up my point", no one needs to justify their taste to anyone, you like what you like. I hope the writer falls down some stairs.

Didn't read the last one but was surprised at the campaign against Stephen Merritt by those two twats. It's simply ridiculous. Like Magnetic Fields but haven't really managed to plough my way through 69 Love Songs in its entirety. Saw it for €9.99, said i'd give it a lash at that price and enjoyed some of the tunes but i don't think i've made it to disc 3 yet. I must revisit it. Actually, really like the recent "i" album from them. Didn't realise he was gay either. I'm a wiser man thanks to your posting Una!

the website that they came from is my FAVOURITE online. They have the best articles about everything www.slate.com keep an eye on it because it really is awesome.

here's a follow-up to those http://www.slate.com/id/2141360/

thanks for the heads up !!!