I learned a few weeks ago that the Pet Shop Boys had released a new album, Fundamental, back in May. I hadn't gotten around to previewing it on iTunes until this morning, and while most of the clips didn't do a whole lot for me, both the music and the lyrics of one track, "Integral," got my ears pricking up. I quickly grabbed a copy, and a quick look at the Wikipedia entry for the album revealed that yes, it is indeed as political as it sounds, and not only that, it's a criticism of Britain's national ID card plans -- and an homage to Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic novel We. I could happily go on...

( But I'll let Neil Tennant do the talking for me. )

Dear music industry,

The world did not need a techno remix of "Listen To Your Heart" complete with the original Roxette vocals, but you have given us one anyway. Why?

Yours truly,
--mlp

If you're a geek, then run, do not walk, to the nearest machine with a sound card and treat yourself to So Much Drama in the PhD, a computer-science gangsta rap that puts MC Hawking to shame. Check out the lyrics here, as well. /i/ is a popular terminal vowel in English, apparently.

I maintain that it is the responsibility of the CS Mafia to respond to this imminent east-coast-west-coast rivalry, since we're pretty much the Wu-Tang Clan of computer science already. We even have the names.