The Illiterate

This year has been too slow to do any real trend spotting (four and a half months in, and only 17 new records have appeared in the top ten), but based on this week’s new entry I think it’s fair to say that it hasn’t been a very good year for women–women with any self-respect, that is. First came the All-American Rejects, urging their fans to sing along as they kissed off their ex; then Lady GaGa’s poker-faced heroine, targeting men for bouts of unemotional rough sex; then came Flo Rida with his paean to strippers and/or oral sex; then Beyonce, nominating her lover/husband for sainthood; and now, this week, 3OH!3, whose tastelessness far exceeds their musical grasp. Even in a slow year, when you’re talking about nearly a third of the records to make the top ten, I think that qualifies as a trend.