We All Get As Miserable As Erika

'drive,' That's The One. I Love Dozens Of Songs By R.e.m., But That's The One, Even Though It Took Me 7 Or 8 Years To Start Liking It.

'american Horror' Goes For A Very Specific Kind Of Seventies Suburban Downer Ambience - 'flowers In The Attic' Paperbacks, Black Sabbath Album Covers And Late-night Flicks Like 'let's Scare Jessica To Death.' It Even Has 'go Ask Alice'-era Urban Legends.

On 'idol,' Steven Tyler Will Be Sitting At A Table With Two Other Judges, And Part Of His Job Will Be Keeping His Yap Zipped While They Talk. This Makes No Sense At All, Since Tyler Has Zero Yap-zipping Skills.

Being A Pop Fan Is A Lot Like Catholic Devotion - Lots Of Ritual, Lots Of Ceremony... We Touch The Icon To Enter The Sacred Space, Genuflecting To Reliquaries And Ostentatoria That Make Something Splendid Of Our Most Secret Desires And Agonies.

In Their Heyday, The Pet Shop Boys Were The Interpol Of The Eighties, Dressing Up To Sing Really Weird Pop Songs About Lust And Loneliness In The Big City. They're Low-pro Now, Not Retro-worshipped In The Manner Of Depeche Mode, New Order, Or The Cure, But You Can Hear The Reason Why - These Guys Are Too Sad.