[Glice]

Excellent. I don't want this response to be taken in anything other than the spirit of playful debate (lately it's become obvious that this needs to be made clear, not a dig at Messr Atari).

First, I think pop music has eluded comprehension on a technical level - we the pop consumers, don't really care about whether they can play their instruments. We just care about whether they look good as they mime them.

Second, we buy into marketing, and don't really care about what the performer (note: Performer, not musician) is really . I often feel very alienated from a lot of people because I just couldn't give a shit about what a person is really like, I am the perfect consumer in a lot of ways - The questions for me (in terms of pop consumption) are: Does it entertain me? Do I like enjoy the music on any level? Perhaps most importantly - is this music about being a pure product, or is it hiding its engagement with commerce under faintly ridiculous notions of 'real' or 'technical ability'?

Within pop music, I happen to think the two Avril albums have got lots of great songs. I think the same of Girls Aloud. It's very simple music, yes. But I have enough difficult music to last me about three lifetimes. Pop is wonderful, Avril is wonderful, and I have managed not to really make a point.

Oh, and the most important thing about Avril - she really pisses off 'alternative' people of every stripe, which can only be to her eternal credit.

*Edit: Just in case anyone wants to accuse me of pseudo-postmodern irony - this isn't Irony, this is pure enjoyment in spite of the sticky nature of engaging with 'pure' product, not because of.