Lobbing some firelighters

NME headline the Tatu chart position with Teen lesbians Tatu top UK Singles Chart - noticeably not bothering to mention album chart leader Timberlake's age, sexuality...

In other collapse-of-morality news, they've celebrated reaching number one by, erm, getting tattoos. Because they're called Tatu, see? Good job they're not called "A Hard Rogering From A Man To Sort Them Out." Offering Mark Lamarr an easy punchline, Lena said "I was terribly scared of pain and I nearly fainted at the sight of the long, long needle."

We've got this from Simon Tyers, which raised some interesting points:

I found it interesting that Richard and Judy led the charge to get Tatu outlawed - specifically because they made their opinion clear on their show on Wednesday, yet it was only reported on Friday, the same day as, leaving the barely disguised tabloid salivating aside, *two* pieces connected to them appeared in the Torygraph and an interview in the Times, all starting from a hand-wringing position. You wonder how come the self-appointed indier-than-thou (hello, Playlouder) have got behind it, with such obviously wrong lines as "Sugababes-esque" being bandied around. Would the video have been on Q's playlist the week before Christmas had it not featured faux-snogging? Of course it's not actual moral outrage - it's the record company and their Russian manager (a sub-Tom Watkins type who is reputedly first to every barrel requiring scraping and was allegedly inspired by child porn) ensuring everyone knows there's a pop record featuring lesbian teenagers well before anyone has to hear it, as you'll note from the album selling next to nothing and no-one batting an eyelid. Fem 2 Fem, where are you now?

Actually, whatever happened to Tom Watkins? There was a documentary about him in which he went on about how he was developing a computer-aided cyberbabe pop star who was bound to be massive in every territory, but that was a good three or four years ago.

In other news, I might write to them about this, but ahead of the pop papers review I have to point out something from the Q Look! Tits! Special : "Never knowingly exciting, Tom McRae finally did something of note last month when he found himself in the middle of an armed stand-off etc". Actually, last month is technically January and the seige started in December, but indeed something of note did happen to him last month. Namely, Q reckoned of his new album "it's early days, but this remarkable record will be hard to better all year."

Good points all, I have to say... and extra kudos for reminding me of Fem2Fem, who surely must be kicking themselves repeatedly at the moment... "if only we'd gone with tartan skirts instead of bras..."

And there's just this whole odious feeling about the way "lesbian" is being bandied about, as if there's something somehow inherently interesting in lesbianism anymore...