I have something in common with the Chinese Ministry of Culture.  I don’t like the Backstreet Boys, either.

But unlike the Chinese governent, I merely consider them mere nuisances, not a threat to my personal safety and security.  Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have also been classified as potentially destablizing.

All this information comes through a list of one hundred songs ordered purged from the Chinese interwebs after failing some kind of government screening.  The official reason is that these songs were harming national culture security.  They violate the “poor taste and vulgar content” directives, they say.

First of all, I promise to try and figure out how to best opitimize this site for mobile browsing, especially on phones.  There’s gotta be a way to make this look prettier on iOS and other mobile devices.  Your requests are being taken to heart.  (Anyone know how that works with a Squarespace site?  Email me.)

Anyway, here’s a fast hit of music news to kill some time before that magical time of 5pm Friday

Earlier this week, I was asked to contribute to a soon-to-be-released documentary entitled Radio Wars. And yes, given the subject matter and the opinions inolved, “war” seems to be a very apt word.  

Here’s a clip of me from the film.  (I promise I’ll let this whole subject go after this weekend.  Maybe.  I’m just so damned passionate about it…)

Radio programmer Dominique Garcia’s move to introduce a non-human DJ–i.e. a modified computer program originally purchased for $200–to the line-up of a station in Austin, Texas, has been the source of much radio industry talk over the last ten days.  I’ve been especially critical of this move because–well, you can go back and read for yourself.

Last night, I received an email directly from Dominique.  In the spirit of fairness and equal time, I present his email unedited and without comment.

urricane Irene is already taking its toll on music.  As a result of the state of emergency in New York, The Roots and Gogol Bordello have cancelled shows.   Meanwhile, some Dave Matthews Band dates have been postponed.

The Arctic Monkeys have announced that they’re going to take a two-year break from recording.  This comes just a couple of months after they release their Suck It and See album.  They could use some  time off, but a cynic might wonder if this is a ploy to get more people out to gigs.

Sean Ross is a New Jersey-based radio consultant with whom I’ve worked in the past.  He has a love of many things Canadian.  He told me he was once stopped at customs in Edmonton because the officer didn’t believe that he’d fly all that way just for a vacation.

Sean’s Canadian interests extend deep into music.  Check out what he wrote in this week’s Ross on Radio column.