American Brandstand tracks mentions of consumer brands in songs in the Billboard Hot 100. It's interesting to see which products get mentioned the most; Mercedes is currently on top with 29 mentions so far in 2003. (This week, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, and Li'l Kim all give props to the Benz.) Burberry and Puma round out the top three. Question: is this typically admiration of the product, projecting an image, or product placement? (Via Slate.)
posted by Vidiot on Apr 4, 2003 - 21 comments

Billboard on top of family eatery is sexually suggestive, and draws complaints from residents. What kills me is they're changing the sign to an "equally controversial" ad in two months. Here's a picture of the sign. Should the sign stay or should it go?
posted by Kevin Sanders on Jul 9, 2002 - 27 comments

A great music editor passes on. Timothy White, editor-in-chief of Billboard Magazine, died suddenly of a heart attack today. He was a fixture of music journalism. He and his bow-tie will be missed.
posted by aeiou on Jun 27, 2002 - 4 comments

For the first time in forty years, there is not a single UK act on the Billboard top 100 singles chart. A lot of people argue that it's because manfactured crap is interchangable, so there's no need to import it, but plenty of American artists still make it in the UK, so I'm inclined to believe there's something else at work here. Any ideas as to what that something might be?
posted by aaron on Apr 24, 2002 - 71 comments

Nick Hornby reviews the Billboard Top Ten. Quote: We have been told often enough that to disapprove of gangsta rap is pointless, middle class, and smug, like disapproving of modern urban life itself. Nevertheless, one is entitled to feel queasy about the enthusiasm for and endorsement of the gangsta life audible on "The Saga Continues . . ."
posted by acridrabbit on Aug 21, 2001 - 19 comments

Highway to Hell billboard depicts Satan giving McVeigh his lethal injection. This is an advertisement for the same Dallas radio station that employs the DJs responsible for the recent Spears/Timberlake car-crash rumor. What's the difference between political propaganda and savvy demographic pandering? Via davezilla.com
posted by johnnyace on Jun 18, 2001 - 16 comments

Is the Boss really in charge? Tucows is -- supposedly legally -- posting tracks from his early album, "Before the Fame" (though that sounds like a title applied after the fact to *me*).
posted by baylink on Jun 16, 2000 - 2 comments