links for 2009-12-02

"At one point, Eva Tanguay not only might have knocked Eminem off the charts, she might have simply knocked him out. Jody Rosen’s fabulous piece in Slate alleges that “from 1904 until the early 1920s, Eva Tanguay was the biggest rock star in the United States.”"

"Sasha Frere-Jones unpacks Susan Boyle's hit record, emphasis mine: "One reason that Boyle’s success might not have much to do with popular music is that, compared with television, popular music isn’t that popular.""

Brilliant.