Pop Life

This is an admission that comes with a bit of embarrassment: I've become a consumer of pop music. We're not talking about my Annie phase, this is full-on consumption of Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. And, it's kind of fun. I've been a bit of a music snob over the past few years (which reading Pitchfork does to you), so I haven't been listening to much radio besides my beloved Current - the best station beaming out of Minneapolis, MN.

Here, I really don't have much of a choice when I'm out and about. Basically all the young Tunisians I know have appointed themselves honorary DJs. Be it my neighbor blasting David Guetta or my student Yasmeen somehow turning her cell phone into a jukebox during break (I am now bonding on music with a 13-year old girl - also these new phones have speakers, it's a crazy world we live in), I hear a lot that I don't necessarily choose to hear.

Slowly, I've been worn down. It's partially the fault of Radio Mosaique, which is standard in any cab, even if the driver is 60. My two favorites are also the biggest songs of the summer here: Love is Gone, by David Guetta, and Umbrella, by Rihanna (except for that awful Jay-Z intro).