Jan. 24

A few months back I suggested a campaign to start thinking in terms of "pop music" again, instead of all this "underground rock" twaddle. It was a good idea, but unnecessary. Pop is coming back, the best rock is on singles, and as we've seen over the last few months these great singles are actually hitting the charts. And the snowball has hardly begun. I can cite Slade, the Raspberries, the Move, etc., but that stuff doesn't add up to much yet.

The true sign that a change is in the air can be seen in the almost overnight switch I've observed in the hundreds of non-hit singles I hear every month. This time last year they were all lame imitations of dying styles, now an increasing number are the kind of masterfully crafted, sleekly designed singles qua singles we haven�t heard since 1965. This is the year for singles, no doubt about it, and before the changeover is complete there are bound to be a lot of collectors� classics. And never fear, we�ll review �em all, even if they are almost impossible to get.