Emma Carmichael · 08/01/12 04:00PM

The Nation of Michael Phelps now has 19 Olympic medals, tied for 57th in the all-time Summer Games list. India has 21.

Today's Song: Cooly G featuring Simbad 'Landscapes'

Rich Juzwiak · 08/01/12 03:45PM

This song has been around for a while, but England's Cooly G released her full-length, Playin' Me, on which "Landscapes" appears just a few weeks ago. It's a stunning piece of work that has me racking my brain for a new term to replace the horribly clunky, barely descriptive "post-dubstep" label. (Don't even get me started on "bass music.") Cooly describes her work as having a "deep house tribal dubstep vibe," but that pile-on of words doesn't reflect her sound's sparse elegance. There's also a dash of neo-soul — her approach to songwriting reminds me a lot of Joi's "Sunshine & the Rain," in that many of her songs consist of just a few chanted lines. "Landscapes" is one of them. Instead of sounding undercooked it is hypnotic.

Think Piece About Writer's Retweet of Tweet About Writer Marks New Pinnacle of Self-Referentiality

Hamilton Nolan · 08/01/12 01:43PM

Once upon a time long ago, blogs were criticized for making us all more narcissistic and self-obsessed. Then, of course, Twitter came along. And now, the fabled "third wall" of self-referentiality has been breached: a lengthy blog post pondering the implications of a writer's retweet of a tweet about the writer's writing. Tell me: what do you think—about me?

Justin Bieber Gets His Ass Kicked in His New Video

Rich Juzwiak · 08/01/12 01:05PM

Those involved in the making of this had to be aware of how cathartic it would be for the haters to see Michael Madsen annihilate Justin Bieber, right? The video for the dubbabystep "As Long as You Love Me" is a gift.