Our 20 Most Popular Stories of 2012, 20 - 11

Only a handful of pop-chart-related phrases have entered the universal lexicon. "Number one with a bullet" has infiltrated the brains of people who don't even know who Casey Kasem is, or what "bullets" in Billboard are (briefly: little circles around numbers on the chart that show a record is gaining points). And of course, "Top 40" is universally understood, not just as a list of hit songs, but also a radio format and an entire strain of hegemonic pop. But no chart-related phrase seems to have struck the general public's fancy like "one-hit wonder." It's catchy--not unlike the songs it denotes--and it's adaptable. We've seen it applied to politics and business.

... this caused the doctor to diagnose him with "being a cynical asshole." Which is a common condition in cultural commentary these days, and not just because music's a bigger wider world these days--as anyone who's ever looked at a Google Analytics report knows, saying something sucks can get pageviews, laughter, and "right on, man"s more easily than honestly engaging with things and looking at them from a holistic, honest perspective.

Well, you hit the nail on the head. [Cobain] had to disown it because of his punk rock roots, tried to keep some of that authenticity. When he finished that record, he loved it. They loved it, they wanted to be ambitious. Like I said, they rehearsed for months. They wanted to make a tight, great-sounding, really well-focused album. He would make these lists of things he would do when he was a millionaire and famous. So it was that conundrum of wanting it and not wanting it at the same time.

[Andre 3000] could've been on any song he wanted to. I gave the motherfucker about five songs, but I guess he was just too busy. He said he had to do some Gillette shit [room erupts in laughter]. No for real. He said he had some contractual obligations.