E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG BY TODD SWIFT

Eyewear is a blog that values the rule of law, within reason.  While, a week or so ago, the blog began featuring poems by poets writing on - and often in praise of - the American spy and whistleblower, Edward Snowden, at no time has the editorial policy been to praise or condone illegal activity, even if by a member of the intelligence community.  Indeed, the initial sense that Snowden was a hero has been somewhat dampened by his extraordinary personal flight, from Hong Kong, to Russia, then Cuba, and on to Venezuela, aided by China and Russia along the way.

Friends of human rights should take pause at that odd list of allies, for when an agent of espionage is supported by enemies of America, suspicions must be raised.  What is Snowden up to?  Evading punishment, for one thing - but when Eyewear first praised the man, again, before he had been charged with a crime by the US authorities, he seemed to be stepping forward, as Socrates, and Christ, and Mandela did - a symbol of oppositiona…

There have been several hundred releases this year that have raised eyebrows or popped corks - including David Bowie's startling return to form, Daft Punk's reinvention of Disco, Johnny Fucking Marr's album, Iggy and the Stooges (who almost made this list) the new MBV, the Queens of the Stone Age, and a bunch of NME indie bands whose hype lasted one second, or the near-dead experience of Sabbath's 13.  I do not follow critical or proper trends when it comes to playlists for the summer - what matters is what actually gets the toes tapping, the blood boiling, the groin itching, the heart racing, the skin prickling, the soul lifting.  One knows a great pop or rock song when one hears it, and such choices are entirely and rightly up to each pair of ears.  So, here are 13 Eyewear picks for best songs of the year so far, and for the summer...

CHARLIE XCX - NUCLEAR SEASONS - The most haunting and effective pop song so far in 2013, this recalls the nous of a Madonna at her heig…

The Quick And The Dead
At Easter, we went for lunch And then, in a while, We bought ten red roses And took them to Your parents’ resting-place.
The day was beautiful, and sunlight Feasted on the earth.  Our daughter Placed the roses carefully – We prayed, lingered Too long I suppose – The grave whispered Like a lover Unforgotten.
I dreamt in the night Of stones falling From a wall. I tried To stop them, but they fell anyway. I woke up sweating To the sound of your breathing And rain repeating Like a vow On the window.
Tony Lewis-Jones