The Sunday New York Times was teeming with rockers -- alright two -- acting as writers yesterday. Liz Phair played book critic with a review of Dean Wareham's (Luna, Galaxie 500) memoir, Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance. And OK Go's Damian Kulash played columnist, giving his insight on testifying before the House Judiciary Commitee's antitrust task force on "net neutrality.  Let's get to Wareham's sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, before we delve into net tech geekdom, shall we?

First off, Phair is a deft writer. If and when she hangs up her Fender, I see a Times staffer position in her future. She writes, "He portrays himself as a surprisingly unsympathetic character. He visits a prostitute. He makes people angry. He follows girls home after the show. He snorts coke. No apologies are made because this is, after all, a rock ’n’ roll autobiography...His honesty is challenging and humbling. Yet, for an egghead (Wareham is a graduate of both the Dalton School, the progressive and prestigious Upper East Side preparatory academy, and Harvard)...he seems perfectly happy to partake in whatever recreational opportunities come his way, with enviable disregard for the consequences. Guilty? Not guilty? What are we as a jury to think?" Read her full review here.

After pondering if Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner sit around arguing who was listening to Vampire Weekend first, Kulash breaks down net neutrality for the reader. "If you haven't been following the debate on net neutrality, you're not alone. The details of the issue can lead into realms where only tech geeks and policy wonks dare to tread, but at root there's a pretty simple question: How much control should network operators be allowed to have over the information on their lines?"

Kulash goes on to note that network providers feel they can do whatever they want with the information coming across their fiber optic and coaxial lines.

"Under current law, they’re right. They can block certain files or Web sites for their subscribers, or slow or obstruct certain applications. And they do, albeit pretty rarely. Network providers have censored anti-Bush comments from an online Pearl Jam concert, refused to allow a text-messaging program from the pro-choice group Naral (saying it was “unsavory”), blocked access to the Internet phone service (and direct competitor) Vonage and selectively throttled online traffic that was using the BitTorrent protocol. " Check out his full editorial here.
[New York Times]