New Yorker poetry editor Paul Muldoon recently joined a man in an orange tie to critique Ke$ ha's song Tik Tok. This was amusing, because Paul Muldoon is a distinguished academic and Tik Tok is a pop song about "boys trying to touch [your] junk," sung by a woman who spells her name with a dollar sign. Muldoon likened the lyrics to a line from King Lear, which was also funny, because King Lear is a big, important play that has nothing to do with Tik Tok. Whether or not you understand these subleties going in will influence how much you enjoy the clip. It took us several viewings (12) to catch all the nuances, but once we did we enjoyed ourselves, almost as much as Muldoon and his co-host. That the interview took place six months ago and the magazine put it on Twitter today is proof preciousness never goes stale.

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Ray Gustini