Head Scratch: British Museum, Nicki Minaj and VMAs and Jpop rising nationalism

The British Museum finds itself in that strange and uncomfortable place called Now, where its collections scream colonial booty and its funding arrangements leave something to be desired. Case in point: The BM has about 6,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander items in its collection, which it acknowledges as being sensitive and important, but that it won't willingly restitute without a legal push. Its new exhibit which will play out in London and Australia is being financed by BP, which has drawn even more criticism as it tries to paint the petroleum giant as being an ally to indigenous communities in the process. Great in depth look here.

I adore Nicki Minaj. I think she's a lot of fun, but at the same time, I think she's just had her Kanye moment via Twitter, and wouldn't you know it, TayTay is in the thick of it too. While Nicki turned to Twitter to lament her lack of VMA video of the year, and TayTay took it as an affront, we all just carried on scratching our heads about MTV's wisdom. I mean what does MTV have to do with music and music videos anymore? Proof: this round up that collects some of the other brilliant music videos that were completely overlooked.

The Japan of today is a very different place post 3/11. The events of that day have underscored much of what is going on in the national psyche in its attempt to rebuild itself.

One of the ways in which culture contributes is by building esteem, and so in a move that seems reminiscent of the cool Britain of the 1990s, The Japanese music scene is trying to rebuild itself and position itself as being a one stop esteem shop. But there's fears in some quarters that this is being done through a rising element of nationalism. Not perhaps the kind of nationalism that strikes fear into liberal hearts, but with more intense scrutiny on its artists now, the question of how appropriate the new undercurrent is is being raised. More here.