DETROIT, MI  [Monday Mar.1.2004]  /WMQT.com/ -- Fans of Dido probably don't know that they've been listening to "dinner party" music. That's what Colin Larkin, editor of the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music calls the soft, harmless, and soothing sounds made by the likes of Dido and Norah Jones.

"They call it jazz but it isn't," Larkin says. "It's not pop, it's not rock and it's not got an urban underground sound, so they have to give it a label. The young market is extremely open to influence and (they) like it because it's something they can put on when their friends come round."

In explaining the popularity of such artists, he uses the metaphor of a forest fire: A 20-something has a dinner party for a few friends, the Charles Shaw begins to flow, and someone asks, "What are we listening to?" Next thing you know, that person is out buying the album, and so on, and so on, and so on.

He adds that 30 years ago, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell were the flave of the day, but the fad eventually died out, portending a somber future for our friend Dido. "I don't think it'll last this time around, mainly because nothing lasts," Larkin predicts gloomily. "Pop is always evolving and going through phases."

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