Moving on to a less-icky subject: say, how about Apple's growing street cred in the world of rap? Ha! Admit it! That was the third least likely phrase you ever thought you'd hear us say, right behind "you don't hear enough talk these days about the amazing health benefits of stuffing rabid weasels down your pants" and "something about that Windows GUI just makes us want to go right up and hug it." But seriously, Apple just scored some major props from, of all things, Rap News Direct, which ranked Apple second only to the company's litigational sparring partner Eminem on its list of the "100 most powerful people in music." Word.

Okay, okay, we're just messin' with ya. While the linked article is, indeed, published over at Rap News Direct, it's apparently a slightly cut-down version of the full article which appears in The Independent-- and that "100 most powerful people in music" list was actually compiled by Q magazine, a decidedly non-hip-hop-fixated publication. But while Q may not exactly qualify as the Voice of the Gritty Urban Streets, you can still marvel at the fact that the magazine's editors currently figure the Dynamic Duo of Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive is more influential in the realm of music than the CEO of Clear Channel, the president of MTV, the heads of any of the major recording labels, any ex-Beatles, Bono, Britney, or even-- dare we say it, and risk incurring the full brunt of her wrath?-- industry powerhouse Kylie Minogue.

Whew, no lightning strikes. Okay, we figure it's probably safe to continue.

So why are Steve 'n' Jon ranked so scarily high? Well, according to Q deputy editor Gareth Grundy, "they've really shaken things up with iPods and iTunes. It looks as though they're going to turn out to be as important as the compact disc. It seems to be a seismic shift in the way we consume music." And apparently the "17-strong panel of rock royalty" that threw this list together agrees with him. Gee, and here we thought it was all about GarageBand...

Oh, and just a quick correction just in case any of you get confused by the error: The Independent, being a British publication, feels the need to point out that "the highest placed Brit, at number eight, is Sir Howard Stringer, the rugby-loving, Oxford-educated Welshman who is the chairman and chief executive of the Sony Corporation." Um, excuse us, but as the author points out just nine sentences later, Jonny Ive's tied at number two; where do these people think he hails from, North Dakota?

Meanwhile, though, that whole "taking the rap world by storm" angle wasn't totally facetious: MacMinute notes a WIRED interview with Will Smith-- yes, the Fresh Prince himself-- in which he declares that "the iPod is the gadget of the century" and that he has "every model." See? Props for Apple from the rap world. See? See?