New Def Leppard Album - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

Ever find yourself longing for the days when Def Leppard released albums with titles that didn't stretch beyond one word? Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize. OK, forget Adrenalize, but you know what I mean.

But Songs From The Sparkle Lounge? How rock and roll is that for …

Wideboys ft Shaznay Lewis - Daddy-O - Single Review

We haven't seen her since All Saints disappeared from the scene in 2006, but Shaznay Lewis is back with a banging* new collaboration with Wideboys.

Daddy-O isn't just catchy. It's one of those songs that gets lodged in your subconscious and won't come out. In fact, …

Wiley - Wearing My Rolex - Single Review

So, you're in the club, chatting up a girl you've met. Next thing she's wearing your bloody Rolex. Happens me all the time, folks, so I'm glad Wiley wrote a song about it.

Seriously though, tracks like this are taking over the charts, and with good reason. There's been …

Coldplay - Violet Hill - Single Review

Well, they promised us different, and I can confirm that Coldplay have delivered something different. But is it good? Hell yeah.

Even speaking as a determined Coldplay hater, Violet Hill sounds dark, foreboding, and heavy. Less of the piano-sturbation, and Chris Martin …

New Coldplay single, Violet Hill, available as a free download

Misery-rockers Coldplay are to release their new single Violet Hill as a free download which will be available from their website from 12:15pm today. Presumably the timing is to coincide with the radio premiere of the song on Jo Whiley's radio show this morning.

Jo's …

Amy Winehouse having an affair? Sorry Blake, you're dumped.

Well, it looks like Mrs Fielder-Civil - otherwise known as Amy Winehouse - has been getting busy while Blakey's been 'incarcerated'. The Sun is reporting that Amy's been involved with two blokes recently - an American photographer called Blake Wood, and her manager's …

Scott Weiland To Release Solo Album?

I can't keep up with this guy! No sooner that being kicked out of Velvet Revolver and rejoining Stone Temple Pilots for a reunion tour, Scott Weiland has plans in the pipeline to release a new solo album.
Apparently alt-rock producer Steve Albini is signed on to twiddle …

UK Pop Chart - 27 April 2008

Anyone else finding it hard to get excited about music at the moment? For every decent track out there, there's a moment of utter dirge. For every American Boy, there's a Heartbeat.
One song I'm loving at the moment is Daddy-O by Wideboys and Shaznay Lewis. It's a …

EMI does battle with MP3Tunes

I read via The Consumerist that EMI is trying to block music lovers from backing up their music to an online storage service at MP3Tunes. Now, from what I'm reading, the service MP3Tunes provides isn't a fanciful view of file sharing - it's actually a secure file …

Readers, let's talk...

Hey, you!
Yes, you. In front of the screen, reading this page.
Who are you?
One of the most frustrating things about running any sort of blog is that I do the writing and you do the reading. I thought it was time we got to know each other.
If you're reading this on the …

Sandi Thom: New album and nothing to say

You'd never know Internet music phenom, Sandi Thom, was about to release a new album, would you? Over the last few weeks, there's been a trickle of pathetic news stories about what a rocker she is and how 'wasted' she's been since she became famous.
Blah blah blah.
I've …

Kanye West - Flashing Lights

You can't keep Kanye out of the charts these days, can you? His latest, Flashing Lights, isn't getting quite as much attention as his collaboration with Estelle, but it's doing pretty well all the same.
Flashing Lights tackles the thorny issue of how famous folks manage …

Madonna to headline Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008

BBC Radio 1 announced today (Monday 21 April) that the station will kick off the 2008 festival season with the biggest female artist on the planet headlining Radio 1's Big Weekend - Madonna.
The event takes place at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent, on Saturday 10 and …

Adele - Cold Shoulder - Single Review

Praise be to Ronson! It wasn't hard to spot the influence of Mark Ronson in Adele's latest single, was it?
There's all of Adele's atmospheric moodiness in this track, but this time it's married to an ambitious quasi-military snare drum, soaring strings and punctuated by …

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement

OK, let's get up to speed on these Shadow Puppets people. The Last Shadow Puppets are Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and Miles Kane from The Rascals.
I trusted Alex Turner not to simply rehash Arctic Monkey's type material and pass it off under a different name. Boy, does he …

Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008 - Venue: Mote Park, Maidstone

Every year, Radio 1 throws a massive party, and they call it their Big Weekend. This year's Big Weekend takes place on the 10th and 11th May at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent.
What To Expect
If previous Weekends are anything to go by, there'll be a whole host of Radio 1 …

Alicia Keys Talks Racist Conspiracies With Blender Magazine

Alicia Keys will spend the next week having her foot surgically removed from her mouth for her latest comments in Blender Magazine. In her interview with the magazine, she drops the bombshell that she believes the US government created gangsta rap as a way to oppress …

Glastonbury Fans, Stop Moaning About Jay-Z

Dear Glastonbury Goers
I'm already fed up listening to the "we don't want hip-hop at our Indie lovefest" nonsense. This is Jay-Z we're talking about. What would you rather have, another Kaiser Chiefs/Arctic Monkeys knock-off?
Indie acts are a dime a dozen these days and …

New Motley Crue: Saints Of Los Angeles

The word on the street today is that Motley Crue have a new single in the pipeline called Saints Of Los Angeles. Apparently we have to get down on our knees and pray to them.
I've listened to the track (some kind soul has put a copy on YouTube) and can say I'm shocked. …

The Wombats - Backfire At The Disco

The Wombats are firing out singles thick and fast at the moment. Their latest, Backfire At The Disco, continues in a similar vein to Moving To New York. In sharp contrast to their ode to insomnia, Backfire At The Disco is a relentless Indie anthem with healthy dose of …