Features

Nicolas Roeg is most widely known for the superlative run of films he made during the 1970s – including Performance, Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth and Bad Timing – but as his memoir, The World Is Ever Changing reveals, his interests are many and wide-ranging.

Can’t hang around today as deadline hassle mounts, but lots to listen to here: an Atoms For Peace mix, something from Nicolas Jaar’s fine new Darkside project, a precious and ancient demo from Roddy Frame, a remix from The Avalanches, and my favourite track from Light In The Attic’s New Age comp, among other things.

For me, the strangest moment during last night’s flurry of Arcade Fire activity – Bowie! two videos! world tour! – was the footage of the band stepping out of a limousine in Montreal wearing giant papier mâché heads.

Jaan Uhelszki, as you may have seen in the current issue of Uncut, recently spent some time with Bill Callahan at his home in Austin. One of Jaan’s great skills is her ability to conduct a forensic sweep of any environment she finds herself in, and on Callahan’s bookshelves, she notes, are “Bass Playing For Dummies… a King Tubby DVD… Learning Spanish by Michael Thomas, ‘The Language Teacher To The Stars’… a Stephen Crane reader.”

The full story of Freddie and co...

Of all the guitarists associated with the Takoma School, it’s hard to think of one who imbued folk music with quite as much mystical portent as Robbie Basho. 1978’s “Visions Of The Country”, his tenth album, is a fantastic case in point: “I would paint for you a portrait of North America as a beautiful woman,” he wrote in the original sleevenotes, “when she was young and untamed.”

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, a big backlog of music to work through here. And while I try and offer some fractionally different recommendations away from the usual media pile-ons (Oh look, Haim etc), this Janelle Monáe album is terrific and I totally recommend having a listen on The Guardian’s stream: very much in the zone of “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” (especially “Victory”).

I guess there are probably worse jobs to return to after a fortnight’s holiday. I arrived back in the Uncut office yesterday to be greeted by a big pile of new releases, which I’m still picking my way through. Currently playing: Track Two of Damon’s reissued “Song Of A Gypsy” – “Generally regarded,” it says here in the press release, “as one of the finest privately-pressed psychedelic rock records” of the late ‘60s. We shall see.

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 - review Belle & Sebastian might not have surprised anyone with their last two albums, 2006's The Life Pursuit and 2010's Write About Love, but it seems their fans' love for them is growing even deeper - these two are their highest charting records, in the UK and America.

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review One of the highlights of this weekend's Uncut Tipi Tent is almost certainly William Tyler's performance on Sunday afternoon. It's hot and dry in Dorset, and Tyler's dusty, crystalline solo guitar pieces are the perfect counterparts.