White josh

Today: American Music Club's Mark Eitzel chooses 'Julia'

Our last Summer festival highlight kicks off in two weeks; starring SFA, Lambchop and Yo La Tengo

Finally making it onto the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival site, we ran and caught two new(ish) groups, The Horrors and The Enemy. Despite both being bigged up by the NME, the groups share little in common and have slagged each other off in the press. A fan standoff awaits?

The first time I saw Queens Of The Stone Age, if memory serves, they were playing London's Garage venue just after their debut was released. It's strange, then, that nearly a decade later, they're in front of me at an even smaller venue, the historically sticky 100 Club. In fact, Troy Van Leeuwen is directly in front of me, flicking nonchalantly at his pedals with white strappy shoes.

I'm not sure we should be giving any more publicity to the bizarre media phenomenon that is Sharon Osbourne, but I couldn't resist starting today with this quote from her about Josh Homme. Homme, it seems, had the temerity to criticise Ozzfest. In response, Osbourne told Blender, "I hope he gets syphilis and dies. I hope his dick fuckin' falls off so his mother can eat it."

Chris Martin and co go from strength to strength on adventurous third

The legendary guitarist on his first musical steps and how the blues came to Surbiton.

All thirty tracks from Uncut Take 92. Tracks that inspired and tracks inspired by Bob Dylan.

While There's Much wrong (the script, the acting, the smugness) with Channel 4's slick, rather silly series about transatlantic lovers who are struggling against the odds but, like, have shedloads of money, the soundtrack's wilfully hip. Granted it's put together by the kind of people who think Snow Patrol are cutting edge, but in liking what the music press has told them to like, they've packed an impressive stash of new-ish white boy music onto this.

Dazzling selection from back catalogue of the "cosmic" country visionary who changed the face of American music