Duran duran

Someone from a site called Splicetoday spammed one of my old REM blogs last week, posting a link to an interesting compare-and-contrast piece on both “Accelerate” and Mark Kozelek’s new Sun Kil Moon album, “April”. It reminded me, amongst other things, that I’d been sleeping on the Sun Kil Moon record; that maybe the embracing familiarity of Kozelek’s latest doleful epic had made me take it for granted. Or maybe it was just that I’d been listening to it on one of those moody secure streams, and today a CD arrived.

Bard of Barking explores his mellifluous side

Last month's Snapshot portrayed the record-breaking Zep show - now you share your memories with us...

Barely off site, but here’s how it was. Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks just wound it up on the main stage with the new addition of Sleater Kinney’s Janet Weiss behind the drum kit, and with a few choice words to some of their UK friends: “We endorse The Cribs, but not fucking Kasabian”.

Belated if messy return to form, spread over two short CDs.

Patti Smith takes time out to chat to Uncut about her recent recordings, being American in this post-911 era, Todd Rundgren and more...

In 1967, John Peel used to justify the frequent inclusion of Bee Gees tracks on his legendary Perfumed Garden show by saying, "If you're going to copy anyone it might as well be The Beatles." He was right, of course, and this excellent comp is testimony both to that assertion and the undeniable endurance of the Gibb brothers' early material. Gerry Marsden, Billy J Kramer, Marmalade, Status Quo and Paul Jones are just some of the acts who elect to don the red velvet cape of love in order to deliver appropriately idiosyncratic interpretations of those delightfully eccentric songs.

Early, lunatic work by Japanese gods

Worthy take on Keenan/McCarthy hostage crisis

'80s pop acts, from the winsome to the tonsorially challenged