Portishead

Glastonbury will become the first UK festival with its own dedicated 4G network, it has been confirmed. The festival has struck a deal with mobile service provider EE which will give fans attending the festival fast mobile internet speeds and allow for even quicker photo and video upload times. There will also be an official Glastonbury festival app, which will give festival goers updates from around the site and news alerts. Additionally, two large recharge tents will be built onsite with users of any mobile network able to charge their phones in between watching bands.

Charlie Watts has said that he doesn't want to play Glastonbury because he doesn't like festivals or playing outdoors. The Rolling Stones will headline the Saturday night at Glastonbury, joining fellow headliners Arctic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons on the bill for the Worthy Farm festival.

The Rolling Stones have been confirmed as headlining the Saturday night of this year's Glastonbury festival. A post on the official Glastonbury festivals website appeared at 7pm today confirming the line-up of this year's festival. Arctic Monkeys will headline on Friday and Mumford & Sons will headline on Sunday. Other bands playing include Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Portishead, Alabama Shakes, Elvis Costello, Primal Scream, Vampire Weekend, Dinosaur Jr and Cat Power.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an interview with Scott Litt about working on “Tempest”, in which he mentioned how Dylan’s voice now reminded him, positively, of Louis Armstrong. Dylan, Litt suggested, should have a go at “Hello Dolly” sometime (The full piece is stuck behind the paywall at http://www.newyorker.com/, unfortunately).

A stripped-down - yet chart friendly - return...

The Baltimore duo stitches a blue velvet tapestry...

Robert Plant has announced details of three live dates for this summer. Plant will debut his new band, Sensational Shape Shifters, at: ** Gloucester, Guildhall - May 8 ** HMV Forum, London - July 12 ** WOMAD, Wiltshire - July 29 Apart from Plant, the line-up for the Sensational Space Shifters is: Juldeh Camara (JuJu) ritti (one-stringed African Violin), kologo (African Banjo), talking drum, vocals. Justin Adams (JuJu, Jah Wobble) guitar, bendir, vocals John Baggott (Massive Attack, Portishead) keyboards Liam "Skin" Tyson (Cast)

Alexandra Palace, where All Tomorrow's Parties holds its now yearly I'll Be Your Mirror event - headlined in 2011 by Portishead - has received a £320,000 grant from English Heritage for "urgent repairs".

Paris, 1968. On the set of a nondescript film called Slogan, 22 year old English actress Jane Birkin finds herself playing the love interest of a washed-up advertising executive undergoing a midlife crisis. In real life, Birkin’s three year marriage to Bond-theme composer John Barry is falling apart. She embarks on an affair with her leading man, a French pop star called Serge Gainsbourg, ushering in a year he would later call “un année erotique”, during which the duo would record a hit single, “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus”, banned by the BBC for its suggestive sexuality.

Really taken with the Suzanne Ciani album this week. Lindstrøm only arrived today, so I need to listen properly.