In League With Paton

Mariee Sioux - Faces in the Rocks (Grass Roots, 2007) Now here’s a classic example of how the blogosphere can be a force for good (eat that ...

I've ranted on here about ticket sales for event concerts before, but I'm going to raise the issue again. Logging on to my ticketmas...

Steve Lehman - On Meaning (Pi, 2007) Ach! This eccentric, technically accomplished and highly individual album actually slipped out at the t...

Pat Metheny with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez - Day Trip (Nonesuch, 2008) Some critics in America appear to be hailing ‘Day Trip’ a...

REM - Up (Warner Bros, 1998) Conventional wisdom dictates that REM are a great band who have lost their purpose, and that new album ‘Acceler...

kd lang - Watershed (Nonesuch, 2008) Fascinatingly, it took an album of covers to get kd lang (I still find the insistence on lower case let...

It's diva-ish behaviour enough to walk off stage mid-show and cancel two further performances because of a common cold (compare it with ...

Hot Chip - Made In The Dark (DFA/EMI, 2008) Hot Chip’s third album, and their first to be released to a palpable sense of anticipation, is p...

No Country For Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) When asked why his songs were always so achingly sad, the great Roy Orbison once wisecrac...

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette – Setting Standards: New York Sessions (ECM) Manfred Eicher’s ECM label is celebrating the 25th...

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (XL, 2008) I’m always somewhat cynical and suspicious about over-hyped ‘hot tip’ debuts such as this. My p...

Cat Power - Jukebox (Matador, 2008) This might be the trickiest album I’ve had to review on these pages. I’ve been an admirer of Cat Power, ...

A short while ago, I made the contentious claim on this blog that I always try to avoid writing from a fan’s perspective. Well, bollocks to ...

The Magnetic Fields – Distortion Much critical consternation has been prompted by Stephin Merritt’s typically flippant comment that the rais...

David Torn’s Prezens, The Vortex, Sun 13th January 2008 The first great gig of 2008 also happens to be the first in a long list of splendid ...

Into The Wild (Sean Penn, 2007) With ‘Into The Wild’, Sean Penn has made a beautiful film that captures the awe and wonder of the natural wo...

Morrissey - Greatest Hits The Press Release for this compilation (the first release under Morrissey’s new contract with Decca) boldly states...

This report on the BBC website is more comprehensive and balanced: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7179834.stm It's particularl...

Does the department of Culture, Media and Sport really have such a limited understanding of the effects of ticket touting? http://www.nme.co...

Lust, Caution (Ang Lee, 2007) The furore over the explicit sex scenes in Ang Lee’s latest film, which sees him returning to China but workin...