Spin magazine's band of the year

They've plumped for the Strokes, which we think is kind of interesting; we wonder if that's a compromise between The White Stripes and The Vines.

The Hives, apparently, are being given live act of the year, which seems to be the consolation prize they're picking up in all the end-of-years. In a way, I feel a bit sorry for them - if they'd gotten their asses into gear 18 months earlier, they'd have been able to look like the godfathers of the new craft rock scene; as it is, they seem to have been filed in most people's minds as slightly better dressed scenesters.

Spin thinks the best single since last Christmas is Eminem's Cleaning Out My Closet, which is arguable - surely it's merely the rap Candle In The Wind?