No Rock And Roll Fun

THE COMEBACK KID: It's almost as if he never went away, but even so: Kid Rock is attempting a comeback. Obviously, when we say it's almost as if he never went away we say this with a sense of regret as his stupid clumpy act seems to have been rammed into our face with a consistency that would have made Orwell think he'd underdone the 'boot on face forever' schtick. Although, despite his consistent presence in newspapers and magazines, we were never sure what he actually produced in his day job - we had a vague sense of something lumpen and, as the name would have suggested, rock (in the 'drinking cheap cider' sense of the word). Now, apparently, he's been reborn as "Motown's first Hillbilly artist", complete with a Kid Rock Christmas Special. We're still guessing his small place in history will be being listed as "amongst the other people who shagged Pamela Anderson were..."

Also back: Edie Brickell. She's just had ten years off to be mother to Paul Simon's kids, and now she's returning to a recording industry with a new album. Taking a decade off is a risk at any time, but since she was working in a segment alongside Tanita Tickaram, Tracy Chapman, Suzanne Vega and Julia Fordham, she might find re-connecting with an audience almost impossible. It's like when you go back home after a decade and spend some time trying to work out which house now stands on the part of the playing fields where you used to waste PE lessons away - there's absolutely none of the familiar surroundings to give you context. Her new album is called Volcano, but I'll be what you really want answered is this: Yes, that Paul Simon.