Somethings to listen to: Blacktop Mourning & Suzanne Vega

That Blacktop Mourning have become the first band signed to Counting Crows' Adam Durwitz's Tyrannosaurus Records doesn't exactly inspire hope. He found them on MySpace, too, which would make you think that he spent about ten minutes seeking them out. However, on the evidence of the song made as a free introduction, Halfway To Midnight, they might prove to have more about them than their birth would suggest. [Real link]

Meanwhile, you don't need us to tell you who Suzanne Vega is - we've always had a soft spot for her since we saw her for the first time, doing Marlene On The Wall, after flicking over to Whistle Test at the end of Emmerdale Farm one evening. (Look, we'd have watched the programme from the beginning, but it wasn't our choice, okay.) All of which is to lead into Frank And Ava, from her new album. She's also due to do a session on the new Radcliffe and Maconie show round about now. [Real link]