Bloc of Ash

Russell Lissack is taking some leave from Bloc Party in order to be the all-important fourth member of Ash on their UK tour.

There's a press-release gobbet of 'how we met and fell in love':

Russell - of Bloc Party and solo project Pin Me Down - is a life-long Ash fan, "I've always loved Ash, my first ever stage performance was part of an Ash covers band, so when they asked me to join them on their forthcoming tour I jumped at the chance!"

Ash's Tim Wheeler: "We first met at South By Southwest in 2005, we’d heard he and Kele Okereke met when Russell was playing Ash songs at a party, so we've always felt that connection with him. We've loved Bloc Party since their first single and have always really admired his guitar playing."

They haven't told Russell yet that he's going to have to try and squeeze into Charlotte Hatherley's old stage outfits.

Decade Null: 2007 - Charlotte Hatherley

There are a few people who, despite our hard-wired atheism, we'd still be quite prepared to get involved with worshipping. Especially if it involved rudeness and touching. Charlotte Hatherley, clearly, has such god-potential. Rounding off our skip through some of 2007's gems, taken from The Deep Blue, here's Charlotte doing Behave. Plus - bonuses, bonuses - you get summer as well.



[Part of Decade Null 2007]

From Ash to Bat For Lashes

As twittered by Sweeping The Nation earlier, Charlotte Hatherley has taken work with Bat For Lashes:

I'm happy as Larry because the music is so ACE and i not only get to play heavily chorused guitar a la The Cure, but get to play throbbingly fuzzed up bass, keyboards and twinkly bells.

The good news, though, is that she's not skimping on the stuff she does under her solo banner, either:

You may be wondering where that leaves me and my third solo album Cinnabar City...we-he-hellll next weekend i am making a video for the first single 'White' which is going to be AMAZING. No, really you must take my word for it. I am learning the song backwards which is incredibly weird and will be having paint thrown at me from all directions, whilst wearing a super sci-fi white dress. Think a happy Carrie from the future. I'll also be getting a whole load of new photos done and have gotta do a full make over of all my websites. I'll be blogging about the video next week and putting up pictures and videos of me getting splattered.

White is due for release over the summer, and the album will be out in September. I'll be doing solo festivals, and then will properly on the road Sep/Oct/Nov through to 2010. Jesus, 2010 looks weird written down. It's an impressive looking year. It looks very likely i'll be touring the States with Cinnabar as we've had loads of interest, this record is really striking a chord over there. Australia is also looking good for 2010 release.

September is not so far away.

Charlotte Hatherley weekend: Siberia

You'll have to make up your own 'stop Russian around' style joke for this one. Or perhaps not:



[Part of the Charlotte Hatherley weekend]

Charlotte Hatherley weekend: The Name Of The Game

A spot of Abba covering now, from Plug in Sheffield last October:



[Part of the Charlotte Hatherley weekend]

Charlotte Hatherley weekend: Summer

Summer, recorded live in Birmingham on March 3rd, 2007:



[Part of The Charlotte Hatherley weekend]

Charlotte Hatherley weekend: with Client

Here's something extra: Charlotte playing bass with Client on Sweden's TV4 for It's Not Over and Drive:



[Part of the Charlotte Hatherley weekend]

Embed and breakfast man: Charlotte Hatherley

She was excellent in Night Nurse. She brought something to Ash that unquestionably reinvigorated a band that could have slipped into being an indie-by-numbers outfit. And since she was - shall we say - phased out of the band, she's been turning out some cracking solo music. Apparently there's a new record being slapped together - Luke Smith produced, Alan Moulder mixed and it's being mastered right this second. First fruits - a downloady single of some sort - should be here before St Stephens Day. Meanwhile, let's remind ourselves of what we've been missing.

Kicking off with the promo for Bastardo - or B*stardo as Amazon know it:



And, like some sort of DVD extra, here's a making of feature - might seem like nothing to you; to ITV2, this is an evening's programming:



Hatherley on line
Official site
Facebook
MySpace
Last FM
Wikipedia

Buy
The Deep Blue
Grey Will Fade

More videos this weekend
Performing with Client on TV4
Summer live in Birmingham
The Name Of The Game live in Sheffield
Siberia

Ash: Yes, we kicked Charlotte out

A couple of months after Charlotte revealed the mutually agreed split wasn't quite so mutual, Tim Wheeler has admitted she was pushed out of Ash:

"It was our decision for her to go. She wanted the best of both worlds - to be a solo artist and to be in a band. I could tell her heart wasn't in it and it made things awkward between us."

Or, at least, your assumption that her heart wasn't in it must have been causing difficulties, at the very least.

Ash: We're better off as boys together

A few weeks back, Charlotte Hatherley gave her side of her departure from Ash, admitting that the ballyhooed "amicable, mutuals" weren't quite on the mark - she still isn't quite sure if she left or was shown the door.

Now, Ash have been talking about life without Charlotte, and while we're sure they didn't want to conjure up the image of lads sat on the sofa, surrounded by beer cans and grey pizza boxes, it does:

"We're excited because the communication in the band's a lot better and we're back to the old line-up.

"It feels very comfortable, we're used to it, and it's great to get back into the studio. We're starting over - new line-up, new material."

Yeah... and no more tights dripping over the edge of the bath, or nothing. And if they want to sit around in their pants all day... well, nobody is going to tell them they can't no more.

Away wi'ye, Hatherley... Charlotte reveals split truth

Over a year ago, when Charlotte Hatherley and Ash went their separate ways, we were told it was mutual and amicable and everyone agreed it was for the best.

Only... it turns out it wasn't quite like that:

"In the end it was the boys' choice. They wanted to go back to being a three-piece. They knew I wasn't happy in the band any more so they assumed that I'd be fine with the decision.

"I did find it was a bit weird. I left the conversation thinking: 'What just happened there? Did I leave or was I fired?' But it was all very nice and there were no hard feelings."

It was, of course, our old friend, Musical Differences:

"The boys were really in love with American music and with America. After years of touring the States they were listening to a lot of Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, stuff I've never really been into.

"I found recording 'Meltdown' really difficult. Basically I coldn't relate to it. Things were getting a bit stale and I think we all needed something to change."

To be honest - and fond as we are of the new Ash stuff - we think she probably came out best of it all; her solo stuff has the sense of freedom and experimentation that can come from a change, while Ash... well, they may have a very nice furrow, but sooner or later they might want to think about turning slightly, surely?

Here we go, Hatherley, happily

Charlotte Hatherley - and we should point out that what we have built in the corner to her is an altar, not a full-blown temple, actually - is off out on tour to promote her single and album (I Want You To Know, February 26th and The Deep Blue, March 5th respectively). You can see her doing her thing here:

27th February - Glasgow Oran Mor
28th - Liverpool Academy
1st March - Leeds Cockpit
3rd - Birmingham Academy 2
4th - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
5th - Oxford Zodiac
6th - Islington Academy

Ash in psych-ish, hits New York

Irish band Ash are, effectively, Irish no more as they've upped sticks to New York. They reckon they spent so long working there, they might as well move there and have done with.

Plus, you can buy a pizza the size of your head for 37p with the exchange rate the way it is.

The new album seems to be a mixture of the good (psychedelic experimentation) and the bad (reports using the word "Coldplayesque"); they haven't run it past former Ashista Charlotte Hatherley yet, though. Tim Wheeler explains why:

"That would be too much like seeing your ex-girlfriend."

music ash tim wheeler charlotte hatherley

ASH DO SOME SORT OF PHOENIX-LIKE AFFAIR

The departure of Charlotte Hatherley hasn't stopped the mighty Ash from pushing forward, and who's to say that they shouldn't? Apparently, they've written 27 songs for a new album (clearly, part of Chazza's role was to say "enough, boys") and - although none have crawled beyond a demo stage yet - fully expect to release something before this time next year.

music ash

NIGHT NURSE QUITS ASH

The best thing ever to happen to Ash, Charlotte Hatherley, has quit the band. They've issued a statement:

"After nine years Ash and Charlotte Hatherley have mutually agreed to part company. The decision is completely amicable and they wish each other the very best for the future

Ash are returning to the studio later this year to make the follow up to 2004's 'Meltdown' album. Charlotte is currently recording tracks for her second solo album which she plans to release in the autumn this year."

The boys are at least relieved they can now break wind without having to worry about a lady being present. Tim has been holding one in since Charlotte joined in 1997.

In our opinion: Nowhere near enough people bought Charlotte's Grey Will Fade, although most of the songs were probably 50% longer than they needed to be.

music charlotte hatherley ash

A-Z OF SXSW

The full line-up for this year's SXSW has been announced:

(This is quite a large, long band list - you could just skip to the bottom if you don't want a long scroll)

AAA
Aberdeen City (Boston, MA)
Aberfeldy (Edinburgh, UK)
Abigail und Hansel (Cedar Creek, TX)
The Adored (Los Angeles, CA)
Adult. (Detroit, MI)
The Aeroplanes (Liverpool, UK)
Afrirampo (Osaka, Japan)
Daníel Ágúst (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Airbourne (Melbourne, Australia)
Aloha (Cleveland, OH)
AM (Los Angeles, CA)
The Amazing Pilots (Dublin, Ireland)
American Eyes (Los Angeles, CA)
American Minor (Huntington WV)
American Princes (Little Rock, AR)
An Albatross (Philadelphia, PA)
Al Anderson (Windsor, CT)
Duane Andrews (St John's, NF)
Animal Alpha (Oslo, Norway)
Animal Collective (Baltimore, NY)
Annie (Bergen, Norway)
The Anointed Voicez (Houston, TX)
The Answer (Downpatrick, UK)
Antietam (New York, NY)
A Pink Cloud (Houston, TX)
Apollo Sunshine (Boston, MA)
The Apples in Stereo (Denver, CO)
Aqueduct (Seattle, WA)
Arab Strap (Falkirk, UK)
The Arm (Austin, TX)
Arnold Dreyblatt Ensemble (Berlin, Germany)
Art Brut (London, UK)
Asobi Seksu (New York, NY)
At All Cost (Austin, TX)
Athlete (Deptford, UK)
The Atomic Bitchwax (Long Branch, NJ)
Audion (Detroit, MI)
Jon Auer (Seattle, WA)
Auktyon (St Petersburg, Russia)
The Avalanches (Melbourne, Australia)
Avotor (Auckland, New Zealand)
Awesome Cool Dudes (Austin, TX)

BBB
Backyard Tire Fire (Chicago, IL)
The Bad Roads (Lake Charles, LA)
Bad Wizard (Manhattan, NY)
Sam Baker (Austin, TX)
Daniel Balthasar (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg)
Barbez (Brooklyn, NY)
Bobby Bare Jr. (Nashville, TN)
Barfield (Austin, TX)
Baroness (Savannah, GA)
Shane Bartell (Austin, TX)
The Bats (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Battle (London, UK)
David Bavas and the Down Comforter (Seattle, WA)
Bedouin Soundclash (Toronto, ON)
Bedroom Walls (Highland Park, CA)
Beirut (Albuquerque, NM)
Belaire (Austin, TX)
Bellaparker (Austin, TX)
Archie Bell (Houston, TX)
Hudson Bell (San Francisco, CA)
The BellRays (Los Angeles, CA)
Bell X1 (Dublin, Ireland)
Belong (New Orleans, LA)
Bend Sinister (Vancouver, BC)
Benko (Austin, TX)
Best Fwends (Denton, TX)
Bexar Bexar (Austin, TX)
Be Your Own PET (Nashville, TN)
Bible of the Devil (Chicago, IL)
Scott H. Biram (Austin, TX)
The Black Angels (Austin, TX)
Blackbud (Bradford on Avon, UK)
Black Diamond Heavies (Nashville, TN)
Black Dice (Brooklyn, NY)
Black Furies (San Francisco, CA)
Black Heart Procession (San Diego, CA)
The Black Hollies (Jersey City, NJ)
Black Joe Lewis (Austin, TX)
Black Moses (London, UK)
Blanche (Detroit, MI)
Sarah Blasko (Sydney, Australia)
Blockhead (New York, NY)
Blood Meridian (Vancouver, BC)
Blowfly (Miami, FL)
Blue Aeroplanes (Bristol, UK)
Bluebottle Kiss (Sydney, Australia)
Blue October (San Marcos, TX)
Harlan T Bobo (Memphis, TN)
Bodhisattva (Phoenix, AZ)
Sarah Borges (Boston, MA)
Bosque Brown (Fort Worth, TX)
Boss Martians (Seattle, WA)
Bottle Rockets (Festus, MO)
Bound Stems (Chicago, IL)
Boy (Toronto, ON)
The Boy Least Likely To (Wendove, UK)
The Brakes (Philadelphia, PA)
Bravo Silva (New York, NY)
Brazilian Girls (New York, NY)
The Brian Jonestown Massacre (Los Angeles, CA)
The Brilliant Mistakes (New York, NY)
The Brokedown (Los Angeles, CA)
Broken Spindles (Omaha, NE)
The Bronx (Los Angeles, CA)
Elliott Brood (Toronto, ON)
Tom Brosseau (Los Angeles, CA)
The Brother Kite (Providence, RI)
Brothers Past (Philadelphia, PA)
the brunettes (Auckland, New Zealand)
Buck 65 (Montreal, QC)
Burden Brothers (Dallas, TX)
Burrito Deluxe (Nashville, TN)
Busy Signals (Chicago, IL)
Butterfly Explosion (Dublin, Ireland)

CCC
Cadence Weapon (Edmonton, AB)
Califone (Chicago, IL)
Calla (New York, NY)
The Capes (South London, UK)
The Capitol Years (Philadelphia, PA)
Carbonas (Atlanta, GA)
Brandi Carlile (Seattle, WA)
Caroline (Okinawa, Japan)
Tia Carrera (Austin TX)
Cary Brothers (Los Angeles, CA)
Neko Case (Tacoma, WA)
Peter Case (Los Angeles, CA)
Cat Scientist (Austin, TX)
Cayto (Glasgow, UK)
Celebration (Baltimore, MD)
Centro-matic (Denton, TX)
Cephalic Carnage (Denver, CO)
Channel 3 (Orange County, CA)
Marshall Chapman (Nashville, TN)
Charanga Cakewalk (Austin, TX)
Chas. Mtn. (Boston, MA)
Chatham County Line (Raleigh, NC)
Rhys Chatham (Paris, France)
Cheater Slicks (Columbus, OH)
Cheeseburger (Brooklyn, NY)
Chingon (Austin, TX)
Chin Up Chin Up (Chicago, IL)
Chocolate Genius Inc (Brooklyn, NY)
Chris & Aurore (Boston, MA)
Chris and Thomas (Los Angeles, CA)
The Chris Vestre Group (Austin, TX)
Circle Takes The Square (Savannah, GA)
Cities (Chapel Hill, NC)
Eau Claire (Austin, TX)
Stephen Clair (Brooklyn, NY)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Brooklyn, NY)
Gary Clark, Jr. (Austin, TX)
Classie Ballou (Lake Charles, LA)
Clem Snide (Nashville, TN)
Clor (London, UK)
Clorox Girls (Portland, OR)
The Clutters (Nashville, TN)
Biffy Clyro (Glasgow, UK)
Coco Solid (Auckland, New Zealand)
Jason Collett (Toronto, ON)
Colored Shadows (Los Angeles, CA)
Colossal Yes (San Francisco, CA)
Jessi Colter (Scottsdale, AZ)
The Concretes (Stockholm, Sweden)
Tony Conrad (New York, NY)
Cooper Temple Clause (Reading, UK)
Cordero (New York, NY)
Sean Costello (Atlanta, GA)
Susan Cowsill (New Orleans, LA)
Crashdïet (Stockholm, Sweden)
Helios Creed/CHROME (Austin, TX)
The Cribs (Wakefield, UK)
The Crimea (London, UK)
Crimson Sweet (New York, NY)
Criteria (Omaha, NE)
A.J. Croce (San Diego, CA)
Crystal Skulls (Seattle, WA)
Cuff the Duke (Toronto, ON)
Jamie Cullum (London, UK)
Cut Copy (Melbourne, Australia)
The Cuts (Oakland, CA)

DDD
Damone (Boston, MA)
Dappled Cities Fly (Sydney, Australia)
Darker My Love (San Francisco, CA)
Dashboard Confessional (Boca Raton, FL)
Dash Rip Rock (New Orleans, LA)
The Datsuns (Auckland, New Zealand)
Grey Daturas (Melbourne, Australia)
Steve Dawson (Chicago, IL)
Deadboy & the Elephantmen (Houma, LA)
Deadman (McGregor, TX)
Death In Vegas (London, UK)
Death Vessel (Brooklyn, NY)
Debris Inc. (Chicago, IL)
Decoder Ring (Sydney, Australia)
Kris Delmhorst (Greenfield, MA)
Dengue Fever (Los Angeles, CA)
Derby (Portland, OR)
Miss Pamela Des Barres (Los Angeles, CA)
deSoL (Asbury Park, NJ)
Destroyer (Vancouver, BC)
The Detholz! (Chicago, IL)
dEUS (Antwerp, Belgium)
The Devil Bat (Austin, TX)
Devil In A Woodpile (Chicago, IL)
Lavender Diamond (Los Angeles, CA)
Diamond Nights (New York, NY)
Andy Dick (Hollywood, CA)
Tina Dico (Denmark, Denmark)
Die! Die! Die! (Auckland, New Zealand)
Die Princess Die (Los Angeles, CA)
Dir en grey (Tokyo, Japan)
Dirty on Purpose (Brooklyn, NY)
Dirty Pretty Things (London, UK)
Dirty Projectors (New Haven, CT)
Disco Ensemble (Helsinki, Finland)
Kevin Divine (Brooklyn, NY)
The Divorce (Seattle, WA)
Dixie Witch (Austin, TX)
Dizzy Pilot (Pasadena, TX)
DJ Di'jital (Detroit, MI)
DJ Dex (New York, NY)
DJ Fontana (Shreveport, LA)
DJ Skurge (Detroit, MI)
DJ S (Detroit, MI)
DMBQ (Tokyo, Japan)
Dmonstrations (San Diego, CA)
Julie Doiron (Moncton, NB)
Dosh (Minneapolis, MN)
Luke Doucet (Toronto, ON)
Daniel Francis Doyle (Austin, TX)
Dr. Dog (Philadelphia, PA)
Jorge Drexler (Madrid, Spain)
Drop Trio (Houston, TX)
Dr. Spock (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Drums and Tuba (New Orleans, LA)
Drunk Horse (Oakland, CA)
Duels (Leeds, UK)
The Duke Spirit (London, UK)
Dan Dyer (Austin, TX)

EEE
The Earlies (Manchester, UK)
Earlimart (Los Angeles, CA)
Echo & The Bunnymen (Liverpool, UK)
Editors (Birmingham, UK)
The Effigies (Chicago, IL)
Ana Egge (Austin, TX)
The Eighteenth Day Of May (London, UK)
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (Brighton, UK)
Elbow (Manchester, UK)
The Electric Soft Parade (Brighton, UK)
Eleventh Dream Day (New York, NY)
Ellegarden (Tokyo, Japan)
Ronny Elliott (Tampa, FL)
El Ten Eleven (Los Angeles, CA)
The Emeralds (Yokohama, Japan)
Empire Dogs (Stockholm, Sweden)
End Of Fashion (Perth, Australia)
epo-555 (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Erase Errata (San Francisco, CA)
The Essex Green (Brooklyn, NY)
Et Ret (Brooklyn, NY)
The Evangelicals (Norman, OK)
Ex-Boyfriends (San Francisco, CA)
eX-Girl (Tokyo, Japan)
Exit the King (Austin, TX)

FFF
Facedownins*** (Greensboro, NC)
Billy Faier (Marathon, TX)
Faker (Sydney, Australia)
The Fanatics (Auckland, New Zealand)
The Feeling (London, UK)
Christine Fellows (Winnipeg, MB)
The femurs (Seattle, WA)
The Fever (Brooklyn, NY)
F for Fake (Austin, TX)
Film School (San Francisco, CA)
Final Solutions (Memphis, TN)
Fires Were Shot (Austin, TX)
First Nation (New York, NY)
Tim Fite (Brooklyn, NY)
The Flairz (Fremantle, Australia)
Fleeing New York (Southampton, UK)
Flogging Molly (Los Angeles, CA)
Richmond Fontaine (Portland, OR)
Guy Forsyth (Austin, TX)
Forward Russia (Leeds, UK)
Ruthie Foster (Austin, TX)
The Foxymorons (Mesquite, TX)
Michael Fracasso (Austin, TX)
Donavon Frankenreiter (Laguna Beach, CA)
Michael Franti and Spearhead (San Francisco, CA)
The Freak Accident (San Francisco, CA)
Tom Freund (Venice, CA)
Fridge (London, UK)
Friends of Dean Martinez (Austin, TX)
Frog Eyes (Victoria, BC)
Fuzz Club (Los Angeles, CA)

GGG
David Garza (Austin, TX)
The Gear (Melbourne, Australia)
Gem (Utrecht, The Netherlands)
Gena Rowlands Band (Los Angeles, CA)
Genghis Tron (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Gestalt Switch (Dunedin, New Zealand)
Ghandaia (Austin, TX)
Susan Gibson and The Moving Parts (Wimberley, TX)
Colin Gilmore (Austin, TX)
Girls in Hawaii (Brussels, Belgium)
Gitogito Hustler (Tokyo, Japan)
Glass Eye (Austin, TX)
The Glass Family (Austin, TX)
Goblin Cock (San Diego, CA)
God's Temple of Family Deliverance (Houston, TX)
Gogol Bordello (New York, NY)
Golden Arm Trio (Austin, TX)
Goldenboy (Diamond Bar, CA)
The Golden Boys (Spring Branch, TX)
The Golden Dogs (Thunder Bay, ON)
Goldfrapp (London, UK)
Goldrush (Oxford, UK)
Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom (Brooklyn, NY)
Jose Gonzalez (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Goose (Genk, Belgium)
Goran Gora (Riga, Latvia)
Gorch Fock (Austin, TX)
Gore Gore Girls (Detroit, MI)
The Gossip (Portland, OR)
The Go! Team (Brighton, UK)
Jon Dee Graham (Austin, TX)
The Grassy Knoll Boys (Austin, TX)
Flip Grater (Christchurch, New Zealand)
The Grates (Brisbane, Australia)
Great Lake Swimmers (Toronto, ON)
Great Northern (Los Angeles, CA)
Jackie Greene (Sacramento, CA)
The Greenhornes (Cincinnati, OH)
The Guggenheim Grotto (Dublin, Ireland)
Guillemots (London, UK)
Dave Gunning (Pictou County, NS)
The Gun Shys (Orange County, CA)
Gyroscope (Perth, Australia)

HHH
HAL (Dublin, Ireland)
Happy Flowers (Charlottesville, VA)
Sarah Harmer (Kingston, ON)
Harrisons (Sheffield, UK)
Charlotte Hatherley (London, UK)
Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders (Los Angeles, CA)
Richard Hawley (Sheffield, UK)
Gemma Hayes (Dublin, Ireland)
Hayseed Dixie (Nashville, TN)
Head (Seattle, WA)
Headlights (Champaign, IL)
Headphones (Seattle, WA)
Roy Head (Houston, TX)
The Heavenly States (Oakland, CA)
The Hellacopters (Stockholm, Sweden)
Helmet (New York, NY)
Clarence Frogman Henry (New Orleans, LA)
Sarah Hepburn (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Collin Herring (Fort Worth, TX)
Her Space Holiday (San Mateo, CA)
The Hidden Cameras (Toronto, ON)
Missy Higgins (Melbourne, Australia)
The High Dials (Montreal, ON)
The High Strung (Detroit, MI)
Donal Hinely (Denton, TX)
His Name Is Alive (Livonia, MI)
Jolie Holland (San Francisco, CA)
Holy F*** (Toronto, ON)
Jesca Hoop (Topanga, CA)
Hopewell (Brooklyn, NY)
Hot Chip (London, UK)
The Hours (London, UK)
Human Eye (Detroit, MI)
Jana Hunter (Austin, TX)
Hurts to Purr (Austin, TX)
Hayley Hutchinson (York, UK)

III
Ill Ease (Brooklyn, NY)
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness (Austin, TX)
IMA (St Petersburg, FL)
Immaculate Machine (Victoria, BC)
Immortal Lee County Killers (Auburn, AL)
Indian Jewelry (Houston, TX)
Leif Inge (Oslo, Norway)
Innaway (Huntington Beach, CA)
Inouk (Philadelphia, PA)
Interlope (Paris, France)
The International Playboys (Missoula, MT)
Irving (Silver Lake, CA)
Islands (Montreal, QC)
Dan Israel (Minneapolis, MN)

JJJ
Jacques and the Shakey Boys (Toronto, ON)
Jade Day (Austin, TX)
Jakobínarína (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland)
Elana James and Her Hot Hot Trio (Austin, TX)
Lindsay Jane (Winnipeg, MB)
Garland Jeffreys (New York, NY)
JEL (Oakland, CA)
The Jessica Fletchers (Oslo, Norway)
John Schooley and his One Man Band (Austin, TX)
Jonathan Kane's February (New York, NY)
The Juan Maclean (Dover, NH)
Juliette and the Licks (Los Angeles, CA)
Damien Jurado (Seattle, WA)

KKK
Kaki King (New York, NY)
Kalas (Oakland, CA)
Karsh Kale (Brooklyn, NY)
Seth Kauffman (Durham,NC)
Matt Keating & Emily Spray (New York, NY)
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds (New York, NY)
Killing Joke (London, UK)
King Britt Experience (Philadelphia, PA)
King Louie One Man Band (New Orleans, LA)
King Straggler (Los Angeles, CA)
King Wilkie (Charlottesville, VA)
Curt Kirkwood (Austin, TX)
Kisschasy (Melbourne, Australia)
Kissing Tigers (Los Angeles, CA)
Sonya Kitchell (Ashfield, MA)
Faith Kleppinger (New York, NY)
The Klezmatics (New York, NY)
K'naan (Toronto, ON)
Knife in the Water (Austin, TX)
Knife Skills (Brooklyn, NY)
Chris Knight (Slaughters, KY)
Chris Knox and The Nothing (Auckland, New Zealand)
k-os (Whitby, ON)
Sharron Kraus & Christian Kiefer (London, UK)

LLL
Lab Partners (Dayton, OH)
Ladytron (Liverpool, UK)
The Latebirds (Helsinki, Finland)
Bettye LaVette (West Orange, NJ)
L-D Section II (Lansing-Dreiden) (Miami, FL)
Leather Uppers (Toronto, ON)
Amos Lee (Philadelphia, PA)
Lenine (Recife, Brazil)
The Len Price 3 (Chatham, UK)
Ted Leo/Pharmacists (Bloomfield, NJ)
Alana Levandoski (Kelwood, MB)
Toby Lightman (New York, NY)
The Like (Los Angeles, CA)
Lil Band O Gold (Lafayette, LA)
Lil Buck Sinegal (Lafayette, LA)
Limited Express (Kansai, Japan)
Linea 77 (Turin, Italy)
Eliot Lipp (Los Angeles, CA)
Live Fast Die (Brooklyn, NY)
Living Better Electrically (Jackson, MS)
The Living End (Chelsea, Australia)
Living Things (St Louis, MO)
LoneLady (Manchester, UK)
Loney Dear (Stockholm, Sweden)
The Longcut (Manchester, UK)
P W Long (Memphis, TN)
The Long Winters (Seattle, WA)
Lord Fyre (Bloomington, IN)
Mary Lou Lord (Salem, MA)
Lords of Altamont (Los Angeles, CA)
Los De Abajo (Mexico City, Mexico)
The Love Experts (St. Louis, MO)
Love of Diagrams (Melbourne, Australia)
Lovetones (Sydney, Australia)
The Low Lows (formerly Parker & Lily) (Athens, GA)
Lucero (Memphis, TN)
Lucky Luke (Glasgow, UK)
Luminous Orange (Yokohama, Japan)
Corb Lund (Edmonton, AB)
Barbara Lynn (Beaumont, TX)

MMM
Madagascar (Baltimore, MD)
Mad Staring Eyes (London, UK)
The Magic Numbers (London, UK)
Magnet (Bergen, Norway)
Magneta Lane (Toronto, ON)
Magnolia Electric Company (Chicago, IL)
The Magnolias (Minneapolis, MN)
Magnolia Summer (St. Louis, MO)
Mark Mallman (Minneapolis, MN)
The Mammals (West Hurley, NY)
Manchester Orchestra (Atlanta, GA)
Serena Maneesh (Oslo, Norway)
Maneja Beto (Austin, TX)
Man Man (Philadelphia, PA)
Milton Mapes (Austin, TX)
Marah (Brooklyn, NY)
Carolyn Mark (Victoria, BC)
Willy Mason (Marthas Vineyard, MA)
Mates of State (East Haven, CT)
Mathematicians (Glens Falls, NY)
Lorrie Matheson (Calgary, AB)
Glen Matlock and The Philistines (London, UK)
Syd Matters (Paris, France)
Cerys Matthews (Nashvile, TN)
Romi Mayes (Winnipeg, MB)
Maylin (Los Angeles, CA)
Matt Mays & El Torpedo (Dartmouth, NS)
Mazarin (Philadelphia, PA)
Kathy McCarty (Austin, TX)
Stephanie McKay (Bronx, NY)
Ian McLagan (Austin, TX)
Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns (Auckland, New Zealand)
David Mead (Nashville, TN)
The Meat Purveyors (Austin, TX)
Merz (Huddersfield, UK)
The Mess Hall (Sydney, Australia)
Metal Hearts (Baltimore, MD)
Metallagher (Minneapolis, MN)
Metric (Toronto, ON)
Midori Umi (Austin, TX)
The Mighty Wah! (Liverpool, UK)
Rhett Miller (New York, NY)
Scott Miller & The Commonwealth (Knoxville, TN)
Million Dollar Marxists (Ottawa, ON)
Chris Mills (Chicago, IL)
The Minni-Thins (Newport, KY)
The Minus 5 (Seattle, WA)
Minus the Bear (Seattle, WA)
The Mirrors (Houston, TX)
Miss Murgatroid and Petra Haden (Portland, OR)
The Moaners (Chapel Hill, NC)
Mobius Band (Brooklyn, NY)
Modern Skirts (Athens, GA)
Mohair (London, UK)
Monsters Are Waiting (Los Angeles, CA)
Moonlight Towers (Austin, TX)
Ian Moore (Vashon, WA)
The Morning After Girls (Sydney, Australia)
Morningwood (New York, NY)
The Most Serene Republic (Toronto, ON)
The Motels (Los Angeles, CA)
The Mother Hips (San Francisco, CA)
Moving Units (Los Angeles, CA)
The M's (Chicago, IL)
Peter Mulvey (Milwaukee, WI)
The Mutaytor (Los Angeles, CA)
The Mutts (Brighton, UK)
My American Heart (San Diego, CA)
My Education (Austin, TX)
Mystery Jets (London, UK)
My Summer as a Salvation Soldier (Reykjavik, Iceland)
My Way My Love (Tokyo, JAPAN)

NNN
Nada Surf (New York, NY)
Nadja (Toronto, ON)
Navajo Code Talkers (Montreal, QC)
Navruz (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
Neck (London, UK)
Neon Blonde (Seattle, WA)
New Amsterdams (Lawrence, KS)
New Buffalo (Melbourne, Australia)
Jud Newcomb (Austin, TX)
New Found Road (Lebanon, OH)
The New Pornographers (Vancouver, BC)
Nic Armstrong & The Thieves (London, UK)
The Nice Boys (Portland, OR)
Nickel Creek (Carlsbad, CA)
Nieminen & Litmanen (Helsinki, Finland)
Willie Nile (Buffalo, NY)
Nine Black Alps (Manchester, UK)
Masahiro Nitta (Sapporo, Japan)
Noahlewis' Mahlon Taits (Tokyo, Japan)
Jim Noir (London, UK)
NOMO (Ann Arbor, MI)
No North (Los Angeles, CA)
Notekillers (Philadelphia, PA)
n0 things (Brooklyn, NY)
Salim Nourallah (Dallas, TX)
The Novaks (St. John's, NF)
Novillero (Winnipeg, MB)

OOO
Oceansize (Manchester, UK)
Office (Chicago, IL)
Of Montreal (Athens, GA)
OK GO (Chicago, IL)
Old Crow Medicine Show (Nashville, TN)
The Old-Timerz (Austin, TX)
127 (Tehran, Iran)
One Umbrella (Austin, TX)
Opiate For The Masses (Phoenix, AZ)
Oppenheimer (Belfast, UK)
Oranger (San Francisco, CA)
Tim O'Reagan (Minneapolis, MN)
The Organ (Vancouver, BC)
Beth Orton (London, UK)
The Others (London, UK)
Carey Ott (Nashville, TN)
Owen (Chicago, IL)
Oxford Collapse (Brooklyn, NY)

PPP
Palm School Choir (Austin, TX)
The Paper South (Austin, TX)
Paris Motel (London, UK)
Anders Parker (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Zeena Parkins (New York, NY)
The Paybacks (Detroit, MI)
Peaches (Berlin, Germany)
Peel (Austin, TX)
Peelander-Z (New York, NY)
James 'Suburban Knight' Pennington (Detroit, MI)
People in Planes (Cardiff, UK)
PE'Z (Tokyo, Japan)
Glen Phillips (Santa Barbara, CA)
Gretchen Phillips (Austin, TX)
Pete Philly & Perquisite (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Phosphorescent (Athens, GA)
Mark Pickerel (Seattle, WA)
Pidgeon (San Francisco, CA)
Pilotdrift (Texarkana, TX)
Piney Gir (London, UK)
Ariel Pink (Los Angeles, CA)
Pink Nasty (Wichita, KS)
The Pink Spiders (Nashville, TN)
The Pink Swords (Austin, TX)
Pit er Pat (Chicago, IL)
Joel Plaskett (Halifax, NS)
The Plastic Constellations (Minneapolis, MN)
The Plimsouls (Los Angeles, CA)
The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower (San Diego, CA)
Po' Girl (Vancouver, BC)
Robert Pollard (Dayton, OH)
Steve Poltz (San Diego, CA)
Pong (Austin, TX)
Poni Hoax (Paris, France)
Pony Up (Montreal, QC)
Portastatic (Chapel Hill, NC)
Andy Pratt (Amesbury, MA)
The Presets (Melbourne, Australia)
Pterodactyl (Brooklyn, NY)
P.u.M.a.J.a.W. (Perth, UK)
Puny Human (New York, NY)

QQQ
Quien es, BOOM! (Austin, TX)
Quit Your Dayjob (Malmö, Sweden)

RRR
Racoon (Goes, The Netherlands)
Radio 4 (Brooklyn, NY)
Radiogram (Vancouver, BC)
Corinne Bailey Rae (Leeds, UK)
Rahim (New York, NY)
The Rakes (London, UK)
Ralfe Band (London, UK)
Ramblin' Jack Elliot (New York, NY)
Jimmy Rankin (Halifax, NS)
RATATAT (Brooklyn, NY)
The Raveonettes (London, UK)
Real Ones (Bergen, Norway)
The Rebel (London, UK)
Redd Volkaert and Cindy Cashdollar (Austin, TX)
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Jacksonville, FL)
Terry Reid (Palm Desert, CA)
Reigning Sound (Memphis, TN)
The Reputation (Chicago, IL)
The Resentments (Austin, TX)
Reverend Glasseye (Boston, MA)
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band (Indianapolis, IN)
Bill Ricchini (New York, NY)
Stan Ridgway (Los Angeles, CA)
The Rifles (London, UK)
Josh Ritter (Moscow, ID)
The Riverboat Gamblers (Austin, TX)
River City Tanlines (Memphis, TN)
Erin Roberts/Porlolo (Denver, CO)
Sam Roberts Band (Montreal, QC)
Lee Rocker (Los Angeles, CA)
Rock Kills Kid (Los Angeles, CA)
The Rodeo Carburettor (Tokyo, Japan)
Roger Sisters (Brooklyn, NY)
Roman Candle (Chapel Hill, NC)
Jack Rose (Philadelphia, PA)
Carina Round (Birmingham, UK)
The Royal Highness (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Xavier Rudd (Torquay, Australia)
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder (Philadelphia, PA)
Russian Circles (Chicago, IL)

SSS
Gordie Sampson (Sydney, NS)
San Agustin (Atlanta, GA)
San Andreas (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
San Saba County (Austin, TX)
Saturday Looks Good To Me (Ann Arbor, MI)
Savage Republic (San Francisco, CA)
Saves the Day (Princeton, NJ)
Say Anything (Los Angeles, CA)
Sciflyer (Alameda, CA)
Dead Science (Seattle, WA)
Seaflea (Austin, TX)
The Secret Machines (New York, NY)
Sarah Sharp (Austin, TX)
The Sharp Things (New York, NY)
Jules Shear (Asheville, NC)
Shearwater (Austin, TX)
Shellshag (Brooklyn, NY)
Shifter (Brisbane, Australia)
Shout Out Out Out Out (Edmonton, AB)
Sia (Adelaide, Australia)
Sign (Hafnarfjord, Iceland)
The Silos (New York, NY)
Silversun Pickups (Los Angeles, CA)
Since By Man (Milwaukee, WI)
Single Frame (Austin, TX)
Sistas In The Pit (Bay Area, CA)
Sister Pants (Flagstaff, AZ)
the Six Parts Seven (Kent, OH)
Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys (Brooklyn, NY)
Skullening (San Antonio, TX)
The Slavestate Sound System (Clearwater, FL)
The Slip (Boston, MA)
Darden Smith (Austin, TX)
Sean Smith (Berkeley, CA)
The Soft Lightes (San Diego, CA)
Something for Kate (Melbourne, Australia)
Soul Position (Philadelphia, PA)
Sound Team (Austin, TX)
South Austin Jug Band (Austin, TX)
South Filthy (Austin/Memphis, TX)
South San Gabriel (Denton, TX)
Emily Sparks (Austin, TX)
Duke Special (Belfast, UK)
Speech (Atlanta, GA)
The Spinto Band (Willmington, DE)
The Spits (Seattle, WA)
The Spunks (New York, NY)
Leeroy Stagger (Victoria, BC)
Chris Stamey (Chapel Hill, NC)
The Standard (Portland, OR)
Standing Waves (Austin, TX)
The Starlight Mints (Norman, OK)
Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 (New York, NY)
Stinking Lizaveta (Philadelphia, PA)
Warren Storm (Lafayette, LA)
Street Drum Corps (Orange County, CA)
The Stringdusters (Nashville, TN)
Dao Strom (Austin, TX)
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives (Hendersonville, TN)
Stuka (Pancevo, Yugoslavia)
Subsonica (Turin, Italy)
The Sun (Columbus, OH)
The Sundresses (Cincinnati, OH)
Supagroup (New Orleans, LA)
Surefire (New York, NY)
Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet (Los Angeles, CA)
Astrid Swan (Helsinki, Finland)
Richard Swift (Los Angeles, CA)
Switches (London, UK)
Swollen Members (Vancouver, BC)
The Sword (Austin, TX)
Sybris (Chicago, IL)

TTT
Kunimoto Takeharu (Tokyo, Japan)
The Talk (Charlotte, NC)
James Talley (Tulsa, OK)
Tangiers (Toronto, ON)
Abi Tapia (Austin, TX)
Tarantula A D (New York, NY)
Tartufi (San Francisco, CA)
The Tearjerkers (Memphis, TN)
Susan Tedeschi (Jacksonville, FL)
Temper Temper (Milwaukee, WI)
The Theater Fire (Fort Worth, TX)
Thee Fine Lines (Springfield, MO)
Thee Shams (Cincinnati, OH)
The.Story.Of (Austin, TX)
Teddy Thompson (New York, NY)
Thunderbirds are Now! (Detroit, MI)
TODD (London, UK)
Tokyo Elektron (Phoenix, AZ)
Toof (Austin, TX)
Towers of London (London, UK)
Tralala (Brooklyn, NY)
Translator (San Francisco, CA)
Tres Chicas (Raleigh, NC)
Tristeza (San Diego, CA)
The Trophy Wives (Brooklyn, NY)
True Nature (New York, NY)
Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re (Tokyo, Japan)
The TunaHelpers (Austin, TX)
Tunng (London, UK)
KT Tunstall (London, UK)
Turbonegro (Oslo, Norway)
Turn Me On Dead Man (San Francisco, CA)
The Twenty Twos (New York, NY)
The Twilight Singers (Los Angeles, CA)
Two Gallants (San Francisco, CA)
Two High String Band (Austin, TX)
Two Hoots and a Holler (Austin, TX)

UUU
Ultimate Power Duo (Saskatoon, SK)
Ume (Austin, TX)
Uncle Earl (Lyons, CO)
Uncle Monk (Phoenicia, NY)
Uncut (Toronto, ON)

VVV
Vallejo (Austin, TX)
John Vanderslice (San Francisco, CA)
Laura Veirs (Seattle, WA)
The Velvet Teen (Santa Rosa, CA)
April Verch (Pembroke, ON)
Tom Verlaine (New York, NY)
Very Be Careful (Los Angeles, CA)
Vetiver (San Francisco, CA)
Veto (Århus, Denmark)
The Village Green (Portland OR)
Viva Voce (Portland, OR)
Von Iva (San Francisco, CA)
Patricia Vonne (Austin, TX)
Rocky Votolato (Seattle, WA)
Voxtrot (Austin, TX)

WWW
Waco Brothers (Chicago, IL)
Peter Walker (Silverlake, CA)
The Walls (Dublin, Ireland)
Monte Warden (Austin, TX)
Abigail Washburn (Nashville, TN)
Imaad Wasif (Los Angeles, CA)
Waterloo (St. Louis, MO)
John Watts (Brighton, UK)
WE (Oslo, Norway)
We Are Scientists (Brooklyn, NY)
Weedeater (Wilmington, NC)
We Insist (Paris, France)
The Weird Weeds (Austin, TX)
Wenge Musica (Kinshasa, Congo)
Mike Wexler (New York, NY)
What Made Milwaukee Famous (Austin, TX)
The Whigs (Athens, GA)
Whirlwind Heat (Grand Rapids, MI)
White Ghost Shivers (Austin, TX)
Whitehouse (Edinburgh, UK)
WHY? (Oakland, CA)
Wideawake (Austin, TX)
Andre Williams (Chicago, IL)
The Willowz (Los Angeles, CA)
Winterpills (Northampton, MA)
Witch (Brattleboro, VT)
Wolf And Cub (Adelaide, Australia)
Wolfmother (Sydney, Australia)
Women & Children (Paris, France)
Carolyn Wonderland (Austin, TX)
Wooden Wand (Knoxville, TN)
Working For A Nuclear Free City (Manchester, UK)
World Leader Pretend (New Orleans, LA)
World Party (London, UK)

XXX
Xiu Xiu (San Francisco, CA)

YYY
Toru Yonaha (Okinawa, Japan)
Adrienne Young & Little Sadie (Nashville, TN)
Young and Sexy (Vancouver, BC)
Young Heart Attack (Austin, TX)
Young People (Brooklyn, NY)
You Say Party! We Say Die! (Vancouver, BC)
Youth Group (Melborne, Australia)
Yuppie Pricks (Austin, TX)

ZZZ
Zakary Thaks (Corpus Christi, TX)
The Zico Chain (Brighton, UK)
Luke Zimmerman (Hanover, MN)
The Zincs (Chicago, IL)
Zolar X (Plutonia, PLUTO)
Zombi (Chicago, IL)
Zom Zoms (Austin, TX)
Zykos (Austin, TX)
ZZZ (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

See? We told you it was long, didn't we? Nigel R from the reactivated Church of Me points out that there's nothing quite as delicious as Vanilla Ice in this year's line up, although we can't help noticing perpetually irritating real ale flavoured Waterboys spin-off World Party are in there; we're slightly happier to see that amongst the bright young things is our erstwhile next-neighbour Pete Wylie and the Mighty Wah! (his version of Pete Burns' Big Brother appearance, we expect); he'll be kept company by Ian McCulloch and the Bunnymen - that's only a Julian Cope short of a potential Crucial Three reunion right there in Texas.

And while we know Stan Ridgeway probably shouldn't be seen as on a par with Joe Dolce, we still have him firmly pegged as a one-hit novelty wonder.

Still, a cracking line-up - we hope they're doing a music dump through the filesharing netwroks this year.

If it keeps growing at this rate, they'll have every band in the world playing by 2010.

music sxsw

VERY GOOD, YOU'VE BROKEN SOME THINGS

We're not sure who's underwriting the Babyshambles sideshow these days, but we bet they'll be delighted that the stuff the band didn't succeed in smashing to pieces they threw to the audience at the end of their Reading Festival appearance.

Hint, Pete: The Who used to substitute fake equipment before they started breaking things. Otherwise, it gets pretty expensive.

Elsewhere at Reading/Leeds, The Rakes battled on despite Alan Donohoe being sicklisted off; in Reading they swelled their ranks with Russell and Gordon Bloc Party, Paul from Maximo Park and, um, Danny and Dirk from Sigue Sigue Towers of London. In Leeds, Kele Okereke helped out.

Razorlight gave a sneaky preview of the track they'll be doing for the new Help album - although they'd actually played it at Glastonbury, but that was before it was earmarked for the project. Andy Burrows told the NME that their Reading set would mark the official end of touring for the Up All Night album, too.

Charlotte Hatherley was joined on stage by Graham Coxon, which made her a little wibbly:

“Graham’s brilliant because he just kind of ambles on, pulls a few faces, plays some amazingly crazy wacky guitar, and then ambles off. Haha! It’s so cool. I’m quite a huge Blur fan though, I went to see them when I was 15 and he was my kind of pin up, so in that respect I thought it was really mad. Is he still on my wall now? Yes!"

The crime story seems to be spinning round in the opposite direction from the start of the weekend - apparently, all that theft during the first twenty-four hours marked a less crime-ridden festival:

Melvin Benn, managing director of the Mean Fiddler, organisers of the Reading Festival, said: “We have had a musically fantastic weekend, blessed with glorious sunshine and happy crowds.

“We have also had significant reductions in crime, medical casualties and fires. It’s been a great weekend.”

The police, too, were happy with the way the event went:

Superintendent Steve Kirk said: “Despite the higher numbers of people attending Reading Festival this year I am extremely pleased to say that we have seen a large reduction in crime, with over a quarter fewer victims than in 2004.”

And we now know that Fightstar are tougher than Fifty cent - they were bottled at the start of their set, but refused to be cowed; eventually, the crowd ran out of bottles, which is close enough to "winning them over" as to do for us.

Earlier Reading-Leeds post

music festivals reading leeds babyshambles pete doherty

IF ONLY THEY DID NEW BAND TENT TICKETS ONLY...

It's clear that, with the likes of Ladytron, Charlotte Hatherley, the Dresden Dolls and Boy Kill Boy lined up, the best Reading/Leeds strategy is to stay in the new bands tent:

Friday Reading/ Saturday Leeds - Ladytron, Charlotte Hatherley, Saul Williams, The National, Mando Diao, The Paddingtons, We Are Scientists, The Blood Arm, Cherubs, Two Gallants, The Rogers Sisters and Fell City Girl.

Saturday Reading/Sunday Leeds - The Go! Team, The Raveonettes, Sleater Kinney, Caesars, Yeti, Dogs, Arctic Monkeys, Mystery Jets, 747’s, Clor and Neon.

Sunday Reading/FridayLeeds - Echo & The Bunnymen, Adam Green, The Dresden Dolls, Engineers, Amusement Parks on Fire, Komakino, Towers Of London, The Rifles, Battle, Every Move A Picture, Young Offenders Institute, Boy Kill Boy and Forward Russia.

Practice:
Ladytron's Sugar, currently available to pre-order

Scrummy Boy Kill Boy limited single

Charlotte's debut solo

musicfestivalsreadingleeds

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS, JANICE?: It's time for the NME Awards 2005 shortlist - you'll already have voted once, of course (although judging by Morrissey's appearance in the Best Dressed shortlist, some of us have vote more than once, haven't we, Stephen?); now you get a chance to vote again, to decide the overall winner and to ensure that justice is done. The shortlists in full:

Best British Band
Kasabian
Snow Patrol
Muse
Franz Ferdinand
The Libertines

We're always a little surprised that Muse have the heft to always turn up in polls like this, even in years when they don't do much. Or maybe Matt Bellamy just has an enormously thick folder of journalist's secrets.

Best International Band
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
The Strokes
U2
Scissor Sisters

The Kings of Leon v U2, of course, pitches the tour buddies against each other - although Bono probably won't mind missing out on this one, just so long, heh heh, as the Leons don't turn up on his Nobel Peace Prize shortlist...

Best Solo Artist
Morrissey
Graham Coxon
The Streets
Ian Brown
Eminem

At the time of the Brit shortlist, we pondered if The Streets really are a solo artist - more a fluid collective arranged around a fixed point. But there's not a category for that. The inclusion of Eminem here seems to be designed to make it an odd one out contest.

Best New Band
Bloc Party
The Killers
Razorlight
Kasabian
Babyshambles

The way things are going, it's likely half the bands in the list will have been former bands by the time the gongs are given out. It should be a Bloc Party shoo-in, but Razorlight fans - we suspect - are being drilled right now to ensure their not-stage-frightened heroes take the prize.

Best Live Band
Muse
Razorlight
The Libertines
Franz Ferdinand
Babyshambles

Surely Babyshambles, with their turn up or not attitude, can't really be eligible for this category? They might win on Best Live Performance, but the title here is meant to reward consistency, isn't it?

Best Album
The Libertines - The Libertines
Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Green Day - American Idiot
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free

Libs v Franz v Streets, then, the same as virtually every year-end poll so far; it might be amusing to see the Scissor Sisters sweep in and pick up the title. Are we still pretending Green Day have something to offer anyone with an IQ that can outsmart a sponge?

Best Track
U2 - Vertigo
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
Razorlight - Golden Touch
The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

I've yet to meet anyone - either online, or in that fleshy, swishy real life that some of you know about - who thinks that Vertigo is a track that stands up alongside U2's back catalogue. That it had turned up here is a real insult to a load of brilliant singles whose oxygen it has swallowed and taken. Take Me Out was a great single, but it's surely got to be Dry Your Eyes - if only for proving that Number One records can still, sometimes, do more than provide an excuse for flogging a ringtone.

Best Live Venue
Birmingham Academy
Brixton Academy
Glasgow Barrowlands
London Astoria
Manchester Academy

Choose which large, soulless, corporate-sponsored supermarket you want here: although, at least, Brixton Academy does look kind of cool inside.

Best Live Event
Glastonbury
Carling Weekend
T In The Park
V2004
Download

Download? Download? Talk about being on Earth to make up the bloody numbers. Reading-Leeds is probably going to lose some votes because it's hidden under that name which nobody - nobody at all - uses for it. Eavis must be buffing the prize already; V2006 might be worth a bet.

Best Video
The Streets - Fit But You Know It
Interpol - Evil
Eminem - Mosh
Beastie Boys - Triple Trouble
Green Day - American Idiot

A tricky old category, mainly because we don't really care. None of the videos have really made much of an impression on us.

Best TV Show
Little Britain
Peep Show
Gonzo
The Mighty Boosh
Green Wing

We smell some sort of background campaign to get The Boosh into the starting trap here - or maybe the number of votes for Little Britain just meant that the rest of the set was more or less random.

Best Radio Show
Zane Lowe
Chris Moyles
Steve Lemacq (sic)
Christian O'Connell
Colin Murray and Edith Bowman

Interesting that the NME can't spell its own graduate; it would be depressing, but every ounce of our depress muscles are being used on the Moyles/O'Connell/Bowman & Murray triumverate.

Best Film
Shaun Of The Dead
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Spiderman 2
School Of Rock
Lost In Translation

Isn't it so sweet that there aren't any more Lord of the Bloody Rings movies, eh?

Best Website
www.thelibertines.org.uk
www.morrissey-solo.com
www.muse.mu
www.nme.com
www.u2.com

U2.com probably stank in its own kitchen with that ticket-flogging screw-up last week: the music poll equivalent of being caught selling kids to buy smack three days before polls open. Of course, although nme.com should really be ineligible it's the best of a limited focus offering.

Hero Of The Year
Carl Barat
Bono
Pete Doherty
Morrissey
John Peel

We imagine that Peel will win, as it seems fitting for there to be a recognition of some sort in this year's poll results; but for actual heroism, Carl Barat deserves the title - taking the firm line on Pete's addicition, telling him to choose, took guts, and if a few others around Doherty had been as brave, we might not be all kicking our heels waiting for the tragic last act.

Villain Of The Year
Tony Blair
George Bush
Pete Doherty
Justin Hawkins
Wolfman

That would be the world in a nutshell: some people are angry that people will lie to an electorate, railroad voters, enter into illegal wars and allow oil prospectors to go where the hell they like in Alasaka. Others don't like a man who wears a catsuit.

Sexiest Man
Carl Barat
Pete Doherty
Brandon Flowers
Alex Kapranos
Morrissey

We know the Royal Mail is rubbish, but it must be bad if it's taken them since Morrissey was sexy to get the forms back to Kings Reach Tower. Alex is kind of cute, but would anyone really want to throw him onto his back and ensure he can never wear his trousers again? And Carl... we might, if we really needed a bed, but...

Sexiest Woman
Brody Dalle
Charlotte Hatherley
Ana Matronic
Karen O
Gwen Stefani

The godlike Charlotte Hatherley makes even discussion of this category pointless (even although we bet Stefani takes the crown).

Best Dressed
Carl Barat
Pete Doherty
Brandon Flowers
Alex Kapranos
Morrissey

Kapranos. Obvious, innit?

Worst Dressed
Pete Doherty
Goldie Lookin Chain
Har Mar Superstar
Justin Hawkins
Britney Spears

GLC dress like that on purpose, so don't count.
Har Mar dresses like that on purpose, so doesn't count.
Pete Doherty has to win, if only for that stupid bloody hat - the last person to wear a hat like that was, if we recall, Ralph, the villain from the first series of Tucker's Luck.

Worst Album
Busted A Present For Everyone
Embrace Out Of Nothing
Keane Hopes And Fears
Lostprophets Start Something
McFly - Room On The Third Floor

Busted and McFly do exactly what's asked of them, and - in Busted's case at least - do it rather well; and you could say the same for Embrace and Keane. Which leaves Lostprophets. Nobody wants them to do it, and they don't care. Make them care.

Worst Band
Busted
The Darkness
Keane
Maroon 5
McFly

So much hatred for the Darkness this year isn't there? Let's hope Maroon 5 pick this one up, just so they know that there's some people who've seen through them.

Best Music DVD
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
The White Stripes - Live Under Blackpool Lights
Nirvana - With The Lights Out
Pixies - Pixies
Scissor Sisters - We Are Scissor Sisters And So Are You

The Pixies DVD. Their stuff has aged really well.

Go vote. You don't want Bush to come round an enforce voting on you, do you?

WHAT THE POP PAPERS SAY: O2 tell you who's cool edition
Elton John is on the cover of this week's Radio Times, nuzzling up to Billy Connolly: "He's the best-kept secret in comedy." Thats what Billy thinks about Elton, although, to be honest, I think most people have had a chuckle at Elton at one time or another. The Post Office advert, for example?

Ewww! Ewww! What the hell is that on the cover of the NME? It's kind of like those things you used to have when you were kids where if you tilted the picture, Mickey Mouse appeared to be juggling or whatever. Only it's got Pete Doherty on it, a big, 3D almost moving Pete Doherty with a moving Swiss Re building behind him. We're torn between thinking that it's pretty cool (have you ever rubbed your nail on one of those? It sounds like pvc and zippers) and a bit rubbish and unnecessary. Certainly, the one on the back - an advert for O2 - is a bit pointless, but we guess the back explains how they funded the front. We're mainly glad we're not a paperboy trying to get the thing through a letterbox.

It's cool list time again, you see, and that counts as a "special issue".

First, though, we've got to get past Thom Yorke being covered in chocolate, making a point about fair trade. And Bono trying to dig himself out of a lot of silly bother over that Band Aid line - oh, how he wishes someone, anyone else had sung it, but, oh, Nigel Goodrich - who Bono really respects - insisted he sang it.

Peter Robinson takes on Charlotte Hatherley, but she's on a bus somewhere else wearing a hat. And she uses Macs, which makes her even more alright in our book.

Duncan Bell shoots off a little early in the opinion column, starting "So, John Peel's barely cold in the ground and his slot is to be filled by Rod Da Bank..." - erm, yes: but only - so far - until Christmas. Oddly Radio One didn't have a spare DJ sitting about in case Peel dies - although we imagine they might have a chap lined up in case one day Moyles wakes up to himself and needs to be taken off to counselling, wailing "My lord, what have I become?" So Rob is a temporary fill-in. He might become permanent - who knows? - but to criticise Radio One for not putting out two hours of dead air three times a week seems a little bit unfair. Still, Bell quickly moves on to suggesting that a better solution to the loss of Peel would be a hiring from Resonance FM, which isn't a bad idea.

Sharing the opinion page, here comes Fran Healy to do his bit for Band Aid: being lectured by Healy on how to make a better world really rankles - and he's excited about the government and The Rough Guide publishers producing a Rough Guide To A Better World, trying to make doing good trendy, like going to Phuket or wearing a poncho. The terrible thing is, I have no doubt he means well, deep in his little heart, but... it all sounds so smug. Saving the world should be sexy and snarling and angry, not polite and thank-you and sponsored by the bloody Rough Guides.

Cool list, then... Graham Coxon is at 50; Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro at 41 (Biffy Clyro are, though, surely just the Wonder Stuff of the new world, as they don't really seem to exist for any other reason than to prop up bills and release singles to fill up space in the corner of review pages); despite having had a year when he returned to the top of everyone's tousseled hair, Robert Smith manages to drop from 27 to 40; Sam Herlihy from Hope of the States is at 34 (owns stinky Converse trainers); Karen O is down to 31 and Jack White falls down to 26. Leila Moss newly enters at number 23: she thinks The Delgados' Emma should be there too, but she isn't. Apparently we're still supposed to be taking Green Day seriously as Billie Joe Armstrong is at 22. The Maggot - from Goldie Lookin' Chain is cooler (12), apparently, than Andre 3000 (13) but not as cool - quite - Dominic Masters (12). Are selfish cunt cool? Martin Tomlinson is at number 9 - last year he was at 49, which means that he's been around a year achieving, um, whatever it is. Apparently, part of his coolness is because he threw shit at Pete Doherty at that Buck House photoshoot (to be honest, that's pretty much the whole of it). And yet - as the cover might suggest - Pete Doherty is top of the tree. So if he's cool, how can throwing shit at him be cool? Isn't that a contradiction? Even more confusing: Carl Barat is also at number one - which means the maths is wrong (as there's a number two as well as an equal number one) - and although we understand the rationale: laurel and hardy; samson and delilah; richard and judy; love and marriage; frank and esther bough - surely the whole story of 2004 was about the splitting; about the choices both made? Surely you can either think Pete, with his drugs and crime and messing people about, is cool; or Carl, with his brave attempts to help his friend and then his even braver decision that his help was making things worse, to turn away, is cool? There are two choices for number one, but they can't both be number one.

reviews
live
the killers - dublin olympia - "the new songs need to stand up"
lcd soundsystem - paris elysee - "whipped-through seven song set"
the research - london infinity - "so twee they make sneering scensters want to vomit"

albums
jay-z/linkin park - collision course - "pointless, unfathomable", 3
nas - street's disciple - "full of revelations", 9

tracks
totw - regina spektor - your honour - ""gurgling like a toddler with tourettes"
electric six - radio gaga - "musical syphilis"

Finally... there's more O2 advertising madness as Agen Blue, Delays and Goldie Lookin' Chain are given mobiles to go and take pictures. GLC keep their clothes on, but Agent Blue let not just their school down, not just the sponsors down, but by dropping their trousers, they let themselves down, too.