The Libertines hold a press conference

The best place to keep an eye on the still-unfolding Libertines comeback press conference is the @Libertines stream:

Carl - it's something I've been dreaming about six years that I can go onstage and say we're the Libertines

Hmm. Really?

I wish I could be more excited about the idea of the Libertines reuniting, but have a nasty feeling it's going to be more like the revival of Monster Munch. Actually, scratch that - the Pickled Onion ones are as good as ever - so it's more like the bringing back of Arctic Roll; the only thing really going for it was that it was of its time, and has become surrounded in a slanket of nostalgia.

Had Dirty Pretty Things had the breakthrough they deserved, and/or Babyshambles been a bit more baby, a lot less shambles, maybe this would look a little more like a reunion driven by affection. Instead, there's a feeling that this might not be happening if petrol hadn't got so expensive recently.

Dirty Pretty no longer Things

Carl Barat's post-Libertines adventure, Dirty Pretty Things, are calling it a day. There's a statement:

01/10 Dirty Pretty Things Official Announcement
It is with some sadness we announce the farewell of the Dirty Pretty Things. It's been a glorious three years which we all would gladly live out again, but it is time for us to try new things. (not The Libertines). We are reluctant to give up touring but will give the last waltz everything. We have and are determined to go out as we came in, after which we all have other ventures to be getting on with and splendid future plans. Heartfelt thanks to all who made it what it was, much love and we'll see you on the road.

The "not The Libertines", you suspect, might be telling here - although a perfectly great band in their own right, it must have been grinding knowing there's always a part of your following who really hope you're going to get back with your ex.

That, Carl, is showbiz

Carl Barat wants Mark Ronson to do some work for him, but is having trouble getting his attention:

"I wanna do a track with him for this film about northern soul music," the Dirty Pretty Things star told BBC 6 Music. "[But] I can't get hold of him. Maybe he is ignoring me, I don’t know."

Good plumbers and flavour of the month superstar producers. You'll never get them to return your calls.

Still, there are other people who will turn up for anything:

Barat also revealed that he is making a dub reggae record with Jon McClure from Reverend And The Makers.

If it's not any good, they're going to abandon it. Although Barat hasn't provided any data on where the bar is being set.

"Quite avant-garde"

Our buttocks tighten whenever we hear the word "supergroup" being muttered, even when it's one featuring Tim Burgess, Jamie HinceReynolds and Carl Barat.

It's going to happen, though, Tim has said so:

"The idea is to actually record something proper over the summer when we get a chance.

"Myself, Carl and Jamie from Klaxons actually went out for a bit of a band meeting and I think that we are all free in August - but I've just heard the news yesterday that Carl got quite sick so hopefully he'll be recovered by then."

As a general rule of thumb, however gorgeous the resulting band might look in the video, any band meeting which starts with members trying to synchronise diaries so they might turn up in the same place at the same time is a sign that the results of their labours might not be so much fun for the audience as for the artists.

"I just want it to be very serious you know, which would kinda be conflicting in the way that people have seen us in the past, but I think it might be quite avant-garde to be honest."

... so maybe not being fun won't be a problem?

Let's hope that it's not so avant-garde that they don't make a strongly homoerotic video.

The band is currently labouring under the name The Chavs, which you really hope they have another think over.

Barat is bedridden

Carl Barat has been rushed off to hospital, suffering from stomach pains which, it turns out, are actually acute pancreatitis.

He's being kept in where the doctors can keep an eye on him; this means Friday's DPT gig in London has been cancelled.

Barat: Looking miserable for Libertines fans

Carl Barat has told the Independent that the biggest challenge to Dirty Pretty Things was trying to not disturb Libertines fans:

"At the Isle of Wight," Barat recalls, "I felt I couldn't be seen to be having a good time, because I was dutifully carrying this cross. I thought that's what the fans of The Libertines wanted. A lot of them were in mourning for the band."

So, then... will there be a resurrection? Not unless there's a point, he insists. Even the friendship with Doherty can be a distraction:

"Once I've done what I'm doing now, it won't be hard at all. It may detract in the short term from what I'm trying to achieve. It's certainly a friendship I cherish. But I want to let it be for a while. A lot of my friends say you should only do reunion if you're going to write a new album. I agree. Otherwise it's just a cash-cow, a glory-milker. I've still got 'Libertine' tattooed on my arm. There were some kids outside who asked me to play some Libertines tonight. One of them was covered with blood, for some reason."

For some reason.

No word, no mention, of the supposed musical Barat and Doherty are meant to be busy writing, you'll note.

DPT experience sophomore slump

Chances of the Dirty Pretty Things turning up at Glastonbury are dropping, as Carl Barat reveals the second album is proving, well, difficult:

"The recording process was quite long. We were approaching from a different style of doing things as well, less jingly-jangly and happy-go-lucky. It was a bit more planned.”

"Glastonbury's been rumoured but we don't have many bargaining chips when we don't have any songs out.

"It's quite frustrating not to have anything out. We're eager to get the record out but a lot of hiccups seem to be happening along the way.

"There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up properly and then someone had to go back to Los Angeles and pick up the files again and strange things like that."

See, last night's Buzzcocks might have had a lot of fun at the expense of the Yellow Pages, but if the band had had a copy round they could have looked up 'Couriers: International' and saved themselves a couple of days. Something to think about when Glastonbury are forced to stick The View on instead of the DPT.

Carl Barat says goodbye to the Circus

The Dirty Pretty Things have gone off the Twisted Circus bill with a trump, trump, trump. The band had been advertised as headliners for the Skegness festival; instead, they're going to be in the studio.

Libertines singer "will go to prison"

Not Doherty, of course - indeed, the Daily Mirror is running a poll today to see if any of its readers believe Pete will ever again see the inside the inside of the cell; the consensus is 'no' - but Carl Barat is heading inside with Dirty Pretty Things to do a gig in Pentonville. It's an attempt to raise awareness of the large numbers of inmates who kill themselves while in the prison system.

It's like they're in cahoots

Before lunch, it was Babyshambles' second album appearing in the distance; now, it's the Dirty Pretty Things who are readying their second collection:

Anthony Rossomando told Spinner: "Carl and me, we've been to some cemeteries recently to do some writing. We go in the afternoon and hang out, drink a couple cans and wander around and bump back into each other and go 'What have you got? What have you got?' kind of thing."

We're slightly alarmed at the idea of the album being written while drinking cider in a graveyard, which makes us fear the main focuses of the lyrics are going to be how far you can get with an upper sixth girl and how parents, right, just don't get it, but it's surely got to be better than having the album knocked together during the downtim,e between court appearances and digging escape tunnels out of rehab.

Release is expected during a vague "Spring 2008".

GlastOn TV: Cape, Killers, and a dodgy Cold War metaphor

Eventually, the BBC played out Babyshambles in full. With his busted voice, and ladyscarf dangling from his pocket, it was a bit like a 1970s Rod Stewart tribute act. We'd actually turned on to a different screen before Kate Moss turned up.

There was no Carl Barat on stage with Pete, and Pete didn't wander on during the Dirty Pretty Things set, either. It would be foolish to try and set the two performances up in some sort of competition with each other, but that's never stopped us. DPT were West Germany to Babyshamble's pre-unification East; you're always aware that, just as the West never lost the faith that one day Berlin would be restored at the seat of power, so Carl has a look in his eye that reunification might be a possibility, but for now, is reveling in the freedom, while Babysshambles feels like a grimmer place to be, where even the fun comes with a sense of predetermination. There is no negotiation; the party line is the only line.

Seriously: would you rather be bouncing up and down to You Fucking Love It, or hoping your smile looks genuine as Comrade Moss comes on to perform her part on La Belle?

Also, Pete: your penis looks horrible. Please, never go near TV cameras without putting underpants on, ever again. Thank you.

An even bigger fashion mistake was Patrick Wolf, who seemed to have come dressed like a Pinnochio doll from a pound shop.

And we're still not sure if the guy who was hanging round the front of the Get Cape Wear Cape Fly stage in a big red cape was a fan paying homage, a support crew member with a sense of humour, or simply enacting a Get Cape Wear Cape Steal Equipment plan. GCWCF was the highlight of yesterday evening, though - even incoporating a backdrop with a fairtrade message, which is the closest anyone's come to that much-touted "glastonbury radical spirit" we keep hearing so much about.

By contrast, The Killers had some sort of pile of dead antlers to balance their keyboards on. And, of course, they had fireworks at the end. Isn't it about time one of the headline acts could come up with a more interesting idea than just letting off a few small-scale explosions to mark the end of their set?

Iggy Pop's skin: it looks like it's made of the stuff that they used in the 1960s when fake leather technology had yet to advance to a point where it could manage to replicate the flexibility of cowhide.

It's not all Shirley Bassey

There are reports on NME.com suggesting that The Libertines might reunite for Glastonbury, or, at least, Pete and Carl might stumble together onto a stage somewhere to run through It's Thelma I'm Marrying.

Although, admittedly, this is based less on inside knowledge and more on something that they read in the Mirror this morning - which is a little odd under the strapline "First for Music News". The NME does have exclusive photos of the pair working together in a studio last Friday, but, erm, isn't publishing them until they've been in the paper. And that was for Radio 2's Sergeant Pepper thing, so it's a safe bet there might be some BBC shots kicking around, too.

No deadwood: Tim Burgess

A snatch of Tim Burgess joining Dirty Pretty Things for Deadwood on stage at the Koko Club in November 2006. He's reading the lyrics, you know.

... and on from anywhere

Whereas his former mate spends his days playing with shooters and trying to kill penguins, Carl Barat seems to be more interested in, you know, making music. The ggod news is that work has started on a second Dirty Pretty Things album. Barat tells the NME:

"We're not interested in making some archetypal self-indulgent second album. Every band feels pressure for their second album because it's supposed to be an elevation from the first one, but we've seen a lot of second albums come out over the past year and most of them aren't really about anything, they're just about trying really hard to write hits. We'd like to be able to do what Nirvana did which was to write songs that were popular but also have integrity."

Presumably without the blowing-your-head off bit at the end. Or Courtney.

Please, no Courtney.

They're the glittering alternative to the Brits

So closed has the distance between the Brits and the NME become that last year's NME presenter, Russell Brand, is lined up to present the Brits this year. Many of the nominations, however, don't even have a twelve month period before leaping from the "alternative" to the mainstream. Indeed, because the Brits get their shortlist out first, The Kooks were lauded as best newcomers by the dickie-bow and suit brigade before the tshirt and jeans brigade even started voting.

The NME nominations have now appeared, and even Victoria Newton would be familiar with almost everyone on the lists.

Best British Band
Arctic Monkeys
Babyshambles
Kasabian
Muse
Oasis

And - with the possible exception of Kasabian and Muse switching - that's probably the order they'll finish up in. We've said before that we do like Muse, but their constant appearance on best of lists is a puzzle for us - there are so many other bands which turn out unsurprising but decent stuff, why don't they get a nod from time to time?

And Oasis? Oasis?

Best International Band
CSS
The Killers
My Chemical Romance
The Strokes
We Are Scientists

This is quite a mixed bag - nice to see CSS and We Are Scientists are in there; the appearance of The Strokes makes us wonder if their nomination is down to them re-using forms from a couple of years ago that hadn't been properly wiped clean. We're assuming the continued kindness to the Killers is on the basis that if, as they clearly want to, they do turn into U2, a long record of being nice to the band won't hurt when it comes to circulation-boosting interviews. And My Chemical Romance, of course, are there because the paper made the mistake of pretending to be interested in Emo and are too afraid to drop the pretence entirely.

The Killers will probably win here, unless NME really wants to upset Kerrang.

Best solo artist
Lily Allen
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Jarvis Cocker
Jamie T
Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke's album was a bit, well, unawardworthy, wasn't it? Although obviously not as unawardworthy as Jamie T - as the album and his Gideon Coe session shows, there's something there, but it's so far from being fully-formed this sort of nomination is a little premature. Get Cape and so on is probably a little rarified in the sort of awards show where Oasis make the shortlist, so it'll be down to Jarvis versus Allen. Online voting and the famous Allen fanbase should mean it won't go to its rightful winner.

Best new band
The Fratellis
The Horrors
Klaxons
The Kooks
The View

Be honest, though... if none of these bands existed, would you bother waiting for someone to invent them? Probably a good chance the Kooks' stage school lessons on 'delivering a gracious acceptance speech' will pay off.

Best live act
Arctic Monkeys
Babyshambles
Kasabian
Muse
My Chemical Romance

The most interesting thing we can discern from this is that, since 4/5 of the acts are from the Best British Band category, even the NME admits that Oasis live are just plodding through the motions. But doesn't that infer that the paper is endorsing the version of Oasis we get on records these days? Surely not?

Best album
Arctic Monkeys - 'Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'
Kasabian - 'Empire'
The Killers - 'Sam's Town'
Muse - 'Black Holes And Revelations'
My Chemical Romance - 'The Black Parade'

But then, that can't be the case, can it, as Oasis on record last year were just a best of - so if they're not making new records, and they're not that good live, what is it that Oasis have done to qualify for their position on the best album shortlist?

The Monkeys should probably pick up the best album prize here fairly comfortably. Did anyone actually listen to Sam's Town before they nominated it? Not at a dinner party, we mean.

Best Track
Dirty Pretty Things - 'Bang Bang You're Dead'
The Killers - 'When You Were Young'
Klaxons - 'Atlantis To Interzone'
Muse - 'Supermassive Black Hole'
The View - 'Wasted Little DJs'

Once one of the highpoints of any awards ceremony, best single is now best track and sits in the Napoleon Suite with other non-categories like best DVD. Let's hope Carl gets this one.

Best Video
The Horrors - 'Sheena Is A Parasite'
Kasabian - 'Empire'
The Killers - 'Bones'
OK Go - 'Here It Goes Again'
Panic! At The Disco - 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies'

Hopefully, the viewers of MTV2 will take care of this one. Ok Go will probably win because they were on the YouTubes.

Best Music DVD
Arctic Monkeys - 'Scummy Man'
Dirty Pretty Things - 'Puffing On A Coffin Nail'
Foo Fighters - 'Skin And Bones'
Maximo Park - 'Found On Film'
My Chemical Romance - 'Life On The Murder Scene'

Maximo Park... bloody hell, fancy meeting you here. I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to care about this award. It sounds like the sort of thing they should be presenting at a Woolworths sales force conference rather than the NME awards.

Best Live Event
Carling Weekend: Reading And Leeds Festivals
Download 2006
Oxegen
T In The Park
V2006

The "prize for not being Glastonbury", then.

Best Film
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Casino Royale
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Borat? Presumably they're waiting for Dirty Sanchez II to come to DVD?

Best TV Show
Extras
Gonzo
Lost
The Mighty Boosh
Never Mind The Buzzcocks

Gonzo's repeated appearance is heartwarming, the moreso as it probably has about six viewers. Mind you, the same could be said of Lost since it disappeared off into Sky One. Extras has got that Steven Merchant out of Six Music in it, you know, so at least it's vaguely musical.

Best Radio Show
Lauren Laverne (Xfm)
Zane Lowe (Radio 1)
Chris Moyles (Radio 1)
Colin Murray (Radio 1)
Jo Whiley(Radio 1)

Seeing Chris Moyles on the shortlist is like discovering that bloke you fancy reads The Sun, isn't it? It'd be lovely to think Lauren could win this, but it'll probably go to one of the national names.

Hero Of The Year
Carl Barat
Pete Doherty
Faris Rotter
Alex Turner
Gerard Way

Villain Of The Year
Tony Blair
Johnny Borrell
George Bush
Pete Doherty
Gerard Way

Gerard Way is such a wonderful name, for all the wrong reasons - it sounds like the postal address for council offices in somewhere like Southampton, doesn't it? If you cancel out people appear on both lists, the hero has to be either Carl or Faris Rotter - so, that's Carl then - and the villain is either Tony or George. Just when they thought they'd never have to face a public vote again.

Sexiest Man
Carl Barat
Matt Bellamy
Pete Doherty
Brandon Flowers
Gerard Way

Sexiest Woman
Lily Allen
Beth Ditto
Kate Jackson
Kate Moss
Karen O

Next year, we could have a "sexiest kate" category all of its own. We reckon the blokes list contains a perfect ten, if you add them all together - although, to be fair, the minuses next to Flowers and Doherty do hobble them somewhat. And, seriously, NME: Kate Jackson would eat you for breakfast. Actually, you probably wouldn't make it as far as the kebab stand on the way home.

Best Dressed
Carl Barat
Russell Brand
Pete Doherty
Brandon Flowers
Faris Rotter

Worst Dressed
Lily Allen
Johnny Borrell
Russell Brand
Pete Doherty
Faris Rotter

Johnny Borrell will be trying to put a brave face on the poor showing of Razorlight tonight - worst dressed and villain, and both for him personally. Is there nothing he can berate his hapless band-mate-pigeons for?

Worst Album
Lily Allen - 'Alright, Still'
The Feeling - 'Twelve Stops And Home'
My Chemical Romance - 'The Black Parade'
Razorlight - 'Razorlight'
Robbie Williams - 'Rudebox'

Aha! That's it. Break out the straps of chastisement, Johnny. People would have bloody loved that album if it wasn't for the instrumentalisationalism being so lame. Bad, bad Razorlight.

Mind you, Rudebox was miles worse. Even Newton found it hard to pretend it was any good.

Worst Band
The Feeling
The Horrors
The Kooks
Panic! At The Disco
Razorlight

Johnny, you're clearly going to have to offload those chumps. See how they drag you down?

We're bemused as to why The Feeling are getting such a kicking, though. Yes, they probably deserve it, but... in a world with Larrakin Love, aren't our pointy-toed boots aiming in the wrong direction?

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Glasgow Barrowlands
London KOKO
London Astoria
Manchester Apollo

What criteria should be applied here? Quality of toilets? Niceness of doorstaff?

Best Website
DrownedinSound
Last.FM
MySpace
Pitchfork
YouTube
Not including NME.COM

Why not including NME.com? Either throw your hat in, or don't. Actually... wouldn't a best music magazine category be rather fun, come to that?

2006Music: Surf through the year

As a way of wishing you a Merry Christmas, here's our annual round-up of the year on No Rock and Roll Fun:

Our review of the year
Other people's best-of lists
Some of the music we've liked this year
The year in musical obituaries

A week-by-week trail through the year:

01 January 2006
08 January 2006
15 January 2006
22 January 2006
29 January 2006
05 February 2006
12 February 2006
19 February 2006
26 February 2006
05 March 2006
12 March 2006
19 March 2006
26 March 2006
02 April 2006
09 April 2006
16 April 2006
23 April 2006
30 April 2006
07 May 2006
14 May 2006
21 May 2006
28 May 2006
04 June 2006
11 June 2006
18 June 2006
25 June 2006
02 July 2006
09 July 2006
16 July 2006
23 July 2006
30 July 2006
06 August 2006
13 August 2006
20 August 2006
27 August 2006
03 September 2006
10 September 2006
17 September 2006
24 September 2006
01 October 2006
08 October 2006
15 October 2006
22 October 2006
29 October 2006
05 November 2006
12 November 2006
19 November 2006
26 November 2006
03 December 2006
10 December 2006
17 December 2006
24 December 2006 (after it happens, of course)
The year in awards and events:
ITV Greatest Hits
Grammy nomimnations
NME cool list
Children in Need
Radio 1's new late-night line-up
Jackson at the World Music Awards
MOBOs
AMA nominations
MTV European Music Awards
Q awards
Mercury Prize 2006
Reading-Leeds and Creamfields
MTV VMAs
Last TOTP
V Festival
Oxjam
T in the Park
Kerrang awards
BET US awards
Ivor Novello
Eurovision
Robbie Williams first night
Morrissey first night
Madonna first night
Manchester Passion
MTV Australia
SXSW
NME Awards
Brits
Grammys
Winter Olympics opening ceremony
French NPR
Take That partial reunion in full
For those of you who like charts, these are the twenty-most read individual news pages from No Rock over the last twelve months:
1. Heather Mills McCartney's educational porn shoot returns to haunt her
2. ... and haunt her some more
3. What does KT Tunstall's braces tell us about her sexuality? (Nothing, actually)
4. McFly go to GAY, get naked
5. Rumours of a more recent Heather Mills nude photoshoot
6. RIAA ask for more time to find the evidence it claimed to have against one of its victims
7. Paul Walters, Terry Wogan's producer, dies
8. News of the World predicts its picture of Pete Doherty shooting up will persuade Kate to drop him
9. Britney Spears offers to take off clothes for Hollywood role
10. Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne's 2004 spat
11. Purplemelon seek publicity by asking Heather Mills to flash them
12. Celebrity Big Brother: Preston who and Pete Burns what?
13. Anti-aboritionists unveil statue of Britney giving birth
14. When Heather Mills tried for a soft porn career
15. Vince Welnick - no longer grateful, but actually dead
16. SXSW line-up in full
17. Peel memorial round-up
18. Martin Gilks of the Wonderstuff dies
19. The Levellers turn property tycoons
20. Chris Martin insults a fat woman
The stories we highlight on the top left are pretty randomly chosen - sometimes they're things we're especially interested in, sometimes they're not, and sometimes they remain unchanged for weeks on end while we actually write stuff. But, for the record, these have been the 2006 left hand highlights:
Madonna: Jesus loves me
Arctic Monkeys not on MySpace
Coming soon: K-Fed the movie
Madonna gets shop job
CIA to track MySpace
Pete chooses Portugal not court
JJ72 give it up
Corgan moves in with Love
Geldof unimpressed with G8
Noel gay "in a manner of speaking"
The end of Penny Lane
Rivers: Weezer no more
Tom R defends Bob G
Lance Bass comes out
Murdoch's beach blanket Bono
Arthur Lee dies
Mansun prepare best of
Ashlee Simpson's nose runs
U2 turn Dutch
RIAA to dead: 60 days to pay
Jarvis podcasts
Robbie reckons Louis would
Kevin Shields plans a trip out
Guy turns Madonna off
Sandi Thom collapses
Heather Mills - naked in 2006
Doherty v the middle class
Not that Brian May
Mos Def beats Bush
Be Your Own Pet split
Brix Smith's house
Bunnyman on trial
Arab Strap split
Green Day support Bono
Noel banks cheques, sobs
Lily Allen swears for kids
Preston drug zombies
MTV: give us content, trust
Embrace disengage
Liam ends DPT gig
Embrace tightens
Robbie: No hug for Moyles
Fatboy says no to Dave
Kate kills Babyshambles tour
Kate kills Babyshambles?
Madonna: Jesus loves me
Arctic Monkeys not on MySpace
Coming soon: K-Fed the movie
Madonna gets shop job
CIA to track MySpace
Pete chooses Portugal not court
JJ72 give it up
Corgan moves in with Love
Geldof unimpressed with G8
Noel gay "in a manner of speaking"
The end of Penny Lane
Rivers: Weezer no more
Tom R defends Bob G
Lance Bass comes out
Murdoch's beach blanket Bono
Arthur Lee dies
Mansun prepare best of
Ashlee Simpson's nose runs
U2 turn Dutch
RIAA to dead: 60 days to pay
Jarvis podcasts
Robbie reckons Louis would
Kevin Shields plans a trip out
Guy turns Madonna off
Sandi Thom collapses
Heather Mills - naked in 2006
Doherty v the middle class
Not that Brian May
Mos Def beats Bush
Be Your Own Pet split
Brix Smith's house
Bunnyman on trial
Arab Strap split
Green Day support Bono
Noel banks cheques, sobs
Lily Allen swears for kids
Preston drug zombies
MTV: give us content, trust
Embrace disengage
Liam ends DPT gig
Embrace tightens
Robbie: No hug for Moyles
Fatboy says no to Dave
Kate kills Babyshambles tour
Kate kills Babyshambles?
Bono "hates" U2
The iPod thriller
Mick Hucknall hails "socialist" BPI
Britney dumps Federline
Madonna's shoot kills lights
Don't look at Mozzer
Borrell unsure - Razorlight or solo
McFly make rubbish girls
Timberlake quits music

Lest we forget: 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

2006Music: What we heard

As ever, attempting to list everything musical that made us put our pants on our head and dance around like herbally-enhanced monkeys would prove impossible; these are just some of the highlights of the highlights:


Cansei De Ser Sexy - Cansei De Ser Sexy
Their music is our hot, hot sex


Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere
To be absolutely honest, Carl Barat doesn't seem to miss Pete as much as Pete seems to need him


Fields - 7 From The Village
If they fail, we all fail


iForward Russia! - Give Me A Wall
Punctuation, off-timing, numerically themed titleage: who, seriously, wouldn't send iFR! one of your kidneys in a jiffy bag if they asked?


Gene - Peel Sessions
A fair collection, although it does confirm they really only had two great moments which they milked repeatedly


Giant Drag - Hearts And Unicorns
Quite possibly the final Giant Drag album, and even if it's not you should cherish it like a love letter from your sixth form days


Nanci Griffith - Ruby's Torch
The widest-eyed heir to Patsy Cline delivers a collection of torch song magic


Luke Haines - Off My Rocker At The Art School Bop
Long-awaited return of Mr. Haines, now dressed as the man from Del Monte for reasons we can't quite figure


Hot Puppies - Under The Crooked Moon
I say we'd better put them in/I hear they use a theremin


Howling Bells - Howling Bells
An Amazon reviewer claims "This album will appeal to you if you like bands such as Coldplay", which is a bit like selling the best sex you've ever had as "appealing, if you're fond of sweating"


Jarvis - Jarvis
He's not Jesus, though he shares the same initials. And now he's been resurrected to save us all.


Joan As Policewoman - Real Life
The far, far more appealing string-driven sidekick of Antony and The Johnsons


Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
We suspect, from the little skip our heart does every time, medical evidence alone would finger this as our album of the year


Cerys Matthews - Never Said Goodbye
Interestingly, she gave this one much more of a push than Cockahoop - and it feels more of a finished product, too


Tift Merritt - Tambourine/ Bramble Rose
Perfect 'start here' double-pack re-release


Metric - Live It Out
Still trying to shake off the "new Elastica" tag, although there are worst tags and you've got to love the shaking


Joanna Newsom - Ys
Five tracks, no waste, the unmistakable stamp of confidence that comes with Steve Albini in the booth... surely Turner Prize material?


Placebo - Meds
Obviously, to accept this a return-to-form, you'd have to accept the form to which Placebo returned so splendidly this year was form worth recapturing. We do.


Rails - Life's A Lonely Road [Myspace]
Kind of the place where REM were prior to Dead Letter Office


Rishi Rich - The Project
Packed with collaborative, imaginative goodness


Riz MC - Post 9/11 Blues [Myspace]
The heart of political pop is, thank god, still beating


Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope
The next person to even suggest she's "like Alanis or Tori" gets it, I swear


Tilly and The Wall - Bottom of Barrels
The Pipettes, only without the gimmickry and all the better for it


Various - CD86
Valiant attempt to celebrate 20 years after by collecting stuff from names we've got etched in hearts: Siddeleys, Hurrah, The Hit Parade, Another Sunny Day...


Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked
They say they do not fuck around. They aren't joking.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
We don't care what anyone says: Karen O is still the coolest person in rock


Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You...
If you must have your ass kicked, who else would you want to do it?

We hate it when our friends remain fairly well balanced

Pete Doherty seems to have turned up the heat on the simmering resentment he seems to have harboured since The Libertines were liquidated in light of his inability to keep appointments, having a girly attack on Carl Barat:

"Do I miss him? He used to get me good crack. That'll do 'innit? He's still really pissed off. But I know he's not like that. He's someone who likes drinking. That's the hypocrisy of it."

Because, of course, enjoying a couple of lagers is virtually the same thing with breaking into your friend's house, stealing his stuff, flogging it, and spending the cash on drugs to pipe straight into whatever vein you haven't already buggered up.

"I paid the price. I got kicked out of the band. And with nothing, no sweat from anyone, we got it together with Babyshambles.

"We really got it. All he's got is the fact that he was in the best band and now he's in the worst band. And he needs to sort that out."

Hmmm. Except, of course, it's not really true, is it? Babyshambles sound like The Libertines without someone to provide a sense of direction, while Dirty Pretty Things have the air of a person rediscovering life after a snap divorce out of a passionate but ultimately destructive marriage.

music pete doherty carl barat libertines babyshambles dirty pretty things

Be undressed and ready, my angel

What we love most about the announcement that Sarah Harding out of Girls Aloud has the hots for Carl Barat is the way it confirms that, yes, popstars live in different worlds to indie stars:

"I like rock boys. I saw Carl recently and I was like: 'Who is THAT?'" The girls looked him up on the internet."

Never mind judges being out of touch - someone who works in the music industry managing to be unaware of the existence of Carl Barat despite, you know, the whole Libertines having been mentioned once or twice in the newspapers over the last three years or so. We've got visions of Cheryl Tweedy leaning over the Google saying "apparently he was in a band with someone called Pete Do Hurty..."

We can only hope this leads to GA doing a cover of You Fucking Love It next year.

music girls aloud sarah harding carl barat dirty pretty things

Even without an expensive drug habit, Carl is broke

Spare some change, guv, for Carl Barat:

"We've got this big profile and we're seen everywhere but we don't sell any fucking records."

Go on... it's an act of charity. Buying just one album will ensure the band can eat. Buying two will provide them with enough to get a simple room for a week. Buy ten albums, and they'll all have their teeth fixed.

music dirty pretty things carl barat