Don't judge an album by its cover

I'm sure some of these are really good, honest. But I wouldn't want the Ministers to lay their hands on me, nor to witness Gary getting down to business, nor to know what John Bult gets up to on Julie's sixteenth birthday. And if the Faith Tones wanted to use me, I'd be terrified, quite frankly.

And while I'm on the subject of the collision between the musical and the ridiculous, take a peek at the video for 'Heathen Child', the first single to be taken from the forthcoming second Grinderman album.

Update: And there's more...

(Thanks to Gareth and Mhairi for the links.)

Flaming good

Four early observations on new Arcade Fire album The Suburbs:

1. It's more measured and subtle than its predecessors - less full-on, less overtly apocalyptic, less pomp and circumstance, but not necessarily the worse for it.

2. A lot of the songs sound like Springsteen, except for the single 'Ready To Start', which sounds like the Strokes.

3. Wyn Butler really is obsessed with the youth of today, isn't he? "The kids" recurs like a mantra.

4. It's rather a splendid comeback, whichever way you look at it.

Rapped on the knuckles

No sooner have Goldie Lookin Chain responded to 'Newport (Ymerodraeth State Of Mind)' with a diss track that might ignite a US East Coast v West Coast style rap feud than the original has been forcibly taken down from YouTube. All rather petty and ridiculous, really.