Stopcryingyourheartout.com — It's not often you hear a compliment for Damon Albarn from Noel Gallagher. Time has moved on from the Britpop nonsense of the late Nineties but the rival songwriters are still as different as bitter and beaujolais. But both the lyrics giants of the U... more info

Guardian Music — It might turn a blind eye to frivolous pop and conceptual sound-art, but the Mercury is diligent in its balancing of everything in betweenAs you may have noticed, on Tuesday this week there will be a new Mercury album of the year, the 19th. Even thou... more info

Guardian Music — Paul Morley introduces the Mercury prize nominees and winners that make up his prizes and awards discussion panelAfter a couple of decades, there are a couple of hundred acts to choose from when it comes to assembling a panel to discuss what it was l... more info

Guardian Music — Indie likes to pride itself on having an enlightened sense of gender relations. But that doesn't stop female audience members from being groped at showsI've often thought that indie kids try to purport a more enlightened sense of gender relations bet... more info

ContactMusic — Alex James says classical music saved him when Blur were "disintegrating".The band's bassist says that after they originally parted ways with guitarist Graham Coxon... more info

Guardian Music — From the Pixies to the Zombies, Jude Rogers talks to the bands who chose to burn out, not fade away"People get into bands, and just keep going because it's that's what's in front of them, don't they?" Down the line from New York, sounding world-weary... more info

ContactMusic — BLUR rocker ALEX JAMES almost missed the birth of his fifth child - he had a "high-level cheese meeting" on the day his wife was due to deliver.The bassist owns a dairy... more info

The Vinyl Villain — And a really fine job he did too.....I'm guessing that most folk would have thought that the days of chart success for Graham Coxon were over when he took his leave of Blur in 2002. The fact is however, that seven times he has found himself a place ... more info

Guardian Music — Shepherd's Bush Empire, LondonAs their triumphal end-of-tour show draws to an end, Bonnie "Prince" Billy – the profane, witty, riveting enigma also known as Will Oldham – is on his knees, serenading Trembling Bells's Lavinia Blackwall, an angel-v... more info

ContactMusic — Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg's The Other Guys is described in many of the publicity blurbs about it as a "satire" of cop buddy movies. But many critics refuse to go along... more info