Guardian Music — Singer-songwriter and political activist says he is 'no longer prepared to fund the excessive bonuses of RBS investment bankers'Billy Bragg is refusing to pay his tax unless the government curbs the "excessive" bonuses at the Royal Bank of Scotland.T... more info

Guardian Music — With their squalling and spacey sound, these Japanese noise merchants are Can meets Kraftwerk, Faust meets FugaziHometown: London.The lineup: Taigen (vocals, bass), Kohhei (guitar), Yuki (guitar), Mon-chan (drums).The background: They look amazing. F... more info

Its Getting Boring By The Sea — The top 40 is a strange British institution. On the one hand, it's widely derided by people who claim that all the songs in it are rubbish and that it no longer means anything because you don't have to sell hundreds of thousands of units to reach the... more info

MTV.com News — While they're both reality competitions, key differences separate the shows.By Eric Ditzian Simon Cowell Photo: Daniel Berehulak/ Getty Images Now that Simon Cowell has announced that he will vacate his "American Idol" judge's chair after ... more info

Unreality Music — The lineup of the top ten has changed quite a bit since our last look at it. Notably, X Factor winner Joe McElderry's debut single dropped a significant 13 places in the last week. Strangely though, the top spot has been overtaken by a new entry - ne... more info

Pop Justice — It's out today, which is earlier than it was supposed to be out, and the reason for that is that there were some cover versions creeping up the iTunes chart (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/26/shakira-itunes-she-wolf-cover-versions) and Owl ... more info

Musicaddictz - Addicted To Music — LONDON (Reuters) – Lady Gaga's single "Poker Face" and Susan Boyle's debut album "I Dreamed A Dream" were crowned Britain's biggest-selling records of 2009, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday. New Yorker Lada Gaga's de... more info

Guardian Music — The growth of downloads helped the UK singles market enjoy its best year in history last year, with 152.7m sold, 98% of which were bought digitally, the British Phonographic Industry has said.The X Factor was behind many of last year's success storie... more info

Guardian Music — If you can marry dancefloor electronics and rock as well as Delphic, resistance is useless, says Alexis PetridisFew events in chart history have caused as much discussion as the Christmas battle between Rage Against the Machine and Joe McElderry. Ind... more info

Guardian Music — Thanks to the success of downloads, the UK singles market had its best year ever in 2009, with more than 150m copies soldThe growth of downloads helped the UK singles market enjoy its best year ever in 2009. According to figures released by the Briti... more info