Guardian Music — Cher Lloyd Swagger Jagger (Syco) Music exec: Ciao. We've got to come up with a chart-topping tune for that girl who didn't win X Factor once.Minion: Sorry boss – you're going to have to be more specific. That's most of the country.Music exec: The o... more info

Guardian Music — It takes years of training for opera singers to master their art. But would those skills help or hinder in singing pop songs? And what about the other way round?I remember hearing the great Malian singer Salif Keita for the first time in 1980. Joy Di... more info

We Like it Lossless! — Holy Mountain / 2007Wooden Shjips, a four-piece pysch combo from San Francisco, feature a bassist named Dusty, a guitarist named Ripley, and an organist named Nash. On their debut release for Holy Mountain, the Shjips, like the Jefferson Airplane and... more info

We Like it Lossless! — Kranky / 2007No doubt you've already been made aware of the hype... Deerhunter (who are not in any way associated to Deerhoof) are at the moment the talk of the town. They are the band critics are literally falling over themselves to praise, and as s... more info

Big Apple Music Scene — Michael Pitt’s Joy Division t-shirt is soo much more in Arabic than your Joy Division t-shirt, so don’t even come at me like your Joy Division t-shirt is more in Arabic than Michael Pitt’s Joy Division t-shirt, okay? I bet Michael Pitt listens ... more info

Altsounds — Melbourne, Australia's Indie-Alternative quartet The Dead Leaves (http://www.thedeadleavesmusic.com/) are currently offering the track "Harm", from their upcoming album "Cities On The Sea", as a free download. Harm lives creatively somewhere betwee... more info

Guardian Music — Brought together to promote a new best-of compilation, Peter Hook and his bandmates can barely bring themselves to speak to each other. They reveal where it all went wrong … separately'The truth is," says Peter Hook, the bassist first in Joy Divisi... more info

Guardian Music — Manchester luminaries gave us a tour of the city's music scene, while upstarts Egyptian Hip Hop, Plank! and Lonelady showcased the local talent of the futureHas today's music lost its fight, its mystery, its ideology? That's what Stockport-born journ... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — Much to the displeasure of many, Peter Hook and his band The Light performed Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures on tour last year. This year, they'll do the same with Closer, though they will still perform Unknown Pleasures in select... more info

Guardian Music — The city has an illustrious musical history - but how much do the current hot bands care? Not much, apparentlyHot, often half-naked new Manchester band Wu Lyf ruffled feathers recently when they told the Guardian that the city's illustrious musical h... more info