Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, London"The main goal is to end life with a certain amount of precision ... and the least amount of mess," notes Laurie Anderson midway through Dirtday! She's referring to the US healthcare system, it's a line – a clean, surgica... more info

Guardian Music — Joan Wasser on playing violin with Antony and the Johnsons, and the new songs she's writing for Meltdown What does Antony mean to you? I walked into an Antony and the Johnsons rehearsal in 1999 to cover for a violinist and I felt instantly at home. A... more info

Guardian Music — Lou Reed previews his Meltdown set and looks forward to seeing other stars on the billWhat do you have planned?I'll be performing From VU to Lulu, a two-hour concert I originally toured throughout Europe this past June. We'll perform songs that span ... more info

Guardian Music — Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall on bringing Cleopatra to Meltdown audiences What does Antony mean to you? How do you feel about playing Meltdown?I'd heard him on record but, live, I was blown away. It felt so familiar, so much a part of the collectiv... more info

Guardian Music — Why men will be banned from Marina Abramovic's Meltdown showPerformance artist best known for her 2010 work, The Artist is Present, in which for three months she invited visitors to take turns sitting opposite her at New York's MoMA galleryWhat does ... more info

Guardian Music — This year's Antony Hegarty-curated festival begins on 1 August. Before then, tell us about your favourite Meltdown momentsAs anyone who caught our Antony and the Johnsons music site takeover will know, Antony Hegarty knows a thing or two about artful... more info

Guardian Music — With their super-heavy brand of 'Neon Gold pop', we have nothing but praise for this Scottish indie groupHometown: Glasgow.The lineup: Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry.The background: Churches are quintessential examples of that recent p... more info

Guardian Music — The Southbank Centre in London has curated this playlist on Spotify to mark the Meltdown 2012 festival in August, curated by Antony of Antony and the JohnsonsThis year's Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre in London is curated by the musician a... more info

Here Comes The Flood — photo: Alexandra Reghioua Claude Violante is the female half of Haussman, a French dance pop duo that sticks to using analog. Her self-titled EP takes you back to the late Seventies/early Eighties when Laurie Anderson and Gary Numan came to the for... more info

Guardian Music — Which is the most compelling musical memoir? Let us know …"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture," said Frank Zappa (or Elvis Costello, Laurie Anderson or someone else entirely depending on who you listen to). But is that a fair as... more info