Guardian Music — From Robbie Williams to Gabrielle Aplin, the seasonal charts have taken a serious turn this yearDecember used to be silly season for the charts. The Christmas Top 40 was home to the wacky (Mr Blobby), the weird (Mike Flowers Pops) and Cliff Richard. ... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — Niki and the Dove @ MHOW, 9/27/2012 (More by Amanda Hatfield) Niki & the Dove were last in North America in October for a few shows with fellow Swedes Miike Snow but will be back early next year for a... more info

Guardian Music — George Osborne, Ed Vaizey and Michael Gove are just the latest in a long line of Tory politicians to adore the music of Richard Wagner. Shame they are damaging the art they loveThere's a continuing little squall over at the Telegraph's Mandrake colum... more info

Guardian Music — Pet Shop Boys Leaving (Parlophone) The last time Pet Shop Boys emerged was during the Olympic opening ceremony. Surrounded by people in pointy orange hats, they looked as if they were commanding an army of Jaffa Cake Ku Klux Klan-style knights. Now t... more info

Consequence of Sound — A neatly packaged look at death. more info

Consequence of Sound — Take a train ride through the UK. more info

Guardian Music — Readers' favourite photographs, songs and recipesSnapshot: Dad's pyramid schemeThere are good and bad things about being the child of an architect, and living in a series of interesting houses can be both. I was 13 when we moved into the last house m... more info

Guardian Music — Catch up with the last seven days in the world of musicThis week's most popular storiesChris Brown denies his new tattoo depicts a beaten RihannaMercury prize 2012: the shortlist that might have beenClara Schumann: Google doodle celebrates life of pi... more info

Guardian Music — Three decades and 11 albums in, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe still feel like they are renting their place as unlikely pop starsOn the stage of HAU 1, a theatre in the Berlin hipster district of Kreuzberg, the Pet Shop Boys are performing a dress rehea... more info

L.A. Times - Pop & Hiss — The Pet Shop Boys have been indelibly linked with their hometown of London since their mid-’80s synth-pop hit “West End Girls.” Earlier this year, though, singer Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe relocated to Los Angeles to record “Elys... more info