Guardian Music — We are all familiar with the idea of the small-town blues, of the contempt bred by familiarity, the despair of flagging industry, the sheer weight of belongingWhen we were growing up, my brother and I were obsessed with a compilation album called The... more info

Reuters — LONDON (Reuters) - British electro-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys have turned their talents to ballet for the first time, setting Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale "The Most Incredible Thing" to music. more info

Guardian Music — What is it like to work in the arts in Europe? German techno DJ and record company owner Michael Mayer answers the questions in the first of a month-long seriesHow did you get started in your job?I started DJing at parties, aged 14. From then on it... more info

Guardian Music — (EMI)Neil Tennant called his band's late-80s spell of commercial infallibility their "imperial phase". But with a score that often sounds as though John Williams's Stormtroopers are about to march into view, those words seem apt here. The ballet that... more info

Guardian Music — Pet Shop Boys & Javier De Frutos: The Most Incredible Thing, LondonNeil Tennant and Chris Lowe have released 10 albums, collaborated with artists as varied as Derek Jarman and Sam Taylor-Wood, written a West End musical and a film soundtrack; now the... more info

Guardian Music — Pet Shop Boys and dance maverick Javier de Frutos have turned a Hans Christian Andersen story into a ballet. How did the moon landings end up in there?Javier de Frutos and Neil Tennant are on their second glass of wine, and getting very emotional abo... more info

Guardian Music — Javier de Frutos revels in the raw and the provocative but his new collaboration with Pet Shop Boys is for the familyIn shortA maverick, an iconoclast and a heretic, Javier de Frutos is an itinerant choreographer, both personally and professionally. ... more info

The Vinyl Villain — I was an on-and-off fan of P.I.L.I've five of their studio LPs in vinyl or CD form and I've also a handful of singles.I didn't buy the 1989 LP 9, but I'm familiar with a couple of its tracks thanks to them being on a Greatest Hits CD that was release... more info

Pop Justice — Greg James is about to interview Lady Gaga on his Radio 1 show. (Listen online here.) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/) We have decided to sort of liveblog what happens. Like so: 3:10 The interview is ten minutes late. 3:11 She's on! "All of the UK... more info

Guardian Music — The veteran trio, back with their 10th album, tell of their latest bid to escape the 80s nostalgia tour circuitThe Human League, formed over 33 years ago in Sheffield, have made a new album, their 10th, and their first since 2001's Secrets. It's call... more info