Guardian Music — You'll never drop a hipster faux-pas again with Tony Naylor's pronunciation primerBack in ye olden days of TV and radio, everyone knew how to pronounce bands' names. We had DJs, presenters and – for problematic monikers – the BBC pronun... more info

Guardian Music — The life of a rock'n'roll journo can be dangerous sometimes. Who can forget the time Joe Lean got riled with me near the pancake stall at Reading festival? Or that treacherous moment when Dominic Masters told me not to sit near him on the 56 bus to C... more info

Guardian Music — This week, Erykah Badu strips off where JFK was assassinated, while Shakira gets sweaty with a Wimbledon championErykah Badu – Window SeatThe trouble with our virally interconnected, YouTube-dominated world is that a perfectly average song can... more info

Stereogum — We gave you a preliminary rundown of this fall’s ATP NY, but the folks at ATP have thrown Tortoise, Bardo Pond, and Sleepy Sun onto the bill and guest curator Jim Jarmusch added folks to his Sunday showcase. In addition to Jarmusch’s previously m... more info

Guardian Music — The mainstay of classical and folk music, the violin has always been associated with class, virtuousity and sentimentalityWhat is it? The younger sibling of the viola and cello, it's an instrument that exudes class, virtuosity and sentimentality.Who ... more info

The Music Fix — Gig Review: None more doom. more info

Stereogum — There's been plenty of pre-release hype, viral and otherwise. You've known the tracklist and backstory for a while. And after hearing "Horchata," "California English" (in two parts), "Cousins," and the old-timer "White Sky," you wouldn't be faulted f... more info

Guardian Music — There are many reasons to admire Sunn 0))), a cowl-wearing, doom-metal duo. The 0))) in their name is silent, but implies rippling soundwaves. They have recorded vocals inside a coffin. They have a Hungarian collaborator called Attila who growls port... more info

Stereogum — Earlier this week we took a magnifying glass to Pitchfork's Top 100 Songs Of 2009. Most of those songs appeared on albums, which leads us to the site's Top 50 Albums Of 2009. For starters, metal creeps in via Baroness and Sunn O))), but not Mastod... more info

Guardian Music — (Southern Lord)"The emperor has no clothes," comes the cry from those who fail, quite reasonably, to be seduced by Sunn O)))'s doomy, droney studies in not playing the guitar much. However, if this album is a reply to those who say Seattle's kings of... more info