Guardian Music — Forget Lily, Pixie and Florence, this year's Brits should be about Male BondingReading the Brit awards nominations is a depressing affair. The major labels and their well-documented fiscal failings have served up another year's worth of vacuous, real... more info

Here Comes The Flood — The Twin Tigers hail form Athens, GA, but they look to Ireland and Scotland for musical inspiration sounding like the bastard children of U2 and the Jesus and Mary Chain. They go for the grandiose in a subdued way. For such a fiercely named band t... more info

Stopcryingyourheartout.com — Former Creation boss Alan McGee talks about the release of Upside Down, a film based on his label - And how he is bored with the music industry.Forming a record label in his early twenties in London with little money was impressive by anyone’s... more info

Guardian Music — Withering put-downs and gorgeous tunes: the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt is himself once moreThe drawback to making the Album of Your Life is the problem of what to do with your life afterwards. Admittedly, it's a problem most rock and pop artist... more info

Stereogum — The Band Of Horses frontman makes like Jim Reid and Courtney Jay plays Hope Sandoval on this lite-country cover of Stoned & Dethroned's "Sometimes Always." You get the original's cowboy hats, not the dark sunglasses. Listen (via P4K). more info

NME - The Video Blog — It's shaping up to be a good year for music movies. Ian Dury biopic Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll is picking up slavering reviews, and tonight (January 14) sees the premier of Blur flick No Distance Left To Run. Potentially most exciting of all, t... more info

Guardian Music — For years I've towed the punk party line: love Syd Barrett, hate the rest of the band. But hey! Flaming Lips proved me wrongA T-shirt almost brought down Pink Floyd. Everyone knows the Sex Pistols legend; John Lydon was spotted by Malcolm McClaren wa... more info

Guardian Music — The 13th Floor Elevators frontman will return with his first album of original songs in more than a decade. And he's hired Austin indie-rockers Okkervil River as his backing band13th Floor Elevators' Roky Erickson will return with his first album of ... more info

Stopcryingyourheartout.com — Creation Records boss Alan McGee is no stranger to a spot of self-mythology. Now it looks like his ten-years-defunct indie label -- which launched Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and Oasis (pictured) onto an unsuspecting world -- is to have its b... more info

Here Comes The Flood — photo: jezebelmusic.com New York is the world capitol for noise. The Vandelles have tried to capture something of the grind of the Big Apple within the space of the five tracks of their self-titled EP. Taking cues from Sonic Youth and The Jesus and ... more info