Guardian Music — A 'banana millionaire', a pair of Bolshoi defectors, an avant-garde Spaniard and an all-powerful agent are the principals in this power struggleOn 15 December, during a nationwide TV broadcast entitled "Meet Mr Putin", the Russian prime minister addr... more info

Nialler9 — Myles O’Reilly filmed the West Cork Ukelele Orchestra performing a cover of Boney M’s ‘Ra Ra Rasputin’ in Dartmouth Square, Ranelagh, Dublin. You may have seen these guys on The Late Late on Friday performin... more info

The Telegraph — Frontman Bobby Farrell has been found dead in a Russian hotel room. more info

Guardian Music — Last time we focused on glimpses of majesty, this week we're waving off the old and looking forward to the newHello to every last one of you. Momentous times on the Readers Recommend desk this week – so we've pulled out an old topic to revisit. Nex... more info

Guardian Music — Whether as something to aspire to, or something to turn against, royalty has long been a goldmine of a subject for songwritersWe've had one of the biggest turnouts in recent history on the blog this week – there is clearly something special in the ... more info

Guardian Music — US opera singer who overcame racial prejudice to become a celebrated performerThe African American opera singer Shirley Verrett, who has died from heart failure aged 79, overcame both religious opposition and racial discrimination to become one of th... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — DOWNLOAD: The Gaslamp Killer + Daedelus - "Impulse" (Free the Robots remix) (MP3) There's a man behind the decks who looks somewhat like Rasputin, had Rasputin been born an Edwardian dandy. He goes by the name The Gaslamp Killer and... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Only Good Song said... Deep Feeling - Pretty Colours with Jim Capaldi, Luther Grosvenor and Gordon Jackson http://onlygoodsong.blogspot.com L'Homme Scalp said... LES TONTONS SCALPEURS aired at CKRL 89,1 Quebec City, listen to the podcast - Show # 1 ... more info

Thrash Hits — They don’t play Rasputin. On the plus side, the do play Battle Metal, so despite some sonic issues you either enjoy them or you’re sober/miserable as sin. more info

Instrumental Analysis — Friday is in the books. Saturday is a repeat of the day before. Phily's line-up declines greatly. Baltimore and DC carry the majority of the shows. Here's what to check out:I'll be down in DC at the Rock & Roll Hotel for a line-up of pure power-pop. ... more info