Guardian Music — Every week I'll round up the biggest arts stories from around the web, recommend a long read and look ahead at what's coming upEach Thursday, I am going to round up the main arts stories of the week. Here's the first instalment.• It was Turner priz... more info

Topix — Austin band A Giant Dog , who just released their debut LP, "Fight," are opening for Spoon on a mini-tour of Texas, which includes a sold-out benefit for Chris Gray next week at Red 7. MEOW is holding a free session on how musicians can use social me... more info

Popdose — Popdose finally gets around to reviewing Life in a Blender's "Homewrecker Spoon" and regrets the delay more info

Detroit Free Press — From the street, the Wooden Spoon in Brighton looks fresh and attractive, but it's not exactly imposing. Nothing about it screams, "Stop here!" Or "especially well-crafted food inside." And then I spotted a curious line of script on the awning. ... more info

Guardian Music — On the eve of a new Channel 4 series, the Black Cab Sessions' music director reveals his five favourite performancesBlack Cab Sessions started out as a way to promote new bands in London and give them a platform to showcase their talents. Since then ... more info

Guardian Music — Our music team pick the songs or albums, old or new, they just can't turn offZoe Rahman Kindred Spirits On her fifth album, Rahman explores her English, Irish and Bengali ancestry. Rahman's a formidable jazz pianist in post-Herbie Hancock territor... more info

Here Comes The Flood — photo: Stephanie Keith Brooklyn band Life in a Blender have been around for twenty-five years, creating their unique blend of vaudeville, rock and Americana. Their seventh full-length is entitled Homewrecker Spoon. Songwriter Don Ralph has a sardoni... more info

Stereogum — The Austin band Heartless Bastards makes a gigantic, wide-open sort of road-trip rock, and their 2009 album The Mountain was an absolute gem. The band returns early next year with a new album called Arrow, which they recorded with Spoon’s Jim Eno. ... more info

Guardian Music — Tramway, GlasgowPass the Spoon is a daft and instantly lovable collaboration between cartoonist David Shrigley, composer David Fennessy and director Nicholas Bone. The posters promised a "sort-of opera" about cookery; what transpired was a zany, warm... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — photos by Tim Griffin Spoon @ Fun Fun Fun Fest Spoon had nothing to promote and no surplus of new songs to unveil. This was just an Austin band -- Austin's biggest indie band ever -- playing an Austin festival... more info