It's odd, but the two albums I've played most in the past week both remind me a bit of LCD Soundsystem. This might be because I've played the LCD album more than anything else this year. But 1990s and Von Sudenfed both have strange affinities with James Murphy, I'm convinced.

Babyshambles, Franz Ferdinand and others swap guitars for decks at dance festival

Mike Skinner gets ready to Get Loaded In The Park

Jack and Meg White's sixth studio album is due in June

Their '79 Amsterdam club gig gets a second outing - with five bonus tracks

HAPPENINGS TEN YEARS TIME AGO March 26 to April 1, 1997 MTV fire a string of onscreen presenters, after US ratings drop by 20 per cent. The station's facelift, which it claims will result in the screening of about 20 extra hours of videos a week, with a stronger emphasis on indie, electronica and dance artists, is also believed to have been prompted by a hugely critical music biz poll. The survey, by the Record Industry Association of America, suggests that MTV has become "surprisingly irrelevant" to consumers.

You can watch the video here; plus SMD to play first UK tour in May

Davies brothers’ disappointed at band desecration

Just a short post today, basically to bring to your attention a video on YouTube that I’ve been alerted to.

The big film this week is 300, director Zack Snyder’s gory and rabid retelling of the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 brave Spartan soldiers faced down the massed ranks of the mighty Persian Empire in 480BC.