Tom tom club

Black Sabbath’s new album, 13, is reviewed in the new issue of Uncut (dated July 2013 and out now) – in this archive piece from Uncut’s May 2010 issue (Take 156), Ozzy Osbourne answers your questions, shedding light on his reality-TV renaissance, dressing up as a Nazi and the drug that left him “totally paralysed”… Words: John Lewis

One of our longer playlists this week and, I think, the one with more embedded music than I’ve ever posted before: you can listen to 12 out of 25 entries here, if I’ve counted right…

Around this time in 2012, I came up with 40 records, released between January and June, that I liked enough to include in a six-month Best-Of list. Either I’m being more diligent, or less discerning, or else 2013 is shaping up to be a better year: as you can see, I’ve managed 67 here.

Back from a week’s holiday, so plenty of new things among this 21st office playlist, with lots of the best tracks - from Cian Nugent, Lace Curtain, Houndstooth and The Cairo Gang, among others – embedded. A hairy teaser for Crazy Horse’s imminent UK dates, too, and a serendipitous reissue for Samuel Purdey’s luxe late ‘90s evocation of Steely Dan and the Doobies; curious Daft Punk fans might be advised to check out “Only When I’m With You”, especially.

Just before the release of 2007’s Era Vulgaris, Uncut’s Jaan Uhelzski headed out to California to see if head wrangler Josh Homme could keep the party going when the group’s hedonistic regulars had been barred…

Best known for his work on The Beach Boys’ Smile, Parks is a student of serious music, whose flirtation with the counterculture saw him fall in with unlikely company. His first job was arranging “The Bear Necessities” for Disney’s Jungle Book, but his association with Brian Wilson led to him producing debuts by Ry Cooder and Randy Newman, as well as making idiosyncratic solo albums. As he prepares to release his new album, Songs Cycled (reviewed in this month’s Uncut, dated June 2013), we look back to July 2010’s issue, where Parks reflects on a career that’s straddled the worlds of serious music and pop, without fitting in to either. Words: Alastair McKay

Been meaning to post this piece for a while, since the whole clandestine operation around the new Boards Of Canada album, “Tomorrow’s Harvest”, began. It’s an interview I did with the duo in February 2002, around the release of “Geogaddi”. NME billed it erroneously as “Boards Of Canada’s first ever interview” at the time, which was pushing it a bit…

Blueshammer! Autobahn! Wyld Stallyns!

Seeing as how Matthew E White and his band are on tour in the UK this week (I’m seeing him play in London tomorrow), it seemed a good time to post the feature about my visit to Richmond a couple of months ago. I’ve put a few links to stuff in here, too, so you can get a taste of the really interesting music coming out of the scene that revolves around White. Long read, this one…

My Bloody Valentine have been added to the T In The Park bill. The festival, which takes place in Balado, Kinross between July 12-14 will be headlined this year by Mumford & Sons, Rihanna and The Killers. Also included in the raft of artists set to appear are Foals, Haim, Phoenix, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris and Beady Eye, along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Dizzee Rascal and Kraftwerk.