A house

I’m sure most of you have heard the grim news about Mark Linkous in the past few days. I can’t really add much to the memorials that have accumulated about him and his music; on the odd occasion when I met him – all well over a decade ago now – he always came across as a gentle and reserved man, who told harrowing personal stories but at the same time didn’t seem to give that much away about what he was actually like. I have, though, dug out this Sparklehorse piece I wrote for NME in 1996. As is so often the way of these things, it’s hard not to see an awful poignancy in his last couple of quotes.

Martin Scorsese finds his way in the unfamiliar territory of gothic noir – set in a mental asylum...

Thinking back to Brass Eye’s 2001 “paedophile special”, and in particular the furore it caused among certain sections of the media, it’s easy to see how misunderstood Chris Morris often is. Typically outraged, the Daily Mail described the episode as “a spoof documentary on paedophilia.” Which is missing the point. The programme was a savage attack on the media's own thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction to a serious issue. It clearly didn’t stop, though, large sections of the press demonstrating their own thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction to the show. It seems likely, I’m afraid, that those same sections of the media will be up in arms about Four Lions, Morris’ directorial debut, a “jihadist comedy”, no less, focussing on four wannabe suicide bombers in Sheffield. Which is a pity, as Four Lions is an extremely good film; far more than **just** a comedy about suicide bombers.

Second sublime collaboration between two Mali masters

Great start this morning, as I’ve just cracked open the new Prins Thomas album, which seems to carry on right where Lindström & Thomas’ “II” left off. In other goodish news, this long-running dickaround will finally be resolved in the next couple of days. I imagine you’ve all guessed what it is now?

A bit of a respite from underground jams today, with a couple of very different takes on folk.

The revolutionary jazz poet who turned crack addict is finally forced to face his demons.

"Careering" again? As PiL are reborn, a dark classic is reissued, alongside a patchy 4CD comp

Texan band cross the Atlantic in November

Tim Burgess and co celebrate the album's 20th birthday with special show