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musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2009
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Ben Hogwood and Michael Hubbard
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From the nearly 700 albums we reviewed this year, which did our writers love the most, and do you agree with them?
Introduction
50-41 |
40-31 |
30-21
20-11 |
10-4 |
3-1
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Albums Of The Decade: 2000-2009
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Ben Hogwood and Michael Hubbard
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Our writers vote on the 21 greatest albums of the 21st Century's first decade.
Part 1 |
Part 2
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Most Read Album Reviews: 2009 Q4
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Michael Hubbard
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musicOMH readers' viewing habits: the Top 50 album reviews most read in October, November and December 2009.
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A Beginner's Guide To 2009's Christmas Albums
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Ben Hogwood and Christopher Monk
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Time was when Christmas singles clogged up the charts. With the onset of The X-Factor's singles chart domination, a shift to albums has brought all manner of suites out of the woodwork.
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Interview: Datarock
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Sarah Penny
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A leg injury, red track suit compulsion, multiple members and death metal possibilities are explained ahead of the Norwegians' typically energetic show in London.
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Interview: My Life Story
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Helen Clarke
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Ahead of their debut album Mornington Crescent's 15th anniversary gig in the locale from which it takes its name, Jake Shillingford muses on the next generation of glam standard bearers.
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Interview: Kings Of Convenience
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Talia Soghomonian
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Erlend Øye on juggling two full-time bands, reconvening with compatriot Eirik Glambæk Bøe and who he'd love to bring on board as a producer.
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Martha Wainwright
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Ben Urdang
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The younger Wainwright sibling returns for a chat about her Edith Piaf album Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, a Paris, London connections and family affairs.
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Interview: Gary Numan
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Ben Hogwood
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From offering Bruce Dickenson rides in his plane to seeing The Prodigy live, 30 years on from Are Friends Electric? and he's still got plenty to say.
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Interview: Miike Snow
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Ceiri O'Driscoll
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The Swedish/American trio's Christian Karlsson on jackalopes, the artistic potential of Swedish weather and darkly danceable music.
interview |
REVIEW: Miike Snow (album)
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Interview: Mr Hudson
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Ben Hogwood
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Ben Hudson has shorn himself of his Library and hooked up with Kanye West and Jay-Z for a union of London and Los Angeles. How credible is this new direction?
interview |
REVIEW: Straight No Chaser
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Interview: Basement Jaxx
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Ben Hogwood
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Felix Buxton on life beyond Brixton, hooking up with Yoko Ono and Santigold and why Lily Allen follows where they lead.
interview |
REVIEW: Scars
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Most Read Album Reviews: 2009 Q3
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Michael Hubbard
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Who says the album format is dead? Over the summer our album reviews were read a third of a million times. With the Mercurys spotlighting 12 albums in particular, who made our chart's final cut?
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Interview: George Pringle
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Tim Lee
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It's taken two years, but the self-styled 'diseuse' from London's debut album Salon des Refusés is finally out. It's been a fiercely independent struggle against the odds; will she now reap rewards?
Part 1 |
Part 2 |
REVIEW: Salon des Refusés
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Interview: The Big Pink
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Gideon Brody
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Ahead of the 4AD signings' Pixies support slot, first headline tour and joining Muse in enormodromes, Robbie Furze tells all about being half of one of this year's breakthrough acts.
Part 1 |
Part 2 |
REVIEW: A Brief History Of Love
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Interview: Jay-Z
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Talia Soghomonian
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Eight years since the first Blueprint album comes the trilogy's third. Ahead of three London gigs this week, Jay-Z talks us through inter-racial relations, auto-tune and who'd play him in his biopic.
Part 1 |
Part 2 |
REVIEW: The Blueprint 3
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Interview: Múm
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Ben Hogwood
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Gunnar Örn Tynes talks us through Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know, the Icelanders' sixth album, and reflects on his country's recent financial plight.
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Spotlight: The Beatles Remasters
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Shawn Fitzgerald
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There's a game, there are two box sets (one in mono, one in stereo) and all the albums are available individually.
It's the biggest release in the history of the Fab Four. So how essential are these reissues and which box set is best?
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Interview: The Field
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Michael Hubbard
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Axel Willner's second album Yesterday And Today was released under a weight of expectation brought about by the success of its predecessor, From Here We Go Sublime. He explains what's changed.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Field - Yesterday And Today
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Interview: Marina And The Diamonds
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Ceiri O'Driscoll
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Much is expected of Marina Diamandis' debut album in early 2010, but for now the Welsh wonder is building momentum, from a Rankin video shoot via Bestival to an NME Radar tour. But what exactly is her problem with Shakira?
GIG REVIEW: Marina And The Diamonds
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Interview: Wild Beasts
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Ben Hogwood
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Kendal's biggest non-minty export reflect on the making of their lauded second album Two Dancers, singing falsetto in working men's clubs and just who out there wants music without thrills or risks.
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Interview: Fink
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Ben Hogwood
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Fin Greenall on his continuing artistic collaboration with John Legend, the dichotomy between his DJ roots and his singer-songwriter persona and why silence is golden.
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Interview: Passion Pit
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Sebastian Reynolds
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From hotly tipped blog favourites to spotting Bruce Springsteen in their audience, Passion Pit's journey has gathered meteoric speed. Ian Hultquist explains why bands with electronics are the way music's going.
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Season Spotlight: Ibiza 2009
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We've been around for a decade, but somehow we've never written about Ibiza. All that changes with our three-part feature on getting Balearic in 2009...
1: history \\ daytime \\ tips
2: nightlife \\ clubbing
3: We Love \\ Q&As: Hell, Alfredo
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Africa Week
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Our recent coverage of African artists, collected into one place. This week became a month, and is in reality ongoing...
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Most Read Album Reviews: 2009 Q2
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Michael Hubbard
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We trawled through the site logs to find the top 50 album reviews accessed most during April, May and June 2009. It's a list that features hyped newbies showing strongly amongst established giants.
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Comment: Michael Jackson Dies, Aged 50
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Nic Oliver
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A first reaction to the death of superstar and 'King Of Pop' Michael Jackson, who has died in Los Angeles aged 50.
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Interview: The Duckworth Lewis Method
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Michael Hubbard
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Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh talk cricket pop. |
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Interview: Freeland
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Ben Hogwood
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Adam Freeland on new album Cope, his label Marine Parade and what's changed since his band's debut. |
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Interview: Kronos Quartet
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Ben Hogwood
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They're working on new music with Damon Albarn, Henryk Górecki and Steve Reich, says David Harrington, as he explains why travelling makes for richer connection.
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Interview: Baaba Maal
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Michael Hubbard
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Senegal's superstar on what he's been up to in the eight years since his last studio album, and the radical change of style on his new opus Television.
ALBUM REVIEW: Baaba Maal - Television
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Spotlight: Classical Music's Debt To Africa
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Ben Hogwood
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As part of our Africa Week, a look at the influence African musical styles and the continent's artists have had on the development of western classical music.
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Spotlight: Fela Kuti
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Nic Oliver
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The hugely influential Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer was a musician, activist and icon even before his death in 1997. Now a new generation of musicians are taking on his mantle.
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Interview: Grizzly Bear
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Ben Hogwood
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Third album Veckatimest has caused new levels of interest in the Warp-signings, who recently did their first live TV stint.
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Interview: Tori Amos
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Darren Harvey
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On England and the English, unemployment and the banking crisis, religious intolerance and the trouble with being Abnormally Attracted To Sin
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Interview: Ane Brun
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Alan Pedder
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The Norwegian songstress reflects on Dolly Parton comparisons, busking in Barcelona and some of her favourite artists.
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Spotlight: The Making Of Nick Cave
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Nic Oliver
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The first four Bad Seeds albums From Her To Eternity, The Firstborn Is Dead, Kicking Against The Pricks and Your Funeral... My Trial reveal something rare.
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Interview: Fever Ray
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Michael Hubbard
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The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson on her new solo creation, the inadequacies of Singstar and her forthcoming opera.
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Interview: Patrick Wolf
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Darren Harvey
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Ahead of new album The Bachelor, featuring Tilda Swinton and Alec Empire, we meet a self-confessed prima don.
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Most Read Album Reviews: 2009 Q1
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Michael Hubbard
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A snapshot of musicOMH readers' viewing habits - the Top 50 album reviews most read in January, February and March 2009.
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Interview: The Juan Maclean
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Ben Hogwood
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John Maclean on the influence of The Human League, bringing LCD Soundsystem's Nancy Whang on board full time and what changed between debut Less Than Human and new album The Future Will Come.
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Interview: Pet Shop Boys
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Michael Hubbard
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It's been a quarter of a century since West End Girls, and Neil Tennant is in reminiscent mood on new Xenomania-produced album Yes.
Part I | Part II
ALBUM REVIEW: Pet Shop Boys - Yes
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Interview: Tiga
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Ben Hogwood
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The Canadian producer, DJ and Twitterer on new album Ciao!, recording with Soulwax and his startling Duran Duran obsession.
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Interview: Esser
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Michael Hubbard
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Ben Esser on making samples interesting, his love of Joe Meek and why comparisons with Blur fail to faze him.
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Interview: Fujiya & Miyagi
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Ben Hogwood
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They're absolutely not Japanese, but they do aim to please. At least that's David Best's excuse for donning a leotard and writing songs about dishwashers.
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Interview: The Qemists
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Ben Hogwood
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Dan Arnold on the Ninja Tune signed, Brighton-based drum and bass trio's debut album Join The Q and working with Faith No More front man Mike Patton.
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Comment: Spotify - Goodbye Music Business, Hello Starving Artist
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Mark Moore
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Is Spotify the answer to the recorded music industry's illegal filesharing problems? Dance music producer Mark Moore, who hit the top of the singles chart with S'Express and has since gone on to run his own record label and club nights, says artists need to snap out of their complacency.
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Comment: Audio Spoilers - Spoiling More Than Audio
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Scott Sinclair
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As the music industry flails about in a froth of anti-piracy measures, one reviewer here explains why audio spoilers spoil more than the audio on promos.
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Interview: Starsailor
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Ben Hogwood
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Front man James Walsh on working with Ronnie Wood, aborting his band's sessions with Phil Spector and keeping true to their fans with new album All The Plans.
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Interview: Red Light Company
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Ben Hogwood
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More a collection of international penpals than a band when they started out, the Columbia-signed quintet hit the road in support of debut Fine Fascination.
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Interview: Amanda Palmer
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Alan Pedder
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This half of the Dresden Dolls declares she is "anti-stupid", but she'll have a party if her label drop her. Do we know who killed her yet?
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Interview: School Of Seven Bells
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Ben Hogwood
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Benjamin Curtis has left his family and musical past with Secret Machines behind him for something new.
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Comment: Thom Yorke's First Biog
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Trevor Baker
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Trevor Baker has penned the first biography of the Radiohead lynchpin. It's unauthorized - but does that make it less relevant?
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Interview: Black Lips
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Scott Sinclair
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As they ready their second album 200 Million Thousand, recent events on their tour of India have primed their audience for chaos.
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Comment: The Camden Curmudgeon vs The Tipsters
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The Camden Curmudgeon
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In the first of a possibly irregular series, The Camden Curmudgeon (not his real name) rails against the BBC Sound of the Year poll, the "tipsters" who make it and the consequences it has for the artists it features.
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Interview: The Unbending Trees
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Ben Hogwood
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Bass-voiced lyricist and fallen friar Kristof Hajos and pianist Balázs Havasi on the Hungarian band's debut album Chemically Happy Is The New Sad, with Tracey Thorn.
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Interview: The Prodigy
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Hanspeter Kuenzler
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After a lengthy identity crisis they've rediscovered their groove on new album Invaders Must Die. We caught up with Liam Howlett and Keith Flint to pick up the tale.
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Comment: Morrissey, 25 Years On
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Len Brown
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Len Brown has interviewed Morrissey more times than any other journalist. Here he takes stock on the Moz's longevity and his latest work.
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Comment: Consuming the Consumer - Owen Duff and the Future of Music
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Nic Oliver
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London singer-songwriter Owen Duff has either come up with a brilliant ruse to promote his work or is making a valid point about the thoroughly confused and confusing way in which we 'consume' music.
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Interview: A Camp
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Kristof Hajos
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The Cardigans' Nina Persson explains her other project, her move to the US and new album Colonia.
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Interview: Candi Staton
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Ben Hogwood
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Known for her vocals on The Source's You've Got The Love, three years on from a no-holds barred approach to domestic violence in His Hands, the first lady of Southern Soul is back with the upward-looking Who's Hurting Now?
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Interview: Robyn Hitchcock
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Hanspeter Kuenzler
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Too well read for the Punks, too poppy for the New Wave, and way too strange for the Pop charts, he numbers amongst the most witty British songwriters. R.E.M. agree - half their members make up his band.
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Interview: Animal Collective
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Ben Winbolt-Lewis
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Their ninth record Merriweather Post Pavilion focused an unexpected spotlight on Avey Tare, Geologist and Panda Bear. Here they explain the weirdness, the wonder and the thrill of it all.
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Interview: Emmy The Great
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Rob Watson
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Emma-Lee Moss talks books, anti-folk, her journalistic tendencies, violent breakups and her fetish for the countryside.
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Interview: Steve Cradock
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Emily Heward
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The return of Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock might not be a big news story for those following new trends in pop music but it will interest anybody cutting their musical cloth around the time of Britpop.
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