Wonderfully fresh album, Stefani's voice is superb, image insurpassably cool, she has hitched up with some of best pop producers possible i.e Dr Dre, Nellee Hooper, Andre 3000, even New Order make an appearance. To nutshell it I would call this party music, file next to Basement Jaxx 'Kish Kash' for those nights when you want effervescence on your stereo.
Final word...Madonna.

Rough Trade have come up trumps again with this, a selection of 2003's best tracks from the independent music scene. For those of us who don't have the time or circumstance to keep our ears to the ground, RT generously let us in to a world of musical intrigue and originality.
Each of the 45 tracks are selected by Rough Trade staff and are accompanied within the sleeve by a concise and often insightful comment. CD 1 is a collection of lovely songs and laid back grooves, the kind of music to start your weekend to. CD 2 is the loud one - punky, electronic and in your face. Some of the artists here are already very well known; Peaches, Dizzee Rascal, Franz Ferdinand, LFO. Many others here should and quite possibly will be. Kaada's 'Care' on CD 1 is an immediate hit sounding like its been dragged out of the past as a beacon for the future, The Postal Service's 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight' is plain beautiful, as are the slow toe-curlers by The Concretes, Iron & Wine, John Fahey and Surfjan Stevens.
CD 2 rips away with Seattle band Kinski's explosive guitars and the tempo is hardly tempered throughout the rest of the disc as it runs from dirty rock (The Kills, C.Aarme) through electronic pumpers (T Raumschmiere, LFO, Mu) to noisy punk (The Barcelona Pavilion) If you don't tap your feet with great gusto to Tramp Attack's 'Eight Years Since School', then ask somebody to check your pulse.
This is music for the bedroom, the lounge, the car and the catwalk and on top of all that the compilation features a song entitled 'Spread Your Legs, Release The Bats'. That has to be worth a listen. Brilliant. Buy it.

I worked at a cinema when this film was released. In between work I would sneak into the auditorium to catch snippets. It was an eagerly awaited blockbuster after all. But on each occasion I was repelled by what I saw: futuristic cars that looked like something you'd see at a fair; bright red hair; orange vests; Gary Oldman made to look ridiculous; low-budget-looking monsters. It all seemed wrong.
When the film came out on video I watched it one evening and was engrossed. It worked. Today I own the DVD and I can confidently say that this is one of my top 5 films of all time. I love it. It brings together elements of other well known sci-fi films but goes beyond with a positivity so fresh I can't imagine it ever dating or ceasing to please.
There is a curious mixture about this film of intense effort (it was a long time coming for Luc Besson before the likes of Leon, and after a couple of viewings it is apparent to be a clever and intricate conception) and an almost throwaway modern kitsch (for example the Jean-Paul Gaultier design that I now consider inextricable from the film's attraction) The overall effect of the film is that it not only works but sparkles. It all makes sense and yet makes you giddy. It's like sherbert on the tongue but it still leaves a pleasant after-taste.
Bruce Willis is a true hero, Gary Oldman a true villain, and Milla the most perfect and lovable girl I think I have ever seen on screen. It is not designed to scare or shock, it is not crammed with nerdy effects to wow the computer kids, it is human, funny, emotional and spectacular.

Buying this compilation was a gamble that's paid off. I was not familiar with many of the artists but the presence of Coldcut, The Herbaliser and DJ Food indicated it would be a funky, beaty affair. Well I'm totally impressed by the quality throughout and am thrilled to have acquired a few tunes here that will make their way on to my CD player and many a mix tape for years to come.
Standouts for me are the scratchy ska of Kid Koala's 'Skanky Panky', the dirty, Strip Club fave 'Sordid' by Amon Tobin, and the lovely 'Purrfect' by Funki Porcini.
Zen CD is a record that opens up doors to music that isn't heard every day. It is cool, moody, exciting and original. There is a DVD out too. For music that evokes filmic images in my mind, I hope the visuals do the music justice...

This is an excellent selection of Hemingway's work. It includes his best novel, 'Fiesta', plus snippets from others; 'A Farewell to Arms', and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'. But for me it has always been the short stories which shine and they are here too. I can bever tire of reading the likes of 'The Killers' and 'Hills Like White Elephants', which in so few words evoke such great atmosphere and observe so very naturally upon humanity. The dialogue throughout his writing is quick and believable, and his gift for description famously precise. I treasure my copy of this book. I think it is excellent value as timeless and easily accessible literature. Buy it and let it become for years your trusty, dog-eared travel companion.

An excellent example of the band playing live. The music is brash, jagged and pungent as fresh paint. Luckily, the crowd are fairly muted (I do find it off-putting when live albums are packed full of whooping and prolonged clapping) Les Bains Douches is very much a no-nonsense set. Highlights are 'A Means to an End' which bolts out of the stable and 'New Dawn Fades' which is godly in power and effect.

Energetic, atmospheric, this album is like a fresh sea wind blowing. Beginning with a brooding, monk-like harmony it rips into the Surfer Rosa-era Pixies style 'Apologies To Insect Life' before levelling out into a record rich in melody and drama. To make comparisons, I would choose James, (early) Suede and Joy Division. Yan's breathy vocals are an instant hit and the music is raw and well controlled. The cover reads 'We ourselves may be loved only for a brief time...' Well this record will be listened to for a long time by myself and I'm sure there are many likeminded. Definite thumbs up.

'Rounds' is an album of instrumental music that draws on world influences and is notable I think for its percussion, which rolls along and varies in pace and achieves an interesting, sometimes distorted effect.
Between track 1, 'Hands', and track 9, the excellent,'And they all look broken hearted', there is not one tune that I can comfortably sit right the way through. The rest either bore, grate, or begin well and are suddenly screwed up by stabs of horrible noise (take tracks 4 and 10 in particular - the former being hijacked by something that sounds like someone trying to tune up a broken wind instrument in a neighbouring studio, and the latter suddenly, and quite alarmingly, featuring the sound of a squeaky toy?)
I have persevered but remain frustrated.

Black Cherry is a curious album which merges Alison Goldfrapp's distinctive, breathy vocal with harsh electronic music. Whooshing synth sounds whizz around like lasers conjuring up images of Dr. Who, and whilst this is impressive, it is not altogether nice - rather like a strange dream which enthralls and frightens.
There is loveliness, for example on the title track, and most notably on the luxurious and slow 'Deep Honey', but mostly this is an album on the assault. Goldfrapp want to whip you and scratch you and actually, I think, haunt you a little.

Lou Reed is not pretentious. Lou Reed is Lou Reed. You hear his voice and you know it is him. He has been creating innovative music for about 40 years.
With 'The Raven', he again offers us something completely original; snippets of literature read by some very talented actors set to brooding electronic music and interspersed by great songs.
If you were excited about another Lou Reed album, another good 12 songs, well here they are, from the gravelly rock of 'Edgar Allen Poe', 'Change', 'Blind Rage' to the delicate beauty of 'Vanishing Act' and the utterly gorgeous 'Who am I'.
But as well as good songs, 'The Raven' also offers the intriguing addition of drama; Willem Defoe, Steve Buscemi, Amanda Plummer, Elizabeth Ashley, captivatingly reciting dark, passionate and witty lines from an author who Lou Reed clearly respects and identifies with.
The result is interesting, exciting, beautiful and artistic. And why not? Lou Reed is an artist, not someone who churns out radio friendly hits.
Lou Reed has always pushed through doors and added an alternative to the face of popular music. And yet he still retains the same distinctive style; that voice, that ability to swing between aggressive rock and heart-pricking beauty.
He has his mark. And I think its a superb one and 'The Raven' keeps it going. Long live his creativity and gift for change.