music
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Pete Doherty returns to Thai rehab centreTwo years after being kicked out of a similar facility, the Libertines frontman is hoping once more to quit heroin and ‘help other struggling addicts’ -
Foo Fighters have 'not been called' about headlining GlastonburyFoos singer Dave Grohl says that Emily Eavis has yet to call the group about playing Glastonbury, despite them being favourites to headline -
Mick Fleetwood: ‘I got permission to urinate on the White House lawn’The Fleetwood Mac kingpin on getting the old crew back together, sharing his feelings about his wife and Stevie Nicks, and his patent method for making lucky wooden testicles
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The playlist: Latin American pop – Dominican dembow and suave croonersOur first playlist covering the sounds of Latin America includes a dembow diss track, a sophisticated take on 3Ball and some Chilean synth pop -
Ty Segall review – needling hooks and squalling guitarsSegall and his band attack these garage-rock nuggets with wild glee, joyriding them like stolen cars, writes Stevie Chick
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Madonna's Like A Virgin turns 30 - in picturesTo mark the 30th anniversary of Like A Virgin, a new book entitled Madonna: Ambition. Music. Style will be released – it features images that chart the singer’s journey from her first photo session to the Sticky & Sweet stadium tour
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Azealia Banks on feuding with the Stone Roses, Disclosure and Perez HiltonPublic rows almost eclipsed her music, but with her debut album finally out, Azealia Banks is happy, she tells Paul Lester. Although she’d still like to punch the small guy in Disclosure
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Taylor Swift 'booty' diss by Diplo inspires Lorde's wrathProducer annoys singer by tweeting that ‘someone should make a Kickstarter to get Taylor Swift a booty’
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Usher on Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber and the struggle to stay a superstarHe had the biggest album of the noughties and has dabbled in musicals, movies and mentoring. But could the R&B star be at a career crossroads? ‘Music is being used as free goods,’ he tells us, before announcing that his next single will be free with Cheerios
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Caldara: La Concordia de’ Pianeti CD review – bravura arias by a first-rate castAndrea Marcon and his singers grapple bravely with this difficult, odd and sycophantic hymn to the Holy Roman Empress Elizabeth Christine, writes Tim Ashley
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Ariel Pink: Pom Pom review – pop music by someone who thinks it’s beneath himAriel Pink can write genuinely melodic tunes when he wants to. The trouble is he just wants to get on your wick
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Hebrides Ensemble review – Dead Elvis is more show than substanceMuch of the evening fell in that dodgy hinterland where classical musicians try for louche Americana but fail to pull it off, writes Kate Molleson
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Ensemble Intercontemporain review – explosive experimental energyPieces by Mantovani, Schoenberg and Dallapiccola were unsweetened by anything resembling a comfort zone in a bracing, exhilarating evening, writes Erica Jeal
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Readers recommend: songs about peace - resultsRR regular saneshane’s sorts through last week’s suggestions for an impassioned selection of songs about anti-war and peace
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Dave Van Ronk’s inspirational blues eases a midlife crisisThe folk singer’s St James Infirmary revives the spirit of 1950s Greenwich Village on Stephen Moss’s trip to New York, despite the investment bankers and tourists
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London jazz festival 2014: 10 to seeApartheid exiles Dedication Orchestra, the sound of the Indian streets, and three-quarters of a century for Blue Note records - our critics pick the best of this year’s London jazz festival
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Triple J nominates the seven best Australian music videos of 2014Chet Faker, Client Liaison and Sia are among the nominees for the radio station’s J award for music video of the year
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Veteran's Day Concert for Valor review: less piety, more profanity pleaseEven Rihanna seemed subdued at a concert that, Metallica and the Black Keys apart, was more like a memorial service than a tribute to the troops, writes Joshua Alston
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St Louis rapper turned activist Tef Poe releases shooting protest song 'War Cry'War Cry, by the rapper turned activist, references Missouri governor Jay Nixon and other authority figures in song about Ferguson protests
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Amanda Palmer webchat: post your questionsThe singer, author and crowdfunding advocate will be online at 12pm ET on Friday to answer your questions
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A Tribute to Steve Martland review – both exhilarating and slightly scaryA gig commemorating the life of Martland showed how his work was about subtle persuasion as much as confrontation, writes Andrew Clements
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St Louis rapper turned activist Tef Poe releases shooting protest song 'War Cry'War Cry, by the rapper turned activist, references Missouri governor Jay Nixon and other authority figures in song about Ferguson protests
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James Franco enlists Andy Rourke for Smiths-inspired albumThe actor’s music project Daddy to release Let Me Get What I Want, based on Franco’s Morrissey-motivated poetry
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Nicki Minaj apologises to those offended by 'Nazi' videoRapper says she would never condone Nazism, but clip’s director refuses to apologise for film that is ‘not a sappy tearjerker’
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Sugarhill Gang rapper Big Bank Hank dies aged 57One third of the group responsible for hip-hop’s first hit, Rapper’s Delight, dies from cancer complications
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Venezuela’s El Sistema music scheme is ‘model of tyranny’, UK academic saysSupporters rush to defend ‘beacon of social justice’ as study shows project fails to reach disadvantaged youth
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ENO abandons Bristol staging of Orfeo blaming Arts Council funding cutsOpera company’s first project outside London in 15 years is pulled
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Bob Dylan wanted to make an album with the Beatles and the Rolling StonesFamed producer Glyn Johns, who worked with both bands, says Dylan asked him to sound them about in 1969 about a collaboration
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Cheryl becomes first British woman to have five No 1 singlesI Don’t Care sees the singer overtake the two artists she previously shared the record for most No 1s with – Rita Ora and Geri Halliwell
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It's 'rubbish' that Robert Plant turned down £500m Led Zeppelin reformation offer, says publicistReport about former Zeppelin singer rejecting offer from Richard Branson is not true, says his PR representative
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Mark Ronson collaborates with author Michael Chabon on latest albumPulitzer prize-winning novelist wrote the lyrics for Uptown Special, the acclaimed music producer’s long-awaited return
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Lollapalooza announces first European event in BerlinLollapalooza Berlin will take place at the German capital’s Tempelhof airport in September 2015
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Stevie Wonder to rework hits with symphony orchestra and Andrea BocelliSinger will record an entire album of Wonder covers, with tenor Bocelli featuring on Isn’t She Lovely
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Phil Rudd: charge against AC/DC drummer of attempting to procure murder droppedNew Zealand prosecutors withdraw charge against drummer due to lack of evidence, his lawyer says
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Azealia Banks drops long-awaited debut via iTunesBroke With Expensive Taste, an album originally expected in 2012, has been given a surprise rush release by the artist
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Hebrides Ensemble review – Dead Elvis is more show than substanceMuch of the evening fell in that dodgy hinterland where classical musicians try for louche Americana but fail to pull it off, writes Kate Molleson
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Ensemble Intercontemporain review – explosive experimental energyPieces by Mantovani, Schoenberg and Dallapiccola were unsweetened by anything resembling a comfort zone in a bracing, exhilarating evening, writes Erica Jeal
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A Tribute to Steve Martland review – both exhilarating and slightly scaryA gig commemorating the life of Martland showed how his work was about subtle persuasion as much as confrontation, writes Andrew Clements
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Thurston Moore review – so much judder and clatter it’s like aural frackingThurston Moore’s ability to wring crooked melodies and guttural riffs out of his battered guitar remains undimmed, writes Graeme Virtue
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The Who review – even at 50, still too spiky to be national treasuresThe Who celebrate their fifth decade by rocking out with a host of guest vocalists from the Strypes to Liam Gallagher, writes Ian Gittins
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Tori Amos review – a dark queen presiding over longing and elationThe 51-year-old singer projects playfulness and power, and clearly takes delight in playing live
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Takács Quartet/Williams review – seraphic unity of executionInfectiously incisive brilliance, tonal balance and expressiveness featured strongly in this Beethoven and Mozart recital, writes Martin Kettle
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Renaud Capuçon/Frank Braley review – still startlingly stormy after 16 yearsThe long-established duo’s Beethoven sonatas felt alive and risky, beginning with a thrilling opening to the Kreutzer, writes Erica Jeal
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Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart review – this is one of his best groupsWith his mighty bass, Wobble is like an old-fashioned band leader, barking out instructions within a cavernous, space-echoey dub mix, writes Dave Simpson
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St Petersburg Phil/Temirkanov review – it’s hard to imagine Shostakovich’s 10th performed better
St Petersburg Phil/Temirkanov review – it’s hard to imagine Shostakovich’s 10th performed better
4 / 5 starsVengerov’s Tchaikovsky was scrupulous rather than dramatic, but it was a privilege to hear this orchestra play Shostakovich, writes Tim Ashley -
Philip Glass Ensemble review – a vibrant exhibition of geniusSpirited and sometimes mesmeric, the tireless US composer’s retrospective has an emphatically contemporary feel, writes Rian Evans
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Flying Lotus review – a mind-warping 3D treat for all the sensesEncased in a futuristic cube, the sonic sorcerer blends gut-churning bass and trippy hip-hop for a thrillingly immersive spectacle, writes Danny Wright
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Geno Washington review – big grins and gunslinger posesIt’s hard to inject much new life into such well-worn songs, but Washington storms through a set of blues standards, writes Dave Simpson
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Billy Idol proves he’s still the prince of 80s glam-punkWrapped in leather and soaked in nostalgia, the punk zealot serves up hard riffs with attitude, writes Caroline Sullivan
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BBCNOW/Wigglesworth review – masterly Wagner-infused ElgarConductor Mark Wigglesworth furthered his credentials as a Wagnerian with his excellently mystic interpretation of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, writes Rian Evans
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Damien Rice review – staggering return for self-lacerating troubadourBlack humour and charm aplenty leavened the feedback-soundtracked emotional self-critique at this fantastic solo gig, writes Ian Gittins
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Vespers of 1610 review – The Sixteen enliven MonteverdiAt the start of their first tour with instrumentalists in tow, Harry Christophers’ outfit made Monteverdi’s great choral monument come alive, writes Andrew Clements
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ORR/Gardiner review – exhilarating 25th-anniversary celebrationCelebrating a quarter-century of sprucing up the 19th-century repertoire, John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique showed their mettle with Beethoven and Berlioz, writes Martin Kettle
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Future Islands review – cult synth-rockers cross overYearning, bittersweet songs and an unignorable frontman make this Baltimore-based trio utterly compelling, writes Kitty Empire
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Caldara: La Concordia de’ Pianeti CD review – bravura arias by a first-rate cast
Classical music Caldara: La Concordia de’ Pianeti CD review – bravura arias by a first-rate cast
3 / 5 starsAndrea Marcon and his singers grapple bravely with this difficult, odd and sycophantic hymn to the Holy Roman Empress Elizabeth Christine, writes Tim Ashley -
Ariel Pink: Pom Pom review – pop music by someone who thinks it’s beneath him
Alexis Petridis's album of the week Ariel Pink: Pom Pom review – pop music by someone who thinks it’s beneath him
2 / 5 starsAriel Pink can write genuinely melodic tunes when he wants to. The trouble is he just wants to get on your wick -
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Veteran's Day Concert for Valor review: less piety, more profanity pleaseEven Rihanna seemed subdued at a concert that, Metallica and the Black Keys apart, was more like a memorial service than a tribute to the troops, writes Joshua Alston
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Mariah Carey review – no bells but plenty of whistles for the divaThe leading lady of R&B and hair-raising displays of melisma admits to feeling bleak, but still hits all the high notes, writes Shuk-Wah Chung
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Azealia Banks: Broke With Expensive Taste review – the album she wanted to make
Azealia Banks Azealia Banks: Broke With Expensive Taste review – the album she wanted to make
3 / 5 starsBroke With Expensive Taste shows why people got excited about Banks in the first place, even if it remains a niche concern, writes Alex Macpherson -
Pink Floyd: The Endless River review – ‘a good way to call it a day’Pink Floyd’s swansong is understated, but packs a lot into its 53 minutes, writes Molloy Woodcraft
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Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet: The 21st Century Trad Band review – an engaging, tuneful set
Jazz Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet: The 21st Century Trad Band review – an engaging, tuneful set
4 / 5 starsPercussion takes many forms on this fine disc from the youngest Marsalis brother and his band, writes Dave Gelly -
Röyksopp: The Inevitable End review – poignant and brooding electronicaNorwegian duo Röyksopp’s fifth and final album is a dark and largely powerful farewell, writes Corinne Jones
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Azealia Banks: Broke With Expensive Taste review – Azealia delivers… at long last
Azealia Banks Azealia Banks: Broke With Expensive Taste review – Azealia delivers… at long last
4 / 5 starsAfter a long wait, Azealia Banks’s debut finally lands. It was worth the wait, writes Suzie McCracken -
Various: Music for Remembrance – ‘Roderick Williams is perfect’These poignant pieces by Duruflé, Vaughan Williams, Tavener and others are beautifully executed by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, writes Stephen Pritchard
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JS Bach: Köthener Trauermusik BWV 244a CD review – lost funeral work springs back to life
JS Bach JS Bach: Köthener Trauermusik BWV 244a CD review – lost funeral work springs back to life
3 / 5 starsRaphaël Pichon reconstructs a lost mourning cantata by Bach with fascinating results, writes Nicholas Kenyon -
Hookworms: The Hum review – feverish space rockThe punk roots of this Leeds-based band is apparent, but they have a unique quirky sound, writes Paul Mardles
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Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways review – familiar full-throttle pop-rockThe US rockers’ style is uncorrupted by the experience of recording eight songs in eight US cities, writes Ally Carnwath
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Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal: Songs of Time Lost review – intimate vocals and plaintive cello in perfect balance
Folk music Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal: Songs of Time Lost review – intimate vocals and plaintive cello in perfect balance
4 / 5 starsSinger-guitarist Faccini and cellist Segal combine tradition and innovation as they drift across genres, writes Neil Spencer -
Andy Milne and Dapp Theory: Forward in All Directions review – lyricism and variety
Jazz Andy Milne and Dapp Theory: Forward in All Directions review – lyricism and variety
3 / 5 starsMilne finds willing partners for his jazz inventiveness in Dapp Theory’s funk, world and hip-hop outlook, writes John Fordham -
August Alsina’s No Love, this week’s best new track‘Alsina has decided to write an ode to monogamy and the beauty of joint Ikea trips. Only joking. It’s about take-it-or-leave-it infidelity’
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Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways review – a high-concept tour with middling music
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways review – a high-concept tour with middling music
2 / 5 starsDave Grohl and crew set up shop in US musical meccas, but the diversity of American rock gets lost in the mix, writes Tim Jonze -
Guy Pearce: Broken Bones review – the surprise package of 2014An assured, confident debut album draws from the actor’s genuinely appealing voice and a who’s-who of New Zealand sidemen
features
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Azealia Banks on feuding with the Stone Roses, Disclosure and Perez HiltonPublic rows almost eclipsed her music, but with her debut album finally out, Azealia Banks is happy, she tells Paul Lester. Although she’d still like to punch the small guy in Disclosure
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Usher on Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber and the struggle to stay a superstarHe had the biggest album of the noughties and has dabbled in musicals, movies and mentoring. But could the R&B star be at a career crossroads? ‘Music is being used as free goods,’ he tells us, before announcing that his next single will be free with Cheerios
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'This has to be the biggest rave this century' – a classic feature from the vaultsA trip to investigate the Berlin dance music scene in November 1989 went awry with the fall of the Wall, in this piece from Rock’s Backpages, originally published in New Music News
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Guy Pearce: braving the scorn reserved for actors-turned-musiciansAlready a master of one discipline, what made the Australian actor release a self-penned album? Only a 30-year backlog of songs, he tells Monica Tan
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Putting the rap into therapy: can listening to hip-hop beat depression?According to research by Cambridge University psychologists, the rags-to-riches stories and ‘positive visual imagery’ of rap music could provide the key to better mental health. Here’s Pete Cashmore’s therapeutic playlist …
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Whale songs: shanties drag mysteries of whaling life back from the deepFaraway oceans, cannibals, life-or-death struggles with sea monsters … songs that chronicled the lost culture of whaling are finding a new audience, thanks to Kings of the South Seas. Author Philip Hoare looks at their legacy
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Colin Currie: new works, new instruments – the amazing story of percussion is not yet toldThe percussionist Colin Currie, whose Metal Wood Skin festival continues in London, explains how music became a lifelong love and inspiration
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Nicki Minaj’s video isn’t ‘Nazi’ – she’s just trying to be artyPriya Elan: The promo for her track Only has been accused of employing Nazi imagery, but the visual symbolism isn’t quite what it seems
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James Blunt on Saddam Hussein, pimping his sister on eBay and Twitter hateSam Wolfson: The singer explains why he always Googles his reviews and his ‘sadness that people have stopped being horrible’
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Mark Ronson collaborates with author Michael Chabon on latest albumPulitzer prize-winning novelist wrote the lyrics for Uptown Special, the acclaimed music producer’s long-awaited return
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How Isis got its anthemA stark Arabic chant is emerging as the anthem of the Islamic State. And it’s just the tip of a booming industry turning out songs of bloodshed and devotion. Alex Marshall investigates the rise of the jihadi ‘nasheed’
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Idomeneo; Equal Voices – reviewMartin Kušej’s new Idomeneo caused a storm at Covent Garden, but something about it worked for Fiona Maddocks
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Rumer: ‘I feel a duty to be honest about things’The singer-songwriter has found love and inspiration in California, but her new album still floats a cloud across the sun, says Laura Barnett
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Is Taylor Swift’s decision to pull her music from Spotify a shot in the arm for feminism?Her decision to quit the streaming service has seen Taylor Swift hailed as the standard-bearer for assertive women in a deeply sexist business. Does she merit the accolades? Insiders, artists and critics give us their view
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Common, Thurston Moore, Kate Tempest: this week’s new live musicCommon | Thurston Moore | Kate Tempest | Valerio Tricoli | Branford Marsalis | Philip Glass Ensemble: Retrospective
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Cerys Matthews: music to get your marrows growingWant to raise some prize veg? Here are some tunes to help, says our musical agony aunt, Dr Crotchety
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Anthony Naples’s favourite tracksThe underground Brooklynite behind label Proibito empties the contents of his psychic record bag
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Clubs picks of the weekM-nus | Selective Hearing | Dirtytalk Presents Sex Tags Mania Part 2 | Talaboman | Ben UFO
video
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Behind the beat: Savages and Bo Ningen on how dadaism inspired Words to the Blind – video
Savages and Bo Ningen discuss their collaboration Words to the Blind, a 37-minute 'simultaneous sonic poem' inspired by the dadaist movement
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Why Hookworms' The Hum is the one album you should hear this week - video
Alexis Petridis recommends you give a spin to the second album from the Leeds-based noiseniks Hookworms
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Hookworms perform On Leaving - Guardian sessions
Five-piece psyche band Hookworms perform On Leaving at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds
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Why Run the Jewels 2 is the one album you should hear this week — video
Combining socially charged lyrical sophistication with a gritty sound, this is one of the best hip-hop releases in recent years, says Alexis Petridis
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Off the record: Canadian singer Kiesza's capoeira obsession – video
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kiesza reveals her love for a Brazilian martial art said to have been invented by African slaves
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Labour pains: Robbie Williams sings as wife gives birth – video
Robbie Williams has uploaded a video of himself singing Let it Go from the Disney film Frozen as his wife goes through labour
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Sting's musical The Last Ship opens on Broadway – video report
Sting joins the cast on stage at the opening night on Broadway of his musical The Last Ship
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Why Scott Walker + Sunn O)))'s Soused is the one album you should hear this week – video
Alexis Petridis recommends Soused, the new collaborative album by Scott Walker and Sunn O)))
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Off the record: Alex Clare, the Orthodox Jewish pop star – video
The Brit award-winning, platinum-selling artist tells Tim Jonze about his Orthodox Jewish faith and his passion for cooking
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Why Jessie Ware's Tough Love is the album you should hear this week – video
Alexis Petridis recommends Tough Love, the new album by Jessie Ware, which he describes as classy and sophisticated
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In the house: Big Deal show us round their home and perform Sakura – video
Kacey Underwood of guitar-pop band Big Deal shows us around his home in Dalston, east London, before performing their song Sakura in the garden
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U2: 'When your art is only limited by your imagination that's wonderful' – exclusive video
Exclusive footage of U2 at work on Songs of Innocence in Electric Lady Studio, New York
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Why Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman reissue is the one album you should hear this week – video
As they release a deluxe edition of their debut album, Alexis Petridis reflects on the alchemy that took Underworld overground.
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Off the record: Bo Ningen drummer's hidden passion for Japanese calligraphy – video
Monchan Monna, drummer of Japanese acid-punk band Bo Ningen, shares his love of calligraphy – and demonstrates the drum style upon which he's built a career
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The world's largest playable guitar - video
The world's largest playable guitar goes on display at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey
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Why Martin Carr's The Breaks is the one album you should hear this week - video
Alexis Petridis recommends The Breaks, an album written by one of the great lost figures of 90s alt-rock, Martin Carr - the main songwriter of the Boo Radleys
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Why Aphex Twin's Syro is the one album you should hear this week – video
Alexis Petridis recommends producer Aphex Twin's latest album, Syro
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In the house: Kwabs shows us round his home and performs Walk – video
Soul singer Kwabs gives us a tour of his home in Camberwell, south-east London, and performs a version of his single Walk live in his living room
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The Preatures: 'There's no romance in celebrity' – video
The Preatures' Izzy Manfredi and Jack Moffitt sit down to talk about how the band met, keeping a sense of mystery and the 'Medusa head' of modern celebrity
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Why Acid Thunder is the one album you should hear this week - video
Alexis Petridis recommends Acid Thunder, a collection of house classics compiled by club aficionado Terry Farley
talking points
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Taylor Swift 'booty' diss by Diplo inspires Lorde's wrathProducer annoys singer by tweeting that ‘someone should make a Kickstarter to get Taylor Swift a booty’
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Readers recommend: songs about peace - resultsRR regular saneshane’s sorts through last week’s suggestions for an impassioned selection of songs about anti-war and peace
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Dave Van Ronk’s inspirational blues eases a midlife crisisThe folk singer’s St James Infirmary revives the spirit of 1950s Greenwich Village on Stephen Moss’s trip to New York, despite the investment bankers and tourists
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London jazz festival 2014: 10 to seeApartheid exiles Dedication Orchestra, the sound of the Indian streets, and three-quarters of a century for Blue Note records - our critics pick the best of this year’s London jazz festival
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And the G20 band played on: where is Brisbane's culture of protest?Other cities have Occupy. But Brisbane bands seem willing to take part in the Campbell Newman G20 sideshow, says Everett True. A case of feeding the hand that bites them?
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Triple J nominates the seven best Australian music videos of 2014Chet Faker, Client Liaison and Sia are among the nominees for the radio station’s J award for music video of the year
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The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Sopwith Camel – The Miraculous Hump Returns From The MoonMixing prog-rock, jazz, showtunes, Krautrock and indian classical music, this San Francisco band’s unloved masterpiece sounds like it was recorded only last week
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Queen: 10 of the best album tracksWith a new Queen album out, and a tour in the new year, let’s celebrate some of the tracks that weren’t all over the singles charts for months on end
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The Velvet Underground – Foggy Notion: hear an unreleased mixWe’ve got a previously unreleased mix of this Velvet Underground classic for you – have a listen and let us know what you think
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The mixtape: Thelma Plum, One Day, Ani DiFranco, Katy Perry and moreThelma Plum is Australia’s answer to Lorde, Ani DiFranco gets happy, and Jack Ladder sings for all the goth lovers
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From the archive, 12 November 1968: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - reviewOriginally published in the Guardian on 12 November 1968: At the end of the live album there is an official announcement: “Please hold your seats until released by the officer.” Then the bang of bolts driven back
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Tori Amos review – a dark queen presiding over longing and elationThe 51-year-old singer projects playfulness and power, and clearly takes delight in playing live
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Band Aid 30: Bob Geldof's Christmas single doesn’t deserve ridiculeA bunch of pop stars are recording a cheesy ballad for charity. Save your derision for those politicians who say helping others is a luxury we cannot afford, says Myf Warhurst
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Eric Bogle: I don't like Joss Stone's cover of No Man's Land, but I won't sueThe missing verses and rock arrangement diminish the antiwar message. Glorifying war? No. But sentimentalising it – maybe
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Redfoo under fire over ‘misogynist’ song Literally I Can’tUS rapper defends appearance in new Play-N-Skillz video as ‘satirical’ as pressure builds to sack him from Australia’s X Factor
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El Sistema: a model of tyranny?Far from the shining example of how classical music can change vulnerable young lives many claim it to be, Venezuala’s El Sistema fails the country’s most deprived children, says Geoff Baker
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Lana del Rey is just the latest woman to be attacked by EminemHis latest violent rap in CXVPHER Freestyle shows how little our attitudes to women have changed in the 15 years since he shot to fame, writes Britt Julious
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Bugged Out at 20: How the superclub era nearly finished usThe late 90s was the era of Ibiza residencies and weekenders – which nearly bankrupted Bugged Out, despite support from Daft Punk and other dance stars
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ENO's decision to abandon Bristol smacks of the same old London biasUnderstandable as English National Opera’s need is to cut costs, to cancel their first project outside London in 15 years is the wrong way to save money
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Takács Quartet/Williams review – seraphic unity of executionInfectiously incisive brilliance, tonal balance and expressiveness featured strongly in this Beethoven and Mozart recital, writes Martin Kettle
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Renaud Capuçon/Frank Braley review – still startlingly stormy after 16 yearsThe long-established duo’s Beethoven sonatas felt alive and risky, beginning with a thrilling opening to the Kreutzer, writes Erica Jeal
polls and quizzes
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Quiz: Test your UK singles chart knowledge
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini has become the first British solo female artist to have five number one UK singles – so which other UK chart trivia can you recall?
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Quiz: can you identify these Radiohead music videos?
From surreal animations to Thom Yorke's jittering choreography, how well do you know Radiohead's videos?
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Roll over Beethoven: who really wrote these famous pieces of music?
As Opera North open a new production of L'Incoronazione di Poppea – whose best-known final aria was most probably not even written by Monteverdi – we ask if you know the real guiding hands behind these other well-known bits of classical music?
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Quiz: Who are these unmasked musicians?
Can you identify the normally masked musician from their photograph?
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Quiz: Which pop stars made these feminist statements?
Can you match the pop artist to their stance on feminism?
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Quiz: who wrote these massive pop hits?
Michael Hogan asks how much you know about the talent behind hit singles
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Quiz: which pop stars have had an Aphex Twin makeover?
Aphex Twin could teach most musicians a thing or two about creating a striking publicity image. So can you tell which artists below have undergone a freaky Aphex-style transformation?
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Quiz: How much do you know about Handel's operas?
With Xerxes back at English National Opera, find out if you're up to speed on Handel's many, many operas
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Can you identify these David Bowie music videos?
Bowie's releasing a single and huge compilation album in November, but how many of his classic videos do you recognise?
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Can you match the B-sides to the A-sides?
In an era of digital downloads, B-sides are pretty much dead. Can you match these vintage flipsides to their A-sides?
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Quiz: match the pop stars to the reviews
Can you tell which artists these Guardian and Observer album reviews are describing?
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'He looks like Zorro on doughnuts.' Quiz: match the insult to the rock star
There are artists other than Liam Gallagher who have been known to hurl an insult or two. Who is behind each of these rock insults?
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Quiz: who is Liam Gallagher insulting?
Liam Gallagher is as well known for his ability to insult other musicians as he is for his singing. Which 10 bands or artists is he talking about in the quotes below?
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Do you still care about albums?
Poll: Albums sales are in steep decline, with listeners favouring playlists that cherrypick hits. Is the long player format now irrelevant?
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Quiz: Can you identify these Michel Gondry music videos?
Have a go at matching video stills from these Gondry-directed videos to their songs
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Quiz: can you identify these rappers by their real names?
From André Romelle Young to Amethyst Kelly, try to match these given names to their hip-hop alter egos
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The daily quiz: how well do you know the Beatles?
To mark the 45th anniversary of them recording Come Together at Abbey Road Studios, here's a Beatles quiz
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The BBC Proms: how many of the weirder and wonderfuller moments do you remember?
The Proms, the world's biggest classical-music festival, opens this Friday at the Royal Albert Hall. Celebrate some of the concerts' less expected moments from the last few decades with our quiz
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Quiz: Can you match the bass player to the band?
They're often overlooked, hiding at the back in music videos – but can you match the bassist to the band?
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Glastonbury 2014: how much do you know about the pop festival? – quiz
Test your knowledge to discover whether you are a Worthy winner, or not fit to clean Michael Eavis's wellies
And the G20 band played on: where is Brisbane's culture of protest?