We are very excited about this year's Nationwide Mercury Music Prize nominations. Not only did we personally manage to guess 9 out of 12 correctly, but some Londonist favourites are nicely sitting in the mix with the unnervingly young Laura Marling, the mighty Elbow, dazzling jazz stars Portico Quartet and dubstep hero Burial all on the list. What we're really excited about is the inclusion of Neon Neon - Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip's......

Although Bat For Lashes cut out mid-set - whoops - Radiohead were always going to be awesome. Thankfully, crew were on hand to fix the temporary blow out that left Victoria Park rather stunned, mid organic sausage and paper pint Carling, and Radiohead rocked on stage only a little late and dazzled E9. Kicking off with a stretch of In Rainbows (Bodysnatchers is unstoppably funky and everyone adores Nude, even though Skins tried to......

It sounds like an April Fool, but Radiohead have announced that they're playing yet another small gig before they hit Victoria Park this summer. This time it's for the BBC, will be held at the intimate BBC Radio Theatre and takes place on Tuesday 1 April. Tickets are not going to be easy to come by. While Radio 2 will be offering ticket competitions on air, there are also 75 pairs of tickets to......

Right, this sounds like it's going to be very messy in an attempt to get in, but Radiohead fans - listen up! The band have just announced a mini gig tonight at Rough Trade East. Here are the details direct from their site: So, we've got a small gig tonight. It's in London at the Rough Trade East shop on Brick Lane, and we're planning to play a short set of in rainbows material.......

Anyone wanna go see Radiohead at Victoria Park next year? Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th June. That's Glastonbury week too, isn't it? Well presales are available now if you don't fancy getting up all early on a Friday. But be quick. No word on whether they'll resurrect their 'tent' tour of Kid A days, that pitched up over in East London, but with favourable Rainbow reviews all round, it's a chance for the band......

After a brief hiatus, we’re back with lots of fun things to do this week from the comfort of your own home. Get cozy on the couch with a cup of tea, because there are lots of things to watch this week. On TV, Londonist likes: Tuesday, 16 October Britain's Biggest Storm (ITV1, 21:00-22:30) If your interest was piqued by this week’s Monday Miscellanea, you’ll want to catch this documentary on the 20th anniversary......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

While we may be wondering what the hell has happened to XFM since someone came up with the bright idea to make it all automated, we're quite excited by the news that tomorrow they're going to be playing all 42m 39s of the new Radiohead album in full. Of course, if you're a Radiohead fan and own a computer then you'll probably be enjoying the same pleasure possibly, if you're a meanie, for the......

Once again the artists are out in front of the eggheads and politicians. Earlier we covered tonight’s experiment in direct economic democracy at The Albany – effectively, attendees pay a £10 tax to join The Albany’s mini-society, and they all get a say on how the pot will be spent. Just imagine if council tax operated on the same basis! If that weren’t enough financial excitement, tomorrow the new Radiohead download comes out – priced......

Tomorrow, the BBC announce the acts that will be in contention to represent the UK in Eurovision. Making Your Mind Up, the show, will be held sometime in the next few weeks. Whispers have been flying around for months about who'll be in the running, with some rumours hitting the headlines (yep, Morrissey), but as yet, nobody knows for sure. This year marks the UK's 50th Eurovision entry, as well as the 40th anniversary......

Art prizes always create controversy; people seem to love to hate them and the media is so practiced at producing outraged copy about pickled sheep, elephant dung paintings, lights flicking on and off, unmade beds and other shock tactics of the YBA scene that there must be an automatic "critics column" generator out there somewhere. One of the bolder art prizes, still in its infancy being under 10 years old is about to face......

It's the time of year that sends compulsive list makers in to a frenzy, and this girl is no exception. It's the Notes From The City Official 2006 End Of Year Things-That-Laura-Liked Summary - catchy! It's as much a list of things I really think everyone should check out as a list of my favourite things from the year, so follow the links at will... Top 10 Albums 1. The Eraser - Thom Yorke 2.......

If you haven't already heard, The Woodentops are back, reforming for their first live dates in 14 years. Unlike other reformed bands, The Woodentops line-up will be the same people - front man Rolo, Benny Staples on drums, Frank de Freitas on bass and Simon Mawby on guitar - that scored a string of hits in the 80s, including Good Thing, Well Well Well and Move Me. They disbanded in 1992 but the enduring......

As my copy of 'The Eraser' still hasn't arrived from Amazon I've been trying to distract myself with other things. Work, seeing friends, and other bands...ironically what's been very successfully distracting me is Muse's brand new album 'Black Holes and Revelations'. Ironic because of all the lazy comparisons between Radiohead and Muse over the years and ironic because they're nothing like each other. I never really understood that comparison aside from the fact that......

Yassin Nassari of Ealing, west London, appeared in court yesterday charged with (deep breath) "possessing an article in circumstances which gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that its possession was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism." Ken has said he wants to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 15% come 2010. TfL have vowed to soldier on with West London Tram Scheme even though it......

Just two gigs to tell you about this week because we're still pissed that we're going to miss both The Shins on Thursday at Koko and Radiohead at Hammersmith on Thursday and Friday. If you can get tickets to either show, then we highly recommend them both. They may be worth remortgaging your house for. Tonight: Shoegazers amongst you unite, you have nothing to lose but your paisley pattern shirts at the return of......

With a regularity only seen for bands who have a new album coming out very soon, Radiohead are in the news yet again today and this time it's a quick head up for their fans! If you haven't already been cheated out of a billion pounds by a tout for Radiohead's Hammersmith gigs in May, then be careful because those pesky touts are trying to sell tickets for gigs that don't even exist. Radiohead's......

The big release for this week has to be Radiohead's two dates at Hammersmith, which go on sale tomorrow from 9am. A chance to hear new material, and a welcome return for a band who've become a considerably entertaining live force of late, whilst undertaking an ever more perplexing attitude to their studio work. It's going to be fastest fingers first, since a fanclub presale brought their own, generally well regarded, site down. Not......

Anyone wishing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an evening of the best new Irish bands could do a great deal worse than head down to The Metro tomorrow (Friday). Four of the Emerald Isle's finest exports will be taking to the stage, in what's likely to be a pretty frenetic night out. Ideamotion, Pocket Promise, Pilotlight and Dead Metaphors are all doing the honours, and we managed to catch up with Pocket Promise......

It's usually safe to say, that most of the new bands we talk to have rarely played to more than a few hundred people at a time, let alone the odd tens of thousands, but that's what happened to Reading's Morning Runner after they were asked to open for Coldplay on their outdoor arena tour last year. The story goes, that so impressed was Mr Martin with what he had heard of their debut......

This just popped up on Metafilter: One of the great Radiohead tracks and drummer Phil Selway’s favourite song on “The Bends”, “Just” combines self-loathing lyrics, a particular viscous guitar riff and middle-eight to die for. For his cover Mark Ronson not only enlisted the help of the formidable Daptones horn section (The Dap Kings) but Alex Greenwald, the lead singer of Phantom Planet (best known for “California”, the theme to “The OC”). Here's the......

Although fine arts are less our forte than appaling puns, Londonist nonetheless found itself wandering along the South Bank on Saturday, email print out in one hand, friend in the other, searching for the Oxo Tower and Bargehouse and War Child's Picture This exhibition. Admittedly we were drawn by the idea of seeing some real life Stanley Donwood work as much as anything (he's the dude that does the Radiohead artwork), and for nish......

It all started with a wedding. Sitting at a table, comfortably shooting the breeze with complete strangers and you go and say something stupid about writing music stuff for this London blog. All of a sudden you're reminiscing about Radiohead gigs and defending accusations that The Smiths suck. Then you talk about this band someone knows from Leeds who had been building a reputation for great live shows over the past few years. A......

Friends of the Earth have announced that Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood are to play a gig at Koko on 1st May. Apart from their tree-hugging credentials, why are Friends of the Earth making this announcement? Well, the Radiohead boys are playing the gig as part of The Big Ask Live, "a series of UK music events to promote The Big Ask campaign, which calls on the Government to take action to combat climate......

Four Day Hombre - Bar Academy Islington Four songs into the set and Four Day Hombre frontman, Simon Wainwright, is commenting on the incessent chatter. He recommends that those who continue to talk through the gig should be "impaired", perhaps by using a cattle prod, tazer or to simply "kick 'em in the balls." We fear Simon may not have gone far enough, so before we get to the review proper we'd just like......

We just have time, before heading up to Islington this evening, to bring you a quick round up of some recommended gigs for the week ahead. If you're yet to make plans for this evening, then we suggest you follow us up to the Bar Academy to catch the wonderful Four Day Hombre. The album turned up in the post the other day and we'll bring you a review of that and tonight's gig......

And so it was decreed that on the 23rd day of January after having taken Christmas off to let the punters indulge themselves in X-Factor winners and soft rock compilation albums, proper music would rise again from the ashes of the yule fireplace, shake out it's lurid feathers and start rocking. Should we read today then as an omen for what's to come? Who cares. First up (in true bad punning style) it's Ricky......

Discovering KEXP last year was like discovering Back In Black, for me the album that pretty much cemented everything I'll love about music for the rest of my life. Suddenly there was this doorway to a magical world where DJs played whatever they wanted and whatever you wanted to listen to, where they knew what they were talking about and where they had this strange passion for not what the industry or the scenesters......

Rejoice! If you have a digibox, at least - if you don't, then go and get yourself one. For Lemmy's sake, they're only thirty quid or so from the supermarket. And, once you have one, you can watch More4, the new Channel 4, uh, channel, which launches tonight at 8pm. A new freeview digital channel, you say? Isn't there one of those launched every day? Ah, but More4 is going to screen The Daily......

Funny old thing the music biz. You're never more in than when you're out, never more up to date than when you're retro. If pop music is simply a process of reworking old standards under different banners, which it is, then everything should always be "in" which of course it isn't. There is, of course, a retro right and a retro wrong (a term we made up three seconds ago, feel free to use......