auctioneer69

Lead songs I have heard on the radio and some of the stuff I heard and saw on youtube from a recent live show have given me a severely underwhelmed first impression. Songs seem to be struggling for hooks or anything of real interest in many cases. And there seem something slightly askew for Arcade Fire doing a concept album on a topic as dreary as the suburbs. Has everyone's favourite band from 2004/2005 gone stale? Answers on a postcard to.....

Fair points. Looks like Barca are the latest club to discover that they haven't got the proverbial pot to piss so maybe he's going nowhere.

Come on. Arsenal pinched Fabregas from Barca when he was a nipper. He grew up in the city and is a Barcelona fan. As much as I'd hate to leave the English game, it's only a matter of time before he goes. It might be better for all concerned to think about how to build a team without him as opposed to pressuring him to stay another year. Also, given Wenger's lack of success recently can you blame the lad for wanting a reasonable chance at winning a domestic championship and Champion League winner's medal? I am not a gooner so maybe shouldn't say this but if Arsenal have another barren seaso

Gorillaz "Plastic Beach" Paul Weller "Wake Up The Nation" Steve Mason "Boys Outside" LCD Soundsystem "This Is Happening" Foals 'Total Life Forever" Gil Scott Heron "I'm New Here Myself" Chemical Brothers "Further" Broken Bells "Broken Bells"

Well played to Spain the whole tournament. With the honourable exception of Chile every team played very negatively against them. Even the fantastic Germans could barely get out of their own half in the semi-final. I would have had a bitter taste in my mouth had the Dutch performance merited a victory yesterday. Having an English ref they took a calculated gamble to play the dirtiest 45 minutes I have ever seen in a World Cup Final. It started with Van Persie's assault on Capdevilla in the first ten minutes, and was followed by shocking challenges by Van Bommell on Iniesta, De Young on Alons

We are through! Let's celebrate! Very proud of the whole US team. We aren't as skillful or as technically good as others but we lead in commitment, assertiveness and desire. How fitting we should win in extra time. In every game thus far we have never given up. I don't care if we play Serbia, Ghana, or Germany - I feel we always have a chance. I am sure there a lot of neutrals and people in our own country who have been turned on by these performances too. As individuals and as a collective the humility and down-to-earth attitude of our team stands in such stark contrast to so many other

Truly shocking in their two games especialy today. Uncommitted, disorganised and obviously lacking unity. Spain underperformed yesterday but u couldn't fault their desire unlike France today. Well done Mexico. The possibility of Argentina vs Mexico in the next round sounds great.

Fantastic win for Argentina and a great game to watch. Gotta love Maradona - start potentially the toughest game in the group with four strikers. Higuain looked so much better playing up the middle and was in exactly the right place for each goal of his hat-trick. It looks like Argentina have finally worked out how to accommodate Messi's unique talents. They look suspect at the back conceding a horrible goal. It would seem South Korea came into the match thinking that a win against Nigeria in the next match would be enough for them to proceed. Sloppier and less focused than I expected.

Switzerland epitomize the same brand of anti-football that Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan used to progress and win the Champion's League this year. I hope that Chile can beat them and they don't progress to the second-round. The World Cup even at this stage is shaping up to be the most defense-minded, negative and boring ever. Spain's recent success has been a welcome antidote to the teams organised by coaches to defend with a goal-keeper and two banks of four players pretty much constantly behind the ball. It's a system designed to snuff out any creative moves by your opponents where you are hap

I'd completely disagree with that. They got an enormous amount of luck with the goal but had the best chance to win the game in the second-half when Altidore hit the post. That said Dempsey shook off one of the world's best midfielders in Gerrard to to be able to take the shot that led to the goal. Going 1-0 down against a team like England after 4 minutes might have meant that the floodgates were about to open for some other teams but they showed grit and finesse clawing themselves back in the game. Remember that England qualified for the World Cup with ease and everyone of their players pl

Agreed. One good team so far - Germany. Even Holland vs Denmark this morning was a damp squib. High hopes for Spain vs Switzerland tomorrow. But apart from that highlights would probably suffice for next two weeks until elimination rounds begin.

Interesting that while the critical review has ben tepid this side of the pond the reviews in the UK have been universally favourable. Spoke to my brother last week who's recently bought 5 or 6 new albums and this was his favourite. So maybe B.o.H, are on their way into that small group of American bands who do better overseas.

LOL. Hitchcock is pretty special. "Wake Up The Nation" is better than "22 Dreams" which didn't enthuse me as much as most people. Maybe the best of his career.

I don't know if Wilco could get away with releasing a full-on soul influenced album. I think the idea might make a great E.P. or download only. I'd love to hear more horns on Wilco's current stuff and maybe some backing singers.

He's finally making the sort of music his varied career and parts of his solo stuff have hinted at. Hope you enjoy the show. Fingers crossed for a US tour later this year. He doesn't play here often but you get to see him in great smaller venues

Been listening to this non-stop since last week. At 52 Paul Weller has released what to my ears is his best solo album to date and something that compares well with anything in his career. The collaboration with producer/song-writer Simon Dine is inspired. The brevity of many of the 16 songs may grate with some (there are only 4 above three minutes) but for me it makes for a thrilling listen. Musically it covers a lot of bases but the arrangements and instrumentation across the tracks are consistently interesting. On repeated plays there's tons of stuff going on beyond the surface and there'

Wow...that's a pricey ticket. Kinda makes me feel better about paying $35-$45 for Wilco.

With all due respect, I'd say that no-one has stayed as close to the top of their game. Maybe David Byrne who also deserves kudos for not cashing in with a Talking Heads tour.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Weller has consistently and vehemently said he has no interest in reforming the Jam. If you live in the UK, there are several Jam tribute bands that you could go and see. In my not-so-humble opinion, Weller is one of the few artists of his or any other generation with any integrity. I am sure he could have pocketed a cool few million by doing an album, tour and festivals. As for his solo shows, you might have seen him on a rare off night. Saw him last year in San Francisco and in front of a semi-full room he and his current band put on a brilliant show. His la

Does anyone seriously think that Sarah Palin composes these missives herself? Good article from an Israeli scholar today on this incidennt in the Wall Street Journal. He made the valid point that Israel no longer gives a flying eff about world opinion and must have known how putting armed commandos on this boat would play out.

Just there for the first-time this week. You are in for a treat. Forest Park is lovely where you'll find the very good Art Museum. Saw great soul and blues on Broadway just a couple of blocks from the stadium - Beales on Broadway and BB's across the street. Heard the Oyster Bar close by was an excellent choice for creole and cajun food. If you haven't before you, you shouls use: www.yelp.com I find it invaluable for checking out new cities. Didn't make it to the city museum but that looks really cool. The bars on Washington Street looked good on Wednesday night and everyone said this is

Beautifully taken goal but that Munich centre-back defended like me back in grade school.

It's going to happen it's just a question of whether he goes this season or next. I like Arsenal but you can see why Fabregas wants to go. As for the money issues, remember that Barcelona and Real Madrid share about 50% of all the TV revenues from La Liga. It's the rest of Spanish football that is in financial disarray. It could be worse - you could be a Liverpool fan like me. I'd wager that of Torres, Mascherano, Gerrard and Benayoun only 2 of these players will be at Anfield next season. And there's still no new stadium on the horizon either or a sniff of new owners.

Am I the only person on the forum who think's the new LCD Soundsystem is shit-hot? Came in with low expectations: don't think that "Sound of Silver" is the holy-grail like many critics, in general wasn't a big fan of James Murphy's voice and thought lead track "Drunk Girls" was too close to Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" for comfort. Boy was I wrong. While it could be argued "This Is Happening" doesn't have as many stand-out tracks as its predecessor after several plays it really works superbly as an album finding a great groove early (from "One Touch" on ) and never letting go. Two quick ob