This is rather good I think. A very good musician doing a lovely version of My Guitar Gently Weeps on a uke.

I often wake up in the morning with an inexplicable song in my head that is there for no reason that I can understand. I woke this morning and Mike Sarne's 'Come Outside' was firmly lodged in my head. I have no idea why as I haven't heard it in years.

I was listening to an excellent programme on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon (part of the Radio Archives series) that celebrated vinyl, ity being sixty yeasr old and all that and I came across an amazing bit of trivia. Although my more learned Worders are probably aware of this already I'm posting it anyway so please forgive me if you know about this.

The programme concentrated on those marvellous people who spend their lives digging through crates of old records so they can nick a bit of it for their own records (i.e, DJ Shadow, Mr Scruff and every hip-hop dj there ever was.)

As part of the programme this Eminem track was played and I was amazed to find out who had a hand in its very famous riff.

For it was none other than this pair of herbets.

I knew that Mr Chas and Mr Dave were once top session musicians but I didn't know that they had inspired Marshall Bruce Mathers III and created a hip hop monster!! As if Snooker Loopy wasn't enough.

I found this completely by accident today on You Tube. It is the brilliant Jose Feliciano playing Billie Jean. He has some frightening leather outfit on but we'll forgive him that as he does some top shreading.

I found this today. It's marvellous.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/westwood/soundboard.shtml

That's what I'm talking about.

This is short and sweet. The great Toumani Diabate shows us how its done. How he does three different things at once is beyond me.

For several years now Mogwai, Glasgow's, in not the worlds, premier 'post-rock' band (how I hate that phrase) have been my favourite live act. They create sublime moments of quiet comtemplation and then bring it all crashing down with an ear splitting wall of noise.

This is them at their intense best.

I can't wait 'til Hammersmith.

You've got to start strongly. Any dodgy half arsed song written by the drummer can be hidden away of side two (in the good ole days of proper records.) Here then is a list of great opening tracks in no particular order:

Gloria - Patti Smith (from Horses)
Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain (from Psychocandy)
Solid Air - John Martyn (from Solid Air)
Devils Haircut - Beck (from Odelay)
Straight Outta Compton - NWA (Straight Outta Compton)

I have around 750 cd albums, 400 vinyl albums, 600 singles and 300 12" singles. Not a bad collection. My girlfriend wonders why I've got so many. Why don't I get rid off them all now I've got most of them on my iPOD and hard drive. I'm going to have to show her this to show her what a real collection is. This guy has about 2.5 million (yes you read that correctly) pieces of vinyl. Incredible. Hats off to a great man.

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Most of the readership of The Word are probably gig goers. We may not go to as many as Mark Ellen but we all rack up a fair few each year.

I've seen some truely memorable gigs over the 26 years I've been watching live music but in there amongst it all were some shockers. And I'm not talking support bands here either.

For instance I once, very misguidedly, saw Toyah. It was only my second ever gig and it was an early baptism into the world of rubbish gigs. It was 1982 and I should have cottoned on that it might not be all that I was expecting (just what I was expecting is lost in the mist of time) when I heard a tout trying to sell tickest outside for 50 pence. Whoever bought them were ripped off.

Oasis at Glastonbury in 1994 were dreadful too. I had actually liked their first single but after this swaggering, gobshite, boring crud I was finished with them and I haven't been swayed back into the fold by anything they have done since.

Nirvana headling Reading was a catasrophy. My mates and I joined the throngs of people who left early because they were so dreadful. I know they were meant to be one of THE great live bands (and I was a fan) but that night they were out of time and tune.

The very worse gig I ever saw was so bad that people who were there still talk about it today. Not that Angie Bowie in a nightclub in darkest Essex was going to be any good you understand so we weren't actually that disappointed by it. However I don't think anyong was ready for just how bad it was. She had decent musicians with her, her name probably saw to that. I have never seen anyone so devoid of talent on a stage however. When two of my cats have a slanging match it sounded better than her vocals and she writhed around like a...well words can't really describe it and the memory is still too painful to recall without the aide of strong drink. Suffice it to say that I never have and never will see such a shambolic and dreadful performance as I did on that night in 1985.

I was listening to Cud's rather manic version of 'You Sexy Thing' yesterday and the lyrics reminded me of a misconception I had about what Hot Chocolate were singing about all those years ago.

I now know that it was "I believe in miracles" and not:

"I believe in Milko".

I'm travelling up to Glasgow to see My Bloody Valentine on Wednesday. Mates who saw them in London last weekend have told me that it was the loudest thing they have ever heard (and one of them used to be a metalhead) and to take earplugs, so I'm expecting it to be earsplitting.

25 years ago (f**k was it that long!!) I saw Lords Of The New Church in Rayleigh in Essex and left because it hurt, at the same venue in 1990 I saw The Shamen and the bass made my hair move. Then a couple of years ago I saw Mogwai at Cambridge Junction and although that are always loud this night they moved my mates trousers!!

MBV are going to have to go some to beat trouser moving.

My attendance at a Yellow Magic Orchestra gig last weekend reminded me (as I was in the presence of Sakamoto San) of the film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. Now this film is memorable not only for the great music but because David Bowie isn't very good in it. Why do musicians insist on acting when for the most part they aren't very good? I mean Elvis was dreadful in just about everything, Sting has put in some shockers and it's best that we forget about Prince entirely. For the most part it's just a vanity project or a misguided attempt by film producers to boost bums on seats at some dreadful film or other.

But are there actually any decent performances out there?

A converstaion with a mate has led me to ponder upon the subject of Cover Versions. The cover version is a contenious issue. Done badly and that are excruciating, done lazily and they are little more than an exact copy of the original and have little or no worth. However, if they are thought about and are done in a new and interesting way they are bloody fantastic. Here are some of my favourites.

1. Superstar - Sonic Youth - The Carpenters are give the Youth treatment. Disjointed guitars and Thurston on vocals, what more could you want?

2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - The Slits - If ever a tune could be given the once over this is it. This is an ace cut and well worth checking out.

3. Straight Out Of Compton - Nina Gordon - NWA's classic hip hop track is give the acoustic treatment by Veruca Salt's Nina Gordon. It has to be heard to be believed.

4. In The Ghetto - Nick Cave and The Badseeds - Cave did a whole album of covers with Kicking Against The Pricks. This was the best cut and is as good as Presley's original and Dolly Parton's marvellous version.

5. For What It's Worth - Lou Rawls - A funked up, David Axelrod produced slice of excellence.

Sorry if this thread has come up on the The Word board before but as I'm fairly new I'm sure you forgive me. It would be interesting to hear other great cover versions.