Sorry to be so boring on Christmas Eve but I've just encountered a problem with my iPod. I've just synched it with iTunes and it took an unusually long time, but all the cover art has now been deleted from the iPod. I can't get it back by just synching it again.

Otherwise, I wish a Merry Christmas everyone in the Massive and especially those at The Word who have provided, or have pointed me in the right direction of, all my entertainment needs this year. Well, nearly all of them.

I have an iTunes technical question which I hope the Massive can help me with.

I am one of these people who likes to listen to an album with the tracks in the order the artist meant me to hear it.

I have a small number of albums downloaded from iTunes which do not play in the correct order. For instance, iTunes seems to think that on Elbow’s Cast of Thousands, the song Fallen Angel should appear as the album’s final track, not the second (even though it is shown in the “track number” field as being track no. 2). Anyone who loves that album will know just how wrong that is!

I know that I can create playlists in whichever order I want, but whatever I try, iTunes reverts to its (incorrect) default track listing. I know it’s a small matter but it’s very annoying! I suspect that there’s a bug in the downloaded music file, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I understand that the new Robbie Williams album is produced by Trevor Horn. Trevor has produced some of the best pop records of the last 30 years and this is obviously make or break for Robbie.

But who would have imagined that a former member of Take That would team up with a former member of Yes? You really couldn't make it up!

So my question is: Can you think of any equally unlikely musical partnerships? And, did they work, or were they a disaster?

As I'm getting older I feel as if I'm turning into Victor Meldrew.

I rarely listen to Radio 1, but occasionally Mrs C and I will listen to Radio 1 on a Friday night, as we like a bit of dance music every now and again, and R1 usually has Pete Tong on, normally live from Ibiza at this time of year.

However, it seems that Mister Vernon Kay is now Radio 1's choice of dance music presenter on a Friday night. This seems to be an incredible transformation for Mr Landfill Indie, n'est pas?

I know that as a 45 year old R1 isn't aimed at me, but I just think it's very odd, and I felt the need to share it with the Massive. Comments please.

Is anyone else a massive fan of The Roches, like me? This folk trio from New York came to my attention as a student when they appeared on OGWT performing songs from their Keep On Doing album. What was particularly interesting about the performance was Robert Fripp doing his thing with them. That album has been a favourite ever since. I'd post a You Tube link if they hadn't all been removed...

I like their other stuff from the 80s and 90s, and saw them blow the Dominion Theatre away in 1990 - they were stupendously good. However, the latest release I have of theirs, aside from the Christmas album championed by Mr Wogan, is Can We Go Home Now in 1994.

Does anyone know whether they've done anything recently, and is it any good?

Thanks to everyone for their tips. Unfortunately this business trip allowed very little time for shopping. Tokyo is possibly the most exciting city in the world, but if you're only there for a week (as I was) you never really recover from jetlag, and the last thing I wanted to do with what little spare time I had was shopping.

I had a wonderful trip, but just half an hour in HMW Shibuya, where I only bought English Rock, I'm afraid, 3 much missed King Crimson albums, Larks Tongue in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and USA; KC's output being sadly missing from iTunes, as is Fripp's solo work.

Couldn't find any Roy Harper I don't have already, and sought out Oliver Nelson's Jazzhattan on CD, to no avail. Rather off-message I know, but any pointers in the direction of where this might be available on CD or downloadable would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a serious query for the Massive which hopefully won't cause any arguments.

I'm visiting Japan in a week's time. It will be my sixth visit and my first in three years. One of the joys of visiting Tokyo is finding a large Virgin Megastore and buying lots of music no-one has heard of here. However, unless you listen before buying - which you can do in Japan, but I hardly ever have time - your purchases can be a hit and miss affair.

Can anyone recommend any good Japanese artists? I loved YMO when they first came out, and want to know what Mr Sakamoto is doing these days. Otherwise my interests encompass prog, dance music of the likes of Massive Attack and Chemical Brothers, jazz of the Miles Davis/Pat Metheny varieties, Joni Mitchell, inventive rock music such as Elbow, and modern African music. Hardly narrows it down, I suppose, but I don't like metal, country, rap or modern R&B.

Any suggestions will be very welcome, and I promise to keep you posted.

Is it too early to discuss the best albums of the decade? Surely not!

Here are some for starters:

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Sigur Ros - Takk
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Radiohead - In Rainbows
St Germain - Tourist

Go on, Massive go on, you know you want to!

Hello everyone in The Word online community. I have been an avid reader and subscriber for some time, but this is my first attempt at blogging. I really just registered to add comments and thoughts on The Big Issues of the day, but my lovely wife seems to think that I should consider writing about the music I love, and perhaps publishing it online. And who better to share my thoughts with than the discerning people who read and write for The Word?

I shall be considering my Festive Fifty options over the next few days. Watch this space (or don’t bother, it's up to you).