am posting this while on holiday in California: has anyone got some fine- and perhaps underplayed- suggestions for songs that sum up this place?

Ok, here's one for some thought and reflection. If ever a phrase had negative connotations then surely it is "dinner party music" which has had recent associations with bland singer songwriters, washed out insipid bed-wetting indie boys and "tortured" chanteuses. Surely though, just as roast beef loves a good bordeaux, there must be some records that go wonderfully well with different drinks and/or dishes? whilst finishing this evening's pizza I thought that some Pixies or REM wouldnt have gone amiss and rarely does a glass of red wine pass these lips than a hankering for the smouldering alcohol-soaked ballads of Tindersticks also crops up. What do other Word readers think? I am planning a curry for Saturday night so suggestions would be heartily appreciated.

If Rock Stars were biscuits, would Bono be the half coated Digestive? and, if so, what would that make Michael Stipe? I think we should be told...

After chortling at the "he had a good Christmas" pictures of Morissey in the most recent edition of Word, it struck me that those of us who had been too friendly with the Guinness and Mars Bars in the past have tended to get a rum deal when it comes to success on Planet Rock. With the perhaps notable exception of Black Francis, is there anyone else who has noticed this subtle fattism? Am i right or should I just get the next round in?

If anyone knows a funnier, more debauched and outrageously scaborous book than Neil Strauss's Motley Crue biog The Dirt, can they please let me know so I can go and get a copy?

Is it still a criminal offence to say that you "dont mind Nickelback"?