Flicking through Amazon I discovered you can get a free sampler album "this is loose" with a couple of free tracks by the rather wonderful Dawes, and Word CD favourites the Felice Brothers. A number of other freebie label compilations too.

Oh, and some interesting 4 track introductions for 99p, which seem to constitute the entire catalogue you might wish to have of some of the artists e.g. David Essex and the Sweet, and more than you might want of others (Sad cafe). Might fill a few gaps.

Another request for assistance that has absolutely nothing to do with music.
Dell have helpfully informed me that my PC runs and starts up slowly because of an accumulation of crud. Then ruined it by trying to sell me something to tidy it all up for me. I assume that there is something out there that will do the same job for free - but that there is also a lot that will use it as an opportunity to give details of my overdraft to the Russian Mafia (wonder if they will have more joy out of Santander than I have?).

Can anyone recommend something free or very cheap to improve the running of my system - because I cant afford a new one.
Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to the team for the Latitude CD. Very nice to have a themed tie in. Having 2 CDs that month was an added bonus.

Well it is chucking it down, but next weekend is Latitude and I am getting excited. And worried about the weather forcast.

Who else is going apart from the Word Crew?

And has anyone got the train back on the Sunday before? I have to be in London for work on Sunday night (dammit) while the family can continue enjoying the festival till Monday.

The very talented Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck (oh, she's pretty as well? I hadn't noticed...) combines Lady Gaga, Keisha and Katy Perry in one single song.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6474802/three-pop-stars-one-song-with-...

Is The Word going to sponsor Latitude 2011? Just bought our tickets - the addition of a fiver for a child's ticket does not tick me off half as much as them charging another fiver per ticket as a booking fee!
Hope you do sponsor it, and we see you there again.

Long story - a friend's son is studying law but wants to work in the music industry. Which reminded me of a book by a lawyer, who went to Leeds University in the late 80s, and was manager of a band called 29palms. It is a book that I remember looking at but not buying (in HMV in London iirc, and beyond that fact that it was memorable enough for me to remember the above, I cannot remember the author or the title. Can anyone help?

(I have also suggested the Lefsetz blog).

I needed a magazine to read on a trip, and the new Word had not arrived. So I bought Uncut in the airport. I don't mean to be mean, but deary me - very poor. I hadn't read your competition for a while - I'd forgotten how much better than them you were. Please take one ego stroke, one appreciative thanks, and carry on.

Given the attack on ice hockey in the mailout, I thought I would chip in a defence. It is one of those games that looks rubbish on tv, like Basketball, but live and up close it is quite incredible. Well at least at elite level it is.
That 9 year old's trick was quite amazing - it will be a pity if he turns into the ice hockey world's Christiano Renaldo.

Besides, those ice hockey guys seem tough - I wouldn't want to criticise the game in front of them.

Any more ice hockey songs apart from Warren Zevon's "hit somebody"

Following from the David Hepworth blog and Jude Rogers...
1. The Pirates in Hull – my first time at the Ritz or similar grotty nightclub
2. Human League – meant to be the second but eventually seen at GMex on an 80s package
3. The Beat/Au Pairs – first uni gig, and still one of the two or three best
4. The Beat – last year at a grotty pub in Bradford– amazingly brilliant
5. The Beat – Last Year at a grotty pub in Bradford – somehow it all failed second time around
6. Beck – Manchester Apollo - the best I’ve ever seen
7. Bruce Springsteen – Roundhay Park 85 – first big gig. Ok, but put me off festivals
8. Radiohead – Warrington – next big gig. And worth it
9. Thom Yorke – Latitude 2009 - my first festival and a wonderful experience
10. Pere Ubu – Carlsberg free festival in Copenhagen, following the Blue Brothers Band and just before Kool and the Gang. Who booked that?
11. The Undertones – Hull – just happened to be passing
12. The Undertones – supporting Peter Gabriel at Crystal Palace, their last English appearance – we slept on the streets
13. The Go-betweens – Leeds, when I drank in the pub with them and Tracey Thorn beforehand
14. The Eagles in a corporate box at MEN, with an Aussie friend of the Go-betweens
15. Alanis Morrisette at MEN – amazingly disappointing
16. Symbol at G-mex, good but even he can’t ignore Prince’s back catalogue
17. Robert Plant – and evening of swing jazz at Leeds Uni – god how they called for Stairway
18. The Waterboys in Newcastle – fine until they turned up the volume
19. REM in Newcastle city hall – Nick Lowe supported- can you believe I didn’t know what they looked like?
20. The Who in Newcastle – but Keith was already dead, and really so was the band.
21. Pixies in Newcastle – my 27th birthday with the girl I loved and her new boyfriend. Now out on bootleg
22. Dr Remi Engala and the Orchestra Super Matimbele – Stockton Riverside Festival – every year and totally brilliant
23. They Might Be Giants – Redcar Bowl 1989 with the woman who I would date and marry 7 years later
24. Sisters of Mercy- Leeds Uni -3 shows in one term, moving up the venues each time. They lived round the corner from me
25. Motorhead – Leeds Uni – never saw them for more than a minute, but I HEARD THEM
26. The Pogues – Leeds Uni – I delayed starting work for a week to see them
27. Gil Scott Heron – Boston, USA 1990 – found out he was on by accident and drove 50 miles on the off-chance
28. Gill Scott Heron – Newcastle Riverside – met him backstage, but the drugs were taking hold
29. David Byrne – Nottingham – that’s near Cambridge isn’t it? Oh, not really. Worth the trip
30. David Byrne – Newcastle – he’s actually good said the people I dragged along
31. Husker Du – Leeds Uni – these guys had a plan
32. Julian Cope – Riverside on the Peggy Suicide tour – my female friends all wanted to have his children. Did I really meet Courtney love at a previous JC gig?
33. Kitchens of distinction – riverside – why were they not big? Why?
34. Smashing Pumpkins – Newcastle night club – they have anger issues. Really.
35. Fatima Mansions – Middlesbrough crypt – another one with anger issues.
36. Sugercubes – Newcastle night club – curiouser and curiouser said Bjork. Who’s the twat with the trumpet said everyone else.
37. Jesus and Mary Chain – Leeds Uni for 15 minutes. It was only a small riot
38. Jesus and Mary chain/Blur/My Bloody Valentine/Dinosaur Jnr – Rollercoaster tour on an Ice rink in South Shields. Bloody cold. Bloody loud. Blur surprisingly good
39. Blur – MEN greatest hits tour – and got better. That Boy Coxon can play.
40. Richard Thompson - a tent in York – and so can this boy. First time was such as surprise
41. The Velvet Underground in Edinburgh. The first reunion gig. I never thought I would see that, and could not understand how few people wanted to see them.
42. Billy Bragg – Bradford Uni 2006 – he was as drunk as the rest of us, but we had a good time. Phil Jupitus sang Beastiality
43. Franz Ferdinand – Bradford St Georges hall – the homecoming show. Mach shau!
44. Aztec Camera – Newcastle – how can he reproduce it all so perfectly, so effortlessly?
45. Tinariwen – Bradford st Georges – guardian reading worthies have supreme pleasure
46. The Mission – Leeds Uni – more tins of hairspray than booze
47. Steel Pulse – Leeds Uni – no need to bring your own, get high just breathing in
48. The Streets – Leeds Uni 2007 – is that what rave was really like? I got it for just a song
49. The Smiths/Red guitars – Leeds Uni - and the Smiths were blown off stage
50. Madness – Leeds Uni – 2 hits, a new song, repeat for 2 hours of delirium

Glad to see you've got Kirsty on the new CD. I met her in February when she was working as a temp, sitting on reception reading Love and Rockets. We chatted while I waited for a potential customer call me in, which is how I found out she was really a singer/songwriter. I looked her up and thought a) that she was really good and b) she'd never get anywhere. I hope this is the beginning of being proved wrong.