Saw these advertised on Gumtree. I'm busy otherwise I'd have grabbed them. Thought I'd bring them to the attention of The Massive:

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/nick-lowe-tickets-x-4-for-sold-out-lei...

I have an IPod formatted for my old EMac. I've now lost my ITunes library from the EMac (mostly burned CD's) and have switched to a new PC. Can anyone tell me if there's a way of keeping the contents of my IPod, but reformatting it so that I can add music/podcasts etc via the new PC ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Can I just make the observation that on the whole people tend not to complain of having been the victim of racist abuse unless it's true.
That is all.

In the past couple of months I've been both the perpetrator and the victim of what you might call minor friend-on-friend road rage incidents. In the first instance I was running late driving my daughter somewhere and found myself shouting and gesticulating at some idiot who was blocking our way and seemingly refusing to budge. When the car finally did budge I realised the "idiot" was in fact a close family friend. I later mentioned this to friend A, who laughed it off and said he'd not noticed it was me.
More recently I experienced virtually the same situation in reverse, with me as the idiot. I had a reason for dithering, but couldn't communicate it to friend B, who I could hear shouting at me from his car. Since then I've not met him face to face and am still trying to decide (a) if he realized it was me and (b) if I should jokingly refer to the incident when I next see him.
Are there rules of etiquette for this sort of thing ?
Please share your friend-on-friend road rage stories here.

Did anyone read this fascinating piece on Derek Dougan in todays Guardian ?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/apr/01/derek-dougan-psychedelic

OK, I know I'm a little late, but I've just finished Series 1 and 2 of The Wire. I've been loving it, but watching alone, late at night (wife not interested) I'm missing sharing the experience. I bought and dipped into The Guardian's "Wire Re-up" , but it contains far too many spoilers, so am leaving it to enjoy after I complete season 5. So if anyone has reached a similar point in The Wire and would like to share their observations about the story so far, favourite characters, baffling details and plot developments etc., please post them here. Oh, and if you've watched beyond series 2, no spoilers please.

I hope this isn't considered a misuse of the site.
Thanks to the recession, I recently lost half of my job and am now at home for two and a half days a week as a part-time house husband, with quite a lot of time on my hands, trying hard not to sink into a pit of pessimism and inertia.
I'd like to start up a small online shop, selling.... well, what ?
Can I call on The Massive for some help with this ? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on (a) gaps in the online marketplace you may have noticed, (b) products you buy or would buy on the internet or (c) things you consider particularly well suited to buying on the internet. Also, it would be great to receive any tips from people who have, or have had, experience of running an internet shop.

Even as a Gooner of some forty years standing I'm somewhat bemused by the impending Premiership comebacks of two of my former heroes Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell. At nearly 34 a faded, injury prone Vieira has been hired by Man City/cini at a reputed £140K a week, while Arsene Wenger has gone completely against previous policy and re-signed the 35 year old Portsmouth reject Campbell. Both signings are said to have been made to help "instill a winning mentality" or suchlike at the respective clubs. I wish both players every success (ok Campbell more than Vieira for obvious reasons). My question is, assuming they do prove to be successful, is the signing of great but slightly past sell-by date players likely to become a trend in these cash-strapped times and if so which 34-40 year old would you bring back and to which club ?

For no other reason, except it's brilliant. Had this song in my head for the last couple of days and felt like sharing it...

I'm a latecomer to his work, having bought the excellent "Fair & Square" thanks to a track on a Word CD some time ago. I've also been listening to "German Afternoons" on Spotify, (check out "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian" if you need cheering up). Apart from that I'm not sure where to begin. Would anyone like to list some essential JP albums for me to buy ?

Just checked ticket and HMV Hammersmith Apollo website, both of which say "Doors 6.30" but give no clue as to when Steely Dan actually take the stage. Does anyone have any idea ?

The other day I listened to a snippet of something on Radio Four where a bloke who used to work in a restaurant kitchen was reminiscing about his head chef's violent mood swings and appalling abuse of staff. He then explained that the behaviour was simply evidence of this chef's great "passion" for perfection.
It's almost compulsory for contestants on The X Factor and similar talent shows to trumpet their "passion" for their music /acting/ dancing, and in the later rounds of Masterchef (a food talent show), contestants are urged to out-gush and out-emote one another on "The Passion Test".
When I drove past a restaurant yesterday and noticed a sign outside that read "Food-Glamour-Passion" I began to wonder "what is it today with passion ? " We didn't all go on about it twenty years ago. Is it a good thing ? Is it always a good thing ? What's really deserving of passion, and what isn't ?

Here's a question I've been challenging myself with for the past few days, and I still don't have a satisfactory answer. On Desert Island Discs, guests choose a favourite book, after being told they already have the Bible and Shakespeare on the desert island. OK, you can see what's coming. On the desert island....of Rock !!! ...you get to choose your favourite album, but there are already two peerless, truly essential, indisputably classic, albums waiting for you. They are albums that open up a whole world. They speak to us like no others. They are The Bible and Shakespeare of Rock, and they are..........? Over to you.

I have a theory that everyone has a personal default song which they carry around with them and habitually hum or sing when their minds are otherwise blank or preoccupied with some mundane task. I used to share a flat with a bloke who, years after it was a hit, still CONSTANTLY hummed the chorus of Don't You Want Me by Human League when moving about the place. Joe Simpson (?) in Touching the Void talked about how he couldn't get Brown Girl in the Ring by Boney M out of his head when stuck on the mountainside with his leg broken in two. If I were in a similar situation it would almost certainly be Strangers in the Night - an excellent song of it's kind. Not particularly representative of my musical tastes, but I seem to be stuck with it.