As part of my deal with Napster, I get to download 15 'free' tracks. It seems to me that the way to get the best of this deal is not to download albums as it works out cheaper to buy them separately. So I'm looking for tracks to download that are recent, great and - I suppose - not featured on albums that I intend to buy anyway.

I know a few that I'm definitely getting: Stornoway's I saw you blink; the Avett Brothers Head full of doubt; Eliza Dolittle's Skinny Genes. Based on that, do you have any recommendations for top tunes I really ought to be downloading in the next few days?

I had a lovely Sunday which didn't involve football in the slightest. I was in Hyde Park where I got to see Elvis Costello, Crowded House, John Grant, Beach House and some scouse bloke who was apparently big in the 60s.

OK, so there were two crowds during the Costello and Crowded House gigs: one for the bands and one for the (silent) screen showing the match behind the mixing desk. The football crowd was probably bigger, but aside from the odd mass groan it didn't interfere too much with the music. And I got the pleasing sensation of not being the only Englishman who couldn't give a toss about the match.

Costello and Crowded House were both very pleasant accompaniments to a blazing afternoon. John Grant played a tiny bandstand in 'the Volvo picnic park' or something; he started off being slightly drowned out by a nearby stage but soon came into his own and played most of his album rather beautifully. The crowd watching was tiny; someone was even leaning on the bandstand itself only a foot or so away from the singer. Yet he seemed to enjoy himself and spent some time chatting to various audience members afterwards. My only complaint was that he didn't play ..Marz, which is my fave. Beach House, who followed, were pleasant enough though they weren't really sunshine and cider music.

Finally, Macca came on and he was.... well, Macca. I can't pretend to know that much of his post-Beatles work, but it didn't really matter; if I was slightly underwhelmed by a track he came back with something truly wonderful a couple of minutes later. He does come across like a slightly batty old uncle though - rambling on in between songs about this and that, sometimes in a dubious Jamaican accent for no reason in particular. At times he seemed like a caricature of himself (at one point I wondered if he was trying to copy the guy who played him in Lennon Naked, which would be a strange piece of post-modern impersonation). The highlight had to be Live and Let Die, if only for the explosions and fireworks that accompanied it; that and Something played on a ukelele. Although the latter was somewhat overwhelmed by a new gig experience for me: changing 8 month old Monteeny's nappy on the floor. I'm so happy her first ever concert was McCartney - even if that won't mean much to her when she's in her teens.

So, a great day for me; not so good for the footie fans. Hope you all had fun in the sun whatever you were doing. Enjoy your Mondays...

PLEASE tell me Luther will be recommissioned.
Bonkers, unbelievable, utterly brilliant.
And I have to know where they go from that final scene last night...

Yes it's another John Grant thread. Queen of Denmark is such a wonderful album; it's one of those where each day I have a new favourite that I have to keep playing (today it's Marz...)

But there's one thing that keeps on popping into my head when I listen to it: I can't help thinking that Silver Platter Club reminds me a little too much of Brotherhood of Man's 'Save all your kisses for me'. It's not a problem exactly, but whenever I enthusiastically play someone my latest find I've always got mental fingers crossed that they don't pick up on this too; I can't see it maintaining credibility (on a first listen at least) if they do.

I can't find a stream of Silver Platter Club, but here's BoM for your enjoyment. To make your own John Grant song, simply sing about not meeting parental expectations to the main melody...

I saw Powderfinger, a band from Brisbane, at the Brixton Academy on Saturday, one of their final dates ever as they are disbanding. The gig was sensational, largely - I think - because the band fed off the insatiable enthusiasm of the crowd (who must have been well over 90% Ozzies).

Their demise won't mean much to the majority of you because Powderfinger are practically unknown in the UK. However they're absolutely MASSIVE in Australia - it's hard to make comparisons but they're probably something like the Oz equivalent of Oasis: huge in their home country, a tiny following elsewhere. It's strange to think that, were I Australian, I might dismiss them as being a bit 'too mainstream', yet as a Brit, with none of those associations, I love them.

It got me thinking that, with the broad range of music listened to by the Massive, there must be other people listening to artists that are huge elsewhere but barely recognised at home. Anyone got any recommendations?

PS: Continuing the Oasis analogy, and judging by the crowd's reaction, this is their Wonderwall...

Saw Robin Hood yesterday. It's not a bad film, albeit one that's been vastly over-praised by the press (4 stars in the Guardian, twice, and in Empire).

However, aside from the fact that this isn't really a Robin Hood movie (it's essentially an origins movie which means very little Sheriff of Nottingham despite being brilliantly played by Matthew McFadeyn) I was preoccupied with the accents. Crowe's is all over the place - part broad yorkshire, part scouse, a tinge of Irish or Scots. It almost seemed like he'd come from a different place in each scene. I got so obsessed with accents in general (Scott Grimes' Welsh attempt is game but Dublinesque) that I started to find fault with actors who I knew to be English.

Anyway, I'm clearly not alone in this - Mark Lawson dared to mention it to Crowe who had a right old hissy fit (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/may/14/russell-crowe-a...)

And don't even get me started on the impression the film gives of England being about 5 miles square - apparently you can ride from Nottingham to Kent in a few minutes. Still, the battle sequences are ace (think Saving Private Ryan with horses and arrows) and Mark Strong is, as ever, an exceptional baddie.

While everyone's getting excited about 'name' festivals like Glastonbury or the Word-sponsored Latitude (both of which I love), the Hop Farm has quietly announced a rather spectacular line-up for such a wee event. Van the Man and His Bobness are headlining and there's support from the likes of Ray Davies, Richard Thompson and Blondie.

Looks like they're going all-out to attract the powerful market force that is 'Word-Reader'.

The full line-up is here: http://www.hopfarmfestival.com/media/8487/full%20line%20up.pdf

I grew up round there and it's hard for me to imagine Dylan coming to Paddock Wood; think I might have to head back home that weekend...

...or rather it doesn't. This, apparently, is our Eurovision entry this year:

How long did you last? I think I made it to about half way. It's truly dreadful isn't it? Now I know Eurovision isn't exactly the place you expect to find cutting-edge new music, but frankly I'd expect Mark E Smith singing about bus stations to have more chance of raising us above nul points than this dreary nonsense.

Then again, what do I know? It'll probably sweep the board and Europe will be renamed Dubovieland.

I'm thinking of taking the plunge into DSLRs. I am a total beginner (though have obviously been snapping on compacts for years) - anyone have any not-too-pricey suggestions, or thoughts on features I should look out for?

Is there anything the Massive DOESN'T know about?

I was supposed to be seeing Ozzie band Powderfinger tomorrow at Brixton but they're still in Brisbane thanks to Iceland and it's crazy volcanoes, and have now delayed the gigs till June.

I know it is a very small problem compared to the thousands who can't go on/get back from their holidays but I'm slightly miffed nonetheless.

Anyone else been inconvenienced in a relatively minor way by this unlikely natural disaster? Feel free to moan below where I can (almost) guarantee that no one will respond with a snarky 'that's nothing compared to etc etc etc' comment.

I'm contemplating a Napster subscription (largely because it seems a good way of getting unlimited tracks on my Squeezebox).

But before I make any decisions, I clearly have to consult the huge ever-growing brain that is the Massive. Has anyone experienced it? Is it any good? What do you make of the music selection?

Or is emusic better? I feel I may have missed the boat on this as the offers around now don't look quite as good as they once did.

For some reason, this afternoon I suddenly developed an urge to find out who sang the Wallander theme:

It's a marvellous bit of folky wistfulness which perfectly sums up the sense of emptiness and loss that pervades the series (not convinced I'd visit Sweden now I've watched it).

Anyone know anything about her at all?

Firstly, an apology - Fraser, I suspect there were probably a billion copies of my Night Out With Tom McRae on Friday. Sorry about that. I had real troubles submitting it and assumed that I hadn't posted it at all...

Secondly, is there any way we could have a character counter on the review templates, or at least something telling you how many characters you've used when you preview it? I resorted to copying it into Word and using that but the magazine Word and MSN Word had a disagreement over how many characters I'd written. It was slightly irritating and at one point I thought I'd just give up for good.

Anyway, this is not intended as a complaint; just a suggestion that veered off into a moan.

Here's the latest from that amazing new boyband everyone's talking about. OK, it's Hot Chip really...

Hot Chip - I Feel BetterHot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

So what do you make of that? There's a certain amount of religious imagery in there - the 'proper' pop Messiahs slaying evil tweenypop? - but more than anything it's plain weird!

No - not the Hobbit...

This is a trailer for an online film produced with the life-savings of a jobbing actor. I think it's a prequel telling the story of Aragorn's early years.

I was interested to know if any of the Massive had seen the full thing, and what their thoughts were...

I believe you can see it at www.bornofhope.com