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

Following the brilliant, if not entirely complimentary, review in the latest issue you can have a listen to the new Peter Gabriel album on the Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/feb/04/peter-gabriel-scra...

Not listened to the whole thing but so far I feel he added something spooky to Bon Iver's Flume but turned Street Spirit into a rather painful dirge (not helped by the fact he can't hit the right notes).

You can download Flume for free, by the way...

I saw Mo last night, starring Julie Walters as the late Mo Mowlam, and I just can't stop thinking about it.

Walters' performance was fantastic, especially given that she looks nothing like Mowlam; she managed to portray her as a foul-mouthed, highly-skilled negotiator who naively belived that Blair was her mate, even when he was taking all the credit. The supporting cast were great too, particularly given that they were playing familiar faces - the guy playing Mandelson (I think he was once a dealer in Lock Stock...) looked as though he was having a fine time, practically leaving a slime trail as he moved about Westminster. Possibly best of all was Mowlam's husband, who managed to convey so much with just the odd glance.

Despite such wonderful performances, I found it slightly discomfiting watching a depiction of someone who had only recently passed away. Was it appropriate to see her final days played out so realistically? What would her family make of it?

Any other Word-ites catch this?

I didn't get around to listening to the latest CD until last weekend, but I have to say that it is the best for ages - a really terrific collection of songs that manages to be incredibly diverse yet work as a cohesive compilation in its own right.

For me the real highlight is the Yeasayer track which is phenomenal, coming across like a lost 80s track given a sprinkling of 21st century electropop. I can't stop playing it. But then there are other real gems - the Carolina Choclolate Drops, Lissie and Basia Bulat in particular will certainly be on heavy rotation Chez Starkley.

The only problem is, I could seriously dent my new year's resolution to cut down on buying new albums: there are at least 4 I'm very tempted to get on the basis of Now Hear This alone. Please, have a heart: reduce the quality of your CDs now if you don't want a destitute reader on your doorstep.

Anyway, this was just supposed to be me saying thanks but turned into sycophantic gushing somewhere along the way. Still, everyone needs a sycophantic gush once in a while.

I'm aware I've banged on about Tom McRae enough on these pages, but if anyone's interested you can download a lovely new song from his upcoming album here: http://www.alphabetofhurricanes.com/

Or you can watch the vid here: http://www.muzu.tv/tommcrae?country=fr

It really is rather beautiful...

The Guardian today published its critics' assessment of the top 50 TV dramas ever. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/jan/12/guardi...)

Some surprises on there (for me at least): The Wire's not even in the top 10, A Very Peculiar Practice is; Battlestar Galactica only makes it halfway down (quite possibly my No 1); Doctor Who's not on it at all whereas Grange Hill makes it in at 50. I'd have certainly expected the first Criminal Justice on there, and Life on Mars seemed quite likely too.

The one I'm most intrigued about is no 16: How do You Want Me, which I've never heard of but, having read about it, sounds good.

List to follow in first post...

Moving example of the 'global village' or evil corporate cash-in?
You decide...

Personally, I like it. Especially the people 'dum-de-dumming' in a cave.

I've been eyeing up the various Logitech Squeezebox offerings out there, and am sorely tempted by a Squeezebox Touch. Does anyone out in Wordland own one of these and, if so, what do they make of it?

For those of you who think I'm talking about accordians, the Squeezebox is a bit more complex: http://www.logitechsqueezebox.com/

It basically syncs up to your pc and plays any tune you want, or plays internet radio or even (apparently?) podcasts and iPlayer stuff. And I believe, though i'm not certain, that you can now simply attach a hard drive to the latest one (the Touch) and not even bother syncing to your pc.

I know there are a few techy types out there, so the benefit of your experience would be most welcome.

The 'best albums of the decade' thread got me thinking about an album which would probably appear on my list: Thirst for Romance by Cherry Ghost. It's a great album that I keep coming back to, partly because of the lovely tunes, partly for the sense of weary romance and partly for the marvellous lyrics.

So I Googled them to see if they've anything else due out and I found a message from them saying that they'd fallen foul of the changes to the music industry, parted company with EMI and, as a direct result, parted company with their own website and fan contact list (which seems a bit rough).

Which brings me to another thought, vaguely inspired by the Rob Fitzpatrick thread (and the regular features in the magazine about the decline of the music industry). Would there be any scope in an article about those people who are falling through the cracks; those people like Cherry Ghost who are established artists but end up coming a-cropper as the music business tries to work out what it's going to do next and where the revenue will come from.

I don't recall this being covered before, but I could well be wrong. I think there are all sorts of artists out there soldiering on despite the odds being stacked against them, and it would be great to hear it from their perspective.

Having posted a reminder here that Generation Kill was starting on 4 a couple of weeks back, I set the PVR to record the series so that I could watch advert-free at my leisure.

A nice idea, scuppered by the fact that my player decided not to record the second episode (i.e. from Wed 14th).

So I was wondering if any of you fine people out there might have also recorded this and were able to help me out with a copy? Alternatively, any ideas for other sources would be great too...

Thanks in advance.

My wife is due to have a baby ooooh... any time now. It will be our first and I'm obviously expecting life to change significantly (not least in terms of broken hi-fi equipment, according to a recent thread).

Anyway, I've noticed there's quite a few of you out there with kids, and I thought who better to turn to for advice on being a parent than the readership of the UK's premier rock'n'other stuff magazine? So I'm asking: what little nuggets of wisdom do you wish you'd been given before you became a mum/dad? And what are the things they never actually tell you but they really should? (I have no idea who 'they' are...)

Extra points awarded for spurious links to RT, Santa Dylan or the Here-Come-Ol'-Flattop Hitmakers.

It may have escaped your notice (it certainly had mine, at any rate) but Generation Kill is on channel 4 tonight at 11.20pm. Surely a must-watch for Wire-heads?

Did anyone else see it when it was broadcast on that funny cable channel earlier in the year? Is it worth recording?

(By the way, it's right after True Blood which also looks pretty good.) OK, that's enough TV-guidery from me.

I watched The Fountain last night, and was wondering if any other fellow Word-ites had seen this? If so, can you explain it to me please? I felt like turning it off after the first 10 minutes because it was so baffling; by the time it finished I felt as if I might have enjoyed it, but wasn't sure. And I really didn't know what it all meant. It was a bit like a celluloid version of tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, only with this it was tip-of-the-brain. Could I really have enjoyed it if I didn't have a clue what was going on? I just don't know.

For those who have never heard of it, it was directed by Darren Aranofsky and stars Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman as characters from the past, present and future. Although in the future, Jackman appears to be some sort of zen astronaut and Weisz is/might be a tree. Or something. It seems to be a meditation on love, death and eternity. I think. I realise I'm not selling it to you, but as you may be able to tell it's left me a little baffled.

Regardless of the film, I can heartily recommend the Clint Mansell soundtrack which, to my ears, outshines his stuff for Moon: http://open.spotify.com/album/7q18n1Pnq7mx6satptDoJ3

Given that Word readers appreciate good writers, I'm assuming that Dan Brown fans are thin on the ground. Here's a link to 20 of the worst lines that have helped Brown line his pockets: http://tinyurl.com/r6tye2

The comments of Brown's more protective fans are quite entertaining - my favourite comes from someone who hasn't quite grasped the 'show don't tell' maxim: "He's DESCRIBING the character. You can't SHOW a description of something in WRITING you flipping moron. Descriptions are all tell, no show."

Incidentally, when I was at Latitude I heard Stuart Maconie tell a story about David Hepworth reading the Da Vinci Code. Apparently he was so incensed at universal descriptions of the book as a 'page-turner' that he read all of it but the last page just to demonstrate that he didn't need to turn that last page. A finer, more committed example of self-defeating, point-making Grumpy Old Mannery I have yet to hear of. Puts the rest of us to shame. Is this true, Mr H?