1. You might have missed David Hepworth droning on about Steely Dan on Wednesday 23rd at 11.30 on Radio Four, but hey, don't despair, it'll be on the iPlayer for a couple more days yet

2. Watch David Hepworth among the talking heads in The Greatest Songs of the Noughties on Channel 4 on December 28th at 21.00

3. Listen to David Hepworth and Eamonn Forde talking about Bob Dylan on 6 Music on December 29th at 7 p.m.

4. Complain to the BBC Governors about the over-exposure of David Hepworth.

5. Take the plunge and sign up with Twitter if you haven't, but don't follow anyone apart from Eamonn Forde. He may well be the world's most gloriously rude man.

6. Go to your subscriber page on the website, check your details and update your email if necessary - you won't get our weekly newsletter if your address isn't current.

7. Check your iTunes podcast subscriptions. If in doubt (iTunes will put a subscription on hold if you haven't listened recently), delete the Word podcast and then re-susbcribe. And don't forget to leave a flattering comment.

8. It's the time of year you decide to organise your iTunes library. This might help.

9. Exchange unwanted Christmas books for ones you actually want at Green Metropolis.com.

10. Yes, it's him again. Listen to David Hepworth's Christmas Spotify list.

Edit: This post is being re-promoted as only two (TWO!) members of the class have submitted their homework, so thanks to students Iain McKinney and Specs_Beard for your efforts - they're very much appreciated. The rest of you would make Ms Day's Christmas a happy one if you did the same. Thank you.

While the Word Download Store has been updated with some of the best new releases (Them Crooked Vultures, Espers, Dave Rawlings Machine and Rakim) alongside a few of our favourite albums of the noughties (Madness, The Phantom Band, Midlake and Richard Hawley), Ms Day has become a little concerned that she's completely run out of reviews written by YOU, members of the Word Massive.

You know the score: choose an album from the store, scribble down 80-100 words on why people might like it, and send it to Fraser. It'll feature on the store homepage alongside reviews submitted by Word staffers Ellen, Hepworth, Harrison, Mossman, Johnson, and Lewry.

Do it now. Ms Day will be delighted, and Tiny Tim won't go hungry this Christmas.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, we thought that Word readers might enjoy these photos of Word staff doing what it is they do during their time off: facing great danger.

Our first photo shows editor Mark Ellen off the coast of Nassau, twenty metres beneath the surface of the Caribbean, sharing space with some extremely flesh-eating reef sharks. That he feels able to clown around for the camera at such a moment is obviously testament to the man's enormous bravery.*

Next up, we have The Word's advertising manager Juliet Cromwell enjoying herself in The Caymen Islands last week. What may not be immediately apparent from this photo is that a) she's dancing, b) that's not a soft drink, c) it's 6am, and d) yes, they're stingrays.

Finally, this is Web Fraser relishing the recent havoc wreaked in Cambodia by Typhoon Ketsana. You'd never suspect from the daft grin on his face and the relaxed pose that he was evacuated to the airport the following morning on the back of a motorbike.

If anyone has photos of themselves facing great danger, please post them in the comments.

* or stupidity. We're not sure.

We present a special holiday version of the podcast. Our skeleton staff, David Hepworth and Fraser Lewry, read your mail and discourse on: hair metal, the things that men are *really* thinking about, things people should lighten up about and when a DJ is not really a DJ. You can subscribe here or stream the latest one below.

The BBC's journalists are thoroughly enjoying the Ross/Brand business, particularly since the former said he was worth a thousand journalists. They've gleefully provided a time line of the events that last night culminated in the entry of the Prime Minister into the debate.

But what we want to know is this: why would you *pre-record* a programme like this? If you're making a big deal of how spontaneous and unpredictable you are, why would you record the programme days before it's due to go out? And why would you then make it even worse by making a phone call that goes wrong and then doing it again? You can't talk about "flying by the seat of your pants" if you're pre-recording.

Surely this can't be because the talent are happy to take their big fees but can't be bothered to turn up on Saturday night?

FiveLive is doing a phone-in right now on what people think about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross's behaviour. Meanwhile on the Today Programme, the great and the good had their say.

The evidence is here.

Sir,

I have never written to a magazine before but as a long time reader of Word I thought I must put pen to paper and ask if you've ever considered a feature about which city can claim the Inspirational prize - that is has had the best songs written about it. London you'd think but I won't accept districts. It has to be a paean to the city by name. Quality beats quantity of course

The winner is, I think all civilized people agree, MEMPHIS.

That's How I Got To Memphis
Memphis Soul Stew - King Curtis Live Version
Memphis Women & Fried Chicken - Dan Penn
Memphis Soul Song - Uncle Kracker (the much UNSUNG Uncle Kracker by the way...)
All The Way From Memphis - Mott The Hoople
The Memphis Train - Rufus Thomas
Most Anything By he Memphis Horns but let's say "Somebody Have Mercy" by Bobby Womack & The MH
I've Been To Memphis - Lyle Lovett
Stuck Inside Mobile....- Bob Dylan
and then there's that Chuck Berry song that I believe mentions the place once or twice.

Yes, Memphis wins.

There are rules about rock wives. Pre-fame ones tend to get left behind around the third album. New ones are inevitably younger. An unfeasibly large percentage are models. So far none are doctors or civil engineers. Many end up as their husbands' managers. Quite a lot have wacky interests and/or careers at the touchier-feelier end of the economy. Most are probably brighter than their husbands and their steely gaze indicates they can't understand why he gets all the attention. Here's our ten notables.

Candice Night (pictured, far right) is marrying Ritchie Blackmore in October 2008. They've been engaged for just fourteen years. The big day has probably been delayed while Ritchie casts a quizzical eye over Candice's poetry. Candice sings in his group Blackmore's Night but is very comfy centre stage. Here she is as Princess Amora, the warrior princess who features heavily in the fantasy game Magiquest.

Lauren Monroe is married to Rick Allen of Def Leppard. She is "the creator of the Advanced Energy Medicine Certification Program at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy and is also the Co-founder of The Raven Drum Foundation where she teaches and facilitates healing drum and empowerment circles in the U.S. and abroad." And she's made a record. "Working on the sessions was a collective heart explosion," she says. Let's listen.

Jennifer Sklias Gahan is the American third wife of Basildon boy David Gahan of Depeche Mode. What the gorgeous young model and the middle aged rock millionaire saw in each other we can only guess at but she was certainly the first Mrs Gahan to feature in one of their videos. However, never let it be said that she doesn't earn her keep. Here she is demonstrating the mystic healing properties of a rubber ball covered in oil.

Only in the world of the Rock Wife could a humble radio traffic reporter and aerobics instructor like Shemane Deziel (below right, with slaughtered foe) end up as the co-author of a book called Kill It and Grill It. All you have to do is marry Ted Nugent. Then before you know it you're campaigning against gun control and taking a crossbow to the wildlife of Africa. Pull!

Victoria Mary Clarke combines her role as Shane Macgowan's fiancee (they're saving up to get married this year) with a new career as a channeler of angels. She's written a book on the subject ("It's f***ing brilliant" says her top showbiz chum Kate Moss) and runs workshops at which she promises to get in touch with angels on behalf of members of the public for twenty pounds. This is quite cheap for contact with celestial beings. Here she is on Irish TV testing the patience of her interviewers, a pair of Muppets.

Click here for five more brilliant rock wives.

The News Of The World lead on pictures of Ronnie Wood dining out with the young Russian woman whose previous attentions got him ejected from the family home. A number of thoughts occur.
* Only Ronnie would choose one of London's most prestigious restaurants for his sneaking around activities
* Only the News of The World would figure Ronnie's got £50 million to give to anyone by way of a divorce settlement - haven't they read his book?
* What other story did the lawyers force them to spike to make this end up on the front page?

David Simon and Dominic West will be signing copies of "The Wire Season Five" and "Homicide" on Monday at HMV, 150 Oxford Street. If you want to get in the queue you have to get there before nine a.m. when wristbands will be given out to the first 300 people who turn up. More details here.

We're extremely excited here at Word Towers to announce the launch of the Word Magazine Download Store.

Not only is it a Word-friendly destination for all your digital music needs, but it features a nifty little widget that allows you to recommend albums to other Word readers. For example, if I wanted to share George Harrison's classic All Things Must Pass with you, there's a YouTube-style option to embed the code within a blog entry and have it display it like this:

So what's on offer?
There's 3.5 million tracks, 80% of which comes with no DRM attached. Indeed, by the end of the summer our partners at 7digital hope to have their entire catalogue available in DRM-free format. The files are encoded at 192kbps or 320kbps, CD-quality mp3.

Is every record ever made available?
No, but there's more being added every day, and the catalogue is pretty extensive. We do have plenty of Richard Thompson, and lots of Supertramp.

Aha! But you don't have [insert item here]!
This will be either because the label haven't sent it to 7digital yet, or because they're on a label that 7digital don't yet have a deal with. Rest assured they'll be working on it.

But you don't even have the Beatles!
They don't allow downloads yet. When they do, you'll find them here.

Can I download all of the tracks I buy in a single click?
Not at the moment, but a download manager is in the works.

How do get the files I download into my iTunes?
Save them somewhere sensible, open iTunes, choose 'Add to Library' and import the folder.

What happens if my computer crashes and dies?
No problem. You can re-download everything by logging in and selecting the 'My Downloads' option.

How do I use the Widget to display music on the Word blog?
On each album page you'll find a 'Get the [album name] widget. Click this, then select 'Other sites'. Copy the code you're given and post it into your blog entry or comment.

Ooh, I see the Download Store features a selection from a Word reader. Can I have a go?
Yes, of course you can. Just choose an album from the catalogue, write 80-100 words on why you think other Word readers might enjoy it, and send it to Fraser. We'll be changing this recommendation every week.

I have another question.
There's a Store FAQ which will probably help.

And that's pretty much it. Other questions will probably arise as time passes, and we'll do our best to answer them, but in the mean time enjoy The Store and have fun with the Widget.

A note which is currently circulating through BBC Local Radio has come our way. It indicates that, despite putting all their energy to convincing us otherwise, the Corporation's licence fee-funded local stations are being steered towards the same kind of pablum that the commercials already provide. They've done some research and decided to make some changes to their output. The key passage goes as follows:

"We are however noticing that many of the much older sounding hits from the sixties and early seventies are beginning to fall out of favour, indicating we should no longer assume they are all popular! Whilst Motown classics seem to remain largely in favour, other former staples like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and individual tracks from the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the Hollies, to mention a few, are now achieving quite poor scores. I suspect it's primarily a "sound" issue, with many of these songs simply sounding very dated alongside the better produced sounds of the Eighties, onwards! You can see this trend within the Beatles songs we have tested, their later releases score better than the early hits. Most highly rated songs include recent singles by Snow Patrol, Leona Lewis, Michael Bublé, Will Young and so forth."

So somebody thinks that the likes of "Good Vibrations" or "Strawberry Fields Forever" sound "dated" alongside the "better produced sounds of the Eighties onwards". This seems a supreme example of bad timing. Just as it seems to be increasingly accepted that the records of the eighties-onwards are actually far worse produced than the ones that came before - Tom Whitwell proved this pretty conclusively in this piece for Word some while back – along comes the most tone deaf arm of the Corporation to argue that Snow Patrol have the edge over the Rolling Stones. Which is stupid from a great height.

Presumably if the BBC are intent on pursuing this policy then it's only a matter of time before they raise the white flag on the rest of their output and hand it all over to Global Radio or whoever else is waiting to snap up their frequencies and employ Doctor Fox to pump out Leona Lewis all the live-long day. And will we care?

Word's racing manager The Major has been looking over the runners and riders for tomorrow's National and has this to say:

"There are contenders with musical names - including Tumbling Dice and Backbeat - but if you're making a serious investment here's our Five To Follow:

* Simon (Paul or Dancing Bear). Going well when it fell 6 out in the 2007 National

* Snowy Morning. Came 2nd to Denman (The Gold Cup winner) in 2006/7 season. Not the greatest of jumpers but anything sent over from Ireland by Willie Mullins is worth an interest

* D'Argent (As in Rod) Trained by Alan King with Choc Thornton on board-a formidable team, who did well yesterday at Aintree. Likes left handed tracks. Will stay the trip and not too much weight

* Comply or Die From David Pipe's yard so it will be fit. Again not much weight and will get the trip

* Philson Run. Managed to qualify yesterday as others dropped out. Came 4th in the 2006/7 National so gets the trip. Will come from the back so don't worry if he's not at the front 2 from home. Light weight will help in the finish

See you at the payout window! I'll have a large whisky."

By the time George Lamb is on 6music we're all nose to the grindstone here so we never catch him; but judging from your correspondence his presentation style is somewhat controversial, as are a number of recent moves to reposition 6music as something more than a place you can listen to old Cure records and a vintage Carter USM session. (Mind you, this morning they have got Martina Topley-Bird in session so that's a coup.) We've even had people appealing to us to do something about it, as if this is 1938 and we're The Times, or something. Anyway, to mount a campaign we need evidence! Over to you.