Brand new Pet Shop Boys single - "Axis"

You know it's a good day when Pet Shop Boys release new music. Only a year after their last effort, the album Elysium, the British synth duo will return with new album Electric on July 15th, and first single "Axis" is out today. It's basically an instrumental, quite surprisingly so, an up-tempo dance track, sounding like a cross between Giorgio Moroder-style disco, DAF and The Prodigy, not at all what we would expect from these quarters. This also marks the first release on their own label X2 after staying with Parlophone throughout their entire career. The album will contain nine songs, one surprising cover among them, the Bruce Springsteen song "The Last To Die".

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Happy birthday, Willie Nelson! 20 favourites - old and new

Willie Nelson, a living legend if any, turns 80 today, probably smoking some weed, strumming a tune and generally having a good time. Ever prolific the country music icon recently released his new album Let's Face The Music And Dance, an excellent collection of (mostly) country standards, credited to Willie Nelson And Family. Below are a handful of Willie classics, to show just how important a figure he has been for popular music throughout his career, from writing the Patsy Cline evergreen "Crazy", through his "outlaw" years, and into old age where he's as good as ever. And he's as good at performing the songs of other writers as he's good at writing his own. Viva Willie!

Patsy Cline - "Crazy"

Willie Nelson - "Bring Me Sunshine"

Ray Price - "Night Life"

Elvis Presley - "Funny How Time Slips Away"

Willie Nelson - "Sad Songs And Waltzes"

Willie Nelson & Shania Twain - "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain"

Waylon & Willie - Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Willie Nelson - "All Of Me"

Willie Nelson - "On The Road Again"

Willie Nelson - "Always On My Mind"

Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson - "Pancho & Lefty"

Willie Nelson - "City Of New Orleans"

Neil Young & Willie Nelson - "Are There Any More Real Cowboys"

The Highwaymen - "Highwayman"

Willie Nelson & Sinéad O'Connor - "Don't Give Up"

Willie Nelson - "Still Is Still Moving To Me"

Willie Nelson & Emmyou Harris - "The Maker"

Willie Nelson & Lee Ann Womack - "Mendocino County Line"

Willie Nelson - "Louisiana"

Willie Nelson And Family - "Let's Face The Music And Dance"

OMD - Metroland

There are so many failed attempts by British synth-pop bands of the 1980's to reform and record new music. Ultravox, Blancmange, Human League and many others have released highly disapponting albums in the last few years, but OMD - or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark if you will - deliver. Their first attempt at a comeback was with the 2010 album History Of Modern, and with the new album English Electric and first single "Metroland", the duo consisiting of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphries have really nailed it. They don't try to be OMD, they are OMD, and that's the difference. This is no attempt to alter their sound or really modernize it for that matter, it's just a very successful attempt at recreating the vibe from their 1980's heyday. Great song!

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Song premiere: The xx - Together

British minimalists The xx have written and recorded the song "Together" for the new film by Australian movie wizard Baz Luhrmann, his remake of The Great Gatsby. The soundtrack also includes songs by Jay-Z, will.i.am, Lana del Rey, Bryan Ferry, Jack White and others and is almost certainly good. "Together" is nothing less than beautiful, I'll say that for now.

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Bøygard - Småsko

Den norske søsterduoen Bøygard - Tove og Anita - er aktuelle med sin tredje plate. I oktober. Det er jo en god stund til, men de har bestemt seg for å korte ned ventetiden med å slippe en vårsingle kalt "Småsko". Det er en nostalgisk liten country/bluegrass-trall som er dønn iørefallende, søt og catchy. Den er skrevet av Tove - som er så flink at hun også har gitt ut en soloplate, i tillegg til de to sammen med søsteren. Det nye albumet som har fått tittelen Blågras på Skrindo (Skrindo er bygda i nærheten av Ål i Hallingdal der søstrene er fra) er produsert av Jonas Fjeld, som for øvrig skal ha med jentene på turné til høsten sammen med det amerikanske bluegrassensemblet Chatham County Line. Verdt å få med seg, helt sikkert. Men inntil da, her er "Småsko".

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Zaz - On ira

French singer Zaz (born Isabelle Geffroy in Tours) is about to release her eagerly awaited sophomore album, titled Recto Verso, in mid-May. Her self-titled 2010 debut album contained the happy-go-lucky hit single "Je veux" that made her a star in Beligium, as well as in her native country, and if the new single "On ira" is in any way representative of the follow-up album, she will further establish her standing. A good old-fashioned feelgood song in French with an irresistable melody. What's not to like?

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Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is

More Foreigner, everyone... "I Want To Know What Love Is" was released as a single in 1984, becoming the band's biggest hit. It's simply one of the best and biggest power ballads ever to be recorded.

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Foreigner - Cold As Ice

"Cold As Ice" is a true 70's classic, lifted from British/American rock band Foreigner self-titled 1977 debut album. Although very far from being my favourite band, Foreigner have released some really good songs in their time, and my all-time favourite among them is "Cold As Ice". 36 years on, it's still an outstanding song!

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Eurythmics - I Saved The World Today

Their heyday was very much behind them when Eurythmics - Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart - found back together to record a new album after a nine year long break where they concentrated on solo work and other projects. Peace, as the 1999 album was called, sold pretty good, but wasn't enough to make much of a difference either way. The single "I Saved The World Today" however, can safely be said to be among their very best, a beautiful pop ballad where Annie Lennox really shines as a singer. Peace may be a forgettable album, but this single stands tall among the entire Eurythmics output.

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Electric Light Orchestra - Alright

An Electric Light Orchestra album in name only, 2001's Zoom was in fact a Jeff Lynne solo album, but in the name of his old band moniker. Richard Tandy was the only ELO member to appear on the record, on the single "Alright", that you can listen to below. It was the first ELO album since the 1986 release Balance Of Power, after Lynne had made the solo album Armchair Theatre in 1990. There has been no new ELO music since Zoom, but last year Lynne released a solo collection of covers, old standards actually, titled Long Wave. This is really a shame, as both Zoom and Armchair Theatre are excellent records, re-released this week with two added bonus tracks on each. May Jeff Lynne get his muse back one of these days.

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