Reviewing Chinese Democracy is not like reviewing music. It’s more like reviewing a unicorn. Should I primarily be blown away that it exists at all? Am I supposed to compare it to conventional horses? To a rhinoceros? Does its pre-existing mythology impact its actual value, or must it be examined inside a cultural vacuum, as if this creature is no more (or less) special than the remainder of the animal kingdom?

›› Chuck Klosterman reviews Chinese Democracy

The weird, ridiculous lyrics and John McCrea’s lazy, deadpan delivery are why many people dislike Fashion Nugget, and CAKE’s music in general. The weird, ridiculous lyrics and John McCrea’s lazy, deadpan delivery are exactly why I absolutely love this album, on top of the excellent and wide ranging influences and ability this band has. This album spawned two radio hits (The Distance and the cover of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive) for this alternative rock band from Sacramento and it’s very high on my list of albums I hope to somehow have in my possession if I find myself marooned on a deserted island. (It goes without saying that I must have a CD player on hand if I find myself marooned on the said deserted island, but I digress…)

Mashups don’t come better than Danger Mouse’s 2004 effort, The Grey Album, which combined an a cappella version of rapper Jay-Z’s Black Album with instrument samples from The Beatles’ White Album. Completely unauthorised and deemed illegal, very few people have the promo vinyls that were initially pressed. You will not find it on CD or on iTunes (or maybe you can) but you know for sure that it can be found floating around in the deep bowels of the interwebs.

Find The Grey Album at your own discretion/risk, but almost as good as the audio mashup is a video mashup done for one of the tracks. Not the most polished video in the world, but I guess the idea was good.

[The] last time AC/DC made No 1 in Britain, the country was on the brink of recession. Back In Black, the album that marked their commercial breakthrough and went on to become the second biggest-selling of all time, was released in 1980, just as inflation had reached 20% and unemployment inched towards 2 million.

›› The Guardian analyses the timings of AC/DC’s chart successes

Realising their miserable failure as indie rockers, the now defunct Simian branched out sideways into the dance side of the indie spectrum as Simian Mobile Disco. Their 2007 release Attack Decay Sustain Release is a collection of mostly punchy, light and hook-laden dance tracks. Given their rock roots, this is admittedly rather effete dance music fare but you won’t really care or notice once you get into it.

Simian Mobile Disco are actually in town and will be playing at Zouk tonight. It’s probably going to be an awesome set and, unless you are pregnant or otherwise limited in mobility, you really have no excuse not to be there tonight.

You could say that if Definitely Maybe was their Stone Roses, Dig Out Your Soul is their Second Coming. It won’t win them any new fans, but those that believed the truth last time will dig this.

›› The Observer reviews the new Oasis album

You may have seen that awesome Beatles t-shirt from Experimental Jetset a couple of years ago.

If you liked that but your musical persuasion happens to be more rap than rock, this Wu Tang Clan t-shirt would be right up your alley.

If you have never heard of Mother Love Bone before, here are three main things that summarise their short history.

Fact 1:
They were one of the pioneer bands of the Seattle grunge scene of the late 80s/early 90s.

Fact 2:
Their exuberant lead singer Andrew Wood died of a drug overdose at the age of 24 right before the band was due to release their debut album in 1990.

Fact 3:
The band’s bassist, Jeff Ament, and lead guitarist, Stone Gossard, went on to found Pearl Jam and went on to achieve critical and commercial success.

Most of what remains of Mother Love Bone is the 1992 compilation album, Stardog Champion. The world will never know what they might have achieved, but the sad story of Mister Faded Glory is all that we are left with.

For a band that gave us seminal classics like 1991’s Screamadelica, 1997’s Vanishing Point and 2000’s epochal XTRMNTR, it was quite hard to believe Primal Scream could come up with total crap two years ago, which they titled Riot City Blues. I was really hoping they would have recovered that hard edge and done something new with their newest album, Beautiful Future.

But alas, it’s another derivative, boring and patchy effort from a bunch of guys who seem to have lost their edge. With the exception of one or two well-produced tracks (like the very groovy Uptown), most of the album is just despondently disappointing.

Kowalski was the first single from Primal Scream’s very compelling 1997 release, Vanishing Point. Breaking away from whatever they had done before, this single was a disturbing blend of industrial dub, samples from the (pointless) 1971 movie Vanishing Point and Bobby Gillespie muttering weird nothings.

And it sounded great. The Automator mix was wicked and I was so very captivated by the cover art. In fact, the Primal Scream sleeve art from Vanishing Point, Echo Dek and XTRMNTR (and the singles they spawned) were a definite source of stimulus for me back then as an aspiring designer.

The Very Best of the Lightning Seeds is actually the second official greatest hits album from Liverpudlian band The Lightning Seeds. Before they released their last album Tilt, there was their first greatest hits compilation Like You Do… Best of the Lightning Seeds. The fans and purists will always bicker over what tracks should have been included and what tracks were left out. I say just get either of the damn compilations and enjoy some of the best music that came out during the 90s. (Except Three Lions, which is crap unless you’re a drunk English football fan or something.)

I think this might work a little better than the awesome wolf T-shirt.

The Racontuers released their second full length studio album, Consolers of the Lonely on vinyl, CD, MP3 and in all other formats and media on 25 Match 2008. There were no promo copies for the media, no ‘first week sales’ stats, no nothing — you and I could hear it at the same time as the reviewers, critics and cynics.

I don’t know about you, but I got the album a few weeks late, and I am absolutely digging it. I am not wild about the White Stripes but I really liked The Racontuers’ first album and I am really liking this — the first 3 tracks are on over-play mode right now on my player.

A mildly depressing song from Blur’s 1991 album Leisure, Sing also appeared in the Trainspotting soundtrack. Despite the melancholy, it’s a beautiful track. Sad, but uplifting in a weird way…