Wyclef Jean offers advice to his homeboys on Mr October, from the first of seven planned solo albums in different genres by the former Fugee.

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I bloody loved The Cramps the moment I heard them. They had all the energy, lo-fi spirit and antisocial appeal of punk – channelled into rockabilly.

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Roxy Music first recorded Grey Lagoons in 1971 but left it off their debut album a year later, only to re-record it for their second.

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The Allah-Las are massive music nerds and turned their talents to dub reggae on this tune inspired by a Jamaican movie from the Eighties.

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Mary In The Junkyard are the latest in a recent tradition of highly original British bands whose influences are hard to detect.

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Mary Gauthier keeps it real in a way few others have ever dared to do in her autobiographical coming-of-age song Drag Queens In Limousines. (more…)

Hey Joe is not just a classic, but a genuine rock standard, with at least a hundred versions. This is one of my favourites, by blues guitarist Roy Buchanan.

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British DJ Dave Clarke teamed up with German electroclash ensemble Chicks On Speed on this banger, with a Bauhaus sample to boot.

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Leon Bridges teams up with dance trio Jungle on a slice of uplifting summer soul infused with the sound of Afro jazz and funk.

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When I first heard the adrenalin rush of those guitars at the start of Girl From Mars, I was instantly transported back to the first wave of punk in 1977.

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