Two and a half minutes into "Icky Thump", something happens which is so perfect, you almost suspect the White Stripes' press officer magically orchestrated it.

Madonna, Foo Fighters and Duran Duran all confirmed for Live Earth

HAPPENINGS TEN YEARS TIME AGO April 9 to 15, 1997 Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro dies of ovarian cancer, aged 49. Although a much-respected cult figure in her own right, a handful of Nyro's songs became million-sellers when recorded by others, including Barbra Streisand ("Stoney End"), The Fifth Dimension ("Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic") and Three Dog Night ("Eli's Comin'").

The powerful singer songwriter to play fourteen date tour

New tracks by The Flaming Lips and Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Back to work after the long Easter weekend, and we're being lulled into action by the debut album from Original Silence. Original Silence are ostensibly The Good, The Bad & The Queen for men of a certain age who went to All Tomorrow's Parties and never came back. Their ranks include Mats Gustafsson - a great, spluttery, avant saxophonist from The Thing - one of The Ex, Jim O'Rourke (who claimed he'd quit music a while back, with Sinatra-esque implausibility) and, perhaps inevitably, Thurston Moore.

The band to play classic album George Best in it's entirety

Thanks for your comments on my Tangled Up In Bob blog, from last week. I was especially intrigued by a post from Mr Sweetwater Johnson, who hints at a new album from Dylan before the end of the year, possibly scheduled for autumn release.

Hot and slow in the Uncut office this afternoon, so I've put on the new album by Earth, which precisely fits the mood. Dylan Carlson's Earth, you may remember, were the Kurt Cobain affiliates who occupied the most extreme wing of grunge. Their records through the early and mid '90s largely sounded like Black Sabbath slowed down to an excruciating trudge. Gonzoid heavy, but kind of avant-garde, too.

The guy who thwacked Philip Schofield is back!