Music News LIVE: The xx shine as they open record residency

Today our #TbT is a retro symphony in two parts.

Part one goes out to all the shoegazers in order to mark exactly a quarter of a century since Oxford's finest  (cue the angry Radiohead fans) released their classic second album Going Blank Again,

Listening suggestion: Leave all your work behind, stare at your wallabees and sway.

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If you didn't know the band already and are liking what you hear then here's an additional fun fact: Guitarist Andy Bell  (on the left below) later went on to play bass in Oasis.

That's one helluva Ride.

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It's a cartoon Bill Murray! And he is singing!

The comic and actor has teamed up with Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s longtime Late Night house bandleader on a new track called Happy Street.

This is a cheery song and an even cheerier video.

This one's going out to you Arsene (and Arsenal players), we challenge you not to smile..  

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This week has been another one to forget for poor old Arsene Wenger.

First of all his team suffer a (Johnny) rotten 10-2 aggregate Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich and now a legendary punk 'singer' and Arsenal fanatic is calling for his head.

The PiL frontman, whose  Mr Rotten's songbook  is released later this month, told Gigwise: “He’s been there so long now that there seems to be no way of getting rid of him. 

Quote Message: I’d rather drop a league than continue with him. It’s mediocre and it’s unfair to us fans.

I’d rather drop a league than continue with him. It’s mediocre and it’s unfair to us fans.

"I’m Arsenal for life and as far as I’m concerned managers can come and go, just like them superstar players who demand too much money."

The Arsenal defence did look Pretty Vacant at times on Tuesday night to be fair.

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That sounds like a Live Lounge headline to us...

...and it is!

They've worked together already this year on the track Don't Leave and now Danish singer MØ and British electronic DJ duo Snakehips have joined forces once again to have a crack at Childish Gambino 's Redbone.

Whaddayathink?

You'll be able to see that full performance on the iPlayer v.soon.

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Do you remember waaaaay back on Tuesday when for some reason #FootySongs were the talk of the (social media) town?

Well you're all at it again for some reason.

Some of you clearly have too much time on your hands, but we're glad that you do as some of these are brilliant.

How's about Kelis above or as we call her 'Keliscious'.... 

Manic Street Preachers singer James Dean Bradfield has composed the score to a new submarine thriller The Chamber.

Set in North Korea and filmed in Wales - where else - the film follows the crew of a research submarine and a team of special forces searching for an object on the sea floor that is in danger of falling into enemy hands.

A design for (deep sea) life.

"I'd been given a few offers before, and they didn't feel quite right" said James.

"Then (director Ben Parker) Ben made contact, and just reading the script made me feel like doing it.

"I just thought I'd better stop chickening out on these offers, I've got to do it sooner or later. And I'm just really glad that I did."

Read more .

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A short while back,  Ed Sheeran 's face was apparently slashed by Princess Beatrice as she pretended to knight James Blunt at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

But now, shock horror, James Blunt has claimed the whole story is fake news.

"Ed was drunk, messing around, and he cut himself," the singer has told ShortList .

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"We made a fancy story up; people fell for it. It was very embarrassing."

Ed, the ball is now in your (Hampton) court. Say it ain't so...

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Time for a little break now from your work/revision/whatever to grab some food and take our little music quiz.

How well do you know your band logos?

No cheating now but a penchant for purchasing band merch at gigs will definitely help you with this one.

Take the quiz here.

Don't think of this as a test...but know that it is.

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Here's a band that ordinarily would sit well on BBC Radio 2 Country's new pop up station (scroll down).

But Swedish sister duo  First Aid Kit  have ditched the acoustic folk guitars and plugged in for a "vengeful" electric number You Are The Problem Here.

Klara and Johanna Söderberg said in a statement. "It's angry and direct.

"It's a song written out of despair ... After reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which did not at all reflect the severity of his crime we felt upset and vengeful.

Quote Message: We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them."

We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them."

We can't embed the video for you here as there is some some language found in the lyrics but if you can find it on their YouTube channel .

The Söderberg sisters spit out the lyrics: "Do you really expect anyone to feel sorry that you ruined your own life/ You did it when you thought you had the right to put your entitled hands up her thighs."

You have been warned.

Read more.

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That's right, Leicestershire's finest are back everybody (no we don't mean Mark Morrison on this occasion, or Roy from Corrie).

Since they last did a gig, their football team have gone from being Premier League champions to relegation candidates but you can't keep a gang of good men down.

Kasabian kicked off their new world tour last night at Sydney Opera House and were clearly pleased to be playing Around The World...quite literally, as they covered the Daft Punk classic dance tune off the back of their own track Eez-Eh.

Check it.

They also played a new track, Comeback Kid, off their forthcoming album as well as Reason is Treason from their debut album for the first time since 2014.

Must be especially good to be back on the road after the band appeared  to be hanging around in a psychiatric hospital for the filming of their new video earlier this week.

Life isn't always Eez-eh in a massive big rock 'n' roll band.

Read more.

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On Monday's MNL  we told you about about the Easter Sonata that was finally proven to have been written by Fanny Mendelssohn after forty years of being mistakenly attributed to her brother Felix.

Now you can hear Sofya Gulyak play the UK premiere of the piano sonata live on Radio 3, the first performance of the work to be given under the correct composer name.

Justice for Fanny.

You can listen now.

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Well it's been about five minutes since Ty Segall released a track, so by his standards it's about time.

Slack rocker - he is not.

The Californian garage rock icon has just dropped a new warped and psychedelic track (that could've come straight off the White Album) and you can check it out below.

Ty sings that "Black Magick will save us all..." and while we don't advocate the use of Ouija boards here on MNL this track does have a rather mesmerizing effect.

That's Tomlinson by the way, you know the one from that band One something ?..

Anyway we predict big things for him and here is the video for the track he made with the hardest working man in showbiz, Steve Aoki , as you read this he is probably still grafting.

The song was released in December so it's taken the lads a while to get round to releasing the video...but then it does visit several countries on an epic night out.

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Now fans of Black Sabbath knew this day was coming... but it doesn't make it any easier I'm afraid.

Ozzy and the rest of the metal brummie boys are officially no more.

They are an ex band. They have ceased to be.

Sabbath made their breakup official by posting a visual obituary on Facebook with the hashtag #TheEnd.

Thanks for the music and the madness gents.

Our reporter Colin Patterson was at their emotional final ever gig in their home city.

The xx have kicked off their first of their seven nights at the Brixton Academy in south London in front of an audience which included stars like actor Nicholas Hoult and the reviews have been sparkling. 

Nic said they were 'incredible' - read below for more.

Ahead of the gig, singer Romy spoke to 6 Music about the self-imposed five year break the band took between their second album and their new record I See You.

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That may be so but she has certainly been an inspiration to many women for nearly a decade since arriving on the scene with her Mercury-nominated debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim in 2008.

Laura Marling 's latest album Semper Femina, which is out tomorrow, was recorded in her adopted home of Los Angeles and so coming back to London to promote it in mid-February was something of a rude awakening.

The album title, which Laura has tattooed on her leg, roughly translates as "always a woman". Something she told us is sometimes easier said than done.

Read more.

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Listen up cowboys and cowgirls.

A four day pop-up digital radio service BBC Radio 2 Country will go live today from midday.

The station is centred around three days of live coverage from the C2C: Country to Country Festival in London.

The service will include a range of specially commissioned programmes and guest presenters from the world of country music, brand new documentaries as well as live broadcasts and exclusive performances from backstage at the C2C festival.  

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Bob Harris will kick you off at 12:00 GMT today before Mark Radcliffe praises the work of Hank Williams and Trevor Nelson brings his country soul this evening.

Check out  the full schedule and listen live here.

Not convinced? Well,  here's 10 artists that will make you fall in love with country music.

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Now get off your horse, drink your milk and head for the nearest *saloon and tell the bartender to tune the dial to BBC Radio 2 Country while you think about your baby.

*This fictional saloon has wifi by the way.

She was calling for women to rise up in red and revolt yesterday for International Women's Day.

Now today  Katy Perry 's thoughts have turned back to the day job as she appears to tease a new track while cruising in her motor.

But the message remains the same as the short video is accompanied by the caption: "When the goddess decides to take back her power".

KP means business.

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That means 'congratulations' non-French linguists.

Pharrell Williams has been decorated by the French culture minister for his services to the arts. 

He was made an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by Audrey Azoulay at a ceremony near the Louvre, in Paris. 

"For me, France is the centre of art," he said.

"This is another level and I wish my wife and children could be here for this."

The star's wife Helen Lasichanh welcomed triplets in January.

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