Here's Johnny...

Clockwise from top, Johnny Flynn drunk at Christmas, with younger sister Lillie who sings in Johnny's band, with Lillie and their nan, having open heart surgery on Holby City

There's good posh (Stephen Fry) and there's bad posh (Paris Hilton), but thankfully JOHNNY FLYNN seems to be something of a lovable rogue.

Born in South Africa and brought up in Britain, the 24-year-old has already made a remarkable number of career moves for a man so young: Shakespearian thespian, check... Holby City bit-part actor, check... voice-overs for IKEA, check.

More recently, though, he has reinvented himself as a thoroughly talented and accessible folk-pop musician with his four-strong backing band The Sussex Wit, which includes the sweet harmonies of his younger sister Lillie.

Together they have already created their fair share of toe-tapping songs to savour and that would strongly suggest Johnny's forthcoming debut album A Larum (released on May 26) might well turn out to be one of the year's best. Good job, young chap.

4 Johnny Flynn - Leftovers
4 Johnny Flynn - The Box (live)
b May 6, Captain’s Rest, Glasgow (tickets)

How to download any Myspace song you want at high quality

Music should be listened to and enjoyed at leisure on a stereo, mp3 player or your computer's audio player - not while being force-fed advertising on Rupert Murdoch's Myspace.

So when we came across this rather fiendish piece of technology today, we thought it only polite to share it with you. It instantly lets you download any song on a band's Myspace page for free - and at its original quality. Go here http://file2hd.com/ before the site inevitably gets shut down.

It really comes into its own if you're desperate to get hold of a song that is otherwise unobtainable, as was the case when we wanted to hear the first new material in two years from Glasgow legends MOGWAI, two corking unreleased live tunes by local rising stars WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS and our latest tip for the top, English newcomers MUMFORD AND SONS.

4 Mogwai - Dracula Family
b May 9, Ironworks, Inverness (tickets)

4 We Were Promised Jetpacks - Roll Up Your Sleeves (live)
4 We Were Promised Jetpacks - Ships With Holes Will Sink (live)
b May 8, Oran Mor, Glasgow (acoustic gig)
b June 1, Polar Bar @ ABC, Glasgow (Sauchiehall Crawl acoustic gig) (tickets)

4 Mumford And Sons - White Blank Page

The glorious Rezerection of TTF

In the 90s, Rezerection was the place to be for those in the know in Scotland. The legendary rave night attracted clubbers the length and breadth of the country and further afield to the The Royal Highland Centre in Ingleston. Although different in style, it was our Hacienda as far as underground kudos was concerned.

Universally referred to as Rez, it was where the likes of QFX, Ultra-Sonic, Q-Tex and The Prodigy (in their rave days) cut their teeth before the venue closed its doors in 1997. But undoubtedly the most treasured - and least dated - act to establish themselves there was TTF.

When you consider that The Time Frequency have sold a jaw-dropping 2.5 million singles, it effectively makes them one of most successful groups in Scottish music history, despite their relative obscurity outwith the dance community.

A few years ago TTF main man Jon Campbell headed up a consortium which bought Rezerection, and he has since set about reinvigorating a brand that still gives 30-somethings a giddy but hazy memory of their youth.

Nostalgia can only go so far, though, and the hard part will be tapping into new markets. But with TTF set to unleash their Dominator 2 album and going on the road with live performances of their hits, perhaps a whole new generation of Rez heads will soon be converted.

4 TTF - Real Love

4 TTF - New Emotion

b Sea Nightclub, Cambridge Street, Glasgow, May 4 (tickets)

The old ones are the best

It's official - the CD is dead. We surely aren't the only ones who have hooked up some decent speakers to our computer to turn it into an all-inclusive mp3 jukebox.

The advantages are obvious. There's none of the hassle of flicking through spines of plastic cases, no scratched discs to worry about, no need to spend hours on manual alphabetisation. All it takes is a click of the mouse and Dylan, Bob is your UNKLE.

Nevertheless last weekend, while ruthlessly putting The Pop Cop HQ's entire collection of compact discs up for sale on Amazon Marketplace, there was a lump in the throat when we stumbled across some much-loved records by our favourite extinct Scottish bands.

And so it is with a great deal of nostalgia that we bring to you our 12 most fondly remembered heroes (in alphabetical order, of course). We invite you to use our comments section as a kind of memorial guestbook, so let us know what this lot meant to you.

AEREOGRAMME: Only a year gone, but the music scene is quieter (quieter/louder?) for their absence. The trio were sporting beards long before Band Of Horses made it acceptable.

ARAB STRAP: They lived the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll dream. And drinking goes in that list somewhere too. Malcolm Middleton's solo output has been unexpectedly fulfilling - he was clearly the dark horse of the group.

ASTRID: Absolutely flawless pop music that masked a band with self-destructive tendencies. Singer Willie Campbell recently collaborated with Kevin MacNeil for a rock-poetry project, and now fronts Our Small Capital and The Open Day Rotation. Charles Clark sings for Our Lunar Activities, while Gareth Russell plays bass in Idlewild and Neil Payne drums for Texas.

BUDDHA CRUSH: The Edinburgh punk-pop group had plenty of gusto but released a single called We Expect To Fail and soon dropped off the radar.

DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS: ***Stop press*** This very second we have just discovered that singer Craig Macintosh has brought DDIHC back from the dead and is appealing for folk to help him finish the second album. Demo tracks are available from his blog for anyone with a bit of creativity and/or a desire to earn 50% royalties!

PARIAH: On record they were full of instrumental bliss, but on stage they turned into a post-rock beast that could make rooms shudder. We still treasure their two locally-distributed albums of breathtaking beauty. The warm tones of ex-Pariah man Evan Crichton are well worth investigating, while Andy Bush now shows off his talents in De Rosa.

PUPKIN: Ah, Pupkin. A band forever close to our hearts. Stow College's Class of 2001 picked them for their annual Electric Honey project but they never attained the fame and fortune they deserved. These days frontman Peter Kelly is behind the wonderful Beerjacket.

THE DELGADOS: Universally loved by those who heard them, their seminal albums Peloton and The Great Eastern still stand as two of the best to have ever come out of Scotland. It's impossible not to think of Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward (now releasing music under Lord Cut-Glass) as two halves of a divorced couple.

THE FRIDAYS: They came, they saw, they split up. We know of them just by reputation (a devoted teenage fanbase, major labels circling) and four demo songs whose raw energy reminded us of the first time we heard The Strokes.

THE SMILES: Played the main stage of T in the Park and appeared on TFI Friday, but their finished debut album never saw the light of day when the shit hit the fan at their record label A&M. Such a shame. Drummer Neil Payne went on to play for Astrid before joining ex-Smiles singer Tony McGovern with Texas. Tony now fronts Kizzy Star.

THE SUPERNATURALS: The snobbish critics may scoff but it takes a heck of a lot of talent to create pop songs of the simple genius that defined The Supernaturals. You probably haven't listened to Smile, The Day Before Yesterday's Man or I Wasn't Built To Get Up for a decade but we bet you still know all the words. Singer James McColl can be found playing in The Hussy's.

URUSEI YATSURA: Skewed pop of the highest order, with a healthy dose of American college rock influence to boot. Too cool for school, really.

4 Aereogramme - Indiscretion #243
4 Arab Strap - Girls Of Summer (live)
4 Astrid - Modes Of Transport
4 Buddha Crush - Don't Want To Know
4 Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Godhopping
4 Pariah - December
4 Pupkin - Delay Development
4 The Delgados - American Trilogy
4 The Fridays - Noise Noise Noise
4 The Smiles - Say Something
4 The Supernaturals - I Wasn't Built To Get Up
4 Urusei Yatsura - Hello Tiger

Staying out for the summer: Retrofest

We'll wrap up our summer special (for now) with the festival from hell. Others to keep an eye out for are the West End Festival, Glasgow (June 13-29), The Edge Festival, Edinburgh (August 1-27), Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire (August 8-9), Loopallu, Ullapool (September 19-20) and the Merchant City Festival, Glasgow (September 25-28). We'll bring you more on all of these as soon as their full line-ups are confirmed.

What's it called? Retrofest.

Where's it at? Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.

When's it kicking off? August 30-31.

Who are the headliners? The Bangles, Boy George, Boney M, Kim Wilde, Midge Ure.

And the flatliners? Peter Andre.

How do the organisers describe it? "Remember when you stayed in to watch Top of the Pops so you could chat about it at school the next day; a Marathon wasn't a 26-mile race but a large, sticky, peanut and chocolate cholestoral bar of joy; Friends Reunited meant playing with your school mates at the weekend without being interrupted by your parents ringing you on your mobile phone to check that you are all right... [half a dozen more tedius examples along the same lines, you get the picture - The Pop Cop]; If you can remember all this and more, then welcome to Retrofest."

What's its pedigree? This is the 2nd year.

What's the damage? £85.50 for the weekend, £100.50 including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: Katie "Jordan" Price, insomniacs.

Verdict: Nostalgia is all well and good if you're looking back on memories of a fonder era. But as the old wives' tale goes, cheese gives you nightmares.

ESSENTIAL RETROFEST SOUNDTRACK:
4 The Bangles - Eternal Flame
4 ABBA (Bjorn Again) - SOS

Staying out for the summer: Hydro Connect

Boutique (bōō-tēk') n. A small business offering specialised products and services.

So who wants tea in the park?

What's it called? Hydro Connect.

Where's it at? Inverary Castle, Inverary, Argyll.

When's it kicking off? August 29-31.

Who are the headliners? Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Manic Street Preachers.

And the flatliners? Manic Street Preachers.

How do the organisers describe it? "DF Concerts have taken an enchanted castle, added some heather clad rolling hills, bespoke camping, sumptuous seafood, champagne, a touch of fairy dust plus heaped spoonfuls of some of the hottest talent from around the globe and bound it all together to create a unique boutique festival experience."

What's its pedigree? This is the 2nd year.

What's the damage? £126.75 for the weekend (tickets), £147.50 including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: Those who know their lives will be infinitely better for witnessing Sigur Ros in majestic surroundings at their only Scottish date of the year.

Verdict: When Connect launched last year it had a line-up in keeping with its principles of being a festival of cool exclusivity. This time round we have the Manics and Kasabian, who we can't really see quaffing the "sumptuous seafood".

ESSENTIAL HYDRO CONNECT SOUNDTRACK:

4 Franz Ferdinand - This Fffire
4 Bloc Party - The Once And Future King
4 Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla
4 Duffy - Oh Boy
4 Elbow - Newborn
4 Gossip - Jason's Basement
4 Spiritualized - Don't Just Do Something
4 Mercury Rev - In The Wilderness
4 The Breeders - Cannonball
4 Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country

Staying out for the summer: Wizard Festival

Yesterday The Pop Cop was invited to the CCA in Glasgow for the launch party of The Tennent's Mutual, a fan-driven live music concept in which subscribers to the Mutual website not only democratically vote on which artists play and where, they also call the shots on ticket prices.

It sounds too good to be true and the subsequent Q&A with the head of sponsorship at Tennent’s Lager, who are putting £150k into the project, was disappointingly vague on the specifics of how this initiative, which will run from October to November, could actually work in practice.

The press release is predictably filled with buzz words like "revolution", "transform", "electrify", "bold", "empower", "radical", "ambition" and "interact" - but we're far from convinced that punters know more about organising gigs than those who do it for a living.

Mutual apparently stemmed from a Tennent’s Lager survey of 13,000 music fans between the ages of 18-35 across Scotland. Two interesting statistics to come out were that: 94% of music fans think the internet is the best way to find out about new music, while 99% think that promotion of music through the internet is the way forward for the music scene... which gives us great heart that what we're doing on The Pop Cop is appreciated by you guys.

What's it called? Wizard Festival.

Where's it at? New Deer showground near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

When's it kicking off? August 22-23.

Who are the headliners? Supergrass.

And the flatliners? The Damned.

How do the organisers describe it? "We aim to cater for all musical tastes as the Wizard's cauldron simmers with entertainment for all ages and we hope that you will join us for a magic weekend."

What's its pedigree? This is the 2nd year.

What's the damage? £69 for the weekend including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: Every music fans in the north-east - there's not really much in the way of alternatives within the radius of a two-hour drive.

Verdict: We'll diplomatically reserve judgement until more than a handful of acts on the bill have been booked.

ESSENTIAL WIZARD FESTIVAL SOUNDTRACK:
4 Supergrass - Sun Hits The Sky

4 The Cinematics - Maybe Someday

4 The Seahorses (Chris Helme) - You Can Talk To Me

Staying out for the summer: Live At Loch Lomond

And the award for the poor man's T in the Park goes to...

What's it called? Live At Loch Lomond.

Where's it at? Balloch Castle Country Park, Balloch.

When's it kicking off? August 2-3.

Who are the headliners? Groove Armada, Sex Pistols.

And the flatliners? Pete Doherty.

How do the organisers describe it? "Live At Loch Lomond 2007 was a rip roaring success and it couldn't have gone any better. Over 30,000 revellers over two days attended the picturesque site on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, the biggest audience out of the four new festivals that launched in Scotland last year. Roll on Live At Loch Lomond 08!"

What's its pedigree? This is the 2nd year.

What's the damage? £94.50 for the weekend (tickets), £124.50 including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: Pete Doherty's brainwashed fanclub.

Most unlikely to be attended by: Helensburgh Advertiser's "enraged" readers, Pete Doherty.

Verdict: An uninspiring main stage line-up is bad enough but poor proofreading (see right) is simply unforgivable. Not only has the Live At Loch Lomond website monkey invented a new word ("headling"), it can't even get the name of one of the few decent acts playing their own festival right. That'll be King Creosote then.

ESSENTIAL LIVE AT LOCH LOMOND SOUNDTRACK:

4 King Creosote - Where And When (feat Laura Hird)

4 Attic Lights - Never Get Sick Of The Sea

4 The Dykeenies - In & Out

4 Idlewild - There's Glory In Your Story

4 Frightened Rabbit - Square 9 (live at SXSW)

Staying out for the summer: Wickerman

If you're of the opinion that the true spirit of a music festival involves getting as far away from urban civilisation as possible and wearing flowers in your hair, look no further.

What's it called? The Wickerman Festival.

Where's it at? East Kirkcarswell, near Dundrennan, Dumfries & Galloway.

When's it kicking off? July 25-26.

Who are the headliners? Gary Numan.

And the flatliners? Gary Numan.

How do the organisers describe it? "From cheeky publicity seeking upstart to hardy festival perennial, the Wickerman has established its roots for continued organic growth. Wickerman debutantes who have taken the decision to sashay down the festival road less travelled can expect sporadic mirth and frivolity alongside sustained barrages of contentment."

What's its pedigree? This is the 7th year.

What's the damage? £81 for the weekend including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: According to the Wickerman website, "a parade of fops, spivs, dandies, babes, dudes, swells, cats and kids dressed in their jauntiest threads, melding together to create a festival vibe which is second to none". Expect a fair few sandal wearers then.

Verdict: The mighty Broken Records are playing, that's good enough for us.

ESSENTIAL WICKERMAN SOUNDTRACK:
4 Broken Records - Lessons Never Learnt

4 The Ads - Take Some Time

4 Dodgy - Staying Out For The Summer

Staying out for the summer: T in the Park

If you're old enough to be affected by all this doom and gloom talk of unsustainable debt, a volatile housing market, tumbling share prices, non-existent pensions, bank lending panic and a worsening exchange rate then you're probably thinking you've got no chance of ever celebrating Christmas again.

So you have two choices. You can either flog your golddust tickets for the most in-demand festival in Scotland for three times their face value, or say 'Fuck it - I'm going to nod my head frantically to British Sea Power while caked in knee-deep mud'. That's the spirit!

What's it called? T in the Park.

Where's it at? Balado, near Kinross, Kinross-shire.

When's it kicking off? July 10-13.

Who are the headliners? The Verve, Rage Against The Machine, REM.

And the flatliners? Bowling For Soup, The Hoosiers, Reverend & The Makers.

How do the organisers describe it? "An amazing 80,000 festival fans will converge on T in the Park’s beautiful Balado site to enjoy an unforgettable weekend with a mammoth 180 artists playing across 11 stages. TITP HQ have pulled out all the stops to deliver a line-up that will stand head and shoulders above other European festivals."

What's its pedigree? This is the 15th year.

What's the damage? Sold out (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: People with mates who work in Ticketmaster, hardcore teenagers who slept rough to be first in the queue, geeks with superfast broadband connection, rich kids whose parents have more money than sense. A shitload of neds with none of the above.

Verdict: The decision to make Rage Against The Machine one of this year's headliners is baffling in the extreme but you can't deny there's something for everyone in the line-up. If you can somehow find a way to avoid the toilets, riff-raff and plastic pints of Tennent's then you'll be in a music lover's paradise.

ESSENTIAL T IN THE PARK SOUNDTRACK:

4 Aphex Twin - Windowlicker

4 Band Of Horses - Island On The Coast

4 Biffy Clyro - 57

4 British Sea Power - Lights Out For Darker Skies

4 Kings Of Leon - The Bucket

4 Panic At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martydom And Suicide Is Press Coverage

4 REM - Cuyahoga

4 Sons And Daughters - Chains

4 The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger

4 The Kooks - Matchbox

4 The National - About Today

4 We Are Scientists - This Scene Is Dead

Staying out for the summer: RockNess

Okay, let's set the record straight here, particularly for our foreign readers - there is no Loch Ness Monster. The Scottish tourist board would like you to believe this fact is actually a matter of conjecture, but the most credible photographic evidence of Nessie's possible existence turned out to be a toy submarine with a sculpted head attached.

Therefore, we think it's time to put an end to this state-sponsored tourist swindling that masquerades as playful speculation and instead appreciate the natural beauty and tranquility of Loch Ness while your ears bleed to the sound of throbbing rock.

What's it called? RockNess.

Where's it at? Clune Farm, Dores near Inverness.

When's it kicking off? June 7-8.

Who are the headliners? Fatboy Slim, The View, Razorlight, Underworld.

And the flatliners? Fatboy Slim, CSS, Does It Offend You, Yeah?

How do the organisers describe it? "The coolest Scottish festival. Get ready to shake it and get your rocks off alongside the best artists in electronic, dance and rock & roll at one of the most breathtaking natural festival sites in the world. The only festival with its own monster!"

What's its pedigree? This is the 3rd year.

What's the damage? £106 for the weekend (tickets) , £122 including camping (tickets).

Most likely to be attended by: Lost American tourists, anyone who is oblivious to the fact 90s dance music has dated as much as shellsuits and Doc Martens.

Verdict: If you're a clubber, there are too many guitar bands; if you're an indie kid, there's too much dance. If your tastes aren't quite so one-dimensional, it's spot-on.

ESSENTIAL ROCKNESS SOUNDTRACK:
4 The View - I've Just Seen A Face
4 The Twang - Wide Awake
4 Mylo - Drop The Pressure
4 Razorlight - Yeah Yeah Yeah
4 Editors - Smokers Outside The Hospital Bed
4 The Dykeenies - Death To The Dancefloor
4 Pete And The Pirates - Bright Lights

Staying out for the summer: Tigerfest

If you've been watching David Attenborough's Spy In The Jungle series on BBC you'll know just how endlessly fascinating a tiger can be. We wouldn't be surprised if the creature's power, grace and way with a Rickenbacker is the inspiration behind the festival run in association with Scottish music magazine Is This Music?.

What's it called? Tigerfest.

Where's it at? Various venues across Fife, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh... but mostly Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall.

When's it kicking off? May 2-30.

Who are the headliners? Idlewild, Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub).

And the flatliners? Stars Of The Lid.

How do the organisers describe it? "A month-long, Scotland-wide alternative music festival centred on Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall but with an impressive variety of 'satellite' shows taking place in other major cities. It's an indie music fan's dream."

What's its pedigree? This is the 5th year.

What's the damage? £2 to £18 depending on event.

Most likely to be attended by: Those interested in seeing some of the best bands in Scotland... which is you, right?

Verdict: It's grrreat! (sorry)

ESSENTIAL TIGERFEST SOUNDTRACK:
4 Ballboy - Essential Wear For Future Trips To Space

4 The Twilight Sad - Untitled 4

4 Teenage Fanclub - Ain't That Enough

4 Idlewild - Actually It's Darkness

4 Foxface - Last Waltz

b Ballboy, Popup, How To Swim, May 8, Stereo, Glasgow

b The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Dirty Summer, May 15, Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline (tickets)
b Norman Blake, May 16, Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline (tickets)
b Idlewild, Foxface, The Scottish Enlightenment, May 17, Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline (tickets)

Staying out for the summer: Big In Falkirk

In a place with only 33,000 residents, the cynics amongst us might scoff that it wouldn't take very much to be big in Falkirk. But remarkably, the population of this town swells threefold one weekend a year thanks to a festival. What in Falkirk is going on?

What's it called? Big In Falkirk.

Where's it at? Callendar Park, Falkirk.

When's it kicking off? May 3-4.

Who are the headliners? 10cc, Levellers, The Complete Stone Roses.

And the flatliners? 10cc.

How do the organisers describe it? "One of the largest cultural events in Scotland, attracting over 100,000 people. The cutting edge entertainment features some of the most popular names in music."

What's its pedigree? This is the 9th year.

What's the damage? It's free!

Most likely to be attended by: Any Scots who like something for nothing. That'll be all of us then. Or folk who think 10cc were/are/ever could be "cutting edge entertainment".

Verdict: Some festival organisers think it's acceptable to force you to part with your hard-earned cash a year in advance for a line-up that hasn't even been decided, so how can we diss a festival that doesn't cost a penny. Best of all, there's no guilt in leaving it till the last minute to decide whether to go or not.

ESSENTIAL BIG IN FALKIRK SOUNDTRACK:
4 The Stone Roses - Ten Storey Love Song

4 Levellers - Beautiful Day

4 The Hazey Janes - Don't Look Away

Staying out for the summer: Triptych

The magical spectacle of thick snow falling to the ground on an April morning can only mean one thing in Scotland: summer is almost here. And that, as any keen gig-goer will tell you, heralds the start of the music festival season.

There are over a dozen rock festivals in Scotland alone to look forward to in the next few months, with several boasting line-ups that could only have been chosen by someone who thinks Real Radio is "cutting edge".

So in order to make an informed plan for your exotic summer in Hameildaeme, the next two weeks will see The Pop Cop guide you by the hand through fields of dreams and screams to help you figure out what's hot and what's rot. You'll be surprised at just how many festivals are NOT sponsored by the most disgusting lager ever created by man. Which brings us to our first one...

What's it called? Triptych.

Where's it at? Various venues across Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

When's it kicking off? April 25-27.

Who are the headliners? Mogwai, The RZA, Candi Staton, Sebadoh.

And the flatliners? The 1990s.

How do the organisers describe it? "Exceptional music, from grassroots agitation to international ardour, with an unparalleled bill that has rendered it one of Europe's most inventive, exhilarating music festivals. Triptych strives to provide a quality, accessible, nationwide programme whose divergent sonic calibre has one critical element in common: timelessness."

What's its pedigree? This is the 8th and last year.

What's the damage? £3 to £21 depending on event.

Most likely to be attended by: Urban Outfitters staff, social drug users, anyone who owns an electro album.

Verdict: The highly eclectic (obscure) bill certainly separates it from any other festival in the country, but there are far more duds than delights on offer. It might reak of pretension but, hey, at least you'll stay dry.

ESSENTIAL TRIPTYCH SOUNDTRACK:

4 Mogwai - 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
4 Frightened Rabbit - Good Arms vs Bad Arms

4 Malcolm Middleton - Blue Plastic Bags

4 The Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love

4 Sebadoh - License To Confuse

b Mogwai, Clinic, Dirty Projectors, Malcolm Middleton, Errors, Frightened Rabbit, April 26, Tramway, Glasgow (tickets)

b Candi Staton, April 25, Bongo Club, Edinburgh (tickets) & April 26, The Tunnels, Aberdeen (tickets)

b Sebadoh, April 25, Classic Grand, Glasgow (tickets)

Still sparkling

When the much-loved Aereogramme split up last year, there was little talk over who would fill the gap since they essentially represented a Glasgow-dominated post-rock scene whose popularity peaked at least half a dozen years ago.

So that might explain why, on being introduced to the sounds of atmospheric newcomers THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS, our first reaction of 'This band are quite wonderful' was immediately followed by 'Will anyone care?'.

A listen to the Glaswegian quartet's gloriously accomplished songs on their Myspace would suggest the answer to the question is a resounding 'yes' but, frankly, the final say is entirely down to you, dear reader. So that's why we recommend you download some There Will Be Fireworks mp3s, attend their gigs and spread the word. Let's hear it for post-post-rock!

4 There Will Be Fireworks - White Noise On The TV
4 There Will Be Fireworks - Talking Backwards

b April 4, The Winchester Club, Glasgow

b April 18, Old Mill Studios, Strathaven
b June 13, 13th Note, Glasgow

Thank you and good night

Listening to ELBOW's music puts us to sleep. Which is really a compliment as those dreamy textures tend to induce a state of blissful relaxation.

While Mancunians are often known for their swagger and rowdiness, Elbow seem content to continue railing against stereotype by perfecting their own ethereal, sweeping soundtrack.

Strangely, their beautifully created new album The Seldom Seen Kid has actually had the effect of rekindling our total obsession for their 2001 debut Asleep In The Back, an utter classic that demands reinvestigation. It's one of the most spellbinding records we own and, if anything, time has only improved it.

Every day would be better if you made Elbow the last thing you heard before you fell asleep.

4 Elbow - Scattered Black And Whites
4 Elbow - On A Day Like This

b April 4, ABC, Glasgow (sold out)

P.S. Thanks to all those who entered our Radiohead competition. The lucky winner of the tickets for Glasgow Green was Liza Barbour from Clydebank.