Latest music news & live reviews, including pop, urban, classical, jazz & folk | guardian.co.uk | Music

Ron Asheton put the menace in the Stooges

Blog: There was something vital about the way Ron Asheton played that conveyed the inarticulacy, balled-up potential and red-bloodedness of youth
- News: Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton dies aged 60
It's time to redesign the guitar

Swells blog: Note to manufacturers – from now on we only want button-controlled guitars that are easy to play

Beatles' back catalogue available for free and legal download

News: The only catch is that before listening to each song you'll have to endure several minutes of musicological discussion in Norwegian
- News: Foals offer fans preview of their next album
Britney Spears's Twitter account hacked

News: Thanks to cyber pranksters, thousands of her fans have been informed of a strange alteration to Britney's body. Warning: May bite.
- Blog: Is Eurovision really the best place to discuss Armenian genocide?
Kraftwerk co-founder quits

News: After 40 years of service in the field of icy electronic music, Florian Schneider leaves the band

Latest reviews

Folk

The Incredible String Band

Tricks of the Senses
Classical

Holst

Orchestral Works, Vol 1
Pop and rock

Flaming Lips

Christmas on Mars

More news
Indie supergroup to record with Venezuelan president

OMG: Mongrel plan to head into the studio with Hugo Chavez for a 'Buena Vista Social Club style thing'. Only, er, not Cuban
Lupe Fiasco forms post-punk band

News: Is the Chicago rapper really the faux-English accented vocalist behind Japanese Cartoon? If so, he could be hip-hop's answer to Dick Van Dyke
Courtney Love album sponsored by tequila and tampon brands

News: No word yet on whether she will promote her forthcoming release by giving out free booze and sanitary towels
Andrew Lloyd Webber unveils UK Eurovision finalists

News: The man who brought you Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is to reclaim the UK's dignity at the European kitschfest
More features
'I feel lucky to be alive at all'

Feature: Long Blondes guitarist Dorian Cox reveals what it's like to suffer a stroke at 27
It's time for pop and classical to join forces

Guest blog: Simon Bookish hails the new generation of classically trained pop acts
What will the year of the credit crunch bring?

Moore confessions: We'll be making our own entertainment in the coming months, with a special prize jacket for the most entertaining of all
Antony and the Johnsons light up 2009

Interview: His songs now embrace nature rather than gender confusion, but Antony Hegarty is still a beacon of imagination in a drab music scene
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Chailly

Live review: The playing gloriously combined technical rigour with expressive immediacy, says Tim Ashley
The golden rules of rock reunions

Feature: Bands! Planning to re-form and earn megabucks? Then follow our guide to landing that 'Zeppelin cheque'
Introducing your new favourite bands ...

Tips: Music industry tastemakers reveal who they think will set the pop world alight in 2009
- Behind the music: New year special
- The album let-downs of the year