It has been said that 2008 belongs to hard rock. After AC/DC's chart coup in October, the long-awaited comeback album from Guns n' Roses, Chinese Democracy, will be released later this month, while Journey's 1981 hit Don't Stop Believing became the highest-selling catalogue song on iTunes. But there has been another musical force quietly gathering pace ...

It is the music prize that purports to reward quality over quantity. This year the Nationwide Mercury prize judges aimed to prove it by overlooking huge sellers from Duffy and Coldplay in favour of an eclectic mix of homegrown talent they said confirmed the enduring strength of the album in the digital age.
Duffy, who has recorded the biggest selling ...

Razorlight - Wire To WireWhat's not to love about Razorlight? Sure, critics rag on their mediocrity, their po-faced arrogance and their frontman's Jesus-like illusions of grandeur. But they're all just humourless stiffs, no? Come on, that the three backing members can keep a straight face while Johnny Borrell sings lines such as "She lives on Disillusion Row ...

The shadowy Burial is our tip for the Mercury prize, although he won't be able to collect the prize as a line drawing Another year, another set of Mercury (or Nationwide Mercury Prize, to give it its full title) nominations for everyone to get angry about in the pub. But before we start spilling Old Speckled Hen on each ...