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Watch Niki & The Dove perform a lovely acoustic version of their upcoming single DJ Ease My Mind

The hotly tipped Swedish duo release new single "DJ Ease My Mind" on 27 February 2012. As a sneak peak to whet your appetites, here's a video of singer Malin Dahlstrom performing a lovely, understated acoustic version of the song in a garden.

The Travelling Band on the road, part one

We'd been cruising south for a couple of hours before our drummer Nick had said a word. 'Cotton Box', as we lovingly call him due to his wiry buffon, suffers from a useful strain of travelling narcolepsy. When not drumming or sipping on beer, he will sleep at any given opportunity until awoken by sudden breaking or a rare epiphany.

A tribute to Paul Simon

“Can you imagine us years from today/ Sharing a park bench quietly/ How terribly strange to be 70,” laments Paul Simon on his enduring ode to companionship “Old Friends/Bookends”, and the insightful singer reached a ripe 70 on Friday.

Planningtorock, King’s Cross Scala, 11 October 2011

There’s something deeply eerie about this show. It’s not just the prophetess-like figure of Janine Rostron swaying in the darkness of the stage – something’s off about her face. It’s hard to tell what, but as she rocks back and forth in time to the cultic drumbeat of her music, it gradually becomes clear: her nose and brow are grotesquely prominent. It’s a prosthesis, we’ll confirm later, but it’s monstrous, especially protruding from an otherwise attractive face.

RIP REM

“Sometimes I feel like I can’t even sing (say, say, the light)/ I’m very scared for this world/ I’m very scared for me,” Michael Stipe emotes on the sumptuous downer “You Are the Everything”. After 31 years, REM are no more, abruptly signing off with “To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.”

Music & Me: Fool's Gold

Los Angeles-based musical collective Fool’s Gold seamlessly meld indie rock, pop and African-influenced rhythms. Their second album, Leave No Trace, is released on 5 September and they are supporting the Red Hot Chilli Peppers around the UK in November. Guitarist Lewis Pesacov takes some time out to discuss his influences…

End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset

While several festivals have struggled to shift tickets this year, End of the Road sold out in record time. To find out why you only had to look at the line-up, which surpassed any other boutique option rich in Americana, folk and alt-rock.

Pulp, Brixton Academy, 1 September 2011

In any area of life, comebacks can be a precarious business. At their best (George Foreman winning belts at 50, Johnny Cash’s haunting late work), they’re emotional, life-affirming and can send us into rose-tinted bliss about the individual’s early career. Get it wrong (Sugar Ray Leonard being duffed up by no-marks at 40, Amy Winehouse’s tragic shambling around in Belgrade) and you can sully your memory beyond repair.

Music & Me: Missing Andy

Essex five-piece Missing Andy finished as runners-up in the Sky1 talent competition Must Be The Music. Comprising Alex Greaves (vocals), Rob Jones (bass), Jon Sharpe (keyboards), Steve Rolls (guitar) and Elliot Richardson (drums), they released their debut album The Greatest Show On Earth – Act I in October 2010. The band’s single “The Way We’re Made (Made In England)” reached no.38 in the UK singles chart.

Music & Me: Emmy the Great

Emmy The Great, aka 27-year-old Emma Lee-Moss, grew up in Hong Kong and the Home Counties. Now based in London, the singer-songwriter sang with Noah and the Whale before making two solo albums, First Love (2009) and Virtue (released this June).

Win one of two pairs of weekend passes to Bestival with RizLab

On the opening day of Bestival, Friendly Fires will curate a one-off exploration of “The Past, Present and Future of Dance Music” in the RizLab arena.

Underage boom means kids are all right

Gigs for teenagers attract an audience more eager than ever to see the best bands play live, says Elisa Bray

Win a pair of weekend tickets to The Vintage Festival at The Southbank Centre

The Vintage Festival, the UK’s best new festival, will transform The Royal Festival Hall into a multi-venue vintage playground for London’s most uplifting and stylish party this summer - and The Independent has a pair of tickets for the whole weekend - worth £450 - to give away!

The view from the stage

Nick Moore, drummer with rising stars Howl Griff, lifts the lid on the festival scene

Pack your bags, let’s rock around the world

Bored with the likes of Latitude? Then follow Nick Hasted to the festival scene’s furthest frontiers

Day In a Page

Picture preview: Lucian Freud drawings

Lucian Freud drawings

Picture preview
Silent revolution at the Baftas as the French take top awards

Silent revolution at the Baftas

The Artist wins in seven categories, with Meryl Streep the other big success story
Whitney Houston: The diva who had – and lost – it all

The diva who had – and lost – it all

Nick Hasted charts the highs and lows of Whitney Houston's life
How Picasso won over (some of) the British

How Picasso won over (some of) the British

Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh hated his work, but Picasso provided inspiration for a whole generation of UK artists
Topshop: A Decade Of Design

Topshop: A Decade Of Design

When London Fashion Week starts on Friday, Topshop will celebrate 10 years backing its brightest young stars
John Prescott: 'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

At 73, John Prescott isn't mellowing. In fact he's taking a shot at becoming a police commissioner
Jim Gamble: We are losing the race to protect our young

Jim Gamble: We are losing the race to protect our young

Technology and the children who use it won't wait for slow-moving child-protection services and police to catch up
Sarah Sands: A friend is not the one you turn to, but the person who turns to you

Sarah Sands on friendship

A friend is not the one you turn to, but the person who turns to you
Andy Burnham: 'It's a genie out of the bottle moment'

Andy Burnham interview

'It's a genie out of the bottle moment'
Leveson: What we've learnt so far

Leveson: What we've learnt so far

Ingenious hacks, shifty editors and attacks of Sudden Memory Loss Syndrome – Matthew Bell assesses the state of play at the Royal Courts of Justice
Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships

Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors'

Sarah Morrison meets the people redefining love in the 21st century.
'I was angry, so angry': How heartbreak, betrayal and Su Pollard helped Estelle find pop success

Estelle: 'I was angry, so angry'

The singer talks about heartache, betrayal and bouncing back.
Choc tactics: Bill Granger's Valentine's recipes for chocoholics

Bill Granger's Valentine's recipes for chocoholics

Should it be white, milk or plain? Can you make a melt-in-the-mouth pudding without using any?
Male, pale & stale: Could more women on the board help Mothercare – and other ailing firms?

Male, pale & stale

Could more women on the board help Mothercare – and other ailing firms?
Upstairs, downstairs, 2012-style

Upstairs, downstairs, 2012-style

There are now more domestic workers in Britain than in Edwardian times