Devendra Banhart's last few albums left little impression, and despite moving to Warners' artists colony Nonesuch, his latest seems unlikely to arrest that trajectory.

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane has drawn criticism for his opening song “We saw your boobs” as well as his tasteless jokes about Jews, race and domestic violence.

'I really want the two girls from Ladytron. I love them'

What most people know about Adam Ant's troubled 21st century is that he threw a car alternator through a pub window, waved a gun around and got sectioned. What fewer realise is he's been working on a comeback album. He's self-aware enough to acknowledge the situation in swamp-glam lead single "Cool Zombie" (interest declared: I'm in the video), with its references to "not playing with a full deck", and on Blueblack Hussar's title track, wherein he admits: "You know me, I go too far."

DJ Steve Wright's weekly dedication show is ruled to have breached BBC guidelines after Radio 2 listeners were encouraged to leave requests for programmes which had already been recorded.

Red and green should never be seen. That's the rule, folks. That's the rule. Don't blame me, I didn't make it up. Them's the fashion fundamentals. Only, someone should probably have a word with the people who make Chrimbo sweaters, cos they're not listening. It's red (mainly) and green everywhere, because they are Jesus's favourite colours. Not really; we've got swathes of red because of Coca-Cola and the great Santa swindle, and we've a dash of green here and there because it's nice to have a reminder of a snog under the mistletoe.

Six decades into his remarkably consistent career, Fame has made one of his best albums: a bare-bones trio recorded in Slovenia with guitarist Primoz Grasic and bassist Mario Mavrin.

A final album on the cards?

John Walsh salutes Andy Williams, who has died of cancer aged 84

When Richard Branson was five years old his mother stopped the car, ordered him to get out and told him to make his own way to his grandparents' house. This, it turns out, wasn't an act of cruelty but an effective lesson in learning how to stand on your own two feet.

Reclining over the backs of a line of men, a glamorous blonde coos at the audience. “Do you know,” she says, giggling, “under these clothes, I’m absolutely naked.” In fact, the characters of Pina Bausch’s Nur Du could have almost anything under their clothes, up to and including tiny white mice in a man’s makeshift plastic bra.

He persuaded his father to buy him his first guitar, for 15 shillings in London’s Petticoat Lane market

Golightly, best known outside the cognoscenti for duetting with Jack White on "It's True That We Love One Another", is on her 13th album now (not counting her work with Thee Headcoatees, among others), and Long Distance is no radical departure.

One man does more to shape our music industry than any other. As he begins another star search, the svengali talks to our guest editor David Walliams.