A thrilling story of deprivation that shows off the bravura versatility of its author

For some music fans, digital MP3 files aren't a patch on old-fashioned vinyl. But now the singer-songwriter Beck is delving further into the past by releasing an album that will be published entirely as individual pieces of sheet music.

Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced Beastie Boys rapper and the most conscientious member of the seminal hip-hop group, has died, his mentor Russell Simmons said tonight. He was 47.

This week, an all-star line-up of three of the best acts of the 21st century (or parts of them, at least) will team up for a new collaboration. It's not for a Brits spectacular, but for a track called "Do Ya Thing" featuring Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and OutKast's André 3000, and funded, and given away by, Nike-owned Converse.

What we love, we're not sure about, we're buying and can't wait for....

Anyone coming to Gotye's third album via twinkling torch-song-cum-YouTube-phenomenon "Somebody That I Used to Know" may be surprised, then disappointed.

From The Fat Boys to Notorious B.I.G. via Fat Joe and Big Pun, many hip-hop performers have opted for a nom de rap that makes the most of their considerable size.

When this show was announced in February, it looked like New York hip-hop was making a stand against today's questionable customisation of the genre or someone had worked out a way to neatly cash in on the legendary reputations of two groups and an MC who've each carved a credible niche in music history. Rakim, for instance, has been every rapper's favourite rapper for the last 25 years, responsible for inspiring lyricists to move beyond pre-school wordplay in favour of more complex rhyme schemes and metaphors. Tonight, he's a respectful warm-up performer, cooly reeling off classics like "Paid in Full" and "Don't Sweat the Technique" with just the help of a DJ. It feels a little rushed and if he'd had 20 more minutes, he might have converted some of the youngsters in the crowd who couldn't help but look on at the 43-year-old obliviously.

Having revisited their 1960s landmark Odessey and Oracle a few years back, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone here revive The Zombies as a going concern, with a new album that repositions the band within the sonic lineage of Steely Dan.

If you thought Pharrell had jumped the shark, Nothing will come as something of a shock.

Just when you think hiphopis a spent force, alongcomes one of its moreoriginal talents to provethat the genre can stillpack a punch.

"Be real," says Busdriver at the start of 'Jhelli Beam', "conscious rap failed us."