Glenn Campbell goes POP!

Man, I've got a real soft spot for Glen Campbell. I know he's a schmuck, I know he's incredibly uncool, but boy, he gave us so many great licks whilst jobbin' for The Beach Boys and, hell, you oughta face up to the fact that some of his singles are bubblegum masterpieces! 'Guess I'm Dumb' is sublime. 'Honey Come Back' is the most depressing song ever recorded. 'Wichita Lineman' is bona-fide brilliant.

Anyway, his new LP, called 'Meet Glen Campbell', due out next month, looks awful. Get this: Glenn is gonna cover his favourite artists... which includes Travis, Foo Fighters, U2 and Green Day. We'll get (well, we would if we were mental enough to buy it) 10 tracks that have "struck a personal and musical chord" and "moved and inspired" ol' man Campbell. He has "reinterpreted and re-imagined both older and contemporary songs with his own signature vocal and guitar arrangements," according to a statement. Read over for a bad list and a great video.

Sister Ray... going... going...

Music Week has reported that the famed London-based independent record shop, Sister Ray, has gone into administration. The shop –  on Soho's Berwick Street – will continue with trade whilst administrators, Andy Pear and Ian Cadlock of Tenon Recovery, find suitors.

Along with owners Neil Brown and Phil Barton, they remain confident that a sale will be secured in the coming weeks, with Cadlock stating: “This is a unique business with a truly global reputation and we are doing everything possible to ensure that Sister Ray is preserved for music fans worldwide.”

Illegal downloaders? This is your fault.

THEREMIN DOG!

Review - Pama International 'Pama Intl Love Filled Dub Band'

More reggae? Yup. And it's good too. For fans of the sound of soulful reggae, start cranin' yer neck because have I got an LP fer you! Despite the rubbish name of 'Pama Intl Love Filled Dub Band', Pama International's newest cut is one of the best reggae LPs I've heard in years!

Now, I know what you're thinkin'. Ain't no way a new long player is gonna capture the spirit and production of 60s/70s cuts from JA. Well, that may well be so, but in all honesty, this plate gets as close as I've ever heard. Seriously. Not only that, but the packaging completely endeared me as well... nice card... cut-out inners like a 45 sleeve... CD that looks like a 45... man, these boys are determined to provide experience.

#2785c Electric Roulette Diary

"Ah man", say Hill, "you ain't dunna jaunt for yonks, man". Hill, the newcomer, was right. See, thing is, when you become a rock critic, you get fat 'n' idle. You end up sneering down your snitch, past the pince nez, sported purely for dramatic reasons as there ain't a damn thing wrong witchaw eyes, 'part from a slight strain o' spendin' too mucha yer time in fronta 'net flith.

So, we threw a dart at a map (on the Roulette wall, next to the Hall and Oates picture) and it landed square on Dublin. In fairness, it didn't land on Dublin. Firs' it landed in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, then we hit Darryl Hall and the last throw hit somewhere in the Middle East, and there ain't no fuggin' way we roll there. We decided on Dublin for summa that infamous 'craic'.

Museum buys Hacienda... doors.

Manchester may mock at its twin city, Liverpool, for being a breathing Beatles museum... but it should look toward its own obsession with Factory Records and the IRA. See, Manchester, despite being anti-drugs and anti-terror, has done rather well out of both, with the IRA kindly building a new Marks and Spencers and drugs being a fuel for acid house. Anyway, back with the ACEEEID.

The doors of The Haçienda have become a museum piece. The loading bay doors of the club owned and run by New Order label Factory Records have been acquired by the Museum Of Science And Industry. Even though I know people who work there, including a curator, I've had to find this out through dubious sources. Still, fact is, I could have been told this and I've completely forgotten since then. Anyway, does this mean more partyin' like it's 1988? Get us some pills and we'll meet you in Body Worlds with the stiffs!

A Spoonful of Erica Buettner’s Music Makes the Indie Go Away (and possibly the voices).

Of course without the Internet I probably wouldn’t be writing as much, but it doesn’t stop me being annoyed by the constant attack of crap information and ideas it bombards you with. Myspace is certainly one of the biggest offenders, in while it is easy to ignore, the constant friends requests from tepid Indie acts does reach a point.

Luckily, yesterday I received a request from American in Paris, singer-songwriter Erica Buettner. Admittedly, you can spot the Joni Mitchell influence in the vocals, but it is refreshing to hear music with a bit of thought put into it.

Despite the impression that a lot of the Roulette writers hate new music, it is always great recognising new talent – as well as knocking down the bile of much of the mainstream – so head over to her Myspace. It is the perfect music for everyone’s psychedelic summer – just me then? It is ethereal and expansive sound, expanding on what could be simple singer-songwriter territory to produce some lovely folk textures.

Review - The Cute Lepers 'Can't Stand Modern Music'

Pickin' up this LP by The Cute Lepers (surely the worst band name ever, and thereby, possibly being the best?) it was obvious. It was as plain as the nose on my face. This was going to sound like 1977. Even the title, kicked onto the corner of the sleeve, 'Can't Stand Modern Music', reminds me of the first Buzzcocks LP.

So, the next problem was that, by and large, '77 was hugely overrated. The wave of punk that everyone knows as punk, because Malcolm McLaren seditwuz, was exciting in prospect and certainly better than thinkin' about bin-men on strike... but c'mon... bands basing entire careers on one year in music? If this LP looked like it sounded, we could be in a bit of bother...

...please don't sound like The Clash... please don't sound like The Clash...

More Bob Dylan bootlegs...

Y'know the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series? No? You need to get the '66 one. Yup. The 'Judas' one. Anyway, the 8th installment of the series of comps will be released on October 6th.

'Tell Tale Signs' will be released by Columbia and features previously unreleased studio material, soundtrack songs, alternative takes and demos from the period 1989-2006.

Fans can get a taster of the album by downloading 'Dreamin' Of You' from the recently redesigned official Bob Dylan website (click here). This latest rekkid features 27 tracks across two discs and as ever, comes with a suave booklet of rare photos, and extensive liner notes. A limited-edition three-disc version will also be available alongside a hard-cover book of Dylan singles spanning his entire career.

Jack White. Alicia Keys. New Bond Theme. History is made.

Okay, so you've looked at the headline and thought... 'Jack White teams up with someone unlikely... that's cool. If anyone can make an average soul singer sound good, it's him...'. Which is spot on and nearly half what my article was gonna be. Ne'ermind.

Anyway, the pair are joining forces for the new Bond Theme, which always caused furious intrigue. The track is called 'Another Way To Die' is the first duet in Bond history.

Now, previous reports have said that Duffy was a 'dead cert' to record the theme for 'Quantum Of Solace', however, White (producer, writer and performer on the song) and Keys have been given the nod. 'Quantum Of Solace' will once again see Daniel Craig in the lead role, and will come out November 7 in the US.