Kerrier District by Disclix Al: This is bassline indulgence from Luke Viberts frontal disco lobe. I want to lick that lobe. The Devil In Us by Black Devil Disco Club Charlie: Its like there is a party in my pants and only certain people are invited. Heaven Is In The Backseat Of My Cadillac by Hot Chocolate Dave: Its disco with really big disco balls! You Make No Sense by ESG Davey: I think this song came out the year I was born. The mix of disco, hip-hop and punk must have confused a lot of people back then. These ladies still sound amazing and modern to my ears. Sapphire by Zombi Karl: The perfect song to unwind to after a laser battle on Mars. Its over 25 years old too. Spiegel Im Spiegel by Arvo Prt Simon: I came across this music last week and it blew my heart out of my chest. Goodbye all. Synth Eastwood Has You Surrounded is at the Spiegeltent tonight, 9.30pm, as part of Absolut Fringe. Tel: 1850 374 643. www.fringefest.com In another era The Big Pink would have been signed to Creation records, home of their heroes My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive. Instead theyve done the next best thing and got hitched to 4AD. Shoegazing with added beats, A Brief History Of Love is a swirling guitar fog of a record, clogged with distortion and feedback, and wreathed in dance floor-orientated synths, la a more refined early Kasabian. Lead single Dominos grabs with its arching melody before burning up, while elsewhere some extroverted songwriting pulls in interesting shapes against the waves of drone guitars. The sincerity of The Big Pink is evidenced in a bruised melodic tenderness, but this is more slavish revival than stylish reboot. Claire Allfree Scratch the skin of any stadium rocker, and theres a camp showboater just screaming to burst out. U2 are the prime examples, but Brit trio Muse have long been preparing for their hyper- extravagant fifth album. The Resistance sources various ingredients from their last records sci-fi funk, prog rock, surreal romance and lashes on loads of aural MSG. Where to start? The Star Trek groove of their latest single Uprising. Where to end? A symphonic triptych, obviously but not before The Resistance has coursed through spooky rnb (Undisclosed Desires), cod-opera (United States Of Eurasia) and GCSE French vocab. Matt Bellamys voice remains hard to warm to, but Muse are clearly having a blast unleashing this stage musical-style fantasy. You can practically hear the cat suits and roller skates. Arwa Haider From busking on Grafton Street to performing on David Letterman, Mexican guitar twosome Rodrigo Y Gabriela (right) have been on a mind-bending journey these past few years. They return with their most intense collection yet, a pumped-up suite of instrumentals throbbing with a man High fidelity: Nick Hornby is not afraid to let his own honest outlook and experiences shine through in the characters in his novels ground. They arent exactly cosy but they are ultimately reassuring: however abnormal and self-absorbed his characters, they are all eventually redeemed. Partly this is a reflection of Hornbys absolute defence of popular culture. Im very suspicious of high culture, he says. People who go to the opera festival at Glyndebourne always strike me as being not very interested in culture at all. But its also because he sees art as a source of necessary comfort. I do think its role is partly to provide a measure of hope, he says. Certainly the things I respond to most are the ones that give me a reason to keep going. Once that would have been Arsenal. But even Nick Hornby has to move on. Juliet, Naked (Penguin, 22) is out now. ON MY iPOD Dublin art-band Synth Eastwoods six-track mix Thursday, September 10, 2009 metrolife 13 The excellent autopsy light-show inexplicably lingered on the dummys groin while Dr Albert Robbins (played by Robert David Hall) spoke of a blow to the head. The brains not down there... grunted Torture Pornster. Well, he is a man... cackled Horatio-Lover. CSI: The Experiences demographic is confusing the post-watershed TV show is aimed at the 18-49 age group and yet a 12-year-old could work out whodunnit here. However, if youre a fan of the TV series, youll find this exhibition suitably arresting. Lucy White Until Sep 30, Ambassador Theatre, OConnell Street D1, noon to 10pm, 14 to 18. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.csiireland.com Staying In Music Reviews The Jay-Z juggernaut continues, with Hova now on his own label: but on the evidence of The Blueprint 3, the wheels are looking a bit shaky. Linking this to 2001 fan favourite The Blueprint may be shrewd marketing but it cant hide the fact its a muddled affair. Bragadocious, an overblown Kanye-style banger explodes onto the first half, but then B3 lapses into mediocrity (mostly courtesy of Timbaland) and fizzles out with the Alphaville-sampling Young Forever featuring Mr Hudson. But wait, kids: Hova wants us to know hes musically so far ahead hes practically a blur on the horizon. (N*****s want my old shit? Buy my old album / N*****s stuck on stupid, I gotta keep it movin.) As proof, he jumps on the current trend for synth-heavy futurism and ropes in Empire Of The Sun frontman Luke Steele. Its not terribly convincing. In between shoving success under our noses, raps CEO seems vaguely worried about a shareholders revolt. Combined with his ham-fisted, hectoring and mostly monotone approach, listening to Jay-Z rhyme has always been akin to witnessing a lumberjack attempt ballet. Theres also a grumpy old man air about his dismissals of the rap game. A rare moment of graceful acknowledgment of others talent (A Star Is Born) and the NY celebration Empire State Of Mind (with Alicia Keys sweetening the deal) are fair tracks but a lack of catchy anthems mean even fans will surely be off this pretty soon. A case of three strikes and youre out. Siobhn Murphy Album Of The Week Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3 Roc Nation/Atlantic Muse: The Resistance WEA/Helium Rodrigo Y Gabriel: 11:11 Rubyworks attitude and glowing with virtuosity. Far from the cuddly world music theyre sometimes dismissed as purveying, this is a pedal to the metal collection from the outset, with hints of Hendrix on Buster Voodoo and a heady whiff of Metallica unplugged on Master Maqui (which features a blazing outro courtesy of Strunz and Farah, another instrumental duo). Rod y Gab have been cult faves for quite a while now 11:11 suggests that, in terms of a mainstream break-out, their time may be at hand. Eamon De Paor The Big Pink: A Brief History Of Love 4AD index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html