Great Scott

I write about Gil Scott Heron's fantastic new album in The Guardian today, looking at how it redefines the rules of what the "heritage artist" can do. Read more here.

Vampires, Auteurs... and locking horns with Ben Goldacre

In this month's issue of The Word, I interview Stephen Moyer from True Blood while he whistles on the toilet, review the wonderful new Luke Haines album, 21st Century Man, and also lock horns with the redoubtable Ben Goldacre.

Here's where things get interesting. Many of you will know Dr Goldacre's regular column in The Guardian, Bad Science, in which he pulls apart the culture of misinformation that he believes runs rife in journalism, especially with regards to his own subject, medicine. What's more, he does so brilliantly. To many people, he is a modern-day hero, and my expectations were high when I went to meet him.

What happened was not what I expected. Read more by clicking the image below, and find out more about Word Magazine here.

The Shape Of Punkt To Come

In this month's Wire, I review Norway's fantastic Punkt festival, where intimate theatre gigs were followed by live, improvised remixes of these sets, in a separate room, in the same venue. The whole weekend was a genuine revelation. Find out more here.

50 Songs, 10 Years

I've started a new blog, counting down the last 50 days of the decade with the help of 50 songs that mean something to me. Have a read, and do share your own stories, over here.

Asking For It

In this week's NME, I share lukewarm lattes with Biffy Clyro, the loveliest, hairiest, sweatiest band in – showy axe solo, please – rock, and put the NME readers' ridiculous questions to them. They tell me why Lily Allen should keep her nose out of downloading, rave about Lightning Bolt and the xx, and tell me how embarrassing it is to support Rolling Stones when both your shoes have fallen off. Find out more here.

Big-town boys, small-town girls

In today's Guardian column, I wonder why Journey's barnstorming power ballad Don't Stop Believin' – a paltry no. 62 "hit" in the UK in 1981 – is back in the top 20, and why so many young people are falling for its charms. I also introduce you to someone who has been all over the internet already – the fantastic Ellie Goulding, whose new single, Under The Sheets, is out a week Monday. Find the hairy old geezers there and the shiny new talent here.

Oh Boy

In today's Guardian, I ask five boy band members past and present to tell me what it's really like to be in the eye of the pop-storm. There's moving revelations from East 17's Tony Mortimer and Let Loose's Richie Wermerling, long-term lessons from Westlife Nicky Byrne and Kevin Jonas from the Jonas Brothers, and Blue's Simon Webbe on what it's like to be in the midst of a comeback. Read more here.

Also, over at The Quietus, I've reviewed Robbie Williams' new album, Reality Killed The Video Star, track by track. I also put forward the barmy theory that the boy band refugee is pop's very own Morrissey. Care to agree or disagree? Read more here.