In other stuff, Brian Boyd watches Glastonbury on the box, Pierce Turner reveals the contents of his rider and Lauren Murphy’s Music News has stories on Michael Jackson souvenir tickets, Pirate Bay’s latest move and Daedelus and Jape talking shop.

CD of the Week comes from Florence & The Machine and there are also reviews of releases by Discovery, Ape School, Patrick Kelleher, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Bert Jansch, Shawn Colvin and many more.

In the cinemas, this week’s new releases are Public Enemies, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Gigantic, Lake Tahoe and Sugar. Plus from the movies department: film news and the weekly quiz.

The Ticket: we built this city on rock’n'roll

The OTR community noticeboard is now open for your plugs. Anything goes but (1) keep ‘em short and snappy or they will be edited, (2) make sure you include admission prices and (3) declare an interest where an interest should be declared.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Dinosaur Jr
Neko Case
Dan Deacon Ensemble
Diplo
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
The Temper Trap
Buraka Som Sistema (live)
Major Lazer
The Acorn
First Aid Kit
Julie Feeney
One Day International
Fake Blood
Boy 8 Bit
The Lost Brothers

Much has changed in the 20 years since. The labels are no longer the powerhouses they once were and you can be sure a Jive Bunny 2009 would not be selling records in the same quantities as before. There’s still a disconnect between the mainstream and the underground, but it’s no longer the massive leap it once was as several bands have found out in recent times. Moreover, as several of this year’s success stories know only too well, you don’t need to go the whole hog to make a living from your music. You can do things on your own terms.

Yet the fact remains that, leaving aside the overall slippage in sales, much of this year’s big sellers will still come from the same quarters as always. Major label-guided TV pop continues to show up the truism of the if-you-throw-enough-at-the-wall-something-will-stick approach. A couple of big acts will clock up the digits. That slew of electropop lasses everyone was tipping at the dawn of the day will produce one winner (Lady Gaga) and one surprise contender (La Roux) with a host of also-rans (Little Boots’s album certainly does not do her any favours). It’s like 1989 – and 1999 – all over again.

But in terms of volume, everything has changed. There has never been so much music, so many new releases, so many new bands to check out. You could spend your entire time just listening to freshly hatched music without having a minute to go back to the vintage stuff. Some view this as a problem (in fact, many do and see churning as a reason why so many new bands burn out so fast), yet it’s a problem which has a very simple solution: just make better music.

And yes, like every year of late, it has been a good year so far for new releases. Here are 25 albums in no order whatsoever which are rocking my world as we head into the second half of 2009. There are probably some more and there are certainly some smashing albums to come in July and August from The XX, La Roux and Florence & The Machine but we’ll stick with these for now.

Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (Domino)
The Juan Maclean “The Future Will Come” (DFA)
Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest” (Warp)
DM Stith “Heavy Ghost” (Asthmatic Kitty)
Hudson Mohawke “Polyfolk Dance” (Warp)
Micachu & The Shapes “Jewellery” (Rough Trade)
Fever Ray “Fever Ray” (Rabid)
Adrian Crowley “Season of the Sparks” (Tin Angel)
Here We Go Magic “Here We Go Magic” (Western Vinyl)
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart “The Pains of Being Pure At Heart” (Fortuna Pop)
White Denim “Fits” (Full Time Hobby)
Toddla T “Skanky Skanky” (1965)
Dirty Projectors “Bitte Orca” (Domino)
Dorian Concept “When Planets Collide” (Kindred Spirits)
Bibio “Ambivalence Avenue” (Warp)
Sa-Ra Creative Partners “Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love” (Ubiquity)
Raphael Saadiq “The Way I See It” (Columbia)
Cymbals Eat Guitars “Why There Are Mountains” (CEG)
Yonlu “A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre” (Luaka Bop)
Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics “Inspiration Information” (Strut)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble “Hypnotic Brass Ensemble” (Honest Jons)
Holy Roman Army “How The Light Gets In” (Collapsed Adult)
Speech Debelle “Speech Therapy” (Big Dada)
The Horrors “Primary Colours’ (XL)
Antony & The Johnsons “The Crying Light” (Rough Trade)

RSAG “The Climb” (Psychonavigation)
Casiokids “Finn Bikkjen!” (Moshi Moshi)
Ladyhawke “Paris Is Buring (Cut Copy remix)” (Modular)
David Holmes “Melanie” (Mercury)
Messiah J & The Expert “Keep the Noise Down” (Inaudible)

The Far Side at Sonar 2009 special

Interview with Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy “Bring The Noise” (Def Jam)
Interview with Malcom Catto & Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Astatke & Heliocentrics “Masenqo” (Strut)
Mulatu Astatke “Tezeta” (Buda Musique)
La Roux “Coming In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey remix)” (Polydor)
Fever Ray “If I Had A Heart (Fuck Buttons remix)” (Rabid)
Interview with Dorian Concept
Dorian Concept “Clap Beep Boom” (Kindred Spirits)
The Clonious “Emora” (Ubiquity)
Interview with Mike Slott
Mike Slott “My Lightbridge” (All City)
Interview with Lukid
Lukid “Raise High The Roof Beam” (Werk)

Red Bull Music Academy special

Interview with Davide Bortot (RBMA)

Spank Rock “Rick Rubin” (Big Dada)
Buraka Som Sistema “Sound Of Kudora” (Enchufada)
Onra “The Anthem” (Bo Bun)
Flying Lotus “Comet Course” (Warp)
Hudson Mohawke “Star Crackout” (All City)
Aloe Blacc “Arrive” (Stones Throw)

White Denim’s current album “Fits” deserves a podium of its own, but so too does the band’s live show. It’s an addictive sensation, all stone-crazy riffs and helter-skelter dashes from the garage-rock side of town. I’d imagine they’ve played their asses off in the last 18 months and it really shows in how they relate to each other and the tunes they’re throwing out there. Hopefully the local musicians in the audience, looking on with their mouths agape, realise just how much work they have to do to get to that standard. This is the real deal alright.

One of the other real deals on offer right now is provided by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Over the last few years, these hardchaws have toured these parts a few times and each show is a masterclass in what a live music experience is all about. I saw them (yes, again) in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday evening and it was further proof that it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive. Every encounter with these masters at work is life-affirming and proof that they’re just not making them like this any more.

Coming less than 24 hours after an epic Glastonbury appearance - Glasto seemed to have had a share of epic turns this year with Bruce, Blur and Neil Young all starring in the despatches from England’s West Country - Springsteen and comrades seemed newly energised by their performance and the reception they got. After all, they don’t get to play to so many newbies at once any more - or play to an audience who spend their time waving flags and wondering if he’ll play “Born In The USA”. It’s interesting to note that the current tour features a couple of rare festival appearances from Springsteen - he even shared a stage on Sunday in Hyde Park, though the less said about some of these acts (I’m looking at you, Dave Matthews Band) the better.

In London, with planes flying surreally over the stage every couple of minutes en route to Heathrow, they opened with an appropriately rollercoaster run through “London Calling”, the second of the weekend’s nods to the memory of Joe Strummer. From then on, it was simply Boss-time, one bona-fide classic after another from a band who seem to be getting better and bolder with age. Yes, Clarence Clemons has slowed down of late - understandable after operations for double hip and double knee replacements - but he still hits markers time and time again. The rest of the band continue to throw shapes with the kind of gusto younger pretenders to their crown can only fake.

At the heart of it all is Springsteen. There are many times during this three hour power-drive through the back-pages of his career when he just loses himself in the euphoria of what’s happening around him on that stage. On “Badlands” and “She’s The One”, he stomps around the stage, rousing the band to go higher and higher. Two hours later, as they burst through “Rosalita” and “Glory Days”, he’s still urging them onwards.

Other highlights: the way Springsteen gathers the cardboard banners and posters with song titles from the crowd and uses them to direct the set-list. Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem coming on to sing “No Surrender” and looking like the kid with the Willy Wonka golden ticket. A glorious “Born to Run” which threatens to burst out of the park and rush off down Park Lane. The way new songs “Workin’ On A Dream” and “Outlaw Pete” have bedded down and already sound like old familiar pals. A passionate “Trapped” roared to the skies. A great, great night out in London town. Those of you with tickets for his shows at Dublin’s RDS on July 11 and 12 are in for one hell of a treat.

Footnote: after the show, 40,000 people quickly and quietly left the venue, which is really a large field with a temporary fence around it. There were a couple of policemen on horseback to stop people walking into the traffic, but that was about the height of the police presence. No drunken eejits (even though plenty of bottles of beer had obviously been consumed judging by the content of the bins - oh yes, very little litter), no haphazard stewarding, no shortage of buses, no-one jumping over fences to get out faster, no calls to the London equivalent of Liveline, no fuss, no drama, no bother. It’s good sometimes to go to a professionally run event attended by civilised human beings. Just a shame you have to go abroad to do so.

Dong! What time is it? It’s Banter time! Banter is a new monthly-ish series of informal chats, debates and discussions around pop and pop culture. The first one takes place next Saturday (July 4) in the Mezz room in the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1) and will look at “the state of Irish music radio - past, present and future”. The speakers: Paul McLoone (Today FM) and The Golden Maverick (Power FM). The eejit keeping it all together: er, me. Admission is free but capacity is limited so to guarantee your place, please email your name to conor@bodytonicmusic.com with ‘Banter No1′ in the subject bar.

Dong! Another festival! It’s the Moondance Music & Arts Festival and it will take place at Petersburg House, Clonbur, Co. Galway from August 14 to 16. Giving it (pop) socks on the shores of Lough Mask will be Lisa Hannigan, Jape, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, There are also arts workshops, yoga, theatre performances, storytelling, stand-up comedy, art exhibitions and a Mask Ball with Kila. Weekend tickets are €115.

Dong! What’s that? That’s Pixies, dude! Pixes play Dublin’s Olympia on October 1 and 2. Tickets will be €54.80 and €44.20 and go on sale on Friday at 9am. They’ll be marking the 20th anniversary of “Doolittle” by playing the album - and assorted b-sides - in full. It will be just like the time they played in the National Stadium with the Pale Saints as support. Ah, old age, I knew there was an upside.

Dong! Belsonic returns to Belfast! Er, I just found the press release on this but we heart city fests and we need a chance to go “Bonkers” so here’s the belated skinny. Playing Belfast’s Custom House Square will be Dizzee Rascal and Vampire Weekend (August 27), 2 Many DJs, Deadmau5 and Boys Noize (August 28) and Dukebox with Duke Special, Bell X1 and guests (August 29). Tickets are £29 per day.

Note to gig promoters who will now try to clog up the comments plugging their gigs: we have a weekly plug-for-all on Friday so save your breath for that.

It’s going to be a good day. B-o-n-k-e-r-s!

Heineken Music are the ones behind the Heineken Green Spheres stage which will feature TV On The Radio, Pet Shop Boys, Regina Spektor, That Petrol Emotion, The Noisettes, Glasvegas, 2 Many DJs, Friendly Fires, Foals, The Saturdays (the only band playing Oxegen which features someone from Tipperary in the line-up, fact fans) and many more.

Then, there’s the rest of the line-up: Blur, The Specials,Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nine Inch Nails, Passion Pit, Hockey, Fever Ray, St Vincent, Villagers and dozens and dozens of other acts. It takes place at Punchestown Racecourse, Co Kildare from July 10 to 12.

To win, simply tell us who would be on your fantasy festival stage. Yes, it’s Fantasy Festival Promoter. Acts can be dead or alive, Irish or international, plausible or implausible. One day’s line-up only and no more than 10 acts and please do give your criteria for your choices. The funnier and sharper the better. Even better, because it’s Fantasty Festival Promoter, you will not have to deal with agents, management, fans, Ticketmaster, Joe Duffy or the guards.

Competition is open until 11.55pm on Thursday and the winner will be announced on Friday morning. One entry per reader please. Judge’s decision is final (ie I decide who wins and will not take any fuming from those who don’t win). Naturally, the competition is not open to anyone currently promoting live shows for a living. Go get ‘em, OTR readers.

* Declaration of interest: I contribute a weekly column to the Heineken Music website