Bbc Guitar, Drum And Bass Series

An exploration of the contribution of three key instruments to modern popular music.

Stackridge were a British rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s. Collection includes four classic albums: Stackridge (1971), Friendliness (1972), Extravaganza (1975) and Mr. Mick (1976).

Love it or hate it, the pop decade that brought us, variously, Wham!, Bananarama, Annie Lennox, Morrissey, Michael Jackson, S'Express and, er, Joe Dolce certainly had variety. Award-winning author Dylan Jones is in the driving seat for this authoritative four-part look back. No stone (rose) remains unturned, as he revisits the New Romantics, hip-hop, indie jingle, synth-pop and club culture. Not to mention Culture Club…

Merge continues its 20th anniversary festivities with a comp of non-label artists– Bright Eyes, Shins, New Pornos– covering songs from its catalog.
Merge Records doesn't look its age. Originally formed as an outlet for Superchunk material, the Durham, N.C.-based label has grown into an indie institution, but only gradually– year by year, release by release. It never allied itself with a scene or a sound, so the mind doesn't automatically tether it to a specific place or time, the way Sub Pop, despite its strong roster this decade, will be most closely associated with Seattle in the late 1980s and early 90s. So it's hard to believe Merge is already 20 years old, an occasion the label is marking with a big birthday bash– the five-day XX Merge fest in July– and a subscription-only series of commemorative retrospectives and remixes. Perhaps the most intriguing party favor is Score! Twenty Years of Merge Records: The Covers, a choppy but oddly endearing compilation that enlists 20 non-Merge acts to cover Merge songs.