Spartan Drive-By

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor told the world what most people in music knew already: producer Rick Rubin who co-founded genre defining labels like Def Jam and American is overrated, overpaid, and eats shit.

Corey used to dress like a sock with dreadlocks, but he earned our respect over the last couple of years being honest about the fakers who can surround him, as best exemplified when a fan asked about his experience with the "legendary" producer. 

Taylor knew it was a politically touchy question, but when a fat guy eats shit, you just gotta be honest.

"Let me give you the f--king truth of it. Rick Rubin showed up for 45 minutes a week. During that 45 minutes, [he would] lay on a couch, have a mic brought in next to his face so he wouldn't have to f--king move. I swear to God. And then he would be, like, 'Play it for me.' The engineer would play it. And he had shades on the whole time. Never mind the fact that there is no sun in the room — it's all dark. You just look like an a--hole at that point. He would just stroke his huge beard and try and get as much food out of it as he could.

"About half way through our precious 45 minutes, he would bring in this plate of shit. I assume it was food. It was bluish green. It smelled like someone had just plunged a f--king toilet somewhere. And he would eat it as fast as he could — just get it in there, all over himself.

A genius has invented a browser plugin to block all mentions of Nickelback from the internet, ensuring it becomes a better and safer place for our children to explore.

It uses the same tech which bans all mentions of Justin Bieber from the net. 

Despite selling millions of albums over a 15-year career, the band remain both unsightly and slightly musty smelling. A survey by music dating site Tastebuds.fm showed that Nickelback were a bigger turnoff than Coldplay.

Scott Vener is the music supervisor for one of America's most popular shows. But how does he decide if his work deserves to make the cut?

"I think when I'm placing music, mostly at the end credits, what I'm thinking in my head is, 'I have 10 friends who I know love music, and if I can stump five out of those 10, then I won,' " he told All Things Considered. "Or if I can make them say, 'Oh my god, I remember that,' Then I won."

His brief was to ice unknown music to give the show a youthful edge, but all he really has to do is see what artists are starting to simmer on social networks.

He scours twitter and picks up on what his online friends are listening to before his own taste filters the best tracks -- much like every tweeting music fan.

The Archive

Sheer class from the Spanish production duo Jose Escabias and David Pedro, via Bristol label A Future Without.

A distinctive pair of tracks kick off with live trip hop, jazz horns and rounded string pads fronted by vocalist Yuri Mendez on 'Only For Pleasure', who sounds a lot like the TV On The Radio singer Tunde Adebimpe. The short play time leaves you feeling shortchanged, but who gives a horn blast?

Chino Moreno's new side-project, Crosses, have released every track from their free EP as individual stems on Soundcloud for fans to remix.

The emo-dance (it doesn't have a name, so there) EP sounded great already, but considering that even a Radiohead album can be improved by third parties (hear the Blawan remix of Bloom as a prime example), only good can come of this.

Fire up that sequencer and start downloading:

Bermuda Locke† - S†ems by Crosses

† - S†ems by Crosses

†his Is A †rick - S†ems by Crosses

†hholyghs† - S†ems by Crosses

Listen to Achilles 'Yoga For Cats' below.

Achilles have been sitting on their 2011 batch of songs for almost three years, despite being one of the most inventive young bands in the South West for almost a decade.

Now, after signing to Bristol's marvellous A Future Without, they're releasing the music which will prove to everyone east of Swindon that they're one of the most genuinely progressive acts in the country. 

How can I justify their stratospheric title track in mere words? Try picturing the Mars Volta or Pink Floyd with female vocals, more passion and less bulls**t.

But that's unfair, because this is a whole new breed of progressive rock - and not just because it's incessantly likeable.

‘Minutes’ is more of the same with Jaga Jazzist style wind instruments, and two instrumental versions and a huge ‘Yoga…’ remix from label mate Vekta wraps this EP up with a comfortable balance of grain and bass.

This EP is not just essential - it is a landmark in independent UK rock. Listen now so you can tell everyone you found them first.

Time lapse video of the fire-lit night sky during the Tottenham Riots

Radiohead filmed in HD at Glastonbury 2011.