Finally, with Iron Man, there is a superhero for the truly geeky to get excited by. Not a man born with super human abilities, or the victim of a power inducing spider bite / radioactive experiment gone awry, but a self-made superhero. And chicks dig it, apparently.

Coldplay have announced the tracklisting for their fourth studio album Viva La Vida (or to give it its full title, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends) which is out to buy at all good record shops on 16 June. There’s 10 tracks in all, and let’s make it quite clear, I haven’t heard any of them. Not so much as a crackly snatched two minutes downloaded off an illegal MP3 website. Nor have I heard the four-piece do one of those tedious “live lounge” Radio One sessions in which they showcase their new material. Still that hasn’t stopped me predicting just what this new album will sound like. I reckon they’re going to sound something like this…

Revolutions, like wars, are often sparked by the most innocuous of events. Tony Teasdale reveals how acid house changed the world.

What does it mean to be ‘indie’ nowadays? Our resident subculture expert mourns the music that was swept up by the mainstream.

There has been a frisson of discontent since the news that Paulo Nutini will be united with shoe manufacturer Puma, thanks to a new division of Warner Music International responsible for identifying and promoting corporate tie-ins with artists. Obviously, this is part of the recording industry’s latest attempt to stop its arse falling out. And it promises to provide hilarious viewing for anyone who wishes to witness the sweet, sweet justice of an industry who over-charged the public for decades now reduced to scrabbling around in the dirt for loose change.

Arena designer Simon Helyar wouldn’t shut up about cult TV show The Wire. So we told him to put his keyboard where his mouth is and explain exactly why it’s worth going on about for seven hours of valuable cutting, sticking and colouring-in time each day.

Exclusive chat with Young Knives frontman Henry Dartnell, who reveals that their first album was “totally stupid”. A situation he intends to rectify with lines like “Fake rape, real snake”.