Putting the metal in Metal Machine Music

Lou Reed and Metallica? Really? In one of the photos posted on Metallica's site, the band and others are shown sitting around in a circle, James Hetfield clutching an acoustic guitar under his arm, while Reed scrutinises a piece of paper - wonder if it was one of the lyrics brainstorming sessions as featured in Some Kind Of Monster? Heaven help you, Lou.

Also spotted on Pitchfork, joint tours seem to be all the rage. Not only are Yo La Tengo hooking up with The National, but TV On The Radio are doing likewise with Broken Social Scene. US audiences, consider yourselves spoiled.

(Incidentally, my review of last Friday's Yo La Tengo show - their first ever in Oxford, incredibly - will be going up soon. Loads still to catch up on, stretching back to November last year and including two Low gigs, Sonic Youth and the Godspeed!-curated ATP, but I thought that might as well go up as it's already been written for local listings mag Nightshift.)