Dungeon Master

In the D&D game that is the 2005 Spin Readers Poll, Gerard Way and My Chemical Romance ran the table

Saint Etienne, 'Tales From Turnpike House' (Savoy Jazz)

The soundtrack to London gets a mailing address.

A poster on the online message board I Love Music once posited that Saint Etienne were England's answer to Beastie Boys. The superficial similarities are there -- both trios are culture junkies with massive record crates and music critics among their ranks.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, 'House Arrest' (Paw Tracks)

Noise-pop experimentalism: crazy good, or just crazy?

Remember in The Wall when no matter how high poor Pink got, he couldn't break free from the bricks, and the worms ate into his brain?

Various Artists, 'Run the Road, Volume 2' (Vice)

U.K. rap's coming-out party gets its second act.

T-Pain, 'Rappa Ternt Sanga' (Konvict/Jive)

Part rapper, part crooner, all man.

A long, long time ago (say the '90s), R&B and hip-hop were like The Odd Couple's Felix and Oscar, often grouped together even though they were at odds.

Test Icicles, 'For Screening Purposes Only' (Domino)

London's hippest new band! At least until next week.

British tradition dictates that bands occasionally appear out of thin air complete with decent tuneage and loads of random praise.

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