This week, I’ve had two very different political interviews published: one with the old face of the British left-wing, and one with the new face of the British right-wing. My Word To The Wise interview with Tony Benn is in the latest issue of The Word Magazine (http://omg.ly/g9Wp), after I spent a lovely hour with him in his Notting Hill home a few weeks ago. Earlier this week, I spent a very different hour in the company of chick-lit author/Tory MP Louise Bagshawe in Portcullis House, as she waited to vote on the Finance Bill for the Emergency Budget. My interview with her – where she presents herself as a massive fan of indie-rock band Foals, Margaret Thatcher, and, oddly enough, Yvette Cooper – is in today’s Times. Find it somewhere behind the paywall (http://omg.ly/mnpW).

I’ve also been writing about other formidable women, this time women we know for making music. Very different beasts they are too. I interviewed the mother-and-daughter pillars of modern folk music, Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy, about their first album together, for The Guardian (http://omg.ly/3grv), wrote about BBC Radiophonic Workshop founder Daphne Oram for The Guardian’s special on unsung heroes of British music (http://omg.ly/wKA7), and also reviewed Louise Wener’s brilliant book about Britpop, Different For Girls, for the New Statesman (http://omg.ly/sAJp).

News just in: I’ve reviewed Kylie Minogue’s eleventh album, Aphrodite, for The Quietus (http://thequietus.com/articles/04544-kylie-minogue-aphrodite-album-review). It’s not bad, but I’ve got much more to say about it than that, as I’m sure you’d guessed.

Also, in this month’s issue of The Word Magazine, you’ll find my 3,600-word opus on what it’s like to be a girl growing up in thrall to male pop idols, my interview with Richard Herring in Word To The Wise, and Joan Jett on her love of The Clash, self-help books and News 24. Other than that, I’ve been on Radio 2 with Johnnie Walker reviewing the Scissor Sisters, writing about records for the BBC, and doing lots of lovely research about the green spaces of London for the Create Festival just kicking off in the east of the city. Tonight, I’m off to host the Create Future Histories of Music debate in Wiltons Music Hall – doing my best impression of Marie Lloyd, naturally – where I’ll be looking after Bob Stanley, Green Gartside, Simon Bookish and Smiley from Shut Up And Dance. And then some gin, hopefully. Marvellous.

A Friday update. Firstly, I interviewed the blue-eyed, rumble-tummied, sledgehammering pop shaman himself – Peter Gabriel to you and me – for The Guardian this week: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/02/peter-gabriel-scratch-my-back

I also went into Guardian HQ itself to yammer about Stornoway, Tune-Yards and minimal techno on The Guardian Weekly podcast with Alexis Petridis and Rosie Swash: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/audio/2010/jun/02/music-weekly-stor…

I also wrote about my night out at the O2 with Lady Gaga for the New Statesman (http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/cultural-capital/2010/06/lady-gaga-fans-pop; my stroll along the Lea with my friend Andrew for this week’s Lines Made By Walking column (http://caughtbytheriver.net/2010/06/lines-made-by-walking-12/); and reviewed the amazing new Nina Nastasia record, Outlaster (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/69m5), and Robert Wyatt’s brilliant best-of, His Greatest Misses (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/48zb), up now on the BBC Music site.

Over on The Quietus, I write many, many words about my beloved Black Box Recorder (http://thequietus.com/articles/04359-black-box-recorder), one of Britain’s most black-hearted, brilliant and overlooked bands, who recently called it a day with style. My top 11 tracks of theirs are there too. Just like Lord Lucan, never forget them.

Last week’s busy activity in a nutshell:

(1) Being Jo Whiley’s guest on her brand new Radio 2 In Concert show, where I reviewed ladies’ favourite John Mayer (God help me) and Ellie Goulding at Wembley Arena (listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sh0kr/Radio_2_In_Concert_27_05_2010/);

(2) An interview with the Two Ronnies of alt. rock, Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, of Grizzly Bear for The Guardian’s Film and Music Weekly (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/27/grizzly-bear-ed-droste-interview);

(3) A trip across Hackney Marshes to Leyton as part of my Caught By The River series, Lines Made By Walking (http://caughtbytheriver.net/2010/05/lines-made-by-walking-10/).

In the last week, I’ve been to Minehead and Manchester, interviewed Richard Herring and Cherry Ghost, and tried to charm the lugs off Steve Albini (so far without success), so have consequently been too brain-dead to post my latest pieces. Now I’m here, as I live and breathe.

In this month’s Word, in your local magazine outlet now, I review Canadian’s best sprawling bands, Broken Social Scene, the New Pornographers and The Acorn (subscribe here: http://www.thewordmagazine.co.uk).

In last week’s New Statesman, I reviewed Rob Chapman’s excellent
biography of Syd Barrett, A Very Irregular Head (http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2010/05/syd-barrett-pink-floyd-chapman).

Over at Caught By The River, I take you around Con-Dem Westminster, and the chalets at ATP (http://caughtbytheriver.net/category/linesmadebywalking).

And over at The Guardian, I introduce you to my new favourite band, the amazing Golau Glau (http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/may/13/first-sight-golau-glau).

Last week, I interviewed Joanna Newsom for The Guardian in a tiny hotel bar full of middle managers drinking post-office pints. She was down-to-earth, bright as a button and utterly lovely – and her post-interview email about Lady Gaga and Madonna is a joy to behold too. Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/09/joanna-newsom-interview

In today’s Guardian, you’ll find my mammoth feature on music teachers whose bedraggled old pupils have somehow become pop stars. Here it is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/25/inspirational-music-teachers

I found and phoned Diana Stork in the middle of a harp lesson; I tracked down Nicola Pocock through approximately thirteen school receptionists who didn’t know where she had moved on to; Janet Edwards’ PA insisted I called her in a taxi to Heathrow Airport; Jill Bird was the kind of music teacher I would like to be; and finding Alex Turner’s teacher, Steve Baker, involved the scouring of old school messageboards, Sheffield County Council websites, and a lot of hair-tearing on my part. Eventually he called me on my mobile out of the blue one afternoon, was brilliant, and made me laugh like a drain for about half an hour. Oh to see that video of Alex Turner playing a murdered school teacher…

My Lines Made By Walking series for Caught By The River continues this week with a stroll to Highbury and Islington tube station (http://caughtbytheriver.net/2010/04/lines-made-by-walking-4/). Includes dead air cadets, snakes and daffodils, naturally.