April 2004A song and a prayer
As the first superstar of world music, Youssou N'Dour has consistently sought to reconcile Africa and the West, but his most personal record yet is a celebration of Islam in Senegal. In Dakar and in Paris, he talks to Mark Hudson about bin Laden, Bush and his most deeply held beliefs.
Hip hop from Surrey?
Kitty Empire meets the sensational Jentina
The essential grime
Sound of the tills
Even the more conservative retail outlets now feel we need music to help us shop. Charlotte Williamson hears of a far from quiet revolution
England expects
Football songs are almost always rubbish, but for Euro 2004 it should all be different, says Peter Hooton.
The 10 most mind-boggling makeovers
From Elvis onwards, looks have been central to pop's appeal. But what happens when stars make a radical change to their image? The strangest thing about this particular list of miscreants is that some of them actually got away with it...
Last month's 10
Song of the month: 'You are the Generation' by Johnny Boy
Every now and again, a record appears that behaves as if the pop surrounding it simply doesn't exist.
Worst of the month: 'Borrowed Heaven' by The Corrs
They look insipid. Then you have to hear the sound, complains Polly Vernon.
Music on TV
Flick between seven channels of pop videos and you'll enter a world even more surreal than the one Paul Morley is usually forced to inhabit.
The record doctor
Simon Armitage, the celebrated poet and novelist knows his songcraft and is, at heart, an indie kid. The Doctor feels the need to toughen him up.
The ageing folkie
Tom Cox travels into the heart of the country to a ramshackle house where Jean still listens to Sandy Denny on old cassettes - and who knows where the time goes?
The last syllable of recorded time
It's not something you want to think about too often but it has to be done. Just what do you want played at your funeral? And will what you wanted in your youth ring true all those years down the line? Kathryn Flett rang her ex to find out.
Peter Blake meets Danny Goffey
Peter Blake, renowned artist and the creator the cover art for The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper, meets Danny Goffey, drummer with Supergrass, who are just about to celebrate a decade as a band.
Sliced and diced
A choreographer, an avant-garde rock act and a group of transvestites... Peter Culshaw joins in.
This month's best gigs
Editor's letter
We live in a pop culture, a world driven by youth and its attendant desires. So it can come as shock to remember that only 50 years ago, 'teenagers' were a new phenomenon.
Your emails and letters
What I'm listening to
Boris Johnson, MP
What we're listening to
Barometer
This month's ups and downs.
