In shops tomorrow : 7/11

Singles

Elbow's Leaders Of The Free World really should have been the big single, but everybody seems to have ignored it and its remarkable video. More fool them. Not so much looking the other way, as expected, for the Kaiser Chiefs' Modern Way

Albums

According to BBC Online Kate Bush's Aerial, her first album since the Bronze Age or thereabouts, has been getting "mixed reviews" in the press. What this seems to mean is some papers gave it four stars out of five, some five out of five. Songs about Pi, washing machines and Rolf Harris paintings never seemed so good.

Always worth reminding yourself of the power of Patti Smith's Horses, now with a live recreation disc which apparently makes it a 'Legacy Edition'. The cover inspired KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See, apparently. Not sure that's mentioned in the sleeve notes. It's worth viewing this kind of care and attention in the light of the release of Blondie's first Greatest Hits in three years (not counting last year's live version), David Bowie compiled also three years after the last compilation and a Stock Aitken & Waterman Best Of, which we mention for a) the three of them, long thought to have been at loggerheads, reforming for promo just coincidentally at the same time all their major projects have fallen through and b) the curious tracklisting that includes the Zeebrugge and Hillsborough charity covers, Boy Krazy, Divine, Mandy Smith, Pat & Mick, their own Roadblock (insert white label scam anecdote here) and of course I'd Rather Jack. We'd rather sing along with Yazz.

Bod: Words And Music? Isn't that too far in the past for modern day students who might otherwise be fingering the new Bullseye board game with post-ironic love? Hey, it keeps Derek Griffiths off the breadline.

The OC Mix 5 provides further evidence that you can enjoy this stuff and never have to watch the actual show. Taking it to the suburban kids this time are LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz, Kaiser Chiefs, Stars the Shout Out Louds, Of Montreal and Youth Group.

And taking it to the lazy teenagers is Going Underground: Teenage Kicks Vol.2, a fairly obvious cherrypicking of vaguely alternative hits of the 70s and early 80s. The Lambrettas?