Foos pound the pavement, Floyd calls it time with Hawking
Foo Fighters, Sonic highways
In an attempt to spice up their sound, the Foo Fighters took a trip to eight big US cities, learnt about the scene and hung with the local talent. The band's Dave Grohl then wrote city-specific lyrics before recording each track in situ.
It's a shame he hasn't been inspired by the musical ''game-changers" he met to take more risks. By far the best song is Something from Nothing (about Chicago), slowly burning towards a headbanger blaze featuring a retro-funk organ.
Pink Floyd, Endless river
''We bitch and we fight/ Diss each other on sight," sighs David Gilmour on Pink Floyd's 15th and, he says, final album. He then eases into one of his guitar solos: clean-edged, liquid and weightless.
Written by Gilmour's wife, novelist Polly Samson, the lyrics probably describe the internal dynamics of the famously fractious band.
Stephen Hawking reprises his Division Bell performance on Talkin' Hawkin '. The crisp production is set to interstellar cruise control.