As Jarvis Cocker's squirmingly hesitant performance on 'Question Time' demonstrates, there's a world of difference between being a witty lyricist, and being able to unleash spontaneous opinions on current affairs beneath the glare of TV studio lights.

You've got to wonder why the former Pulp man put himself through the agony. The history of musicians appearing on TV politics shows is littered with moments of hot shame and rising panic. And that's just the people watching at home.

The most painful recent example was Dizzee Rascal's appearance on Newsnight following Barack Obama's election victory.

The Brit rapper was no doubt brought in to provide a note of gritty urban edginess – well, that and the fact that he's black – but sadly his trademark rapid-fire eloquence deserted him on the night, and the 'Bonkers' star simply looked startled and vacant, not so much rabbit-in-the-headlights, more squirrel-in-a-tractor-beam.

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Jarvis Cocker was a panellist on 'Question Time' last night. Now, it'd be gratifying to report that the elder statesman of Britpop punctured the arid studio atmosphere by jumping up on the table and waggling his bum in David Dimbleby's face, Brit Awards '95 style.

Sadly, he's a more mature figure these days, and is no stranger to the world of adult political debate, having edited Radio 4's Today Programme in December 2008.

So how did he do?

Well, not brilliantly, to be honest. He came across as nervous and hesitant. Launching into his first contribution – on the subject of Gordon Brown's spending plans – the former Pulp man began with a phrase that all news junkies and policy wonks rejoice to hear: "I can't pretend to be particularly informed on this particular subject, but…"

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It seems the whole of London is keyed up about Blur's Hyde Park shows, the first of which takes place tonight (July 2).

The sense of anticipation has been ramped-up, of course, by the tsunami of good will generated by the band's Glastonbury headline performance last weekend.

Can they possibly top that? Judging by past form, it really, really could happen. This is a band with a history of turning in sweat-drenched, epiphanic live performances - as these clips demonstrate.

End Of A Century (Town And Country, Leeds, 1994)
Barely after a month after the release of 'Parklife' (the album), the buzz is palpable. After the cascading dreamy-sweetness of 'EOAC', the band charge into 'Parklife' itself at 2.50: astonishing.

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Never one to miss an opportunity to make headlines, Bono used the opening night of U2's world tour last night to pay musical tribute to Michael Jackson.

No, he didn't moonwalk, or dangle a baby from a high window, or hunker down in a hyperbaric chamber. Neither did he make some overblown, Bono-style gesture, or make a moist-eyed speech.

Actually, it was all rather subtle and underplayed, with the band simply segueing wordlessly from their own 'Angel Of Harlem' to Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror', and then to 'Don't Stop Til You Get Enough'.

It kicks in from 1.53. Thanks to Annaixavi for the fan footage.

Despite the lack of a speech, Bono had earlier dedicated 'Angel Of Harlem'- which was originally inspired by Billie Holliday - to Jackson. You can watch the whole song, filmed from way up in the gods, thanks to Nachon's footage:

There are two sides to Chew Lips, one far more appealing than the other. Their Kitsune-released debut single 'Solo' positioned them as an elegant electro-pop act, with a Robyn-esque knack for a yearning, pain-wracked chorus.

But there's also a hipster undertow lurking beneath the pristine hooks, and that's harder to love. It could go either way. Vocalist Tigs possesses a great voice, midway between Karen O's alley-cat yowl and Alice Glass' snake-eyed hiss. But I think she's more convincing when she holds back on the hipster detachment and goes for the emotional jugular.

Chew Lips play their debut headline gig on June 23 at The Lexington in Islington, and this track, 'Salt Air', will come out as a single around then. It's not quite as devastating as 'Solo' - but it should do enough to sustain the blog buzz.

So it's come about a year after they actually released the track as a single, but MGMT have finally unveiled the official video for 'Kids'.

Quite why it's taken this long is anyone's guess, but you'll no doubt agree that the wait has been worthwhile - particularly if you've ever wanted to see Joanna Newsom acting the part of a young, rich and careless mother. Or watch a toddler being scared shitless by a bunch of monsters (literally, he spends the whole thing bawling his eyes out). Or witness Andrew VanWyngarden dressed as a silver eunuch...