Unholy Matrimony

Fancy yourself as something of a headbanger? Want to be the envy of all your metal mates? Planning to get married soon? Then look no further as hard rocking brides and grooms looking for an exciting unique way to tie the knot this summer can now walk down the aisle on their special day with the Unholy Matrimony Package at a stop on this summer’s OZZFest, August 14-24 (although there don’t currently appear to be plans to do this at the Sept 18th London Arena show). Each special package includes a variety of items to mark the special day and 10 general admission pit tickets for the bride & groom and 8 guests; an official OZZFest wedding ceremony by ordained minister Big Dave; an OZZFest cake and champagne toast. In addition, all 10 guests will get early entry into the venue with an exclusive pre-show backstage tour; access to the VIP lounge; specially designed tour shirts; collectible tour posters (numbered, limited), PIIQ - Bass Masq Earbuds by Sony an official OZZFest guitar pick and loads more. Finds out more at www.ozzfest.com

Mick Karn Appeal

We were very sad to learn that Mick Karn was recently diagnosed with the advanced stages of cancer and as anyone who has read his new book (and if you haven’t you really should, see the review here), will be aware Mick has been struggling financially for some considerable time now and, in consequence, an appeal has been begun on his site to help to raise funds for any necessary treatment and to provide financial support for his immediate family whilst he undergoes treatment. If you would like to make a donation whether as an individual or as a group, you can do so here and, it probably goes without saying, that any support you are able to give, no matter how small, could make a big difference.

Multi Room Wi-Fi Audio System

Raumfeld, the Berlin-based multi-room audio specialists, have announced the launch of a new online shop, www.raumfeld.co.uk – to help introduce their next-generation hi-fi system. Pooling all of your digital music (be it on Mac, PC or NAS drive) the multi-room audio system then streams it around your house to studio-quality, WiFi-enabled speakers, via a touch-screen remote control which allows you to simultaneously control the music in every room of your home, Just imagine playing death metal in the kitchen, grime in the bathroom, a jazz based playlist in the living room, and your complete collection on 'shuffle' in the bedroom (actually that might get a bit confusing). Designed with ease-of-use and excellent sound in mind the system does away with multiple devices and miles of cable. You can even integrate your physical music collection – CDs, vinyl, etc. – by adding the Raumfeld Connector to your traditional hi-fi. We want one...

Ninja Birthday

One of our favourite labels, Ninja Tune – the brainchild of Jon More and Matt Black, collectively known as Coldcut - are celebrating their 20th year in (which given the slew of defunct labels to pepper the previous decade is no mean achievement), with a box-set, loads of live gubbins and a book Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats and Pieces by Stevie Chick. Needless to say the box-set will be a lavish affair with three hardcover cases, the first containing 6 CDs (two of which will be exclusive to the box), the second 6x7” singles exclusive to the box, a family tree, sleeve cover poster, sticker sheet etc. and the last an exclusive hardback copy of the Stevie Chick book (you can pre-order the box here). To get you in the mood however in the twenty weeks leading up to the release of the box-set Ninja Tune are showing brand new videos, running loads of comps and giving away rare material and mixes from the www.ninjatunexx.net site each download will be available for one

Eat My Short Guitar

OK, so it's not actually a short guitar but the delightfully named Uke 'n Play Bart Simpson Ukulele, ho yus Bart, it might be a bit early to be thinking of Christmas but if you want your kids to rock like a hurricane then this 21" soprano ukulele could be just the jobbie to get them interested. Apparently the Ukelele (which never looks right when you write it down) is one of the most popular instruments in primary schools so you can even pretend it's educational. Finished in flaming rock star red with a duckwalking 'Bart Rocks' graphic on the body and The Simpsons logo on the headstock the Uke retails at a pocket friendly £24.99 and you can grab one from the ever reliable online Nevada Music Store (oh and you can also get a Spongebob Squarepants Uke, but obviously that's just for kids). Which just leaves us trying to work out how to end this paragraph with a Doh! Oh, there, we've done it...