Hey, the packet doesn't say Amy Winehouse Wig

Not ones to let a cruel, young death stand in the way of a wacky Halloween outfit sale, at least one branch of Party City still thinks it would be a hoot to go to parties as Amy Winehouse:

Classy.

Gordon in the morning: Nobody wins with mental images of a naked Liam Gallagher

Why would Gordon Smart even want to put this image in anybody's mind?:

[Liam Gallagher] added: "The Poznan dance, it's great. I do it when I get up in the morning, when I'm in the shower. Brilliant."

Is the idea of a lumbering, soaped-up Liam part of Gordon's pro-Noel campaign? Or is this part of a peace deal with Liam, gently introducing the UK public to the possibility that Gallagher has embraced a personal hygiene routine? Who can be sure?

Downloadable: 4AD sessions

4AD have done this, a compilation of some of the best tracks from their special sessions. You can also buy it as a vinyl record, should you wish to:

We might have some bad news for you, Coldplay

Chris Martin says he's not bothered about relevancy:

I don't really care anymore about being relevant. I'm just happy to be with that group of people. We're very fired up and we're very focussed and the people who want to enjoy our music, we love them and we welcome them. In terms of where we fit in? I don't care.

It's heartbreaking, isn't it? It's like when you see UKIP candidates in parliamentary elections and you think 'however awful you and your beliefs are, it's almost touching that you believe you're part of the actual political process. Bless you, you little, rabidly wrong sweetheart.'

When, exactly, did Martin think that Coldplay were "relevant"? And relevant to what? The only thing Coldplay have ever had an influence on was 'bands that sound like Coldplay', and at no point in recorded history has 'shaping a Snow Patrol rehearsal session' ever counted as 'being relevant'.

Gordon in the morning: Last one to Vegas

Gordon Smart is shaking with mirth:

TUBBY funnyman Johnny Vegas is expecting a few laughs — as he strips off to recreate the famous photo of pregnant Demi Moore.

Oddly, Smart doesn't seem to know that the picture is years old. Or perhaps he does, and just didn't want to have to admit it was taken for The Guardian.

REM: The sidewinder sleeps tonight

Rather like the policies from the 2010 Liberal Democrat manifesto, the big surprise about the REM split is that they were still officially supposed to exist.

Although they sometimes nudged a little too close to U2 for comfort, and the odd 'behaving like twonks on airplanes' incidents not withstanding, they did just about pull off being massive without being massive asshats.

Although imagine if they'd used Dead Letter Office as the end point of their career. Blimey, how much would we have loved them then?

Still, that's it for REM, although God has confirmed plans for a massive natural disaster in 2016 which will necessitate a reunion to headline a benefit gig. "The plans are at an early stage" explained God, "but I am developing a fire-breathing locust."

Tomorrow, everything changes...

Or, more likely, won't much, but there's just one more sleep before Facebook launch their music service.

At a guess, it'll be a bit tricky to use, and will rely on the sheer traction of a massive user base to build popularity for a less-than-perfect service. Like everything else on Facebook, in other words.

All-new Guided By Voices next year

The big secret is a secret no more: There's a new album by the classic Guided By Voices album, and it's only a few short months away.

I'm saying "few short months" in a bid to try and make it seem like it won't be a long, aching wait.

James Greer has heard the record. James, is it worth waiting for?

I can say that I’ve had the honor and privilege of listening to the album for a few weeks now, and that it can best be described as… uh… hold on… let me think… okay: flipping genius.

January. That's just four months. Four months.

Q is 25 years old

And to celebrate, it is producing 25 different covers - which is one for every reader they have left, I think.

Quick hint, Q - if you're looking to mark a quarter century of taste and discernment, this...

... might not be the way to flag that message.

People want to own, not rent, says retailer

Some interesting research from eMusic, which reckons it proves that people still want to own records - or at least mp3s - rather than stream:

Top line stats from the eMusic research, which questioned 1000 music fans (some eMusic users, some not), include that 91% said they preferred to own tracks because there were no limitations on listening, while 86% said they felt ownership offered more security, ie tracks aren’t likely to randomly disappear. 76% said they used streaming services to discover and sample music that they might then buy, and, presumably as a result of that fact, 74% said they wouldn’t pay to access streaming platforms.

What eMusic don't reveal is how far the desire to earnown dwindles as you head towards younger respondents - the assumption has always been that the so-called 'digital natives' have seldom bought physical product and, thus, would be more comfortable with the idea of not having a digital collection. You suspect if the findings had overturned this conventional assumption, eMusic would be making a bit more of it.

[UPDATE: Typo "earn" for "own" corrected]

Gordon in the morning: You're fired

In order to help with her cosmetics range, Nicola Roberts is doing some research:

NICOLA Roberts is about to start taking Alan Sugar to bed with her.

The Girls Aloud star has bought the mogul's book, What You See Is What You Get, to become more business savvy.

I'm no business expert, but I'd suggest that not taking advice from the bloke who created the Amstrad Emailer would be a pretty fundamental business tip.