Lily Allen

Rufus Wainwright's seventh studio release is just as grand as his previous records, but with a considerable difference: "Out of the Game" is his first album in nearly a decade that suggests he stretched well beyond his comfort zone. It's masterful. After 2010's "All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu," a dark rumination on the loss of his mother, Kate McGarrigle, this new album marks a return to the pop chops and killer hooks that initially made Wainwright so celebrated. He enlisted Mark Ronson, acclaimed for his retro-minded work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, to produce the album.

Rufus Wainwright's seventh studio release is just as grand as his previous records, but with a considerable difference: "Out of the Game" is his first album in nearly a decade that suggests he stretched well beyond his comfort zone. It's masterful. After 2010's "All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu," a dark rumination on the loss of his mother, Kate McGarrigle, this new album marks a return to the pop chops and killer hooks that initially made Wainwright so celebrated. He enlisted Mark Ronson, acclaimed for his retro-minded work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, to produce the album.

Despite never reaching higher than number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Shut Up And Let Me Go" went platinum, and the curious contradiction of the Ting Tings lies in the intersection of those two facts. Since 2008's "We Started Nothing," the British duo have achieved mass acceptance without quite reaching a level of ubiquity that would jeopardize their indisputable cool. "Sounds From Nowheresville" (whose title, like its predecessor, seems to approach their music with a dismissive shrug)

Singer-songwriter-guitarist James Mercer may be the sole original member of this dreamy pop band, but since it's his singular keening voice that has served as the group's highest profile calling card, "Port of Morrow," out Tuesday, suffers few continuity issues. For his first Shins album in five years - after a break for his Broken Bells collaboration with Danger Mouse - Mercer wisely enlisted versatile producer Greg Kurstin, who has twiddled knobs for everyone from Lily Allen to Kylie Minogue.

PARIS — A court in central France has convicted a young Frenchman accused of infiltrating Twitter and peeping at the account of President Obama, and given him a five-month suspended prison sentence. The lawyer for Francois Cousteix, whose online name was Hacker Croll, said his client was happy with Thursday evening’s decision by the Clermont-Ferrand court. He risked up to two years in prison and a $37,000 fine for breaking into a data system. “The verdict is satisfying, given all the media pressure that built up,’’ attorney Jean-Francois Canis said yesterday by telephone.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist James Mercer may be the sole original member of this dreamy pop band, but since it's his singular keening voice that has served as the group's highest profile calling card, "Port of Morrow," out Tuesday, suffers few continuity issues. For his first Shins album in five years - after a break for his Broken Bells collaboration with Danger Mouse - Mercer wisely enlisted versatile producer Greg Kurstin, who has twiddled knobs for everyone from Lily Allen to Kylie Minogue.

Indie Rock KAISER CHIEFS OFF WITH THEIR HEADS UNIVERSAL/MOTOWN ESSENTIAL "Like It Too Much" The Kaiser Chiefs have been very busy churning out bratty, punk-pop hits over the course of their relatively brief but prolific recording career, so you'd imagine that they'd have to hit a speed bump at some point. After all, there are only so many hooks to go around, and they've made a habit of using up three or four songs' worth each on single tracks like the 2005 smash "I Predict a Riot.

There are many, many people worse than Bruno Mars who could have a vise grip on the pop charts right now. The “Just the Way You Are’’ singer spent Tuesday night at the Paradise proving it. Actually, that’s not true. He spent about 15 minutes proving it and the next hour of the sold-out show hammering the point home with a sharp five-piece band. Although it was Mars’s Boston debut, it was the last night of his tour, as evidenced by the giant neon sign that would have spelled out the name of his album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,’’ if only all the letters still worked.

What happened to Rupert Everett? He should have been a major movie star. He was so handsome, so debonair, so sophisticatedly English he seemed to be in a tuxedo even when he wasn’t. He was the rare actor whom you could see bantering with just about any woman. Everett was rumored to be the next James Bond (although, who hasn’t at this point) and the next Cary Grant. Then Daniel Craig became the new James Bond and George Clooney the new Grant. Then Clive Owen showed up, and Everett unfortunately seemed to be old news.

It's hard not to snicker at the emphasis on ‘evolve' in the title of the Auto-Tune king's fourth disc. Apart from a couple of songs in which he reveals the man behind the production gizmos, T-Pain delivers mostly familiar club tracks featuring ludicrously salacious lyrics. You say you want an evolution? Well, it comes with the tender, piano-based ballad "Drowning Again," a true highlight, exposing the vulnerability buried beneath the bravado. "When I Come Home" is reflective and refreshing in its honesty, but is marred by unnecessary vocal distortion, which only serves as an alienating device; it's a...

Despite never reaching higher than number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Shut Up And Let Me Go" went platinum, and the curious contradiction of the Ting Tings lies in the intersection of those two facts. Since 2008's "We Started Nothing," the British duo have achieved mass acceptance without quite reaching a level of ubiquity that would jeopardize their indisputable cool. "Sounds From Nowheresville" (whose title, like its predecessor, seems to approach their music with a dismissive shrug)

There are many, many people worse than Bruno Mars who could have a vise grip on the pop charts right now. The “Just the Way You Are’’ singer spent Tuesday night at the Paradise proving it. Actually, that’s not true. He spent about 15 minutes proving it and the next hour of the sold-out show hammering the point home with a sharp five-piece band. Although it was Mars’s Boston debut, it was the last night of his tour, as evidenced by the giant neon sign that would have spelled out the name of his album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,’’ if only all the letters still worked.

PARIS — A court in central France has convicted a young Frenchman accused of infiltrating Twitter and peeping at the account of President Obama, and given him a five-month suspended prison sentence. The lawyer for Francois Cousteix, whose online name was Hacker Croll, said his client was happy with Thursday evening’s decision by the Clermont-Ferrand court. He risked up to two years in prison and a $37,000 fine for breaking into a data system. “The verdict is satisfying, given all the media pressure that built up,’’ attorney Jean-Francois Canis said...

What happened to Rupert Everett? He should have been a major movie star. He was so handsome, so debonair, so sophisticatedly English he seemed to be in a tuxedo even when he wasn’t. He was the rare actor whom you could see bantering with just about any woman. Everett was rumored to be the next James Bond (although, who hasn’t at this point) and the next Cary Grant. Then Daniel Craig became the new James Bond and George Clooney the new Grant. Then Clive Owen showed up, and Everett unfortunately seemed to be old news.

Indie Rock KAISER CHIEFS OFF WITH THEIR HEADS UNIVERSAL/MOTOWN ESSENTIAL "Like It Too Much" The Kaiser Chiefs have been very busy churning out bratty, punk-pop hits over the course of their relatively brief but prolific recording career, so you'd imagine that they'd have to hit a speed bump at some point. After all, there are only so many hooks to go around, and they've made a habit of using up three or four songs' worth each on single tracks like the 2005 smash "I Predict a Riot.

The New York duo Cults’ short history provides a handy primer for the way this blogwave trend of bands works now. The first single from the nascent act was promoted on the taste-making Gorilla vs. Bear site in April 2010, and met with rapturous approval from the downloading cognoscenti. Fawning praise followed. To record their debut LP, they enlisted Shane Stoneback — the engineer behind the eminently bloggable forerunners Vampire Weekend and Sleigh Bells — and were signed to Lily Allen’s imprint of Columbia.