Albums Out This Week: W/C 22nd December 2008

So then, two albums out. This should make for a compelling introduction. Moving on, the sad news of the Christmas number one broke yesterday. For the Americans amongst us, imagine two covers of 'All Along the Watchtower' competing for the Billboard #1 spot: one by Connor Oberst, the other by an uglier and significantly less talented version of Mariah Carey.

Granted, you would have probably got references to Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley, but hey, that ship has sailed now.

So the world's oldest joke was discovered earlier this year. Traced back to the year 1900 B.C it was, unsurprisingly, a stab at toilet humour. "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap." is the rough translation of the Sumerian (now Southern Iraq) expression.

The import of this fact is: throughout 3,908 years of human history: very little has ever changed. Either that, or it illustrates how dated Eddie Murphy's shtick has become. Jokes of course, have been updated for technology purposes. "Hi, you're through to the Incontinence Hotline...Can you hold, please?" is a current fave in the offices here.

Perhaps in 4,000 years someone will dig up Bernie Mac and laugh, I know I did last week.

Hot Chip: Hot Chip With Robert Wyatt and Geese

Enlisting the service of experimental psychedelic-prog maestro Robert Wyatt as well as the wedge of electronic goslings Geese, Hot Chip have put together an audible treat for fans. Personally chosen by the collective from Hot Chip's latest album Made in the Dark, this E.P sees an alternative take on four songs. So if you liked either 'Made in the Dark', 'Whistle for Will', 'We’re Looking for a Lot of Love' or ''One Pure Thought' before: you may just like them again this time. Maybe more so, maybe less.

The Books: The Lemon of Pink [Re-Issue]

The champions of the cut-n-paste sampling push their album back out into the wild. The second album of duo Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong sees them pair an array of stringed instruments with whatever sounds happen to be flying through the airwaves at this present moment in time. The resulting mix is not the undecipherable mess you may imagine, but a coherent approach to storytelling which offers a unique perspective on what makes up music.