The IT boffins are soon to attack my computer for "an hour" (read "as long as it takes to get it working"). They are doing it over lunchtime, so it must be important because I've rarely even seen an IT person at lunchtime, let alone seen them working.

In the meantime let me give you a quick recommendation. If you only rip off one music company this year by illegally downloading an entire set of songs off Kazaa or something similar, make it the songs from the album "O" by Damian Rice. It's friggin' good. More precisely it's mellow (read guitars and strings) ballads that are well executed. It is crafted to seem a little rough around the edges and the lyrics can take themselves too seriously at times, but these are minor quibbles. It is a smooth and solid set of songs that get better with every listen. Rice relies mostly on melody to carry the songs, with bass often provided by a quiet cello and usually without a drum at all. He has a good but not outstanding voice but he uses it effectively as another instrument in the music, rather than in opposition to it. Best of all he succeeds in filling the soundspace despite his spartan use of instruments - something many musicians struggle to do. There is nothing extraneous or unnecessary and holistically the result is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Hell, it's that good I actually bought the CD for real. If you only fill one record company's coffers this year while the artist gets 3% of the sticker price, make it this one.