Definitely not: last night's no-show by Oasis has apparently caused Noel to quit the group - and certainly continues Rock en Seine's annual problems with absent headline acts.

Running up that (Alpine foot)hill: From the winter sport city of Annecy, here's some gorgeous electropop that calls Kate Bush to mind.

Home and away: The English woman and French icon is one of the star attractions at next weekend's Festival of World Cultures. Here she is singing 'Home', a Neil Hannon song about the place where your heart is.

Remembering our trip to Saint Malo, where we enjoyed fantastic music in a great location. As for the festival's lack of money and Irish fans, let's see if we can kill those two birds with one stone.

Bloody cheek: Live from Saint Malo's legendary indie festival, where the director is having a dig at My Bloody Valentine for their demands. But the show will go on.

Love thy neighbour: your blogger lives near the family home of France's greatest ever pop star. Which makes perfect sense, really. Keeping up/getting down with the Gainsbourgs, here's some of the racket they made - 'Initials BB'.

 A slice of catchy jazz-pop from a London-based Parisian. 'Chasing Rainbows' may well end up on your radio quite soon. You might want to give his perv-funk tracks a miss, though.

GE whizz: Something fresh and funky from a California-based half-Irish Frenchman who seems to have read your blogger's mind - check out the wonderful 'Raid The Radio'.

'Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes' and its B-side, 'Almost Cut My Hair', sound tired and formulaic. Is it just us or is le French touch becoming tedious and uninspired?

The 2009 edition of France's premier summer indie festival features My Bloody Valentine as headliners of a fantastic line-up that includes Grizzly Bear, Andrew Bird, Camera Obscura, Peaches, Four Tet, Telepathe, St Vincent and many more cult favourites.

Because if Sir is a pint-sized world leader in waiting, then Sir should really be speaking the language of Napoléon and Sarkozy. From a 2005 awards show in Cannes, here's himself with the cupla focail for the locals.

'Do The Joy', available for free download on the French duo's website, is yet another boring and disappointing rehash of their signature style.

Fancy some charming, melodic retro-pop? Here's Chicros and a current airplay hit called 'What's New Today On TV?' - '70s German adult films, judging by the video. The band's other recent single, 'New Orleans', has a more family-friendly promo, featuring black magic and underage violence.

The current edition of the respected political magazine features a piece on French rap and hip-hop. However, it's a poor article that ill-serves its subject. Here's why.

Electro-pop bands rock out. Local boy does good. We all get home okay.

Puck fair: Day one of the Paris summer festival features an impressive show from Hockey and some irritating wackiness from an otherwise-likeable The Dø. But we don't remember promising to report on Yuksek and Digitalism, okay?

A day of glorious pop, joyous Africana - and lovely folk. Allez la Diane!

The Irish College in Paris is home to the Centre Culturel Irlandais, which in turn has an excellent library that features all the essential Irish albums for any Parisian looking to learn about our tunes.

Rocking the Bastille: Two great record shops near a historic part of the French capital - one quite retro, the other very countercultural, both definitely worth a visit.

Rap, punk, ska, traditional musette - it's all in the sound made by one of France's favourite live bands.

The French government is trying to bring in a three-strikes law against illegal internet filesharing. They're not doing a great job of it, though. But what's Hadopi? Who are Lonah and Guarapita? And where can I hear Misty Socks playing their song 'Not A Wanker'?

Dublin's annual Fête de la Musique party takes place from 18-21 June, and includes cinema appearances by Serge & Jane, a tribute to France's most famous Belgian - and a concert by Housse De Racket.

Oui: 'Ulysses', book of the day, may be the quintessential Dublin novel but it has a bit of Paris in it too - and plenty of music. Here's Kate Bush's homage to Molly Bloom.

To kick of Dublin celebrations for France's national music day later this month, the L.A.-loving Paris electro-pop-rap fellas will be playing at Twisted Pepper on 6 June.

Ready, tame, fire: By taking no significant risk with their sound, the Versailles band's 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' is a slight disappointment.