Festivals in Australia are going through many a-drama, as Rainbow Serpent Festival survives, while Peats Ridge dyes. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis continue to grip tighter on the upper echelons of the ARIA Charts, and all the news from the Tamworth Country Music Awards, all in this weeks State Of Affairs.

"I don't want to put anything out that is something I don't love. You just don't get that every day. You have to wait for it. I'm ready."

Like A Version is the name of the covers segment brought to you every week by Triple J. The premise of the show is that an artist or band will drop by to perform live in the studio their interpretation of someone else’s song. It's a bold and brash take on cover versions that this hard to please reviewer was lucky enough to experience and to be absolutely honest I believe that the shows' hosts, Tom and Alex, said it best when describing the release of this anthology, spanning the years 2005-2009.

A bit over a decade ago the two self-proclaimed kings of the New York hip-hop scene, Jay-Z and Nas released some of their finest LP’s, each with at least one track spitting vitriol in the others direction. Nas had the classic ‘Ether’ and Jay-Z had the vicious ‘Takeover,’ a track on which Jay attacks Nasty’s consistency:

With one of the most killer beats on their record Watch The Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West have delivered a killer music video for their track "No Church in the Wild", featuring Frank Ocean. Inspired by the London Riots, this is an epic music video, well worth the wait...

We're back with the top half of our top 20 countdown albums of 2011 list, and like all those before it, it's an electic pile of music from around the world that our contributors have been loving over the last 12 months. Let's get it started!

Let's dive right into the next batch of favourite tracks of 2011, as voted by AU review contributors!

20.

In 2011, this Melbourne based band became fast favourites of the live scene, with their catchy riffs, energetic stage presence and tracks like this one, which stick with you long after you turn it off...

The Fearless Vampire Killers - Tell Me What You're Trying To Say

In today's society, the rising trend of music collaborations is becoming a sure-fire way to expand the fanbase, either through the release of singles, albums, or even one-off live performances.

It was recently announced that legendary jazz crooner, Tony Bennett, scored his first #1 album with the release of the aptly titled Duets II, working alongside the likes of Lady Gaga, the late Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Michael Bublé and plenty more.

Better late than never, as they say.

With Kanye West being no stranger to controversy in the media, he and his partner in crime, Jay-Z, are being accused of illegally sampling Syl Johnson's "The Different Stokes" on their song "Oh Joy", taken from their new album, Watch The Throne.

I'll open up this review by concentrating on a seemingly negligible line by Jay-Z on the Neptunes-produced "Gotta Have It"

"Buellar had a Muller but I switched it for a Mille 'cause I'm richer, and prior to this shit was moving freebase."

Most listeners would hear that line and think the same thing many people (mostly death metal fans) think about rap - it makes little sense and is telling of how unintelligent and uncreative rappers are.

For this project, music icons and pop culture visionaries JAY-Z and Kanye West have joined their extraordinary talents to deliver the most anticipated album of the year, WATCH THE THRONE.

For those that don’t know, Japan’s Summer Sonic is a massive music festival, annually taking place over an early-August weekend in two different cities at once – Osaka and Tokyo.

Last year I was lucky enough to travel with one of my best mates to a few Asian countries – Japan being our major adventure, and Summer Sonic in Tokyo being the focal point of our trip.

When we started this list, we mentioned that there were a few surprises along the way - this is no doubt thanks to the fact that we're counting down tracks, not singles, that were released in 2010 in any form.

What surprised even us, however, that the number one spot would not go to a single, but rather a favourite track off an album that came in at number one on our recent "Albums of 2010" countdown. But before we get there, let's start in with number 10 ...

Touring the world in support of their number one album No Line On The Horizon, U2 have finally hit Australian shores and are playing to sell-out stadiums across the country. But is all the hype to be believed? Dave Roberts investigates.