On any other Glastonbury, it would have been the defining gig.

Blur were the Britpop era's poster boys, figureheads of a scene they quickly grew to despise, and which they left behind with a series of ever more adventurous albums.

But Blur rode out their wildest years only to dissolve when they were making their most inventive music, 2002's 'Think Tank'; singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon's previously close friendship combusted. It's taken this long for the rifts to heal, and it is Glastonbury they chose to give those repairs a public inspection.

Springsteen may have stolen their thunder, but Blur -- playing their first major show with their original line-up since the band went in to hiatus in 2000 -- don't take it lying down.

Wondering how Mali's Amadou & Mariam will fare in front of "rock" crowds when opening some of Coldplay's big-venue U.S. dates this July? Well, maybe it's Coldplay who should be worried about being outdone by their chosen guests. Check out this video (though pardon the quality in places).

That's Amadou Bagayoko anchoring La Bande Original, an ad hoc ensemble featured last summer at the Eurockeenes festival in France, at which he also performed in his regular gig with his wife, Mariam Doumbia. And yes, that's a rather rocking version of AC/DC's 'Whole Lotta Rosie,' featuring French dynamo Olivia Ruiz on vocals.

"We had this crazy idea to do some covers," Amadou says about the band, which also featured singer Camille and various other French musicians. "We did our own songs and some of the girls', as well as Stevie Wonder and AC/DC."

"It's all compost. Money should be compost." --Damon Albarn

The singer, who will reunite with his former band Blur, offered his (perhaps ill-timed) apathetic feelings toward having loads of loot.

Throughout its history, rock and roll has embraced elements of opera, most notably the Who's 'Tommy' and Queen's classic hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' But Western artists tackling Chinese opera is quite something else. That was the challenge faced by rocker Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz when they collaborated with Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng on the production of 'Monkey: Journey to the West.' It's an opera based on a 16th-century Chinese book about the Monkey King, with Albarn composing the music and Hewlett designing the costumes.

"I was worried," Albarn tells Spinner about his initial involvement in Monkey. "'How can I do this?' I mean, one: I didn't have any idea about how to write an opera; and two: it obviously had to have very strong Chinese influence."

The opera premiered in 2007 at the Manchester International Festival, and was later performed at the Spoleteo Festival in South Carolina and at the Royal Opera House in London this year. (Monkey will mount again at London's O2 this November). The production involved an overall total of about 500 people. With singing and dancing, Monkey features a cast of acrobats and martial artists.

Oasis vs. Blur

Fightin' Words: "I hate that Alex and Damon. I hope they catch AIDS and die." (Oasis' Noel Gallagher)

Class warfare was the underlying motive behind the mid-'90s scrum between the working-class Gallagher brothers and the art-damaged Damon Albarn and co. Ironically, it was Noel who accused Albarn of slovenliness, saying he "looks like a dustbin man these days." When Albarn's side project, Gorillaz, debuted, Liam dismissed it as "3-year-olds' music." Albarn's rebuttal? At one point he chided the Gallaghers for being featured in lightweight celebrity magazines. Ouch!
UPDATE: In Sept. 2007, Liam called a truce. "I don't mind Blur," he told Mojo, "I'm over [the rivalry]. It was a laugh man, that's what you do when you're young."

Judges' Decision: Oasis, in a Tyson-esque first-round knockout

Gorillaz
When They Rocked: 1998-present

Picking up where the Groovie Ghoulies left off, the demonically funky Gorillaz live every day like it's Halloween and party like every night is New Year's Eve. Fueled by a chart-topping mix of rock, rap, and pop, the quartet has sold more than 10 million albums, collaborated with De La Soul and Madonna, and sold out a five-night stand at the Apollo Theater. The group's swan song will be a feature-length film, which starts production later this year.

What do you get when you put together Damon Albarn, drummer Tony Allen (from Fela Kuti's band), bassist Paul Simonon (The Clash) and guitarist Simon Tong (The Verve)? You get The Good, the Bad and the Queen. The first single from their self-titled debut album is called 'Herculean,' and it's pretty damn great. The album was released last month in Europe, and is scheduled to come out, Jan. 11 in the U.S.

• More streaming songs on Hype Machine
• Their official MySpace