"THEY CAN SEE MY TWAT ON THE INTERNET!". WHAT? YOUR SINGER?

The Babyshambles album has been leaked onto the internet. Just like that new Strokes single was a couple of weeks ago. And the second Libertines long player. And the last thing that Radiohead put out. And every record of the last three years or so.

Excuse me? How is this news?

The news, perhaps, is that early reports, even according to stalwart Libertines fans is that the Babyshambles album is a bit, well... crap. Who would have thought it? Between the crack habit, selling his arse to the tabloids, torpedo-ing Kate Moss' annual income out of the water and launching his own fashion range the poor Doherty boy's barely had a moment to ham-fist his way through a load of tunes that weren't considered good enough for his old band.

But anyways, does anyone else have the sneaking suspicion that the 'leaking' of eagerly anticipated music is now the equivalent of the celebrity profile boosting 'stolen sex tape' a la Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Abi Titmuss and so on?

I might review the forthcoming one from Britney Spears 'live', that should test your resolve as a reader.

Back to the point - I'm VERY suspicious that these 'leaks' generate quite so much publicity mileage for the records involved. It's almost as if the labels have realised that downloading doesn't really harm sales at all, and now they're using it as a cog in the promotional machinery...