Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.... more ›

There’s a decent barroom argument to be had over whether Sam Cooke or Ray Charles can rightly be called the inventor of soul music. Both men took the structures and idioms of gospel music and adapted them to create a new, modern sound. Though it took Brother Ray a few years before he moved away from aping Charles Brown and Nat King Cole, Cooke’s voice was so distinctive that when he released his first pop song, “Loveable,” under the name Dale Cook, gospel audiences immediately recognized his familiar tenor. more ›