Welcome to the latest edition of GoldenStereo, where we give you a glimpse inside the dark and twisted minds of our writers and photographers by sharing what we’ve been listening to this week.

January continues to carry the great and good of music away from us, with the passing of Black following a road traffic accident in Cork. Phil Lynott co-writer Jimmy Bain also joined the great gig in the sky this week, as did Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (famed for penning Somebody To Love, and White Rabbit, which Hunter S. Thompson utilised to great effect in his seminal novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

“Let it roll!” he screamed. “Just as high as the fucker can go! And when it comes to that fantastic bit where the rabbit bites its own head off, I want you to throw that fuckin' radio into the tub with me.”

And it was the inspiration behind one of Homer Simpson’s best lines:

"Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson Airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson Starship. The stage was now set for The Alan Parsons project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft."

Here in GoldenPlec we were glad to see that five of the nominations for this year’s Choice Music Prize ‘Song of the year’ were penned by current/former acts featured in our Plec Picks series, with All Tvvins, Otherkin, Pleasure Beach, Daithi, and The Academic selected. We were also excited to receive the debut album from another former Plec Picks artist, Bleeding Heart Pigeons, and are happy to say it didn’t disappoint - read our review of ‘Is’ here.

This week’s playlist as ever features a wide array of artists and genres, with the likes of Drake, Wand, Arcade Fire, and Billy Bragg all featuring. Ireland is represented by the superb new single Letter To Willow by Wyvern Lingo, Bats, Pleasure Beach and Phil Lynott. We are nothing if not unpredictable.