Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Crushed by the wheels of industry
Obviously, hope he recovers, but how precisely did Troubled Ex-East 17 Singer Brian Harvey fall out of his car while reversing, assuming it wasn't a suicide attempt as it sounds too detailed a plan to be one? Clearly seatbelt use didn't play a part but he wasn't driving a DeLorean, so he couldn't lean on where he thought the window opener would be. Mind you he is small, so he could have gone out the window.
Dealing days
Gorillaz action figures! How did it take them so long? More to the point, how did the rip-off angle take so long to formulate?
Spice reformation party latest
Oh, still not 'confirmed'. Luckily other bands have - bear in mind these are free after all, presumably so long as all the acts wear white wristbands. The Killers look set to be the millennial Thompson Twins with Keith Urban filling the Hooters' role - and hang on, the Kaiser Chiefs in Philly? Even getting in on the act are Placebo in Paris, which is understandable, and Tim McGraw at Circus Maximus (surely where Muse should be playing), which isn't.
Meanwhile the BBC, almost as if they knew, have already announced their plans. Bad luck, Richard Skinner.
Meanwhile the BBC, almost as if they knew, have already announced their plans. Bad luck, Richard Skinner.
Mercy paradise
STONE ROSES REFORM! STONE ROSES REFORM! What's actually happened is Mani and Reni have revealed they're mates. You know, like they were when they contributed to Rose The Lesser Aziz Ibrahim's 2000 solo album together. Nice of the rhythm section to join in, anyway - now, any further on getting Brown and Squire to so much as affect to remember what each other's names were? No? Thought not.
By the way, with every other maker of a half-classic album suddenly reforming, shouldn't there be rumours of a Verve reunion by now?
By the way, with every other maker of a half-classic album suddenly reforming, shouldn't there be rumours of a Verve reunion by now?
Late result: Band Aid 20 Live 8
So now we're all aware BBC2's going to be cleared for a day, or possibly a couple of hours after 7.30pm, let's try and get our heads around the purpose of Live 8. Firstly, it's not a fundraiser, which means David Hepworth can sleep easier, but to "raise awareness of Make Poverty History". Erm, cheers. Everyone knows what Make Poverty History is now. We're all aware of the special weeks, the Martin/Yorke axis' previous efforts, Blair's gladhanding of the African situation last week, that advert which suggests every time you click your fingers a child dies like a macabre version of Peter Pan or something. Either you're preaching to the converted or raising money to support the cause, and I'm sorry, St Bob, but everyone's going to call it Live Aid II nevertheless if that's the case. Also, what logic is there in an event in London with offshoots around the world to coincide with an event in Scotland? If this turns out to be Dominic Mohan's idea again I'll despair.
Plus it appears to have become for the moment nothing more than a handy hook on which to hang the latest Spice Girls Reunite stories. Never mind Madonna, Sir Paul, the Stones and U2, everyone, a disposable pop band you probably grew sick of in 1997 might be playing!
UPDATE: No, it's not like Live Aid at all, it's just the logo is also based on a guitar shape. Geldof has stressed that Live 8 is about awareness and "political justice" rather than money - er, cheers, then - but the proceeds from the ticket competition text line will go to charity. There's 10,000 tickets at £1.50 a text, and oddly £15,000 is about the amount they'll be going for on eBay by the last week in June. Geldof also suggests this is the first stage of a campaign that may lead to a march on the G8 summit the following week by up to a million people, which the head of the local police has said is impractical for all concerned and potentially dangerous. So well done on that score.
Of course the Spice reunion is mentioned about five paragraphs into the BBC News report!
Plus it appears to have become for the moment nothing more than a handy hook on which to hang the latest Spice Girls Reunite stories. Never mind Madonna, Sir Paul, the Stones and U2, everyone, a disposable pop band you probably grew sick of in 1997 might be playing!
UPDATE: No, it's not like Live Aid at all, it's just the logo is also based on a guitar shape. Geldof has stressed that Live 8 is about awareness and "political justice" rather than money - er, cheers, then - but the proceeds from the ticket competition text line will go to charity. There's 10,000 tickets at £1.50 a text, and oddly £15,000 is about the amount they'll be going for on eBay by the last week in June. Geldof also suggests this is the first stage of a campaign that may lead to a march on the G8 summit the following week by up to a million people, which the head of the local police has said is impractical for all concerned and potentially dangerous. So well done on that score.
Of course the Spice reunion is mentioned about five paragraphs into the BBC News report!
Monday, May 30, 2005
Counterstrike
Is there anything on the whole of BBC radio more deceptive than Counterpoint? It's half an hour of Ned Sherrin reeling through questions about Delius, Rimsky-Korsakov and mid-ranking musicals, then every so often there's a question about a massively famous current pop act and none of the Brain Of Britain-esque contestants has a clue, so people like me think you'll be able to piss it if you entered.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
The state they are in
Really, how are you meant to understand the title without seeing the cover art?
You know, I kind of miss the old Belle And Sebastian. There was a period, possibly around their Brit win or Legal Man's chart success, plausibly when Isobel Campbell became more interested in the Gentle Waves, when they changed from underground heroes to just another independent label overachiever. It was fun for a while, though, owning If You're Feeling Sinister and wondering whether the bloke doing the ironing in that publicity photo was really Stevie Jackson. This compilation, which debuted in this week's album chart, compiles their Jeepster EPs, which in itself reeks of Peel-sized aspirations, when bands were allowed to release tracks just as singles without a Special Edition of their last album with that one extra track and a cardboard box around the CD being rushed out within a fortnight.
What does come across is how they have always been far more than the fey Felt fanciers of legend, variously invoking Love, the Velvets, northern soul, psychedelic film soundtracks and Lee Hazlewood yet maintaining a house sound they took from the base materials of others yet still made their own. I've said it before and I'll say it again - why can't we have a band who people are genuinely interested in (I remain unconvinced despite supposed physical evidence that The Glitterati really exist) and have an impact outside the fanzine set but don't care about needing to be top 30 by the third single any more?
Single File: w/c 29/5/05
If we just ignore it it'll go away.
So let's start at number two, where Coldplay reside for the second time, although whether it's more embarrassing now than it was when they debuted behind Darius is questionable. You have to feel that's nearly that for their chances of a chart topping single - assuming there's nothing else on X&Y as anthemic, they'll be doing well if they're in this pre-eminent position come the single before the next album. Seriously, whatever you think of Chris Martin and his startled eyes, it isn't actually funny if you think about what it means for us all, is it? Something even more surprising at 4, which is that Amerie's One Thing, a record so perky and gold plated in summer hitness that even the British weather changed for it at the sales-crucial end of the week, still failed to outsell not just the big two but also Akon. (Actually, here's something for our small number of commenters that's come from elsewhere - we know why guitar bands' sales tend to spike on Mondays, so how come R&B and rap records tend to sell more later in the week, irrespective of Saturday TV promotion?)
Gwen Stefani picking up the marching band baton from Destiny's Child gets her to 8 and Audio Bullys' hijacking of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang is at 9 - come on, bootleggers, mix it with BA Robertson's Bang Bang, we dare you. The Magic Numbers' own post-Thrills take on East Coast harmonies is picking up speed well, first proper single Forever Lost making number 15, the sort of success you don't actually see of hyped debut singles that often. Pointless goth point-missers My Chemical Romance are at 20. For god knows what reason, especially as the OST's been out for a couple of weeks, a bit of the Star Wars theme - John Williams, LSO, you know the drill - enters at 25, one ahead of Arcade Fire, which itself is 25 places short of where it will end up in my singles of the year list. The video seems to have been taken offline, but if you've not seen it do track it down as it's a work of magnificence to complement the song.
Nine Black Alps are at 31, British Sea Power failed to tempt the Chelsea Flower Show denizens to send their latest single any further than 34 and Sons And Daughters make a surprise entry at 40, but the real hilarity comes around these - Brian McFadden, whose idea of a clean break from Westlife is a load of string-laden ballads, at 28 is excellent enough, but even that's rivalled by The Bravery at 43, the sort of place bands with their self-made profile just don't enter, and sandpaper faced Daniel Bedingfield at 41. If the Jamster HQ is burnt down tomorrow we have a suspect.
So let's start at number two, where Coldplay reside for the second time, although whether it's more embarrassing now than it was when they debuted behind Darius is questionable. You have to feel that's nearly that for their chances of a chart topping single - assuming there's nothing else on X&Y as anthemic, they'll be doing well if they're in this pre-eminent position come the single before the next album. Seriously, whatever you think of Chris Martin and his startled eyes, it isn't actually funny if you think about what it means for us all, is it? Something even more surprising at 4, which is that Amerie's One Thing, a record so perky and gold plated in summer hitness that even the British weather changed for it at the sales-crucial end of the week, still failed to outsell not just the big two but also Akon. (Actually, here's something for our small number of commenters that's come from elsewhere - we know why guitar bands' sales tend to spike on Mondays, so how come R&B and rap records tend to sell more later in the week, irrespective of Saturday TV promotion?)
Gwen Stefani picking up the marching band baton from Destiny's Child gets her to 8 and Audio Bullys' hijacking of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang is at 9 - come on, bootleggers, mix it with BA Robertson's Bang Bang, we dare you. The Magic Numbers' own post-Thrills take on East Coast harmonies is picking up speed well, first proper single Forever Lost making number 15, the sort of success you don't actually see of hyped debut singles that often. Pointless goth point-missers My Chemical Romance are at 20. For god knows what reason, especially as the OST's been out for a couple of weeks, a bit of the Star Wars theme - John Williams, LSO, you know the drill - enters at 25, one ahead of Arcade Fire, which itself is 25 places short of where it will end up in my singles of the year list. The video seems to have been taken offline, but if you've not seen it do track it down as it's a work of magnificence to complement the song.
Nine Black Alps are at 31, British Sea Power failed to tempt the Chelsea Flower Show denizens to send their latest single any further than 34 and Sons And Daughters make a surprise entry at 40, but the real hilarity comes around these - Brian McFadden, whose idea of a clean break from Westlife is a load of string-laden ballads, at 28 is excellent enough, but even that's rivalled by The Bravery at 43, the sort of place bands with their self-made profile just don't enter, and sandpaper faced Daniel Bedingfield at 41. If the Jamster HQ is burnt down tomorrow we have a suspect.
Reeling in the years
Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, once of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, is now a leading counterterrorism expert. All resultant jokes or legitimate points about the move from herbal-flavoured psychedelic jazz-rock (and he played on Joni Mitchell's The Hissing Of Summer Lawns too, it says here) to neocon association, surely wither on reading this, with its drawing in lieu of a photo of this well-known man, the idea he "peppers his speech with casual profanity", the revelation of his anti-illness preparations and, um, oil-eating bacteria.
Lost your love of life? Cut down on apple pie
Strange the things the mind throws up in moments of life pause - I'd forgotten about David Gedge being interrogated by an 'anti-ageing expert' - a little late in his case, possibly - in 2002. He's the third one down, said quack's apparent suggestion being to give up music.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Lauren Laverne: a case study
2000: Aforementioned then solo career embarking Laverne speculates on possibility of cheap'n'cheerful TV career, and summises "I would fucking kill myself".
May 29th 2005: Lauren Laverne co-presents CD:UK.
May 29th 2005: Lauren Laverne co-presents CD:UK.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Otis blue
Does anyone else look askance at the wording of references to "the rock star Bryan Ferry"?
Thursday, May 26, 2005
The third coming
Bad enough the idea that The Killers might already be the last Pyramid Stage headliners for two years at Glastonbury, but Michael Eavis seems to have had a change of heart only insomuch as he thinks he can reform the Stone Roses, just because Noel Gallagher said they might one day. Well, he's got two months to personally set up ACAS-style talks between Brown and Squire, minus rehearsal time - and is it really wise after all that for the Roses to be headlining the Sunday main stage at a British festival again after the last time? (People seemed to like it at the time, mind.)
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Gorillaz in the midst
A couple of years ago there was quite a bit of excited industry talk about the possibilities in interactive videos being the next technological step forward. All this actually amounted to in the end was a Hell Is For Heroes video that incorporated a red button option to view, um, a live photo gallery. Even then the signal in the video to show the option was now available didn't work for most of the time.
Now, with seemingly no hype, it seems Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc has suddenly decided to go all interactive on us viewers. Coming across the video last night, it seems it's been augmented with a big strip at the bottom of the screen promising 'interaction'. What this amounts to is: 'band' biographies - this is Gorillaz, remember - an interview and, almost excitingly, a band commentary. Even people who really like the concept aren't keen on the concept extensions which are just excuses forAlbarn and Hewlett to put on stupid voices, so whoever's bright idea that was is thinking along the right lines but in the wrong context. Still, nice of Parlophone to think of us.
Now, with seemingly no hype, it seems Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc has suddenly decided to go all interactive on us viewers. Coming across the video last night, it seems it's been augmented with a big strip at the bottom of the screen promising 'interaction'. What this amounts to is: 'band' biographies - this is Gorillaz, remember - an interview and, almost excitingly, a band commentary. Even people who really like the concept aren't keen on the concept extensions which are just excuses forAlbarn and Hewlett to put on stupid voices, so whoever's bright idea that was is thinking along the right lines but in the wrong context. Still, nice of Parlophone to think of us.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Ah, the cultural divide
Goldie Lookin' Chain are releasing their album in America! To bafflement, obviously, although when the Pitchfork reviewer wonders whether they've got it, I'd suggest they've got what passes for the gag all too well.
Ivor the engineered
Radio 2 listeners forget to vote any Beatles into their Ivor Novello songs of the decades type thing poll. Surely, rather than You Really Got Me "not just on a par with Lennon and McCartney, but out in front in their contribution to and influence on British music", which is surely baseless as without the Beatles' influence on the way songs are written not to order but for themselves Ray and Dave Davies might not have so much as been allowed to put their own song out as a single, it's surely more likely the Beatles fans were split between the two qualifying songs. As for the rest, I'm inured against Angels appearing in these things by now - speaking of which, Guy Chambers seems to think Brian McFadden and Jamie Cullum are the only artists in Britain with full artistic control - but nice to see West End Girls - the first proper Londoner rap, Neil Tennant maintains - in there.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Single File : w/c 22/5/05
Now there's a shock - Oasis at number one. Lyla is taken from Don't Believe The Truth, hailed in reviews as a return to form. You know, like the last two albums were. I'm slightly confused by the video - are they suggesting it's better to live in run-down housing than briefly experience technicolour glamour, such as Oasis give off such a thing?
Black Eyed Peas failed to make it a proper number one standoff by entering behind Akon at 3 with their not quite swearing. Jennifer Lopez enters at 6, and we all slag her off all we like but this comes a week after her similarly panned new film entered the UK box office list at number two. Max Graham vs Yes - oh god, Jon Anderson on TOTP, does this mean? - is at nine, proving there's life yet in the MOR sample/girls in bikinis market, while Kaiser Chiefs continue to press their claim as the first true British singles band in a while by entering at 10.
Rob Thomas, far better known than his band, is at 11, Mylo comes third in the Star To Fall race at 13, Javine actually charts lower than Jemini did at 18, although to be fair how were we to know virtually every other country would also enter a song that ripped off Ruslana, Stevie Wonder gets the old clavichord out at 19 and New Order and Ana Matronic, who've made a pretty double act on TV these last couple of weeks with Ana's bubbly excitement next to the singularly dour looking Barney, at 20.
Lower down, dance lot Gadjo are at 22, Turin Brakes - they had a top five single once! How? - 32, Hot Hot Heat 36, Stonebridge use the advantage of their promotional vido at 37 and bloody hell, Ian McNabb makes his first solo top 40 appearance and only second ever, the Icicle Works only breaking into the chart once in 1983, at 38. It was outside the midweek 40, so lord knows where that's come from. It would have been great to see Antony & The Johnsons have a proper chart entry but they'll be satisfied with 44. For everyone, and there's quite a few, who found the site via Google searches this week, The Gaff did not enter the top 75 at all.
Next week, Coldplay vs Amerie vs Crazy Frog. Place your bets!
Black Eyed Peas failed to make it a proper number one standoff by entering behind Akon at 3 with their not quite swearing. Jennifer Lopez enters at 6, and we all slag her off all we like but this comes a week after her similarly panned new film entered the UK box office list at number two. Max Graham vs Yes - oh god, Jon Anderson on TOTP, does this mean? - is at nine, proving there's life yet in the MOR sample/girls in bikinis market, while Kaiser Chiefs continue to press their claim as the first true British singles band in a while by entering at 10.
Rob Thomas, far better known than his band, is at 11, Mylo comes third in the Star To Fall race at 13, Javine actually charts lower than Jemini did at 18, although to be fair how were we to know virtually every other country would also enter a song that ripped off Ruslana, Stevie Wonder gets the old clavichord out at 19 and New Order and Ana Matronic, who've made a pretty double act on TV these last couple of weeks with Ana's bubbly excitement next to the singularly dour looking Barney, at 20.
Lower down, dance lot Gadjo are at 22, Turin Brakes - they had a top five single once! How? - 32, Hot Hot Heat 36, Stonebridge use the advantage of their promotional vido at 37 and bloody hell, Ian McNabb makes his first solo top 40 appearance and only second ever, the Icicle Works only breaking into the chart once in 1983, at 38. It was outside the midweek 40, so lord knows where that's come from. It would have been great to see Antony & The Johnsons have a proper chart entry but they'll be satisfied with 44. For everyone, and there's quite a few, who found the site via Google searches this week, The Gaff did not enter the top 75 at all.
Next week, Coldplay vs Amerie vs Crazy Frog. Place your bets!
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