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Gordon in the morning: Come on you blues
This morning, Gordon Smart claims P Diddy is about to become the latest rich American keen to have soccer fans yelling in his face about how much they hate him:
RAP star P DIDDY plans to put the Cristal into Crystal Palace with a shock bid for the struggling London footie team.
Really?
Last night his UK spokesman confirmed the multi-millionaire is in the market for Palace. He also added that the New Yorker has his eye on another big club.
A source said: "Diddy was in London meeting football fixers a couple of weeks ago. The finance is in place, he's just deciding who he thinks he'll make a bid for.
"Portsmouth were mentioned but he thought Palace were a better idea.
"He could cover their debt and bankroll a return to the Premier League. He liked the name as well."
It's not entirely clear why, if Diddy's spokesman has gone on the record, that Smart is running quotes from an unnamed source.
Still, you've got to look forward to the fans welcoming a man who has bought their club because of its name. You couldn't hope for a more committed chairman than that, could you?
RAP star P DIDDY plans to put the Cristal into Crystal Palace with a shock bid for the struggling London footie team.
Really?
Last night his UK spokesman confirmed the multi-millionaire is in the market for Palace. He also added that the New Yorker has his eye on another big club.
A source said: "Diddy was in London meeting football fixers a couple of weeks ago. The finance is in place, he's just deciding who he thinks he'll make a bid for.
"Portsmouth were mentioned but he thought Palace were a better idea.
"He could cover their debt and bankroll a return to the Premier League. He liked the name as well."
It's not entirely clear why, if Diddy's spokesman has gone on the record, that Smart is running quotes from an unnamed source.
Still, you've got to look forward to the fans welcoming a man who has bought their club because of its name. You couldn't hope for a more committed chairman than that, could you?
Heroobit: Alex Chilton
If you're just waking up, I'm afraid it's to pretty grim news: Alex Chilton died overnight from a suspected heart attack.
Born William Alexandra Chilton in Memphis halfway through the 20th century, Chilton formed a small-time band with friends called The Devilles. A combination of line-up changes and (more pressingly) other bands with the same rotten name inspired a change to The Box Tops, with whom Chilton would go on to have a chain of hits. The first, The Letter, in 1967, kicked off a period of frantic activity. Members came, members wait, and by the time The Box Tops were done in 1970, they'd amassed a collection of ten singles and four albums.
Their success had tempted the band from Memphis, and at their end Chilton returned home. Here he joined a power trio, Ice Water. Again, there would be a name change before things really started rolling. The change of the name on the posters to Big Star wasn't, this time, quite the instant charm that the renaming of The Devilles had been, and the first two albums - #1 Record and Radio City struggled. Sure, with added hindsight, Rolling Stone could call them part of a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations". At the time, there was a slight sense of piles of unsold records stinking the place up.
Partly this was down to the label - Big Star had been a strange choice for Stax Records to sign in the first place, and they'd not really been that keen on promoting #1 Record. By the time Radio City came out, Stax had become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia, leaving the band with an even better record and even less support.
The band shattered and Chilton was left pulling together the third album with a rotating, loose band - including his girlfriend Lesa Aldridge popping in to help out on vocals. Producer Jim Dickinson said:
[I was] nailed for indulging Alex on Big Star Third, but I think it is important that the artist is enabled to perform with integrity. What I did for Alex was literally remove the yoke of oppressive production that he had been under since the first time he ever uttered a word into a microphone, for good or ill.
It was a mixture of both - the good was the album, Third/Sister Lover, was a thing of great beauty. The bad was that Chilton and Dickinson struggled to find a label willing to release the thing.
In the end, as so often happens, it was British hipsters who came to the rescue. A 1978 re-release of the first two albums was instrumental in helping shift the perception of Big Star from being crazy idiots into genuine legends; the new fan base persuaded Ardent to actually release the third album.
Chilton visited London in 1979, where he recorded Bangkok, starting a period of interesting-but-wayward solo work and the half-vaudevillian Panter Burns with Gustav Falco. Depending on how far you want to buy in to the legend, The Cramps either borrowed, hired or stole a car to drive to Memphis in order to persuade him to produce their first album.
The 1980s saw Big Star's reputation grow - helped by the enthusiastic name-dropping of more successful alt-rock groups, and reaching a peak with The Replacements naming a song for Chilton. In 1993, affection having turned to a religion, Big Star reunited, bulked out by members of The Posies working on the side. Although focused on the classic 1970s stuff, there would be a new record, In Space, in 2005.
Having got the taste for reunions, Chilton also engineered a reunion of The Box Tops in 1996.
Big Star were due to play SXSW later this week. Chilton had been complaining about his health earlier yesterday. Jody Stephens of Big Star told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that “I don’t have a lot of particulars, but they kind of suspect that it was a heart attack.” Alex Chilton was 59.
Born William Alexandra Chilton in Memphis halfway through the 20th century, Chilton formed a small-time band with friends called The Devilles. A combination of line-up changes and (more pressingly) other bands with the same rotten name inspired a change to The Box Tops, with whom Chilton would go on to have a chain of hits. The first, The Letter, in 1967, kicked off a period of frantic activity. Members came, members wait, and by the time The Box Tops were done in 1970, they'd amassed a collection of ten singles and four albums.
Their success had tempted the band from Memphis, and at their end Chilton returned home. Here he joined a power trio, Ice Water. Again, there would be a name change before things really started rolling. The change of the name on the posters to Big Star wasn't, this time, quite the instant charm that the renaming of The Devilles had been, and the first two albums - #1 Record and Radio City struggled. Sure, with added hindsight, Rolling Stone could call them part of a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations". At the time, there was a slight sense of piles of unsold records stinking the place up.
Partly this was down to the label - Big Star had been a strange choice for Stax Records to sign in the first place, and they'd not really been that keen on promoting #1 Record. By the time Radio City came out, Stax had become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia, leaving the band with an even better record and even less support.
The band shattered and Chilton was left pulling together the third album with a rotating, loose band - including his girlfriend Lesa Aldridge popping in to help out on vocals. Producer Jim Dickinson said:
[I was] nailed for indulging Alex on Big Star Third, but I think it is important that the artist is enabled to perform with integrity. What I did for Alex was literally remove the yoke of oppressive production that he had been under since the first time he ever uttered a word into a microphone, for good or ill.
It was a mixture of both - the good was the album, Third/Sister Lover, was a thing of great beauty. The bad was that Chilton and Dickinson struggled to find a label willing to release the thing.
In the end, as so often happens, it was British hipsters who came to the rescue. A 1978 re-release of the first two albums was instrumental in helping shift the perception of Big Star from being crazy idiots into genuine legends; the new fan base persuaded Ardent to actually release the third album.
Chilton visited London in 1979, where he recorded Bangkok, starting a period of interesting-but-wayward solo work and the half-vaudevillian Panter Burns with Gustav Falco. Depending on how far you want to buy in to the legend, The Cramps either borrowed, hired or stole a car to drive to Memphis in order to persuade him to produce their first album.
The 1980s saw Big Star's reputation grow - helped by the enthusiastic name-dropping of more successful alt-rock groups, and reaching a peak with The Replacements naming a song for Chilton. In 1993, affection having turned to a religion, Big Star reunited, bulked out by members of The Posies working on the side. Although focused on the classic 1970s stuff, there would be a new record, In Space, in 2005.
Having got the taste for reunions, Chilton also engineered a reunion of The Box Tops in 1996.
Big Star were due to play SXSW later this week. Chilton had been complaining about his health earlier yesterday. Jody Stephens of Big Star told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that “I don’t have a lot of particulars, but they kind of suspect that it was a heart attack.” Alex Chilton was 59.
Bloc of Ash
Russell Lissack is taking some leave from Bloc Party in order to be the all-important fourth member of Ash on their UK tour.
There's a press-release gobbet of 'how we met and fell in love':
Russell - of Bloc Party and solo project Pin Me Down - is a life-long Ash fan, "I've always loved Ash, my first ever stage performance was part of an Ash covers band, so when they asked me to join them on their forthcoming tour I jumped at the chance!"
Ash's Tim Wheeler: "We first met at South By Southwest in 2005, we’d heard he and Kele Okereke met when Russell was playing Ash songs at a party, so we've always felt that connection with him. We've loved Bloc Party since their first single and have always really admired his guitar playing."
They haven't told Russell yet that he's going to have to try and squeeze into Charlotte Hatherley's old stage outfits.
There's a press-release gobbet of 'how we met and fell in love':
Russell - of Bloc Party and solo project Pin Me Down - is a life-long Ash fan, "I've always loved Ash, my first ever stage performance was part of an Ash covers band, so when they asked me to join them on their forthcoming tour I jumped at the chance!"
Ash's Tim Wheeler: "We first met at South By Southwest in 2005, we’d heard he and Kele Okereke met when Russell was playing Ash songs at a party, so we've always felt that connection with him. We've loved Bloc Party since their first single and have always really admired his guitar playing."
They haven't told Russell yet that he's going to have to try and squeeze into Charlotte Hatherley's old stage outfits.
Second Spin
As part of the intense desire to scan everything ever printed, Google Books has just put the entire back catalogue of Spin online. Look, here's their review of 1998 issue in a tiny box:
So that's Spin; Plan B was released as torrents and - ahem - IPC apparently nearing the end of a ten year plan to digitise Melody Maker. Can we have Select and ZigZag in full, too, please?
So that's Spin; Plan B was released as torrents and - ahem - IPC apparently nearing the end of a ten year plan to digitise Melody Maker. Can we have Select and ZigZag in full, too, please?
Radiobit: Charlie Gillett
Sad news for fans of radio tonight, as we hear of the death of Charlie Gillett.
Born in Lancashire and growing up in Cleveland, Gillett was perhaps one of the first genuine rock and roll intellectuals - he wrote a thesis on the history of rock and roll during his time at Columbia University. Admittedly, this was in 1965 so there wasn't quite so much history of the genre, but he certainly kept his knowledge up to date and could have turned in a thesis at any time since then.
After he got back to the UK, he worked as a lecturer and a journalist, skimming through New Society and Anarchy before landing a spot with Record Mirror. A book, the Sound Of The City, confirmed that he was able to wear his rock learning lightly enough to appeal to a wider audience, and rock writing led to rock talking when Radio London offered him a weekly show. Honky Tonk would run for six years, introducing Londoners to Costello, Graham Parker and Dire Straits. You can't blame him for what Dire Straits went on to do. Nobody knew.
Working at a time when commercial radio actually behaved in the way the Tories seem to think that it still does, Gillett jumped from the BBC to Capital, where he would remain - literally due to public demand - until 1990. It was in 1983 that his show's focus spread to include what would be known as world music, but at the time was still just music. Then it was back to the BBC in London, which was going by the name of GLR at the time, along with shows on the World Service and Radio 3. He picked up the Lifetime Achievement at the Sonys in 1991 - when his radio career had only reached the half-way point, as it turned out.
He also found time to co-found a publishing company, Oval, and co-manage the pre-Blockheads Ian Dury. And, in his role as musical consultant to advertising agencies, played a role in helping Levis choose the tracks which briefly made them, and Nick Kamen, insanely popular.
Rocks Back Pages has a collection of Gillett's columns from Record Mirror.
Charlie Gillett had been suffering from a disease which had attacked his autoimmune system. He was 68.
Born in Lancashire and growing up in Cleveland, Gillett was perhaps one of the first genuine rock and roll intellectuals - he wrote a thesis on the history of rock and roll during his time at Columbia University. Admittedly, this was in 1965 so there wasn't quite so much history of the genre, but he certainly kept his knowledge up to date and could have turned in a thesis at any time since then.
After he got back to the UK, he worked as a lecturer and a journalist, skimming through New Society and Anarchy before landing a spot with Record Mirror. A book, the Sound Of The City, confirmed that he was able to wear his rock learning lightly enough to appeal to a wider audience, and rock writing led to rock talking when Radio London offered him a weekly show. Honky Tonk would run for six years, introducing Londoners to Costello, Graham Parker and Dire Straits. You can't blame him for what Dire Straits went on to do. Nobody knew.
Working at a time when commercial radio actually behaved in the way the Tories seem to think that it still does, Gillett jumped from the BBC to Capital, where he would remain - literally due to public demand - until 1990. It was in 1983 that his show's focus spread to include what would be known as world music, but at the time was still just music. Then it was back to the BBC in London, which was going by the name of GLR at the time, along with shows on the World Service and Radio 3. He picked up the Lifetime Achievement at the Sonys in 1991 - when his radio career had only reached the half-way point, as it turned out.
He also found time to co-found a publishing company, Oval, and co-manage the pre-Blockheads Ian Dury. And, in his role as musical consultant to advertising agencies, played a role in helping Levis choose the tracks which briefly made them, and Nick Kamen, insanely popular.
Rocks Back Pages has a collection of Gillett's columns from Record Mirror.
Charlie Gillett had been suffering from a disease which had attacked his autoimmune system. He was 68.
The TUC used to be portrayed as a carthorse
It would be unfair to charcterise the Europe-wide survey being promoted in the UK by the Trades Union Congress as effectively a load of waffle-iron run-off, but it is:
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the study stresses that "the growth of unauthorised filesharing, downloading and streaming of copyrighted works and recorded performances is a major threat to the creative industries in terms of loss of employment and revenues".
"The scale of the problem is truly frightening now – let alone in the future if no firm actions against illegal filesharing are taken. If there was ever the proof needed to demonstrate why the Digital Economy Bill is imperative for the protection of our creative industries, this report is it."
Except it's not "truly frightening now", is it? For an industry which isn't actually selling anything essential [not in the food and shelter sense] and whose stuff is so easy to get without paying, the music business is doing pretty well - especially what with the way the general economy has been. Sony Music is happy to spend millions on buying up the Michael Jackson back catalogue. There's money to fly Dappy to America. Admittedly, both those thoughts frighten me, but not in the way you mean.
Let's fling some figures around, though, shall we?
Across the EU, as many as 1.2m jobs are in jeopardy as piracy looks set to strip more than €240bn (£218bn) in revenues from the creative industries by 2015, unless regulators can stem the flow. In 2008, the creative industries contributed €860bn to the EU's GDP – almost 7% – and it employs 6.5% of the EU workforce, or 14 million people.
It's also expected that as many as sixty million kittens might be crushed under steamrollers driven by online pirates. "They'll be laughing as they roll forward" warned the TUC, "laughing as the kittens get squished."
Of course, there's not really any reason to assume that the lack of an ever-more-tightened copyright regime would lead to steamrollers heading out over kittens, but the contention is about as strong as the figures being offered here. No attempt is made to prove the vital contention that downloading a thing represents the loss of any revenue at all; no explanation of what would happen to that £218billion pounds if it isn't being spent on buying Dollshouse on DVD or Climie Fisher CDs.
In fact, even if the survey had any basis in fact, you might argue that it'd be better for our economy if people spent the money that would otherwise be jammed away in Simon Cowell's back pocket or servicing EMI's massive debt with an American bank on, say, solar panels or eating out. Imagine if that £218bn "lost" to the creative industries found its way into the manufacturing industry.
If only it wasn't a non-existent pile of cash. Imagine the stuff we could do with it.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the study stresses that "the growth of unauthorised filesharing, downloading and streaming of copyrighted works and recorded performances is a major threat to the creative industries in terms of loss of employment and revenues".
"The scale of the problem is truly frightening now – let alone in the future if no firm actions against illegal filesharing are taken. If there was ever the proof needed to demonstrate why the Digital Economy Bill is imperative for the protection of our creative industries, this report is it."
Except it's not "truly frightening now", is it? For an industry which isn't actually selling anything essential [not in the food and shelter sense] and whose stuff is so easy to get without paying, the music business is doing pretty well - especially what with the way the general economy has been. Sony Music is happy to spend millions on buying up the Michael Jackson back catalogue. There's money to fly Dappy to America. Admittedly, both those thoughts frighten me, but not in the way you mean.
Let's fling some figures around, though, shall we?
Across the EU, as many as 1.2m jobs are in jeopardy as piracy looks set to strip more than €240bn (£218bn) in revenues from the creative industries by 2015, unless regulators can stem the flow. In 2008, the creative industries contributed €860bn to the EU's GDP – almost 7% – and it employs 6.5% of the EU workforce, or 14 million people.
It's also expected that as many as sixty million kittens might be crushed under steamrollers driven by online pirates. "They'll be laughing as they roll forward" warned the TUC, "laughing as the kittens get squished."
Of course, there's not really any reason to assume that the lack of an ever-more-tightened copyright regime would lead to steamrollers heading out over kittens, but the contention is about as strong as the figures being offered here. No attempt is made to prove the vital contention that downloading a thing represents the loss of any revenue at all; no explanation of what would happen to that £218billion pounds if it isn't being spent on buying Dollshouse on DVD or Climie Fisher CDs.
In fact, even if the survey had any basis in fact, you might argue that it'd be better for our economy if people spent the money that would otherwise be jammed away in Simon Cowell's back pocket or servicing EMI's massive debt with an American bank on, say, solar panels or eating out. Imagine if that £218bn "lost" to the creative industries found its way into the manufacturing industry.
If only it wasn't a non-existent pile of cash. Imagine the stuff we could do with it.
Michael Lewis/Kindle
From: AndrewDate: March 16, 2010 11:52:41 AM MDTTo: Bob LefsetzSubject: Re: Money, Power & Fame
Bob -
Interesting note about Lewis’ new book. There is a backlash on Amazon because the publisher has neglected to release a "Kindle version" (currently 24 negative reviews from people who have not read the book - all citing lack of a [...]
Lesley Duncan
The best Elton John album is "Tumbleweed Connection". Released on the heels of "Elton John" and the huge success of "Your Song", "Tumbleweed Connection" had no singles and itself was soon followed by "Friends", "11/17/70" and at the end of the year, "Madman Across The Water". Casual listeners are unaware of the record, but fans [...]
Morrissey knows what he likes, and it isn't Damien Hirst
Morrissey doesn't like Damien Hirst:
Discussing the artists work with artist Linder Sterling, he said: "I dislike the 'use' of animals in art, such as in the work of Damien Hirst. Do you agree that Hirst's head should be kept in a bag for the way he's utilized-and sold-dead animals?"
Charles Saatchi has already expressed interest in buying Morrissey's Hirst head in hessian sack should it ever come on the market.
Actually, that wouldn't please Morrissey, either:
Morrissey also claimed the wealth accrued by Damien - reputed to be the world's richest living artist, whose works have sold for over £10 million pounds - "reduces him to mere factory outlet".
Morrissey is famous for never charging for his gigs, and giving his records away for free.
Discussing the artists work with artist Linder Sterling, he said: "I dislike the 'use' of animals in art, such as in the work of Damien Hirst. Do you agree that Hirst's head should be kept in a bag for the way he's utilized-and sold-dead animals?"
Charles Saatchi has already expressed interest in buying Morrissey's Hirst head in hessian sack should it ever come on the market.
Actually, that wouldn't please Morrissey, either:
Morrissey also claimed the wealth accrued by Damien - reputed to be the world's richest living artist, whose works have sold for over £10 million pounds - "reduces him to mere factory outlet".
Morrissey is famous for never charging for his gigs, and giving his records away for free.
Darkness at 3AM: Liam explains it all
The Mirror's gossip team whisks us back to the Brits:
Liam Gallagher has finally explained why he snubbed brother Noel in his Brits acceptance speech when Oasis walked off with Best Album.
There was a mystery about that? I thought we all knew he was a petulant, drunken cock?
The Oasis frontman turned fashion designer says: "I was fed up of it all being about me and Noel. I wanted to thank the other members of the band." And about time too.
Well, I suppose it's nice to see the grunts in the engine room sticking together.
Liam Gallagher has finally explained why he snubbed brother Noel in his Brits acceptance speech when Oasis walked off with Best Album.
There was a mystery about that? I thought we all knew he was a petulant, drunken cock?
The Oasis frontman turned fashion designer says: "I was fed up of it all being about me and Noel. I wanted to thank the other members of the band." And about time too.
Well, I suppose it's nice to see the grunts in the engine room sticking together.
Gordon in the morning: Revolution on the head
In the continuing churning of non-stories about JLS, today Gordon reaches - well, yes, another new low:
ASTON MERRYGOLD has shocked fans by shaving off his carefully coiffered locks.
Man cuts hair.
There is something interesting about the story, though:
The JLS heart-throb gave a sneak peek of his new bonce
Bonce? Bonce? Surely this is a naked noggin, Gordon, not merely a new bonce?
I don't know what his female admirers make of it but I think it looks OK.
As long as Aston's taking his male admirers with him, that's half the battle.
In other "news", Amy Winehouse mucks about with a person taking a photo of her. We know she did this, because someone took a photo of her having her photo taken. If there's a photo of the paparazzo taking the photo of the photo, I think we'd be able to approach a gallery with a fibonaci sequence.
ASTON MERRYGOLD has shocked fans by shaving off his carefully coiffered locks.
Man cuts hair.
There is something interesting about the story, though:
The JLS heart-throb gave a sneak peek of his new bonce
Bonce? Bonce? Surely this is a naked noggin, Gordon, not merely a new bonce?
I don't know what his female admirers make of it but I think it looks OK.
As long as Aston's taking his male admirers with him, that's half the battle.
In other "news", Amy Winehouse mucks about with a person taking a photo of her. We know she did this, because someone took a photo of her having her photo taken. If there's a photo of the paparazzo taking the photo of the photo, I think we'd be able to approach a gallery with a fibonaci sequence.
Embed and breakfast man: Solex vs Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer
I'm not usually a big fan of 'making of' videos - if I wanted to have the daylight poured in on magic, I'd buy myself a periscope and a ladder, and most album-making is like most other album-making - but Solex have come up with something a bit beyond the norm to promote their Solex VS Cristina Martinez & Jon Spencer Amsterdam Throwdown King Street Showdown thing.
This, to be precise, is what they've come up with:
This, to be precise, is what they've come up with:
Solex VS Cristina Martinez & Jon Spencer Comic Video from Bronzerat Records on Vimeo.
Tour dates: Damon & Naomi
There's been such a gush of affection for Galaxie 500 been inspired by the re-release of their catalogue you do wonder how it is they managed to not be solidly at number one for months at the end of the 1980s.
Still, it's a good time for Damon and Naomi to be announcing a mini UK tour:
April
Friday 30 - Brighton - The Old Market £8. Doors: 7pm
May
Saturday 01 - London - The Luminaire £8. Doors: 7.30pm
Sunday 02 - Manchester - St. Philips Church as part of 'Sounds From The Other City Festival' £15. Doors 3pm
Monday 03 - Sheffield - The Harley £6. Doors 7pm
Tuesday 04 - Glasgow - Mono, price and doors tbc
Thursday 06 - Cardiff, - Arts Institute free. Doors 7pm
Friday 07 - Bristol - The Fleece & Firkin £8.50. Doors 8pm
Still, it's a good time for Damon and Naomi to be announcing a mini UK tour:
April
Friday 30 - Brighton - The Old Market £8. Doors: 7pm
May
Saturday 01 - London - The Luminaire £8. Doors: 7.30pm
Sunday 02 - Manchester - St. Philips Church as part of 'Sounds From The Other City Festival' £15. Doors 3pm
Monday 03 - Sheffield - The Harley £6. Doors 7pm
Tuesday 04 - Glasgow - Mono, price and doors tbc
Thursday 06 - Cardiff, - Arts Institute free. Doors 7pm
Friday 07 - Bristol - The Fleece & Firkin £8.50. Doors 8pm
Asian Music Awards 2010: Bat For Lashes wins at last
Bat For Lashes might have missed out on the Brits, but Natasha has picked up a prize at the UK Asian Music Awards.
Which took place on Friday. First with the news as ever.
Still, with the Asian Network doing so much great work for the Anglo Asian music scene, these awards are timely, giving a chance for the tireless team in Birmingham to be given a pat on the back; a chance to demonstrate some love for the AN.
So who from the slate of Asian Network presenters won the best radio show category?
Nihal - Radio 1
Oh.
The winners in full:
Best Album
Jay Sean - All Or Nothing
Best Female Act
Amar
Best Male Act
Jay Sean
Best Alternative Act
Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes)
Best Club DJ
DJ H
Best Newcomer
JK
Best Producer
Sukshinder Shinda
Best International Act
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Best Desi Act
Imran Khan
Best Urban Act
Jay Sean
Best Radio Show
Nihal - Radio 1
Best Video
Jay Sean - Down
Best International Album
Miss Pooja - Romantic Jatt
Outstanding Achievement
Biddu
Commitment to Scene
Talvin Singh
Which took place on Friday. First with the news as ever.
Still, with the Asian Network doing so much great work for the Anglo Asian music scene, these awards are timely, giving a chance for the tireless team in Birmingham to be given a pat on the back; a chance to demonstrate some love for the AN.
So who from the slate of Asian Network presenters won the best radio show category?
Nihal - Radio 1
Oh.
The winners in full:
Best Album
Jay Sean - All Or Nothing
Best Female Act
Amar
Best Male Act
Jay Sean
Best Alternative Act
Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes)
Best Club DJ
DJ H
Best Newcomer
JK
Best Producer
Sukshinder Shinda
Best International Act
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Best Desi Act
Imran Khan
Best Urban Act
Jay Sean
Best Radio Show
Nihal - Radio 1
Best Video
Jay Sean - Down
Best International Album
Miss Pooja - Romantic Jatt
Outstanding Achievement
Biddu
Commitment to Scene
Talvin Singh
Downloadable: The Suzan
The supply of ass-kicking Japanese female-punked pop shows little sign of abating. Meet, as proof, The Suzan. To mark their appearance at SXSW, The Fader are hosting a free download of Home.
If you'd like to try before you... well, not buy, as The Fader are doing it for free, but this is roughly the sort of thing to expect:
If you'd like to try before you... well, not buy, as The Fader are doing it for free, but this is roughly the sort of thing to expect:
Coming soon: Nina Nistasia
Due 10th May: a new single from Nina Nistasia, Cry, Cry, Baby. Steve Albini is still producing for her.
Better than that: there's a promise of a UK tour - brief, but with a fuller programme to come this Autumn.
Better than that: there's a promise of a UK tour - brief, but with a fuller programme to come this Autumn.
Placebo: First encounters
New-ish Placebo drummer Steve Forrest nearly set himself up for a sit com moment thanks to a scant knowledge of late 90s British androgopop:
Yes, he tells my paper from Sydney, Australia, where Placebo were touring recently, he even thought lead androgynous singer Brian Molko, 37, was a girl.
He recalls: "My tour manager played a Placebo CD and I said, 'This chick's cool. She has a really good voice'."
It was only later, when Forrest met Molko in person, that he realised Molko is a guy.
... and only then after two or three weeks, when he realised he peed standing up. It says here.
You'd have to think that Molko would probably be flattered and delighted if someone thought he was an actual girl. Providing it wasn't an ugly girl.
Yes, he tells my paper from Sydney, Australia, where Placebo were touring recently, he even thought lead androgynous singer Brian Molko, 37, was a girl.
He recalls: "My tour manager played a Placebo CD and I said, 'This chick's cool. She has a really good voice'."
It was only later, when Forrest met Molko in person, that he realised Molko is a guy.
... and only then after two or three weeks, when he realised he peed standing up. It says here.
You'd have to think that Molko would probably be flattered and delighted if someone thought he was an actual girl. Providing it wasn't an ugly girl.
I collect, I reject: Bonnie Prince Billy bottle stoppers
Well, given that people are less keen on buying albums these days, you do need to have a second string to your bow. Will Oldham has just launched a limited-edition bottle stopper:
Each bottle stopper was individually hand carved by the artist Scott Millar, so each one will be completely unique. Anyone ordering the bottle stopper from the mart will be sent an email to download all the album tracks on the release date, 29th March 2010.
The idea is that if you don't want to finish a bottle of wine, you can use this stopper to reseal it. No, apparently, there are people who don't feel compelled to polish off a bottle once it's been opened.
Each bottle stopper was individually hand carved by the artist Scott Millar, so each one will be completely unique. Anyone ordering the bottle stopper from the mart will be sent an email to download all the album tracks on the release date, 29th March 2010.
The idea is that if you don't want to finish a bottle of wine, you can use this stopper to reseal it. No, apparently, there are people who don't feel compelled to polish off a bottle once it's been opened.
EMI suddenly decides 'stealing' isn't that bad
Here's a funny thing - Eddy Grant has accused Gorillaz of ripping off one of his tunes:
Grant says Gorillaz copied his 1977 song Time Warp on their new single.
"I am outraged that the Gorillaz have infringed the copyright of my song Time Warp, claiming their song Stylo to be an original composition," he said.
Breach of copyright, eh? Now, there's something the RIAA are always quick to have something to say about. You only have to try and remember what a song sounds like, and the BPI will hit you with a lawsuit for copying the music to your cerebal cortex without the correct licence. Clearly, Grant's publisher, EMI, will be fuming over one of its artists having his copyright abused, right?
[They] said it was "a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz".
Oh. Um... well, what about Gorillaz's publishers? They, surely, won't sit back and be accused of stealing copyright - that's like stealing hangbags, remember?
[They] said it was "a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz".
Oh, yes. It turns out that, at least, the publishing arm of EMI aren't actually that upset at the thought of copyright being abused at all. Indeed, it's nothing more than a "private matter". Perhaps they might like to have come to this conclusion before the BPI tried to write UK legislation in the Digital Economy Bill.
Grant says Gorillaz copied his 1977 song Time Warp on their new single.
"I am outraged that the Gorillaz have infringed the copyright of my song Time Warp, claiming their song Stylo to be an original composition," he said.
Breach of copyright, eh? Now, there's something the RIAA are always quick to have something to say about. You only have to try and remember what a song sounds like, and the BPI will hit you with a lawsuit for copying the music to your cerebal cortex without the correct licence. Clearly, Grant's publisher, EMI, will be fuming over one of its artists having his copyright abused, right?
[They] said it was "a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz".
Oh. Um... well, what about Gorillaz's publishers? They, surely, won't sit back and be accused of stealing copyright - that's like stealing hangbags, remember?
[They] said it was "a private matter between Eddy Grant and Gorillaz".
Oh, yes. It turns out that, at least, the publishing arm of EMI aren't actually that upset at the thought of copyright being abused at all. Indeed, it's nothing more than a "private matter". Perhaps they might like to have come to this conclusion before the BPI tried to write UK legislation in the Digital Economy Bill.
He's got Atari Teenage Riot on his music centre in his home with a beautiful view
Here's something to put in your diary and/or laboriously one-finger type into some sort of Blackberry style phone:
May 12th 2010
The Electric Ballroom, London
184 Camden High Street, London, NW1 8QP
That there and then? That's the one-off Atari Teenage Riot reunion date, that is.
Did I mention a new single? Oh, yes. A new single. Activate. May 17th.
And, if you're already a little bit foaming, there's a free remix download to keep you going.
Atari Teenage Riot - Digital Hardcore (2010 Remix by The Builder) by Alec Empire
May 12th 2010
The Electric Ballroom, London
184 Camden High Street, London, NW1 8QP
That there and then? That's the one-off Atari Teenage Riot reunion date, that is.
Did I mention a new single? Oh, yes. A new single. Activate. May 17th.
And, if you're already a little bit foaming, there's a free remix download to keep you going.
Atari Teenage Riot - Digital Hardcore (2010 Remix by The Builder) by Alec Empire
