Imagine my surprise when I went to run off a jewel case for a cd, I had downloaded into my itunes library, only to find that all I got was a BLACK cover with the printed track list.
So I re-installed the printer, used itunes repair function and the repair option in Microsoft Fix-it to resolve the matter.
No success and after going to the Apple Forum page it seems to be universal problem with the latest itunes software update.
Have any of the massive had the same or know of a solution?

Thanks for the latest print run that dropped through my letterbox this morning.
As I sipped my afternoon coffee this afternoon and flicked the pages I came across the David Quantick reminisce about the Manic Street Preachers homecoming gig at the Blackwood Miners Institute.
Obviously David has spent too much time on Brendon's 'Coach Trip' because his geographical bearings are all wrong.
Blackwood is a TOWN in its own right. Caerphilly is another town about 8 miles down the road. The reorganization of the Welsh counties created Blackwood into the administrative control of Caerphilly Borough Council. At the time of the Miner's Strike it was in Gwent.
Blackwood was the main town for the surrounding mining villages such as Oakdale,Abercarn, Newbridge, Cwmcarn and Pontllanfraith.Today the main high street of the Town has seen some rejuvenation and bears none of the scars of that ill fated time in British political history.
The sentiments of Ken Loach on 'Newsnight' certainly fit the era in politics under the Thatcher administration. An era where there was a lack of investment in the people of this country and a fortification of the financial services sector. Subsequently this resulted in the mis-selling of private pensions over Company schemes, Endowment Mortgages and the privatisation of industries that once put their profits back into the State economy. Combine that with the sale of Council Houses,which further enhanced the financial sector and made the working classes committed to monthly payments, especially during industrial action.
Here in Wales approximately 65% of the population did not bother to vote in last week's Referendum, that gave more law making powers to the Welsh Assembly. What now transpires in the Principality is a definite 'sticky bum' time - given that our esteemed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gleefully announced at the weekend that this would enable tax raising possibilities.
We already have a tax to come into the country called the Severn Bridge Toll. If the politicians in Cardiff Bay want to do something constructive after the elections in May it would be to rid Welsh residents of this odorous tax for living here. The Bridges by the way are owned by a French concern, so lets leave this discussion for another day when we look at how much of Britain is no longer in our control.

With the flash of 'breaking news' from the respective news sites stating that BSKYB have sacked Andy Grey for his comments at Molineux on Saturday.
I begin to wonder if this isn't a case of the broadcaster finding a scapegoat in the wake of the Culture Secretary's involvement in the News Corp bid for BSKYB.
Walk into any public house or similar 'bloke' domain and the sexist remarks flow like draught beer. No doubt it will suddenly be acceptable for every comic in the land to make capital out of the event without any penalty.
The future for broadcasting is getting bleak in this green and pleasant land. Opinion is being suppressed to benefit those with the control. I am sure Ms Massey is professional enough to know the nature of her working environment.
News Corp revealed their double standards by featuring her in short skirt and hair let down in a more gratuitous pose on the front of today's 'SUN'. A far worse piece of denigrating journalism than Messrs Grey and Keys have ever displayed.

Having just got back from 2 weeks in the States and watching what seemed like continual adverts for medical products that no sane human being should ever consider. I then moved onto the HD pictures being displayed by the various channels on my hotel 37 inch flat screen.
You see back in the Uk I have not bothered to dump my sets at the local council tip, so that I can enjoy the hyped qualities of HDTV. I'm quite contented with the SKY+ Digital picture on the 10 year old sets in my home.
In my opinion HD looks just like a cartoon version of the digital picture.For how long I'll be able to maintain my viewing practice is down to the reliability of the sets. Then, when I have to get a new set, up again will go the SKY subscription to cover the HD service.
Technology always seems to win these days, especially as LED is developing as the industry standard and LED/Plasma sets are being dramatically reduced to allow the latest sets onto the market.

Now that the World Cup is drawing to an end and the England related merchandise appears in the SALE racks. I would like to introduce a new game to play called 'Fantasy Groups'.
You create a band and do not include any real band members.The band can take on any construction you feel like.
For example, here is a suggested band:-
NAME : THE RELATIVE TRUTH
HISTORY : Originally formed from journalists employed by 'The Mail On Sunday'. All 4 members are songwriters, but the prime writer is Justin Stock. Justin decided to leave the tabloid paper when the quality of free cd's offered started to deteriorate or tracks were duplicated. One day while over a liquid lunch he started talking to former Charterhouse pupil, Christian Wood-Cross, about the music business and both realised they spent their spare time composing. This love of music led to a notice in the house magazine for like minded souls.
Before you could utter the word prep an email arrived from travel correspondent Seymour Miles. Miles revealed that his father had bought him a state of the art drum kit when he left Harrow and he practiced whenever possible in the converted stable block at the family home.
The group was completed by keyboard player Randy Summers. Summers, the son of a Fox TV executive based in London, had been responsible for financial reporting but after the crash of the sub prime market had become disillusioned with writing about worthwhile investments.
Their musical efforts first caught the ears of their manager Quentin Tarrant when they played a blinding set at the West Berkshire Hunt Summer Ball. To this day Tarrant still regards the Chicory Tip encore as the defining moment in the band's progression. A record deal was soon secured and the band began recording their first album 'Believable Lies'. The 12 track release gained critical approval, especially when Prince Harry said it spoke to the people on the street.
In a strange twist of fate the album was given away by 'The Mail On Sunday' just 6 months after it had hit the shops. A second album is being worked on for when the group get back from their tax break in the Bahamas.
DISCOGRAPHY:-
ALBUMS Believable Lies ( Released 2009)Produced by Big Max available on Heavy Overcoat Records

So there you go, get the idea, remember no real acts required.

What a wonderful idea by the credit card that businesses hate( not forgetting my favourite mag in accepting the advert) to give their customers an opportunity to purchase tickets for Macca in advance of all those with Mastercard and Visa.
All this from an artist who has set himself up as the curator of all things good while amassing a large personal fortune, even with an expensive divorce settlement to a want-to-be ice skater and dancer.
So I will wait in anticipation of 8 March when the 'plebs' of British society can participate in the online buying ritual.

Tonight I shall be going to see the legendary Judy Collins in Cardiff. Which set me thinking if this will be the oldest person I have ever seen perform live.
Judy will be 71 on the 1 May this year.
Any other oldies still on the circuit?

Happened to catch a wonderful documentary on SKY Arts last night about Jim Croce.
If anybody has the SKY set-up, can I suggest you scroll the TV Guide on your remote and record it the next time it is aired.
Didn't mention the 'Croce' Restaurant in San Diego though - how did that happen?

At the rather precious age of 61 I can pass judgement on those ladies who rang my bell, at sometime or rather in my life.
So here goes the list; -
Carol Deene( Met once at a Dorothy Squires Garden Party in the 60's)
Susan Maughan, Linda Ronstadt, Sheena Easton, The mother in the Judds, Martina McBride(when I got up close too much make-up), Faith Hill(Fancy her hubbie would hit me),Julie Christie( A for Andromeda time when she had dark hair), Charlize Theron (Especially after that perfume add) and Carrie Rodriquez.
There are probably more but the mind cells are starting to go into fade mode.
No doubt some of the 'Wordites' have their preferences?

Having just received my copy of Bob Dylans 47th album - at least 60 plus days before Christmas. I can only describe my initial reaction as one of, if I was incontinent this would make me truly pissed off!
For those not in the know Bob has released an album to feed the homeless in the USA just in time for Christmas. Over 15 tracks all the traditional seasonal favourites are there. Thankfully 'White Christmas' is not included, but Bing and Bowie do not escape due to the inclusion of 'The Little Drummer Boy'.
I can safely say that nowhere will any of these songs reach the ears of UK listeners during the seasonal period on UK radio. Should any hip programme controller attempt to include any track I would imagine he will be unemployed by Christmas Day.
However, if you want a bloody good laugh over Christmas this album is the perfect gift for any Dylan fan.

According to the front page of one of today's red tops Simon Cowell states that The Beatles would never have won 'X Factor'.
What can one say but thank bloody goodness!
This from a man who has manipulated the music market into a make believe world of untold fame and money.Along with Louis 'Boybland' Walsh, Cheryl 'Bruiser' Cole and Danni Minge a generation of modern youth is becoming more unaware of manufactured pop than the Larry Parnes era of taking one for the team.
Look here Simon, if you want to discover groups on your show lets have them playing instruments. Perhaps the budget provided by Mr Grade in the austere times of ITV would not run to this.
For crying out loud they use backing tapes and are nothing more than Karaoke participants from the local 'Dog & Duck'!
The Beatles were a product of hard work - honed in the slavery of the Hamburg clubs and songwriting based around a knowledge of popular music.
A 'X Factor' winner is either a buxum wench willing to enter a world of manipulation or a cringe worthy warbler who has survived some injustice of life.
Bleeding Love more like Bleeding to death!

Every year in August the capital city of Wales(Cardiff) has a 3 day Council Tax sponsored 'free' festival titled 'Big Weekend'. In addition to the funfair that adorns the area around the City Hall there is a music event which this year featured Imelda May, Camera Obscura, The Lightning Seeds and The Zutons.
The latter 3 acts were the main feature of the final night. Camera 'very' Obscura made every song sound the same, Brodie's lot were without their keyboard player and The Zutons were so boring they felt it was their role to continually tell everyone it was a "free" gig.
The attitude of we've been paid and you can enjoy if you want to, probably explains the reason why their career is stagnating. Even 'Valerie' sounded tired and pedantic.
But this is not the reason for my comments, what really irked me was the sound system or lack of it. Clarity was not the order of the day on that final evening. While I made an early exit mid 'Valerie' the road crew were struggling to reinforce the speakers stage left as the Zutons set resembled a vibrating noise.
Someone somewhere hired the stuff that obviously didn't have a enough guts to support a 3 day music event in the open air. Perhaps I was spoilt by the system employed at the 'Hard Rock Calling' event in Hyde Park earlier in the summer.
Oh and one final thought never ever go to one of these events if it is sponsored by local radio, because no matter how much they try to be hip introducing the acts they would never ever play them on their station.
PS. By all accounts Imelda May had been very good on the previous evening.

A silly question to pose I know; but as I look around the room in the house that repesents nearly 50 years of my life as a consumer of everything musical it is this exact thought flashing past.
Todays youth have probably via their parentage the perfect opportunity to listen to the acquired similar purchases of afore mentioned timespan. However, they consume themselves with new product that is just sheened for digital age consumption.
I don't possess a record/cd collection, but a library of virtually everything representative of popular music of the past 60 years.
When I pop my mortal coil my eldest son(40) will gladly inhereit the vinyl and possibly ignore the mountains of cd's.He was brought up in a house where music played. However his children seem oblivious to his large collection of even more wide-ranging music.To them music is the junk churned out by UK Radio Stations primarily in the commercial sector.
Just a thought, no doubt someone out there has a comment to add.

This week I went to see American Singer/Songwriter Mary Gauthier(pronounced Go-Shay) at The Globe(great venue) in Cardiff.
When I studied the pre-printed ticket I noticed that the artist had been spelt as 'Mary Gaulthier'. This made me wonder if any of THE WORD massive had any similar ticketing experiences in their lives in and around music.
Mary was very good, playing with a clarity that every word uttered could be heard. That name though must cause one or two problems because even the support act kept referring to her as - Mary!

The recent Isle of Wight Festival was covered by those switched-on characters at ITV 2. Despite Fearne Cotton mentioning the sensational Neil Young starting his set and the info button on the SKY remote stating Neil was coming up nothing appeared and 4% of recording time was used up.
This weekend Neil tops the bill at Glastonbury, before setting off for his 8.15pm the next day in Hyde Park. The BBC info shows that once again Fearne is in attendance and Neil is due to appear on BBC 2 at 11pm, in what is described as highlights.
Bruce Springsteen is given the same service for Saturday, only his highlight schedule is 11.10pm.
Which does beg the question, under the broadcasting standards act(sic); will they actually appear on our screens?
I shall set the SKY+ and report back because I'm off to see Neil in Hyde Park - you just can't rely on the tele these days!