It's a bitter, sweet symphony this life for Richard Ashcroft on his current Australian tour.

Dickie, currently touring with his United Nations of Sound (oh dear), is not having the best of times.

First a Perth show was cancelled due to *ahem* an extra commitment suddenly appearing in Japan (http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/richard-ashcroft-perth-show-can...) and now he's reportedly stormed off stage at the Splendour in the Grass festival after one song, apparently unhappy at the lack of a large crowd to worship one of the best frontmen of all time - hey, it's all in the mind... (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/verve-singer-richard-ash... Most festival goers chose to watch the Pixies instead.

It appears Dickie's appeal is becoming more selective and he is no longer a lucky man.

And yet every time I open a magazine there he is. Got me thinking. Who are the other artists/bands who keep getting loads of publicity despite an ever shrinking fanbase and sales?

I recently bought the Battlestar Galactica boxset at a bargain price but it now sits gathering dust among my DVDs.

There's 20 discs with an approximate running time of 49 hours 28 minutes, for frak's sake!

Here's the thing. I've heard the series' finale isn't the best (something to do with dancing robots?!) so wonder whether I should just flog the boxset on eBay now rather than sit through four seasons of BSG only to be disappointed by its conclusion (hello, LOST fans...).

What does the Massive reckon? Should I watch it? No spoilers please. In the Massive I trust.

Hurm. Stumbled upon this NME online article pondering whether iTunes has killed 'the classic album': http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=8133&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#mo...

"It's an old argument, all a bit Word Magazine" was the line that grabbed my attention.

What does that mean?

Sometimes, session musicians beefing up a band's sound on TV can really kill the main act's credibility (see Kasabian at the BRITS...).

But this - this is brilliant. Presumably, the pony tailed cheery bloke in the fab red jacket/white trousers and shoes combo with gloomy "English band" (!!!) Jesus And Mary Chain on Letterman in the '90s was a house band musician.

He certainly brings some joie de vivre to the Mary Chain's otherwise downbeat performance. Legend!

This is quite possibly the best newspaper correction ever. It's certainly the best music related correction.
The venerable Washington Post published this highly amusing clarification last week:

'A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number.'

Read it on their website here, boyeee: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR200912...

...it's the sale of the f**king century.

Just a nice way of saying thanks to all at THE WORD mag for the great overseas subscription deal currently on offer. So happy to get the December issue in the post in Australia today.

Thanks to currency exchange rates at the moment it only costs au$120 for a year's subscription. This works out to be less per issue than buying the three month old copies in most newsagents here AND is more than 50% cheaper than the air freight issues for sale (which often are tricky to find).

Get on it, Australia: http://word.subscribeonline.co.uk/all-titles/word

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

That is all.

Here in Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is copping a bit of media flack for not knowing who Jimi Hendrix is. He's alleged to have confessed he had no idea who the legendary guitarist was. This shocking incident occurred a few years before Rudd ascended to the highest office in the land.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,26244891-2,00.html?from=public_rss

Personally, rather than being outraged at this lack of rock 'n' roll knowledge I find it kind of endearing. When was it decided that politicians had to know such things? It's better than the sight of Gordon Brown pretending he loves the Arctic Monkeys in a desperate bid for a bit of street cred. I blame Tony Blair. For everything.

Coincidentally, the leader of the Australian Greens Party, Bob Brown (no, not that Bobby Brown...), knows exactly who Jim Hendrix was. In September 1970, Brown was working as an intern at St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington and witnessed the already dead body of Hendrix arriving in casualty.

http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com/2009/07/bob-brown-on-claims-jimi-hendr...

Proof that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Or something.

We all know it's wrong to 'steal' music but is it less wrong, verging on perfectly acceptable, to illegally download remastered editions of albums you've already bought? Sometimes, more than once!

Everyone's getting very excited about The Beatles remastered albums but shouldn't they and other CDs have been mastered correctly originally?! Isn't this yet another music industry scam?

I'm resisting buying the remastered The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Edition, for example, despite adoring that album. It sounds fantastic (on Spotify) compared to the flat audio on the 1989 disc though.

So, would it be wrong to not reward the record label who botched the job in the first place and replace the previously paid for CD via other means?

The Massive's help on this tricky moral dilemma would be much appreciated.

(Apologies if someone's already posted this, etc, blah, blah, blah).

Imagine my surprise and delight to note our hallowed THE WORD magazine was credited here in Australia with the 'Gerry Rafferty was missing' scoop.

Appeared in print and online in the Sydney Morning Herald.

You can read it here:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/reclusive-rafferty-hits-r...

Achtung Word Massive.

Bono walks into a pub. Writes New York Times column.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/opinion/11bono.html?_r=1

'Journalists Everywhere' unimpressed.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2009/01/11/confidential...

Next week in Bono's column? (My) kids say the funniest things!

Have any rock stars ever been good at the writing caper?

Don't know whether this got noticed around these parts amid the pre-Christmas rush.

Very interesting Guardian article that contradicts the oft quoted "long tail" theory of selling music via the internet.

Would love to know the details of at least some of the 10 million unloved and neglected songs that failed to attract one single buyer.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/23/music-sell-sales

'According to a new study, of the 13m songs available for sale on the internet last year, more than 10m failed to find a single buyer.

The research, conducted by the MCPS-PRS's Will Page and Andrew Bud, brings us that much closer to proving Sturgeon's Law – that 90% of everything is crap. It also provides evidence for the famous old rock critic adage – your favourite band sucks.

More importantly, these findings challenge the "long tail" theory that diverse, specialised items – though individually less popular - will together outsell mainstream "hits".'

Anyone else feel a little uncomfortable about this ad featuring John Lennon? It's kind of creepy, I reckon.

Yeah, OK it's for charity [ http://laptop.org/en/ ] and has been sanctioned by Yoko Ono (she approves anything these days though - as Oasis haters have recently noted, do you know what I mean?).

Would John Lennon have been happy to appear in this charity ad, were he still alive?

And with the advent of new technology that makes this kind of thing possible, should celebs now consider insisting their image not be used in such a manner after their deaths?

'Tis the season to be jolly. And practice goodwill to all men. Unless you're a Rock Star.

What's been the best Rock Star to Rock Star insult of the year? Bonus points if the verbal barb was delivered personally rather than via the pages of the music press or t'internet.

I nominate this clever sledge reported in jmag (in Australia) back in March 2008:

"While we love their sound, the antics of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE left a bitter taste in our mouths post-fest. In between refusing to be shot as a group, or allow journalists to ask about the band, the RAGE entourage acted like right divas. Our fave story? In the backstage compound of Auckland, minders asked all dressing rooms on the way to the stage to be shut, so the band could walk through without people seeing them! ARCADE FIRE frontman Win Butler reportedly had enough - and opened his door as they passed to yell: "F**k you I won't do what you tell me!"

Mani suggests it'd be good if The Stone Roses reform next year since it'd be 20 years since their debut album was released.

Media outlets as far away as here in Australia excitedly proclaim that The Roses are set to reform.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/the-stone-roses-are-se...

A few things spring to mind (not all good). Has it really been 20 years?! I feel old. Then I remember when I read the Roses had split in the mid-1990s.....read it on teletext. Those were the days before such news was available on t'internet. Now I feel really old.

The past was theirs but should the future be too? And if they do get back together should they record any new material? I reckon it could actually be a chance to atone for (much of the) Second Coming.

Mani wants to do it "before we're all fat and bald". I've still got hair, Reni hats are ideal for any who haven't and baggy is a very forgiving fashion for those of us who've - ahem - added a little girth over the intervening years.

"Start the campaign". Yes or No?

Some Friday fun.

Made me laugh, anyway. Maybe you will too.

The piano is strong with this one.