This is a bombshell......

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/sugababes-%27date-back-to-h...

A couple of weeks back I had a bit of a spree in Fopp, and obne of the acquisitions was an album called "Nigeria 70 - Lagos Jump: Original Heavyweight Afrobeat, Highlife & Afro-Funk" by the multi-talented Various Artists.

Upon closer inspection, some of the wonderful funky music is produced by artists with even more funky names including:

- Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats
- Eric (Showboy) Akaeze & His Royal Ericos
- Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestroes
- Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars

and my personal favourite - Tony Tete Harbor & The Star Heaters Of Nigeria.

Other artists on there include The Faces and Rex Williams, although neither sounds like their namesakes (to be truthful I've never heard Rex Williams sing anyway).

What other great band names have the Massive heard over the years?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8472000/8472831.stm

I can imagine TV executives getting very excited about this refreshing new format.

At 2.35pm on Tuesday afternoon I placed an order with Amazon for some CD's. Went for free delivery, usually takes a few working days and they had a message on the site about weather related delays etc etc.

Got an email telling me the order was despatched at 6.21pm the same day.

Parcel arrived in yesterdays post.

Now thats what I call service.....infinitely more choice than HMV etc, cheaper and delivery like that......makes me wonder why any of us still look elsewhere.

When was the last time you found yourself with tears welling up in your eyes at what can only be described as an inconvenient or inappropriate moment over something ridiculous.

Was driving into work this morning listening to the Drive By Truckers album 2Live from Austin", when on came the track "18 Wheels of Love".

The long spoken intro by Patterson Hood had tears streaming down my cheeks which is, in a 50 year old man listening to a rock band singing about a truck, frankly embarrassing.

Got to the car park and pulled myself together though, so no-one saw me thank goodness.

Anyone else stumbled into such an emotional breakdown (and the death of Princess Di doesn't count).

catching up on some back content, I decided to look at Middlerabbit's profile......not there! Some message about needing to log in etc...

Has he gone and left us?

Must be Christmas........the German market opens in Birmingham today, so the season of sausage and Glühwein for lunch begins.

What event makes the Massive go and dig out their stockings?

And while we're at it, what music is on everybody's wish list for Crimble this year?

I've got a mix of stuff I want to catch up on but have missed so far - Editors, Booker T, Drive By Truckers, Regina Spektor, Levon Helm, to name but five.

Best live band on the planet..............discuss.

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/2009/07/03/pupils-blow-out-the-record...

The Ticket Factory (the NEC/NIA ticketing agency)sent me their weekly newsletter yesterday evening.

My usual scan of the assorted gigs and trade shows was halted by the following:

"Midlands Music Festival featuring Blue, Sugababes, Lemar, JLS, Eoghan Quigg, The Automatic, Liz McClarnon. Andy Abraham, Chico and many more".

Disturbing on so many levels.

Firstly, its at Tamworth Castle on 8th August - what have the poor, simple folk of Tamworth done to deserve this? Don't they suffer enough just living in Tamworth?

Secondly, who decided that this was "Music"? Hard to imagine there will be a real musician within a 10 mile radius (the Automatic maybe an exception). It will be a bit of a musical Chernobyl.

Thirdly, its a poor show when "many more" looks like the best thing on the bill. However, further investigation shows that this actually includes Laura White (strangely attractive Cowell product), Austin Drage (strangely asexual Cowell product), Rachel Hylton (feisty Cowell product), Everybody Looks Famous (???? don't ask me...), Right Said Fred (at last, some vintage quality - Glasto has the Boss/Young/Blur triumvirate, this has RSF) and Jaime Jay (young, female, er, that's it).

All I can say is thank God I'll be sat outside a bar in Cuenca, Spain on that very day. Makes me ashamed to say that I live in the Midlands.

It has been said on a number of threads by a number of people over this weekend, referring mainly to "heritage" acts, that they and their music is not "relevent".

Just wondered what relevance has to do with something as nebulous and wide-ranging as the enjoyment of music?

I had never realised that music came with an "enjoy-by" date, after which it ceased to be of any interest.

As ever, I'm sure I've expressed that very badly but I'm sure the Massive will take it on and do a better job (unless they ignore this completely).

The postal fairies delivered Jeff Buckley's "Live at Sin-e" yesterday. Now I've got Grace, Sketches, L'OLympia and Mystery White Boy (that well known firm of London Theatrical agents) but have never heard his early/embryonic stuff.

So, on the drive home, put it on. CD1, first track is called "Be Your Husband", a solo acapella blues accompanied by just his own handclaps and footstamps. Awesome. I'd forgotten just how good his voice could be. The Grace songs all sound pretty good too, although there is an element of mentally adding your own backing track as you listen to them.

Now imagine you were there in that caff, supping away at your skinny latte, chomping your blueberry muffin, and this kid stood up and started to play. Would you think "Jeez, this guy is amazing" or "Pretentious pillock". Did they spot his blossoming greatness?

Amazingly talented and sadly departed too early but how close did he come to missing out completely?

I'm sure the pubs and clubs are overflowing with artistes who should have been contenders but the fickle finger of fate pointed at the gurning loon next to them and put him in Take That (delete and replace as you think fit).

Just finished Series 5 of The Wire - who would have thought it eh? Stringer Bell running for President of the USA and McNulty joining the Sealed Knot.

Seriously, having finished it Mrs b and I settled down on another blockbuster boxed set, namely 24, series 3.

I have to say, compared with what seemed to me to be the grittily realistic Wire (lots of swearing especially, distinct lack of glamour, plenty of not much happening etc etc), 24 seems just so contrived, unrealistic and cliched.

I know that 24 has always been like that but has the Wire spoilt my enjoyment of that sort of drama for ever?

Fleet Foxes, Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 25th June. Unfortunately Mrs b can't make it that night, nor can any other gig-going buddies. Any of the Massive in the mood for a night out?

Not been in and around here much for a day or two so apologies in the unlikely event of these cropping up on another thread:

1. Remember good old Les Ross? The radio WM presenter who did the famous interview with Hardeep Singh Kohli.....

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/when-hardeep-met-les

Well, he's moving on.....not a minute too soon.

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2009/03/03/less-ross-reti...

2. Any early morning Radio 2 listeners here? I remember Sarah Kennedy getting a panning from a few of the massive at one stage. She's currently on holiday and sitting in this week has been Liza Tarbuck. Now I've quite liked things she's done in the past but she stinks like a drain in this slot, sounding permanently bewildered and about as funny as her dad. Or is it just me?