CMU
Daily - on the inside Tuesday
11th January
In
today's CMU Daily:
- Franz Ferdinand top Brits nominations list
- Cardiff fundraiser gig sells out
- Radio industry unites for tsunami fundraiser
- Green day donate download track royalties to tsunami aid
- Single Review: Manhead - EP
- Mando Diao play five London dates
- Virgin launch mini-players
- System Of A Down album ready
- Degrassi tour
- Kiss star sued over VH1 doc
- Seal speaks out against misogyny in rap
- Jay-Z taking hands on role at Def Jam
- Four stations axe Stern over Sirius plugs
- Bloc Party instores
- Pepsi try to hide embarrassing wave ad
- Remix Night moves night
- Transmission moves venues
- Album Review: Gwar - War Party
- People's Choice awards round up
- Roots Manuva: remix competition and cool rap game thing
- ODB senior says "he lied about his upbringing"
- Conservative Christians not impressed by Kid Rock on the bill
- Brit Award nominations in full
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FRANZ
FERDINAND TOP BRITS NOMINATIONS LIST
Hey, it's only Brits time again, oh joy. Yep, the nominations
for this year's annual back slapping fest were announced in
London last night and it is with much regret that we admit that
there are few artists up for an award who don't deserve the
honour. Damn. That said, we trust Band Aid won't win best single,
Girls Aloud and Westlife better not get the top pop gong, and
we'd rather Jamie Cullum didn't get best male. Otherwise, well,
whatever really.
As
far as the nominations party went, it was Franz Ferdinand's
night really, because they topped the proceedings with five
nominations - for best British group, best British album, breakthrough
act, best live act and best rock act. Well done them and everyone
at Domino - it's nice to have an independently signed artist
topping the bill.
Most
of the other multiple scorers come from major labels, though
they still deserve the attention. Muse, score four nominations,
while Natasha Bedingfield, Jamelia, Keane, Kasabian, Snow Patrol
and The Streets all have three nominations each. Lovely.
As
previously reported, 2005 is the 25th edition of the Brit Awards,
and to celebrate there is this additional award for the best
British single to have been released since the first ever awards
event. Awards like this are pretty pointless really - how the
hell do you pick one single as being the best in the last 25
years? Well, you start by not picking Robbie William's 'Angels'
or Will Young's 'Leave Right Now' (both good songs you understand,
but the best song of the last quarter century?) - but obviously
no one told this to the Radio 2 listeners who have been voting
on the 25 track shortlist put together by industry types, because
both appear in the final five. Which means we can only hope
that the British public get busy voting for one of the other
three finalists - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division,
'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush or 'We Are The Champions' by
Queen - for the overall 'best track since 1977' award.
The
2005 Brit Awards take place at Earls Court on 9 Feb and will
be hosted by Chris Evans, with live performances promised from
Keane, Franz Ferdinand, Joss Stone, Scissor Sisters, Green Day,
and Natasha and David Bedingfield.
Organisers
of the awards also last night confirmed that they will donate
all the proceeds from this year's awards show to the Tsunami-aid
appeal. They will give the profits, expected to be in the region
of £500,000, to British charity Save The Children to fund
a two year project supporting those affected by the tsunami
in southern Asia.
Commenting
on that decision BPI boss Peter Jamieson told reporters: "The
Brit Awards is unique among music awards shows in devoting all
of its proceeds to charity. Brits 25 gives us a unique opportunity
to make a real difference to children affected by the horrors
of the tsunami."
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CARDIFF
FUNDRAISER GIG SELLS OUT
Talking of raising money for the post-tsunami relief effort,
all 60,000 tickets for the tsunami-aid concert at Cardiff's
Millennium Stadium later this month have now sold out - and
that despite the news Craig David had been added to the bill.
Needless
to say, organisers were very pleased with the quick sell out
for the fundraiser. Stadium boss Paul Sergeant told reporters: "I got the first feeling that this might be something ridiculously
big when we got tens of thousands of hits on our website after
we announced it as an idea, two days before we confirmed it
was going ahead. In fairness I thought we would sell out but
I wasn't expecting us to sell out so quickly."
Sergeant
confirmed he is now talking to broadcasters about screening
the 22 Jan event which currently has a line up looking a little
like this: Eric Clapton, The Manic Street Preachers, Snow Patrol,
Embrace, Badly Drawn Boy, Lemar, Jools Holland, Feeder, Craig
David, Liberty X Katherine Jenkins, and Aled Jones.
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RADIO
INDUSTRY UNITES FOR TSUNAMI FUNDRAISER
Elsewhere in tsunami-aid news, and the British radio industry
will next Monday axe its daytime schedules and instead broadcast
a massive radiothon style fundraiser. Rival stations owned by
the likes of Capital, EMAP, Chrysalis, Guardian Media Group,
GWR, Scottish Radio Holdings and SMG will all broadcast the
twelve hour special from 6am to 6pm, the first time the whole
radio industry has collaborated on such an ambitious project
(actually, the first time the whole radio industry has collaborated
on anything).
Staged
at Capital's studios on Leicester Square, London, UK Radio Aid
will feature two guest DJs every hour plus a string of guests,
live sets, interviews, competitions, auctions, pledges and messages.
Each participating station will donate a day's profits to the
appeal, while listeners will be encouraged to donate an hour
of their earnings to the appeal.
EMAP's
Mark Story, who is overseeing the project, told reporters yesterday: "I am immensely proud of and grateful to our colleagues
across commercial radio who, when asked for an extraordinary
response to this disaster, were all in immediate agreement to
unite for this very special day."
More
info at http://www.ukradioaid.com
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GREEN
DAY DONATE DOWNLOAD TRACK ROYALTIES TO TSUNAMI AID
One last bit of tsunami aid news, and Green Day have announced
they will donate the royalties from any iTunes sales of their
track 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' to the American Red Cross
to aid their relief effort around the Indian Ocean.
Confirming
the move, the band's Billie Joe Armstrong told reporters: "This
is the worst global disaster we've seen in our lifetimes. We
felt it was important to take part in the relief efforts any
way we could."
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SINGLE
REVIEW: Manhead - E.P. (Relish)
This four-track EP acts as a taster for Manhead's forthcoming
album, which should up the profile of the much-lauded Swiss
artist, whose name was all over numerous acclaimed remixes last
year under his Headman guise. 'Special' is a classic infectious
slice of instrumental hi-NRG disco, fairly redolent of a Pet
Shop Boys backing track from 1985. Some vocals wouldn't hurt,
but it nonetheless remains slinky and seductive in a rather
sly way, whilst the accompanying remix from Felix Rennefeld
pushes the envelope even further and will more than satisfy
any delirious hands-in-the-air clubbers. 'Hey Now', meanwhile,
is like Daft Punk revisiting acid house days at the Hacienda
from 1988. Though, like 'Special', it sounds almost unfinished,
and is crying out for some crafty vocals or just a few more
slabs of in-yer-face synth. Promising stuff, but you can see
why perhaps he produces his best results when reinterpreting
the work of others. MS
Release date: 14 Feb
Press contact: Darling [all]
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MANDO
DIAO PLAY FIVE LONDON DATES
Swedish rockers Mando Diao, who release new single 'You Can't
Steal My Love' from forthcoming debut album 'Hurricane Bar'
on 12 Feb, have announced no less that five London dates in
the next fortnight. Dates as follows - press info from Anglo.
15
Jan: Frog @ Mean Fiddler
17 Jan: Artrocker @ Garage
18 Jan: Artrocker @ Buffalo Bar
19 Jan: Death Disco @ Notting Hill Arts Club
21 Jan: London Barfly
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VIRGIN
LAUNCH MINI-PLAYERS
So, how do you compete with the iPod? Well, Virgin are hoping
to gain some headway in the ever-competitive MP3 player market
by going smaller and cheaper. In the States they have just launched
a new 256MB digital music player that is the size of a silver-dollar
coin (which our resident American tells us is a little bit bigger
than a £2 coin). Weighing just half an ounce and storing
about 80 tracks, the mini-players retail for a mere $99 - which
is just as well, because they sound like they're very easy to
lose. A 128 MB version, which presumably stores about 40 tracks,
is also available for a bargain $79.
Commenting
on the new players, Virgin Electronics' VP Marketing told reporters: "Good things come in small packages, and the new Virgin
Electronics 256MB Wearable MP3 Player is no exception. The players
are incredibly easy to use as they come with a USB cable that
transfers music and charges the lithium-ion batteries all at
the same time."
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SYSTEM
OF A DOWN ALBUM READY
Word is that the new album from System Of A Down is completed
and currently being mixed. Though no release date as yet has
been set, the band is quoted as saying "Spring is looking
good". The new album is a 2 CD job called 'Mesmerize/Hypnotize'
- though the two CDs will be released six months apart which
makes it sound a bit like two separate albums to me.
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DEGRASSI
TOUR
CMU favourites Degrassi - who were listed as a tip of the year
for 2005 by the News of the World of all people - kick off a
UK tour this Friday, in part supporting Aereogramme (those dates
marked with a *). Dates as follows:
14
Jan: Camden, The Barfly
22 Jan: Perth, Twa Tams*
24 Jan: Edinburgh, The Venue*
25 Jan: The Archer*
26 Jan: Hartlepool, The Studio*
5 Feb: Brighton, Freebutt
7 Feb: Southampton, Lennon's - for Drownedinsound.com
8 Feb: The Bull & Gate, Kentish Town, London,
--------------------------------------------------
KISS
STAR SUED OVER VH1 DOC
Kiss star Gene Simmons is being sued for slander by a woman
who claims a VH1 documentary on the star made her out to be
a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac".
New
Yorker Georgeann Walsh Ward, who dated Simmons for three years
when he was a college student, says that her photo was flashed
up during the VH1 show while Simmons discussed his past sexual
encounters (which involved, if Simmons is to be believed, 4600
different women, though not all at once you understand). Being
featured alongside Simmons' other one night stands portrayed
Ward, she claims, as being "wild" and "unchaste".
So
much so she is suing Simmons and VH1 owner Viacom on the grounds
of defamation and invasion of privacy.
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SEAL
SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MISOGYNY IN RAP
Seal has spoken out against the derogatory treatment of women
in the lyrics and videos of many leading rap stars. Speaking
to black entertainment magazine Sister2Sister, he said that
leading male entertainers in the black community had a duty
to encourage their fans to respect women.
He
told the magazine: "It's sad when you see the rappers on
TV and in the videos making these derogatory videos towards
women ... kind of like sexual objects. It's sad because we're
damaging our own. Like, in different cultures, you would never
see that."
He
continued: "Take for example the Jewish culture. They've
been persecuted just like the black people, right? But you never
see them eating their own. They don't. But we will. I really
feel that there is a responsibility and what goes around comes
around."
Although
best known for his hits in the nineties, Seal has enjoyed new
success recently in both the UK and US, and is nominated for
a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance award at next month's Grammys.
--------------------------------------------------
JAY-Z
TAKING HANDS ON ROLE AT DEF JAM
Jay-Z has started work in his new job as President of Def Jam,
and from what we hear he is taking a very hands on role participating
in all sorts of management and marketing meetings alongside
Island Def Jam boss LA Reid. Meanwhile speculation continues
that Jay-Z's former business partner Damon Dash will soon also
enter a new deal with the Universal Music Group which will see
the creation of a new Dash-run imprint.
--------------------------------------------------
FOUR
STATIONS AXE STERN OVER SIRIUS PLUGS
Four of the US radio stations that syndicate Howard Stern's
radio show off Infinity Radio have axed the programme because,
they claim, Stern is just using his network radio show to big
up their rivals in the satellite radio sector, and in particular
Sirius, who Stern will join next year.
The
four stations are owned by the Citadel Broadcasting Corp who
told reporters yesterday: "Regrettably, Mr Stern has transformed
the content of his show into a continuous infomercial promoting
Sirius, his new satellite radio employer. This is unreasonable
and not what we had bargained for in its agreements with him".
Whether
Citadel can be persuaded to reinstate the Stern show is unclear,
though the fact Stern used his show yesterday to slag off Citadel
chairman and chief executive Farid Suleman isn't going to help
in any talks between Citadel and Infinity.
--------------------------------------------------
BLOC
PARTY INSTORES
CMU's hot tip for 2005 (OK, they're everyone's hot tip for 2005,
but our tips are hotter because no one round here knows how
to work the thermostat on the central heating), Bloc Party will
be officially launching new single 'So Here We Are' at various
HMV stores as they tour the UK on the NME Awards Tour next month.
The instore dates are as follows:
31
Jan: HMV Norwich (21 Gentleman's Walk) at 4.30pm.ó The band
plays at the University of East Anglia in the evening.
1
Feb: HMV Bristol (21/23 Broadmead) at 5.30pm.ó The band plays
at the Academy in the evening.
2
Feb: HMV Brighton (48/50 Churchill Square Shopping Centre) at
5.30pm.ó The band plays at the Brighton Dome in the evening.
4
Feb: HMV Cambridge (12/15 Lion Yard) at 5.30pm.ó The band plays
at the Corn Exchange in the evening.
Press
info about the instores from Coalition.
--------------------------------------------------
PEPSI
TRY TO HIDE EMBARRASSING WAVE AD
Well, here's an interesting one. Pepsi Cola are trying to stop
the media from printing a somewhat embarrassing print advert
which shows all the top footballers they sponsor, including
David Beckham and Thierry Henry, about to be engulfed by a very
large wave.
The
ad was part of a planned Pepsi ad campaign which would see the
top footballers in surf gear alongside some very high waves
- an ad campaign which, needless to say, has been pulled due
to subsequent world events. However the print ad had already
been sent out to the media in Norway where one newspaper published
it. The Daily Star got its hand on the pic and they published
it over here too.
Pepsi
are now threatening to sue the two papers in question for breach
of copyright, and have sent strict legal letters to all other
national newspapers telling them: "The copyright of this
photograph is owned by PepsiCo. PepsiCo has not consented to
publication of this photograph and has taken steps against the
Daily Star in relation to the unauthorised publication of the
photographs. We have not authorised the photograph out of concern
for the tsunami disaster victims and we will be grateful if
you ensure that your newspaper doesn't publish the photograph.
We trust that now we have notified you of our concerns that
no such publication will take place."
While
Pepsi was undoubtedly right to pull the ad campaign, it will
be interesting to see how their claims of copyright breach against
those papers who have published the picture really stack up,
given that the photo was sent to the Norwegian papers with the
explicit hope that they would publish it, thus giving the drinks
company some free advertising. Meantime you can check out the
picture for yourself at ad industry weblog http://www.ad-rag.com.
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REMIX
NIGHT MOVES NIGHT
Xfm's Remix Night has confirmed it is moving nights. From this
month the monthly night at Cargo (which, we are reliably informed,
is Cargo's longest running regular night), will move to Fridays.
The first one of the year is a 'Dig The Nu Breed' special with
some of the Remix team's tips for 2005, including the very great
breaks DJ team that is The Breakfastaz plus no less than three
live bands: Vatican DC, Little Barrie and Weapons Of Mass Belief.
It all takes place on Friday 21 Jan - tickets are £6 before
9, £10 after (£8 concessions). Press info from Leyline
Promotions.
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TRANSMISSION
MOVES VENUES
Talking of clubs moving, one of CMU's other favourite London
nights is moving venues. Transmission is shifting from Camden
to Hoxton and will now host the ground floor once a month at
333 Fridays, kicking off this week on Friday 14 Jan. On the
bill this month are Dominic from The Others, Xfm's Eddy TM,
Jeff Automatic and Puff Pink. Elsewhere at 333 Friday this week
are Touche, Aldo Vanucci, DJ Skutta, Ben Fat Trucker, Too Good
and Crispin Dior. More info at http://www.transmissionlondon.com
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ALBUM
REVIEW: Gwar - War Party (DRT Entertainment)
In normal circumstances any one's 'sophomore' 'stunning third'
or 'highly anticipated fifth' album is to be ignored (no one's
had a highly anticipated fifth album since Iron Maiden's 'Live
After Death' - I can't see people salivating impatiently for
Razorlight's fifth). But this must be Gwar's millionth album;
they've been around since Australia split from the western seaboard
- in fact they were going even before Paul Oakenfold invented
house music in Ibiza. And is it shit? Nope. Is it exactly what
you'd expect and wickeder on top? Yup. While the original Slipknot
never harnessed the global market quite like Corey and his masked
musicians, Gwar have maintained a steady if only fairly level
trajectory through alternative metal, ho-rock and grinding,
coring, thrashing theatrics - defining the genre from the start.
Musically it's catchy - with metal's signature double-time drums
thundering through most of the tracks, all the guitar noises
you want from the low-end chugging to the million-miles-an-hour
solos, and of course the gurgling growling lead and choral grunts
of a man in a mask that appears to be made out of pig innards.
In terms of melody (in metal?), these guys piss all over Slipknot,
who seem to be a middle-eight band. And, maybe not best of all,
but certainly importantly, the album is fiercely anti-war, with
tracks like the 'Bring Back the Bomb' and 'You Can't Kill Terror'
the band wear their politics on their fleshy sleeves. Utterly
brilliant for so many reasons. JG
Release date: 7 Feb
Press contact: Pure Press on 01628 522 603 [all]
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PEOPLE'S
CHOICE AWARDS ROUND UP
Do you know what Usher really needs just now? Some more awards.
So thank God for the People's Choice Awards, who handed
two more gongs to the singer on Sunday night - one for
Favourite Male Singer and one for Favourite Combined Forces
(the latter for his single 'Yeah!' with Lil Jon
and Ludacris).
The
US People's Choice Awards are, as you might assume, voted
for by the US public. In the past they were based on a Gallup
survey, though this year they were voted on by a panel of 6000
readers of Entertainment Weekly magazine.
Other
music winners include: Alicia Keys who was named Favorite Female
Singer, U2 who won for Favourite Group, Sheryl Crow who took
the award for Favorite Remake for her cover of Yusuf Islam's
'First Cut is the Deepest' and, on a country tip,
Brooks & Dunn for Favorite Country Group, Tim McGraw for
Favorite Country Male Singer and Shania Twain for Favorite Country
Female Singer.
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ROOTS
MANUVA: REMIX COMPETITION AND COOL RAP GAME THING
Anyone who is planning on entering Ninja Tunes' Roots
Manuva remix competition, which we reported on in the Daily
last year, better get their entries in quick cos the closing
date is 17 Jan - more info at http://www.rootsmanuva.co.uk/rootsmanuva.
Meantime, anyone looking to simply waste a good half hour today
should really check out http://www.rootsmanuva.co.uk/insight
where you can mix together your own Roots Manuva rap with the
click of a mouse. This website was responsible for delaying
today's Daily by a good 20 minutes - you really
should check it out!
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ODB
SENIOR SAYS "HE LIED ABOUT HIS UPBRINGING"
The father of Wu-Tang Clan co-founder Ol Dirty Bastard, who
died last month of a drugs overdose, has disputed the rapper's
version of his upbringing. William Jones has told the New York
Post's gossip page that, while ODB claimed to have grown
up on welfare in the Fort Greene projects, in fact he grew up
in "a stable two-parent home and loved to go fishing".
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CONSERVATIVE
CHRISTIANS NOT IMPRESSED BY KID ROCK ON THE BILL
The problem with relying of the Conservative Christian vote
to get you elected, is that it don't make for much of
a party when you win.
Word
is that the American Family Association is up in arms because
of rumoured plans to invite Kid Rock, one of the few rockers
to support Bush during his re-election campaign, to play at
a concert to celebrate Dubya's re-inauguration into the
presidency later this month
The
event, being organized by Bush's daughter Barbara, has
so far confirmed that Hilary Duff and JoJo will perform at the
party, but there are rumours organisers hope to get Kid Rock
on the bill. This has led to Donald Wildmon, Chairman of the
American Family Association, to say: "What in the world
are these people thinking? This is the biggest slap in the face
to the Christian conservatives."
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BRIT
AWARD NOMINATIONS IN FULL
British
male solo artist: Jamie Cullum, Lemar, Morrissey, The Streets,
Will Young.
British
female solo artist: Amy Winehouse, Jamelia, Joss Stone, Natasha
Bedingfield, PJ Harvey.
British
album: Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand, Keane - Hopes and
Fears, Muse - Absolution, Snow Patrol - Final Straw, The Streets
- A Grand Don't Come For Free.
British
group: Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, Keane, Muse, Snow Patrol.
British
single: Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas?, Jamelia
- Thank You, LMC vs U2 - Take Me To The Clouds Above, Shapeshifters
- Lola's Theme, Will Young - Your Game (voted for by commercial
radio listeners)
British
rock act: Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, Muse, Snow Patrol, The
Libertines (voted for by Kerrang! TV viewers)
British
urban act: Dizzee Rascal, Jamelia, Joss Stone, Lemar, The Streets
(voted for by MTV Base viewers)
British
live act: Franz Ferdinand, Jamie Cullum, Kasabian, Muse, The
Libertines.
British
breakthrough artist: Franz Ferdinand, Joss Stone, Keane, Natasha
Bedingfield, The Zutons. (voted for by BBC Radio 1 listeners)
Pop
act: Avril Lavigne, Girls Aloud, Natasha Bedingfield, McFly,
Westlife. (voted for ITV1's CD:UK and Sun readers)
International
male solo artist: Brian Wilson, Eminem, Kanye West, Tom Waits,
Usher.
International
female solo artist: Alicia Keys, Anastacia, Gwen Stefani, Kelis,
Kylie Minogue.
International
album: Killers - Hot Fuss, Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane, OutKast
- Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below, Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters,
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
International
group: Green Day, Maroon 5, OutKast, Scissor Sisters, U2.
International
breakthrough act: Jet, Kanye West, Killers, Maroon 5, Scissor
Sisters.
Brits
25 best song award: Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart,
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights, Queen - We Are Champions, Robbie
Williams - Angels, Will Young - Leave Right Now. (Voted for
by BBC Radio 2 listeners)
Outstanding
contribution to music: Bob Geldof