CMU
Daily - on the inside Thursday
28th April
In
today's CMU Daily:
- UK industry debate Creative Common Movement
- US senators put pressure on Russia and China to tackle piracy
- The ex doesn't help: Jacko trial update
- Single Review: Leaves - The Spell
- Mel C cancels gigs
- Goodrem denies sacking mum
- More acts added to Download festival line up
- TuneTribe voted best by web user
- Fabric preview sonar
- Er, Frank Black hasn't recorded duet with Courtney Love
- Darkness man to release solo album
- EMI announce new head for UK publishing business
- Super Furries new album release
- Single Review: White Rose Movement - Love Is A Number
- Liam Gallagher has hissy fit
- C4 to make E4 FreeFour
- Kraftwerk live album line up revealed
- Homme is reminded of porn
- Album Review: David Wrench - The Atomic World Of Tomorrow
- Maximo singer wants life's work back
- Andre goes, er, musical
- Britney not a very cool mum
- George Michael Range Rover sold
--------------------------------------------------
CMU
PRESS ROOM>>
CARLING
LIVE 24
Carling, the beer behind some of Britain's biggest and best
live music events, is presenting another 24 hour music marathon.
Following the success of 2004's Carling Live 24 event in London,
this year Carling will be bringing an all day all night line
up of great live music to both London and Manchester, the former
on 30th April, the latter on 28th may. 26 bands and 13 venues
will take part in the event, with Embrace, The Zutons, Ian Brown,
Babyshambles, The Chemical Brothers, Doves and Kaiser Chiefs
among the artists on the bill. For full press information check
the CMU Press Room - where more media information will appear
as it is available:
ttp://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/carling24
KILL
ALL HIPPIES APRIL
London's best rock night, Kill All Hippies, returns to Canvas,
Kings Cross this Friday, in association with TuneTribe.com.
Live sets this month come from Whitey, The Paddingtons, Moco
and Gliss, while Eddy TM, Jeff Automatic, Syrinx and the NME
DJs will be on the deecks. Kicks off at 8.30pm on Friday 29
Apr and runs until the not-so-early-hours the next day. Tickets
are just £3 if you register in advance at http://www.leylinepromotions.com/killallhippies
(£5 on the night). Full press release at:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/killallhippies
Advertise
your releases and events to CMU Daily's 6500+ readership - classified
ad and online press release package just £50 a year. Email
sales@cmumusicnetwork.co.uk for details, or check:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/info.pdf
--------------------------------------------------
UK
INDUSTRY DEBATE CREATIVE COMMON MOVEMENT
Some people really like Creative Commons. Some people really
hate them. Of course, most people couldn't care less, because
they are essentially a branch of copyright law and, as we all
know, the thing about copyright law is that - while it is the
very foundation on which the music business is built - it is
also very very dull. So kudos to the MusicTank team for creating
a very interesting and, at times, entertaining debate at last
night's Think Tank event - despite the fact it had the copyright
principle of Creative Commons as its theme.
Creative
Commons is a new copyright philosophy which enables creators
to make their work available to the public for non-commercial
use for free. The people behind the philosophy, which was originally
articulated by Stanford University professor Lawrence Lessig,
now offer young creatives template legal documents that enable
them to formally make aspects of their work copyright free,
as well as internet tools with which they can publish their
work online.
The
movement has caused some controversy in the music business because
label and music publishing executives fear that young musicians,
eager to get their work in the public domain, may be attracted
to Creative Commons and inadvertently give away the rights to
their work - rights which, one day, could be valuable.
Voicing
those concerns, Emma Pike of British Music Rights, the joint
body designed to promote and protect the copyright of songwriters,
told the Think Tank: "I don't have a problem with the concept
of Creative Commons. However, I am very concerned that the people
behind Creative Commons are not giving young artists and songwriters
enough information and explaining the long term risks of giving
away the copyright on even some of their original works - especially
as a Creative Commons licence is irrevocable once issued."
Defending
the movement, Paula Le Dieu of the Creative Commons International
organisation, and Oxford University's Damian Tambini, who is
heading up the UK implementation of the philosophy, said they
accepted the industry's concerns and recognised that they might
need to review the information they provide to people considering
granting a CC licence for their work. However, they stressed
that the Creative Commons movement was not attempting to trick
creators into giving up their copyright. Rather, they argued,
they are aiming to offer the tools that enable those people
to promote and share their work, to encourage creative collaboration,
and to help increase the value of those creators' future work.
Neil
Leyton, of independent record label Fading Ways Records, also
talked up the value of Creative Commons in increasing the value
of a musician's future work. His company uses Creative Commons
as a way of making some of their artist's work available for
free. That won the artists a fan base that they would never
have reached with conventional marketing channels, and, Leyton
argued, it meant more record sales in long term. Those fans
appreciated the fact the label issued Creative Common licences
with their free music because it meant that they could safely
download, share and remix them without the fear some sinister
authority like the Recording Industry Association of America
would suddenly show up with a copyright violation lawsuit.
Those in the industry might argue that artists and labels are
always at liberty to give away music if they so chose, and that
they don't need a complicated new branch of copyright law to
enable them to do so. However most of those opposing the concept
at the MusicTank event were willing to concede they had no problem
with the Creative Commons movement providing they were clear
and upfront about the future implications of making your music
copyright free - in essence the point with which Pike began
the debate.
Of
course quite how and where Creative Commons should or will educate
creatives on the implications of their licences remains to be
seen - to be fair, and as Le Dieu pointed out - "it's not
really our job to single handedly educate everyone in copyright
law". But as MusicTank chairman Keith Harris pointed out,
what young creatives might need is more a lesson in reality
than copyright law - "one thing that occurs to me,"
Keith pointed out, "is that for some artists there early
work is their best work. There is a danger here that artists
will give away the copyright on their first album in order to
get noticed on the basis they'll earn money on later albums.
But for some bands that first album is really it - and they
might be giving away all their future potential income".
More
on Creative Commons, if you're interested, at http://www.creativecommons.org/
--------------------------------------------------
US
SENATORS PUT PRESSURE ON RUSSIA AND CHINA TO TACKLE PIRACY
Now that we've moved into the dangerous territory of copyright
law, let's continue the theme. Two US lawmakers have launched
a proactive campaign to encourage authorities in Russia and
China to take a more hardline stance on copyright theft and
piracy. Senators Richard Lugar and Max Baucus used Tuesday's
status as World Intellectual Property Day to call for a global
effort to achieve "effective remedies and solutions in
addressing the lack of intellectual property protection in China
and Russia". The politicians reckon the US economy loses
$4 billion annually because of the manufacture and distribution
of illegal music, film and software in the two countries.
The
need to tackle piracy in both China and Russia is important
for two key reasons. Firstly both countries act as the production
house for a lot of pirated material sold in the West. The fear
is that this situation will worsen as companies based in China
and Russia are able to sell directly to consumers through the
internet. Certainly Russian download site allofmp3.com, with
its cheap rates and questionable royalty payment system, has
caused much concern in the music industry because of its global
reach and the Russian authorities failure to do anything about
the website, despite being made aware of the global industry's
concerns via the International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry. But secondly, Russia and in particular China offer
major areas for economic expansion for the major record labels,
but that is only going to be possible if each country's domestic
piracy problem is brought under control.
The
consensus is that China is likely to be more helpful than Russia
in the fight against piracy - Chinese authorities did recently
prosecute two Americans who were illegally duplicating and distributing
CDs and DVDs there. However Baucus hopes Russia can also be
persuaded to act by including piracy reform into the conditions
for their entry into the World Trade Organisation.
--------------------------------------------------
THE
EX DOESN'T HELP: JACKO TRIAL UPDATE
Well, the ex-wife was in the witness stand yesterday as the
case for the prosecution in the Michael Jackson trial worked
its way to some kind of conclusion. Not that she did much to
help that case.
Debbie
Rowe, of course, was married to Jackson from 1996 to 1999 and
is the mother of two of his children. The prosecution called
her to testify, much to the annoyance of Jacko's defence team,
because they said she too had been forced to deliver a scripted
statement on video defending Jackson following the fallout of
the screening of the Martin Bashir documentary. Rowe, they claimed,
had been blackmailed into giving the scripted account defending
Jacko in return for a promise of more access to her children.
Rowe's
testimony was important to the prosecution team because Janet
Arvizo, mother of Jackon's current accuser Gavin Arvizo, claims
that she and her family were also forced to make a videoed statement
defending Jackson. That allegation is important because Jacko's
defence are using the videoed statement to dismiss the subsequent
allegations that the family have made. In the video Mrs Arvizo
says Jackson never behaved inappropriately with her children
and that he was like a father to them. If Rowe had been forced
to make a scripted statement defending Jackson, the logic flowed,
then it was more believable the Arvizo's had too.
But
in the end Rowe denied that she had been forced into making
her video statement defending her ex-husband, nor that what
she said had been scripted. She admitted the promise of increased
access to her children was part of her motivation to make the
video, but added that: "I promised him [Jackson] I would
always be there for Michael and the children", so that
when Jackson told her that "there was a video coming out
[the Bashir documentary]" which was "full of lies"
she was more than willing to help by being involved in Jackson's
response to the programme.
Jacko's
defence had been expected to question Rowe's credibility as
a witness on the grounds that she is currently involved in a
custody battle with the singer - however, given her testimony
yesterday, they may now take a different approach (of course,
the conspiracy theorist in me might wonder if Rowe's helpful
testimony had anything to do with an attractive custody package
being put on the table by Jacko's people - but that's just the
cynic inside me getting out of control).
The
case continues - and rest assured, those celeb witnesses are
due soon.
--------------------------------------------------
SINGLE
REVIEW: Leaves - The Spell (Universal/Island)
Neglected by many after their debut album, 2002's 'Breathe',
failed to live up to expectations by positioning itself between
Doves and Coldplay but being just too pedestrian to deliver
the 'Cedar Room' or 'Yellow' it needed. This comeback, however,
certainly possesses a strength and vitality they lacked first
time around. It practically sounds like it were borne of Chris
Martin's pen, all maudlin piano and climbing vocals in the foreground,
but any such suspicion is answered immediately by an intrinsic
understanding of the epic and the vast, so frequently found
in those of Icelandic origin. There is also a bass sound so
'OK Computer' you can feel its paranoid left eye twitching and
rhythms so edgy they could have been forged by Belgian indie-kings
dEUS. Its only problem is that while it reaches high it aims
nowhere in particular. So maybe they are to repeat the mistakes
of the first album all over again after all. JB
Release Date: 16 May
Press Contact: Wild [CP, CR] Island IH [RP, RR, NP, NR]
--------------------------------------------------
MEL
C CANCELS GIGS
CMU's favourite former spice girl Mel C had to cancel a show
in Glasgow last week as well as three shows in Ireland due to
a nasty case of flu. The singer, who is touring to publicise
new album 'Beautiful Intentions', said she was "incredibly
disappointed" at having to cancel the gigs. A statement
on her official website says "Melanie's throat infection
has taken a turn for the worse and (she) has been instructed
by her doctor to postpone all gigs planned for this week. If
her condition improves the next gig she will play is Oxford
on Monday, 2 May."
--------------------------------------------------
GOODREM
DENIES SACKING MUM
Delta Goodrem has issued a statement via her official website
in response to reports that she had sacked her mother as her
manager to benefit her international career. As previously reported,
Australian newspaper the Herald Sun claimed that the pop singer
had fired Lea Goodrem after being told by SonyBMG in New York
that she could kiss goodbye to the idea of breaking America
if she didn't do it.
Goodrem:
"I am very disappointed about today's reports. My relationship
with my mother is as strong as ever and we are a great team.
We have been looking for the right international manager for
the next step of my international career."
--------------------------------------------------
MORE
ACTS ADDED TO DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL LINE UP
The Download Festival has added a host of new acts to its line
up. Open Hand and The Hurt are confirmed for the Snickers Stage
on the Saturday and The Glitterati, Team Sleep, Dresden Dolls,
The Saints and No Hope In New Jersey will all take to the Napster
Stage on the Sunday.
Other
acts added to the bill include Lucky Nine, Breed 77, The Explosion,
Johnny Truant, The Ga Ga's, Quit Your Day Job, Panic Cell, The
Answer and Crucified Barbara Hurricane Party, Slunt and Planet
Of Women.
--------------------------------------------------
TUNETRIBE
VOTED BEST BY WEB USER
Independent download platform TuneTribe has been voted number
one in a survey of music sites by Web User magazine - which
is quite an achievement given that TuneTribe are yet to launch
their full site complete with news, reviews and exclusive downloads.
That site goes live tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------
FABRIC
PREVIEW SONAR
The Sonar festival is one of CMU's favourite annual music events,
which is all well and good, except it takes place in Barcelona
which, if my memory serves me correct, you can't get to on the
tube. So thank the Lord for the Sonar preview night at Fabric
London, presented in association with the festival's overall
sponsor, San Miguel. Taking place on 26 May (9pm - 4am, tickets
£10) the line up kinda talks for itself, so here it is:
Room 1: Francois K (live), Miss Kittin (DJ), Durutti Column
(live), MU (live), The Beautiful People (live), Chris Coco (DJ)
Room
2: Jamie Lidell (live), Hot Chip (live), Mark One & Virus
Syndicate (live), Solo Los Solo (live), Simon Russell plays
Rough Trade (DJ)
Room
3: Mental Overdrive (live), Undo & Vicknoise (four decks),
Circus Company presents: Sety dj & Nôze (live), Russell
Haswell (DJ)
Press
info from Fabric. The Sonar festival itself, for those of you
in the vicinity of Barcelona, takes place from 16-18 Jun - details
at http://www.sonar.es
--------------------------------------------------
ER,
FRANK BLACK HASN'T RECORDED DUET WITH COURTNEY LOVE
Well, as it turns out, Pixie Frank Black hasn't recorded a duet
with Courtney Love after all, despite earlier reports from a
source at MTV which claimed he had. The song in question 'Strange
Goodbye', was actually recorded as a duet with his ex-wife Jean.
The Gigwise website reports Black as saying: "Huh? I have
no idea what this guy is talking about. It must be his prank.
I just talked to the guy yesterday. We spoke of the duet, but
not of Courtney. He must be trying to get hits on the site."
--------------------------------------------------
DARKNESS
MAN TO RELEASE SOLO ALBUM
Well, Darkness fans waiting for that second album will have
to make do with a solo album from Justin Hawkins for the time
being. According to The Sun Justin said of the solo album: "It's
a lot less rock that the band stuff. There's a lot more synths.
I suppose you could call it luxurious rock." Called 'British
Wail', the album is out in Jun. The second Darkness album should
follow in the Autumn.
--------------------------------------------------
EMI
ANNOUNCE NEW HEAD FOR UK PUBLISHING BUSINESS
EMI Music Publishing yesterday announced that Guy Moot would
be taking over the running of their UK business. He will take
over from Peter Reichardt, who confirmed earlier this week that
he was leaving the company.
Having
worked in an A&R role with EMI Music Publishing since 1987,
Moot has been responsible for signing a string of the company's
highest profile songwriters, including Sean Paul, Jamie Cullum,
Ms Dynamite, Amy Winehouse, Prodigy, Jamiroquai, Kasabian, Eminem
and Scissor Sisters.
Confirming
the appointment, EMI Music Publishing Chairman Martin Bandier
told CMU: "Guy is an extraordinarily talented executive
whose track record in the business is astonishing. It's terrific
to be able to appoint such a talented executive who has come
from within the company and through merit has risen to this
appointment. Guy absolutely understands the issues and opportunities
facing us and I know that the company will continue to grow
yet further under his leadership".
Commenting on his appointment, Moot added: "I am relishing
the challenges ahead and will make it my business to drive the
company forward, but we must never forget the importance of
our writers and the songs they deliver for us. Our success will
always be built on having the best repertoire in the business
and my aim is to continue signing the best new artists. As the
largest publishing company, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise
on the new business opportunities in the market place and my
goal is to drive EMI Music Publishing forward by developing
new revenue streams and diversifying where it makes sense. Finally
I would like to not only pay thanks to Peter whose class, ambition,
professionalism and style have defined what this company stands
for, but also the team of executives which I inherit who are
quite simply the best in the business".
--------------------------------------------------
SUPER
FURRIES NEW ALBUM RELEASE
Super Furry Animals have told NME that their seventh album will
be called 'Love Kraft' and will be released this Aug. The album,
recorded in Cardiff, Rio De Janeiro and Barcelona, was produced
by Beastie Boys collaborator Mario Caldato.
Frontman
Gruff Rhys said that the band had been determined not to be
influenced by their surroundings, saying "We made a pact
not to make a Brazilian-sounding record. There's nothing worse
than a band going to another part of the world and nicking their
music. We found an old recording desk in Rio that gave everything
a really warm sound and we sampled some Brazilian insects, but
there's no samba beats."
He
continued: "There's a cosmic funk song called 'Laser Beam',
a power ballad called 'Frequency' and then there's 'Psyclone',
which is a song about a chicken crossing the road and getting
hit by a meteorite."
--------------------------------------------------
SINGLE
REVIEW: White Rose Movement - Love Is A Number (Independiente)
In theory, the following should make some rather uninteresting
reading - another new wave, wiry eightiesesque band produced
by Paul Epworth. Let's face it, you've heard it all before.
But wait, something else from the Epworth conveyor belt that's
worth a shout about? Yes. The White Rose Movement, recently
signed to Independiente release their debut 'Love Is A Number'
which has also had a white label circulation in the past couple
of months - with buzz aplenty. No wonder really when you consider
how tight the bass, Dave Gahan/George Michael-like vocals overlap
the awesome rhythm section. Don't write off this lot, they're
one to keep your eyes and ears out for. YN
Release Date: 30 May
Press: Darling [CP, NP, RP] Intermedia [CR, RR] Ish [NP]
--------------------------------------------------
LIAM
GALLAGHER HAS HISSY FIT
Liam Gallagher has been ranting about the apparent shortcomings
of a variety of popular UK bands in an exclusive interview in
yesterday's edition of NME, but he's apparently a big fan of
Charlotte Church, saying "It's Charlotte Church for me,
man. She could be the next Liam. She's got a great voice and
she fucking has it. She knows how to get fucking hammered and
she freaks people out."
But
enough of that, and on to the ranting. Gallagher called buzz
band Kaiser Chiefs "a bad Blur" and described Bloc
Party "a band off University Challenge, like they're sitting
on a panel or something", but his harshest comments were
reserved for Pete Doherty, Alex Kapranos and Scissor Sisters.
On
Franz Ferdinand front man Kapranos the Oasis star said: "He
reminds me of fucking Right Said Fred. You put on 'I'm To Sexy
For My Fucking Thing' next to their records and I bet you any
money it's the same person. It's the same fucking person! He's
just gone on the Atkins diet and grown his hair! Not my thing
at all. I don't like quirky, weird music. It's not my cup of
tea all that nonsense, million miles an hour music that's not
going anywhere."
On
Pete Doherty: "I'm not into smackheads. Smackheads need
slaps... So what does the word Libertine mean? What does it
mean? Freedom? He's fucking in the corner doing smack with a
helmet on his head! There's nothing free about that. It's nasty,
innit? If the kids like them, fair enough, but they're nowhere
near like us. The music's rubbish for start".
And
on Scissor Sisters, who said that Oasis lacked respect for the
Glastonbury crowd following their performance at last year's
event, Gallagher said: "If that's what they call entertaining
then let them 'av it - bright colours and fucking weirdos on
stilts? I'm more entertaining than that cunt. And I'll rip his
fucking vocal chords out any day because he's fucking rubbish."
Nice.
Especially that bit about the vocal chords.
--------------------------------------------------
C4
TO MAKE E4 FREEFOUR
Channel 4 have announced that they will be making their E4 entertainment
channel a proper Freeview channel at the end of May, meaning
it will be free to access to anyone with a Freeview terrestrial
digital TV box thing.
E4,
which combines first airings of Channel 4's premiere shows with
a steady supply of programmes from the network's comedy and
entertainment archives, has, until now, been a pay-to-view service,
accessible via Sky, NTL, Telewest or the Freeview premium channel
service, Top Up TV. However from the end of May it will become
a completely free to air channel (well, on Freeview anyway,
it will still only appear in the premium packages on Sky).
Plans
to make E4 free to air were first revealed earlier this year
as part of Channel 4's "long-term" digital strategy,
however few expected it to happen so soon, even when Crown Castle
announced they were selling one of their spare Freeview channel
slots to the network. It seems likely Channel 4 has fast tracked
the decision so the free-to-air launch can coincide with the
new Big Brother series. E4, of course, carries round the clock
coverage of the Big Brother house, and C4 bosses will be hoping
that will help the channel to win a big audience as soon as
it arrives as a proper Freeview channel.
--------------------------------------------------
KRAFTWERK
LIVE ALBUM LINE UP REVEALED
Kraftwerk has released details of the tracklisting for their
upcoming double-disk live album, which is due for release in
Jun. Details as follows (with which gig the recording comes
from in brackets):
Disc
One:
The Man Machine (Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa)
Planet of the Visions (Ljubljana, Krizanke)
Tour de France Etape 1 (Riga, Olimpiska Hall)
Chrono (Riga, Olimpiska Hall)
Tour De France Etape 2 (Riga, Olimpiska Hall)
Vitamin (Moskwa, Lushniki)
Tour De France (Paris, Le Grand Rex)
Autobahn (Berlin, Tempodrom)
The Model (London, Brixton Academy)
Neon Lights (London, Royal Festival Hall)
Disc
Two:
Radioactivity (Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa)
Trans-Europe Express (Budapest, Sportarena)
Metal On Metal (Budapest, Sportarena)
Numbers (San Francisco, The Warfield)
Computer World (Moskwa, Lushniki)
Home Computer (Warszawa, Sala Kongresowa)
Pocket Calculator (Moskwa, Lushniki)
Dentaku (Tokyo, Shibuya Ax)
The Robots (Moskwa, Lushniki)
Elektro Kardiogramm (Tallinn, Exhibition Hall)
Aerodynamik (Riga, Olimpiska Hall)
Music Non Stop (Moskwa, Lushnik)
--------------------------------------------------
HOMME
IS REMINDED OF PORN
Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme says that the video for
new single 'In My Head' puts him in mind of an Italian porn
film.
On
the band's official website, Homme wrote: "From what I've
been told, [the video] will involve many examples of failed
attempts to control your lust, and how there is no device that
can fulfil or replace the object of obsession. Now, to be honest,
I don't know what that means, but it sounds like this Italian
porno I saw once. Anyway, when I know more ... I'll lustfully
fill your ears with objects of knowledge."
QOTSA
are about to head out on a North American tour, and are planning
a DVD possibly scheduled for a Nov release.
--------------------------------------------------
ALBUM
REVIEW: David Wrench - The Atomic World Of Tomorrow (Storm Music)
There have been a number of great albums already released this
year, but self-styled Albino King and white leather-clad Welsh
viking David Wrench may have trumped them all. 'The Atomic World
Of Tomorrow' is simply brilliant. Straddling menacing, apocalyptic
hip-hop ('Like A Communist'), politicised glam ('World War IV'),
reams of effortless synth-pop and even touching balladry (through
a Billy Ocean cover, no less!), the only frustrating thing is
the fact that it's likely to sell about ten copies (which is
even more of shame when, with his Jarvis-like croon, the songs
often inadvertently recall Pulp when they still wanted hits).
CMU readers, as well as anyone who knows me, may recall my effusive
praise for recent single 'Sodium Lights', a bittersweet slice
of pop perfection which (and I'm pleased enough with this comparison
to use it again) sounds like the Pet Shop Boys pumped full of
British Sea Power. And then there's 'Superhorny' ("I'm
superhorny/with UK repression/got a stiff upper lip/and a permanent
erection"), which references pints of Stella, the Shetland
Isles and The Serpentine, with lyrics that GLC or The Bloodhound
Gang would kill babies to have written, all set to an ace ultra-cheap
synth-pop backing. It's so good, you wonder (as with, say, Orlando's
ignored classic 'Just For A Second' ten years ago) how on Earth
it wasn't number one for about three months. Wrenchy is potentially
destined for maverick cult status à la David Devant,
but with songs this good he should be given massive exposure
(I'm thinking TOTP and CD:UK, every week, frankly). Make him
a star. MS
Release date: 30 May
Press Contac: Southern PR [all]
--------------------------------------------------
MAXIMO
SINGER WANTS LIFE'S WORK BACK
Maximo Park Vocalist Paul Smith is appealing for the return
of his 'life's work', after he misplaced a bag containing personal
items following a gig at Northumbria University on Monday night.
The personal items included a book containing song lyrics and
poetry.
A
statement on the band's official website said: "We're desperate
to get this bag and its contents back, so we're appealing for
your help, especially those of you near the Cooperage along
the quayside in Newcastle, where the bag was last seen. The
bag is a white linen Japanese "soft-boy" and contained
the following: Paul's RED BOOK containing his life's work: lyrics
to the album, poetry, etc., polaroids and drawings, Kafka and
Camus books, wallet and keys...basically his LIFE." The
band promised a reward of "tickets to any Maximo Park show
you want plus a huge hug from Paul," to whoever can see
to the bag's return, and are asking people to contact Colin
at Streetfeat Management on info@streetfeat.demon.co.uk or on
0208 964 1917 with any info.
In
other Maximo Park related news, the band are to appear at a
series of in-stores next week: and the first 16 people to arrive
at those will get free tickets to Radio 1's Big Weekend in Sunderland
on May 8.
The
dates and times are:
1
May, 1PM: Manchester Piccadilly
2 May, 12PM: Durham Concepts Instore
3 May, 6PM: HMV Newcastle (Access only to those bearing wristband
which can be obtained by buying the band's new single 'Graffiti'
on 2 May)
4 May, 5PM: HMV Leeds
5 May, 5PM: HMV Birmingham
6 May, 6PM: London Oxford Street Virgin Megastore
--------------------------------------------------
ANDRE
GOES, ER, MUSICAL
Andre 3000 is apparently to compose, produce and star in a new
musical. According to Variety.com the OutKast star will write
the music for an as-yet-untitled production with a libretto
by the Tony award-winning lyricist Jeff Whitty and will also
appear in it playing "someone with magical powers, who
comes into the lives of a family." Sounds thrilling.
The
singer-turned-actor will next be seen on screen in Outkast's
own musical, provisionally entitled "My Life In Idlewild",
and he is currently filming family drama "Four Brothers"
with Mark Wahlberg. Future Andre projects include an appearance
in Guy Ritchie's new movie "Revolver" and some voice
work in the all star animated film version of children's classic
"Charlotte's Web", alongside Julia Roberts and John
Cleese.
--------------------------------------------------
BRITNEY
NOT A VERY COOL MUM
Britney Spears has made a very poor showing in a US poll conducted
by America Online, who polled a group of 75,000 kids aged 6
to 12 to find out who they thought would make the coolest celebrity
Mum. Spears turned up last, with Jessica Simpson topping the
poll whilst even Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani also won more
votes than the pregnant Britney. I'm sure she'll be gutted.
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GEORGE
MICHAEL RANGE ROVER SOLD
Bids have closed for the black Range Rover George Michael has
been selling on eBay, and in the end it only raised £11,600,
somewhat short of the £50,000 the singer paid for it when
new. Of course you wouldn't necessarily expect a second hand
car to sell for anything like its 'as-new' price, but you might
have thought there would have been some celebrity value for
the car, especially given that it has the registration number
of J5 STUD. Then again, presumably the charity who will receive
the £11,600 will still be quite happy.