| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 4th January |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- 50 Cent poster criticised by ASA
- Lil Kim's attorney hopes for slightly early release
- Black Eyed Peas to play in Intel rebrand
- Franhofer ready to demo surround sound MP3
- Magic Numbers hire school choir
- Second Keane album upcoming
- Green Day looking forward to new album work
- Hot Hot Heat new album upcoming, too
- Mogwai single and live dates
- Album review: Club Azuli - The Future Sound Of Dance Underground
- Wolf announces new deal
- Brown signs up for Shockwaves
- Morrissey album and tour news
- Nickelback guest on Bon Jovi tour
- Warner release Hendrix DVD package
- 67 voted greatest year in rock n roll
- Radiohead dominate new Q best album ever poll
- Elbow top Manchester music poll
- Vital announce Victory deal
- Flowers cites Hall & Oates as influence
- Doherty's a nutter (allegedly), shock
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TOP BIT>>
GETTING ALL TECHY
Do you realise we've gone all year without one Pete Doherty story? Hard to believe I know, but we'll rectify that today, don't worry. Meantime, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas tomorrow. This is the annual event where all the big technology firms wheel out their big innovations. Given that most technology firms' big innovations of late have been music related, CES has normally meant lots of digital music stories - so expect more of them than usual in the next few days. And if you think that's exciting, just wait till those big mobile phone industry conventions kick off next month - you'll be in technology heaven. If you prefer music to tech and you happen to be in Australia just now (half of you seem to be), then the full schedule is out for this month's Big Day Out festivals - http://www.bigdayout.com. Though, while not wishing to carry on being the tech geek and all, I should point out that their website doesn't seem to work in Firefox.
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PRESS ROOM>>
KILL ALL HIPPIES, JAN 2006
Kill All Hippies returns this Friday, 6 Jan, at Shoreditch's 333 Club. Live action this time comes from The Longcut, Kill The Young and Dirty Fuzz, while on the decks will be Jeff Automatic, Frankie D, Gavin Nugent, Mark Beaumont (NME), Syrinx, Owen Hopkins (The Crimea) and Honk Papa. All takes place from 9pm to 5am. Tickets, £10, £8 (NUS), or a fiver if you guest list in advance at http://www.leylinepromotions.com.
Press info from Leyline, full press release at:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/killallhippies
GET 8500 OPINION FORMERS IN THE LOOP
Promote your releases and events to 8500 opinion formers in the CMU Press Room. 75 words in the Daily and a full page on the website for just £60 a week. Email [email protected] to book.
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50 CENT POSTER CRITICISED BY ASA
Now adverts relating to 50 Cent's movie 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin' are causing trouble over here. As previously reported, posters for the movie caused outrage in America for allegedly glorifying gun violence. Criticism from certain lobbying groups led to the removal of the billboard posters from some US cities.
The poster causing offence over here specifically promotes the soundtrack to the movie. It features an image of the rapper's back. He is holding a baby in his right hand, with a gun tucked into the back of his jeans. The Advertising Standard Authority said it received 17 complaints about the poster, mainly claiming that the image glorified gun crime.
Universal Music argued that the poster was meant to communicate Fiddy's "fight to escape the ghetto", but the ASA has upheld the complaints, ruling it breaches advertising rules relating to social responsibility, violence, decency, anti-social behaviour and children.
While recognising that the poster could be interpreted in a less controversial way when put into the context of the plot of the movie, the ASA said: "We considered, however, that Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson had such cultural credibility, especially among young people, that his association with gang culture and criminal behaviour was likely to be seen as glamorising and condoning the possession and use of guns."
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LIL KIM'S ATTORNEY HOPES FOR SLIGHTLY EARLY RELEASE
Lil Kim's recently hired attorney James Leonard Jr has told reporters he hopes his client might be out of prison by June, two months ahead of her scheduled release date of 2 Aug. As you'll remember, the rapper was thrown in the slammer last year after finally admitting to committing perjury during a grand jury investigation into a shooting that took place outside a Manhattan radio station in 2001.
According to Allhiphop.com, Leonard told reporters earlier this week that Kim had adjusted to prison life, adding: "The warden and the staff at the FDC [Federal Detention Center] have been great with Kim. She has neither sought [nor] received any special treatment. They have respected her privacy and have treated her extremely fairly." Leonard went on to reveal that prison life for the rapper involves the job she has been assigned in the jail, listening to the radio, writing rhymes, responding to fan mail and reading her favourite book 'The Da Vinci Code'.
Given you're only allowed one book in prison (or is that on Desert Island Discs?), perhaps Kim reckons she'll have that one licked by June, hence the desire for an early release. Leonard admitted that an early release is something he is "aggressively working on right now". If successful, Kim would leave prison in June, though would be most likely under house arrest until August.
The rapper will then be keen to get back into the studio, where we might get a new sound from post-prison Kim. Leonard: "I think this entire experience has unearthed new depths for Kim, both as a person and an artist. I think you will see that in the direction she takes upon her release from prison."
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BLACK EYED PEAS TO PLAY IN INTEL REBRAND
Back to the aforementioned Consumer Electronics Show, and IT firm Intel have hired the Black Eyed Peas to help them promote two new computer chips that they will launch at the Las Vegas convention on 5 Jan - it's all very exciting stuff. Intel is in the middle of quite a major corporate overhaul, rebranding key parts of their business, and dumping the long used 'Intel Inside' logo. The Peas are expected to play at a the computer giant's launch event at CES on Thursday, though it's unclear if the band will then also be involved in the company's subsequent re-brand marketing activity.
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FRANHOFER READY TO DEMO SURROUND SOUND MP3
More CES, and we hear that the Frauhofer Institute will be demonstrating a new technology that allows you to deliver surround sound via MP3 files.
Despite the fact the vast majority of music buyers seem quite happy with the sound quality limitations presented by conventional MP3 files, the techy types have been busy for sometime developing ways to incorporate some of the advancements made in sound delivery on CD and DVD into the digital domain.
I don't really understand most of the technicals here, but Digital Music News reports that the new technology has two components. 'MP3SX' allows content providers to include multi-channel playback, while a technology called 'Ensonido' enables MP3 Players to deliver the surround sound experience by simulating "the natural transmission of multi-channel sound from the loudspeakers to the human ear". So that's that cleared up then.
The new MP3 files are backward compatible, which means they will play as a normal stereo MP3 if a player does not have the Ensonido system on it.
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MAGIC NUMBERS HIRE SCHOOL CHOIR
The Magic Numbers' latest single, 'I See You, You See Me', will feature a track sung by a school choir of eleven year olds on the B side. The choir, from St Mary's School in Somerset did a project with the band, and subsequently recorded a version of Magic Numbers track 'Forever Lost', which will appear on the single. Bet it's not as good as 'There's No One Quite Like Grandma', though, eh?
The single is released on 13 Feb. The band will play a series of live dates in the same week, as follows:
16 Feb: London Brixton Academy
19 Feb: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
20 Feb: Edinburgh Corn Exchange
21 Feb: Blackpool Empress Ballroom
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SECOND KEANE ALBUM UPCOMING
Keane are apparently to release their second album this spring. The band have been working on new material since midway through last year with 'Hopes And Fears' producer Andy Green.
Not sure if any of this means anything to anyone, but according to fan website keane.at tracks appearing on the new long player are rumoured to include the following:
Nothing In Your Way
Hamburg Song
Thin Air
Is It Any Wonder?
Try Again
Let It Slide
Put It Behind You
The Frog Prince
Crystal Ball
The Night Sky
Atlantic
Bad Dream
Broken Toy
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GREEN DAY LOOKING FORWARD TO NEW ALBUM WORK
Talking of bands working on new albums, Green Day have been reflecting on the success of 'American Idiot', and saying that they are looking forward to getting on with a new album in the coming year.
The band say that whilst they've enjoyed touring their most recent long player, it's time to step back and do some more creating. Bassist Mike Dirnt told Billboard that his group are looking forward to getting back "to some of the other aspects of what we do, whether it's recording or just getting back into the creative process again."
He continued: "A lot of people just keep going and going and going. It's important to know when to call it quits for awhile and go home and rejuvenate and detox and write another record."
Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said of the creative process: "We'll start with silence and that's how we'll be able to find the inspiration to find another record."
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HOT HOT HEAT NEW ALBUM UPCOMING, TOO
More they're-working-on-a-new-album news. Hot Hot Heat are planning a fairly swift follow up to 2005's 'Elevator', having written a lot of new material whilst on tour. Frontman Steve Bays has told MTV that the band hope to record the new songs in the spring with a view to a 2006 release.
Bays told MTV: "We're kind of staggering the touring a bit at this point just to write more songs for our next record which I think we're all excited about. And then maybe test 'em out just on tour, maybe in February, and then hopefully be in the studio for the spring."
Drummer Paul Hawley added "We wrote a song in Spain, we wrote a song in Chicago...and when you write lyrics on the road they tend to be more psychedelic. There's one song that we started at the beginning of this tour and I think we've jammed it every day. It's been played all around the world in many, many different places and I think that's kind of a cool thing."
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MOGWAI SINGLE AND LIVE DATES
The lovely Mogwai release their fifth album, 'Mr Beast' in March through PIAS, preceded by a single release, 'Friend Of The Night' on 30 Jan. They're planning to preview tracks from the new album at live dates taking place over the next couple of weeks, as follows. The London dates are sold out though, I think.
7 Jan: Dublin, Temple Bar Music Centre
8 Jan: Belfast, Spring & Airbrake
10 Jan: London, 'Mogwai Take Control at the ICA'
11 Jan: London, 'Mogwai Take Control at the ICA'
12 Jan: London, 'Mogwai Take Control at the ICA'
13 Jan: London, 'Mogwai Take Control at the ICA'
14 Jan: London, 'Mogwai Take Control at the ICA'
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ALBUM REVIEW: Club Azuli - The Future Sound of Dance Underground (Azuli)
Listening to the first of this two CD set, it's all familiar stuff from one of the most prolific house labels of the Ibiza ilk. Britalics' 'I Can C Thru U' is typical of what you get, sweeping along as it does with some melodic diva vocals, taut funky house beats and electronic bits. CD2, however, looks to the grittier end of the scale, and in treading new ground for Azuli, begs some attention. Opening with Jacques Lu Cont's remix of Depeche Mode's 'A Pain That I'm Used To', the tone immediately turns toward electro, continued persuasively by Layo & Bushwacka's techno excursion 'Life To Live'. This has all their trademark punch, coupled with that penchant for serene, ambient interludes. 'Dream About Me' is testament to Moby's strength as a producer for the dancefloor, here offering a cute bit of electropop. Hereafter, there's a swift departure from the realm of the cute and the mix remains firmly rooted in coarse hard house. Pryda's 'Aftermath' is one of the more driving tunes, taking a piercing techno beat and layering over some nice psychedelic synth play to create a rich and solid soundscape, trumped only by the chunky and angry 'Work This Pussy' by Mad 8. Masters of marketing, Azuli echo the brandname through the mix at regular intervals, which we can forgive as what they are putting their signature to is really quite good. WE
Release Date: 6 Feb
Press Contact: Sliding Doors [all]
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WOLF ANNOUNCES NEW DEAL
Patrick Wolf has announced a new record deal with Loog. Wolf released his previous two albums 'Lycanthropy' (2003) and recent 2005 release 'Wind In The Wires', through german label Tomlab.
On his new recording contract, Wolf says: "After much label fever at the end of my tour this year, I found myself very much safe and at home with Loog/Polydor records. It is really exciting to now have the structures in place so that I can create all the work I want to create, that it will be heard and promoted the right way, and perhaps my days of living like a tramp are over. Perhaps."
He continued: "Now, all is looking good, I have a lot of music to make, keys to hit, strings to break and now am recording my third work. Extreme thank you's to all that have stood by me on the long and winding dirt track to now. You're all still with us - magic is alive."
Loog boss James Oldham added: "We're delighted to sign an artist as unique and driven as Patrick. We've been a fan of his for a long time, so it's fantastic that we're finally going to get to work with him. He's someone who's going to have a long and extraordinary career in music."
Wolf has already started work on his third album, entitled 'The Magic Position'.
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BROWN SIGNS UP FOR SHOCKWAVES
Ian Brown has added his name to the line up for the ShockWaves NME Awards 2006 Shows, appearing at London's Koko on 15 Feb with support from Scratch Perverts. Brown told NME.com: "Last year was my biggest since 1989. I hope 2006 is going to be even bigger. Playing this show will set me up for the year. I'll have been in Australia in January so I'm hoping to bring some of their summer vibe back to the UK."
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MORRISSEY ALBUM AND TOUR NEWS
And talking of Manchester types, Morrissey is expected to confirm a thirty date UK tour shortly, to coincide with the release of new album 'Ringleader Of The Tormentors' sometime in the Spring. A preceding single, 'You Have Killed Me', is slated for a March release.
According to one Morrissey website, the tour will include four homecoming gigs in different venues around Manchester. Other such websites have been rife with speculation that the singer might reunite with a couple of his old bandmates at that previously reported Manchester gig to raise money for cancer hospital Christie's, at which Johnny Marr and concert organiser Andy Rourke are planning to play together. Such rumours are, of course, unsubstantiated, and have been roundly denied.
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NICKELBACK GUEST ON BON JOVI TOUR
Nickelback are to support Bon Jovi on their summer tour of the UK. Or appear as 'special guests', not sure if there's a difference. Here are the dates:
20 May: Dublin Croke Park
3 Jun: Glasgow Hampden Park
4 Jun: Manchester, City of Manchester Stadium
7 Jun: Coventry Ricoh Arena
9 Jun: Southampton St Marys Stadium
11 Jun: London Wembley Stadium
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WARNER RELEASE HENDRIX DVD PACKAGE
Warner Home Video will later this month release a digitally remastered special edition type DVD package of 'A Film About Jimi Hendrix', the 1973 documentary which brings together live footage of the music legend spanning his entire career from his beginnings through to later iconic performances at 1967's Monterey Festival and 1970's Isle Of Wight Festival. Among the 87 minutes of bonus footage on the special edition is a never-before-seen performance of 'Stone Free' from the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival and a 'Making Of Dolly Dagger' feature in which producer/engineer Eddie Kramer breaks down the mix. The DVD is released on 30 Jan, press info from Noble PR.
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67 VOTED GREATEST YEAR IN ROCK N ROLL
That Hendrix set at the Monterey Festival is one of the reasons why pundits and listeners to a Radio 2 show have proclaimed 1967 to be the greatest year in rock 'n' roll history.
While Andrew Collins pointed out during the Radio 2 debate on Monday night that the Sound Of Music soundtrack dominated the UK charts for thirteen weeks during the so called Summer Of Love, other events that year, such as the release of 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', the global emergence of Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones, the aforementioned Monterey Festival, plus music from the likes of Hendrix, The Doors and The Beach Boys, convinced listeners to the show that 67 was the greatest year in rock.
1999 was voted the worse year, with the rise of Eminem and Robbie Williams and the Britney/Christina feud cited as the year's only good points.
Of course, as is always the way, these surveys probably tell us more about the people voting than anything else. The average age of listeners voting was 51, so the fact that 67 came out top while 1973 was another hot contender possibly just tells us that people are most nostalgic for the music of their teenage years. No news there then.
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RADIOHEAD DOMINATE NEW Q BEST ALBUM EVER POLL
By that logic, the average age of the people voting in Q's latest Best Album Ever survey is 28. Which is possibly true. Anyways, Radiohead dominate the music mag's new poll on the greatest albums of all time, getting no less than three entries in the overall top ten, including the top two positions - for 'OK Computer' and 'The Bends' respectively.
No real surprises in the top 20 which looks like this - the full 100 is revealed in this month's Q.
1. Radiohead - OK Computer
2. Radiohead - The Bends
3. Nirvana - Nevermind
4. The Beatles - Revolver
5. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
6. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
7. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
8. Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
9. U2 - Achtung Baby
10. Radiohead - Kid A
11. U2 - The Joshua Tree
12. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
13. Jeff Buckley - Grace
14. The Beatles - Abbey Road
15. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
16. The Verve - Urban Hymns
17. The Beatles - The Beatles
18. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
19. The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
20. The Clash - London Calling
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ELBOW TOP MANCHESTER MUSIC POLL
Enough of the nostalgia, let's talk about music of more recent times. Terry Christian and Conrad Murray announced their Top 40 Manchester Tunes Of 2005 on BBC GMR on Monday night, and given that the North West continues to contribute more than its fair share of top quality music I think it's only right we print it here (we're possibly a bit biased, given that both the CMU editors come from the North West, but what the hell). The chart runs thus:
1. Elbow - Forget Myself
2. Nine Black Alps - Unsatisfied
3. Oasis - The Importance Of Being Idle
4. Doves - Black And White Town
5. Lovefreekz - Shine
6. Stephen Fretwell - Run
7. Happy Mondays - Playground Superstar
8. Ian Brown - All Ablaze
9. I Am Kloot - Over My Shoulder
10. Jim Noir - My Patch
11. New Order - Waiting For The Sirens Call
12. Ironweed - Down To My Grave
13. Fear Of Music - Skin And Bones
14. My Computer - Stumble
15. The Longcut - Quiet Life
16. The Fall - I Can Hear The Grass Grow
17. Broke n English - Squeeze
18. The Earlies - Bring It Back Again
19. Raw T - Where We Live
20. The Pioneers - So Long
21. Aidan Smith - Song For Manchester
22. Starsailor - Caught In The Crossfire
23. Mint Royale - The Effect On Me
24. Omerta - Everyone Is Frozen
25. Morrissey - Redondo Beach
26. Ghostlyman - Hundred Heart Attacks
27. Performance - Surrender
28. Young Offenders Institute - We're The Young Offenders
29. Autokat - The Driver
30. Loose Canon - Altercation
31. Rowetta - Stop Crying Your Heart Out
32. Lisa Brown - What's That Sound?
33. Longview - Coming Down
34. Former Bullies - The World Ended
35. Jackie O - I Found Out
36. Hanky Park - Come On, Come On
37. RSL - Magic Of Spain
38. Alfie - Your Own Religion
39. Keith - Hold That Gun
40. Nancy Cuncliffe - Place To Shelter
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VITAL ANNOUNCE VICTORY DEAL
Distribution news anyone? Vital Distribution has just announced a new deal with American independent Victory Records, the label behind loads of those American bands that the rock kids love, and the rest of us have never heard of (Hawthorne Heights, Aiden, Honor and The Junior Varsity are among those Victory artists touring the UK this month). The new deal will kick off on 1 Feb.
Confirming the deal, Victory boss Tony Brummel told CMU: "Vital continually demonstrates its prowess in the British marketplace via the habitual chart presence of its distributed titles. They are a fiercely independent and successful organisation that can effectively distribute records of all sizes. With Victory's ever increasing profile in the territory and the expansion of our London office this was a natural alliance."
Vital MD Peter Thompson added: "Victory is one of the hottest independent labels in the world. It represents all that is good and strong about independence. It is also a lifestyle and a family and Vital is now proud to be part of that family. We are committed to taking the enormous success that Victory has achieved within North America and reproducing the same sort of results within the UK. This is a great coup for Vital and a challenge that myself and everyone at Vital is really looking forward to."
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FLOWERS CITES HALL & OATES AS INFLUENCE
Killers frontman Brandon Flowers says Hall & Oates are his biggest musical influence. Flowers says their album 'Bigger Than Both Of Us' is one of his favourites, and that single 'Rich Girl' is "one of the best songs ever written". He told the winter 2006 issue of Black Book: "Everything you need to know about writing a hit song, it's in 'Rich Girl'."
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DOHERTY'S A NUTTER (ALLEGEDLY), SHOCK
Ah, the first Doherty Story of the year. And fittingly, it's a New Years Eve story. According to The Sun, Pete Doherty threw a party that evening at his new flat and charged people a tenner to get in. That's not the nutty bit, of course; let's face it, the boy always needs a few pennies to spend on, er, pies.
The nutty bit is that Doherty is alleged to have ferried guests to the party blindfolded so that they didn't know where they were. He then apparently confiscated their mobile phones, cameras and shoes. Well, I can see why he might want to take away phones and cameras, but I'm a bit non-plussed about the shoes.
All's well that ends well though. Or possibly not. Most of the guests are said to have left by ten because the party was rubbish, with many saying that Doherty's still got their stuff. Does that mean these people walked home without their shoes? They must be as crazy as he is.