| CMU Daily - on the inside Monday 13th March |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Knowles parts company with Sanctuary
- China set up copyright piracy courts
- Labels face lawsuit on digital price fixing allegations
- Entercom turned down Spitzer deal
- Rapture on new album
- Arctic Monkeys EP
- My Morning Jacket live DVD CD
- New Kelis this summer
- Radiohead covers: 'Just' out today, rest via Connect
- Geldof and others win at German Echoes
- Brooklyn hip hop fest announces location
- Franz to Exit
- Cortney Tidwell tour
- Give It A tour, oh you have...
- Fiery Furnaces tour
- Cuban Brothers: instore and album launch
- Single review: Ils - Loving you
- Film School lose everything
- Chart update
- This week's Student Radio Chart
- Subshot playlist
- CMU radio show playlist
- KT Tunstall does new fangled WAP thing
- Wallace says Fuqua will direct Biggie movie
- Ian Brown comments on prison time
- Walsh wants more money to do X Factor
- Jacko considering residing in the UK
- Gallagher disses people shocker
- Aguilera pregnancy rumour
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TOP BIT: NEW CMU RADIO SHOW LIVE TODAY>>
It's Monday which can only mean that a new edition of the CMU Radio Show goes live today. So, if you fancy the idea of Caro and Chris chatting about Boy George, Axl Rose, Bon Jovi, Metallica, O2 Undiscovered, Prince promotions, Kylie, Madonna, that Sinatra musical and Pete Doherty, obviously (and who wouldn't?), then surf on over to http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/cmuradio later today where edition five of the radio show will be available to listen to at any time via the wonders of the Windows Media Player and TotallyRadio.com. If you don't fancy it, well, you'll find a stack of damn fine music too - our now traditional Sunday Best spot, Ninja Tune spot and Team 9 spot, plus all the tracks listed lower down in today's Daily. Sorted.
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PRESS ROOM>>
CARLING LIVE 24... give 24 hours of your life to live music! ... Carling Live 24 is back with another incredible line-up, which we can reveal includes Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Ordinary Boys, Ian Brown, Dirty Pretty Things and Goldie Lookin Chain, plus many more artists still to be announced... Carling Live 24 marks the start of the summer for music lovers, bringing the festival vibe to the heart of the city, with great music and cold beer. Carling Live 24 will kick off at 7pm on Friday 28th April and fans with enough stamina can rock continuously through to 7pm the following day. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 14th March exclusively at http://www.carling.com.
Press info: http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/carling24
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: Thee Comrades
A great little Edinburgh band we met during last year's Edinburgh Festival, and who happen to be finalists in the current Student Music Awards. They're also finalists of the T Break and Fopp unsigned band competitions - and our fave track, 'Over And Over', is available to stream or download here. Their label listing? Unsigned - so come on you A&R types, go listen. http://www.myspace.com/theecomrades
More on our MySpace Of The Day, plus 3 Student Music Awards finalists Hips Like Cinderella, InFlight Movie and Ugli answer the Same Six Questions right now at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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KNOWLES PARTS COMPANY WITH SANCTUARY
Mathew 'father of Beyonce' Knowles' Music World management company and record label has ended its partnership with the struggling Sanctuary Group.
Knowles, perhaps most famous for managing Destiny's Child, entered an alliance with Sanctuary back in 2003. In a $10 million deal Sanctuary acquired Knowles' Music World Entertainment company, while Knowles took on the top job at Sanctuary's then fledgling urban music division.
But, as previously reported, his future with Sanctuary came into question last November when, as the company streamlined its operations following a year of financial crises, it was announced the group was parting company with three American artist managers. Although Knowles was not one of them, reports at the time said his relationship with the group was being reviewed.
Then in February of this year Sanctuary announced it was closing down its urban division, with the group's top man Andy Taylor telling reporters: "Mathew had overall responsibility for the urban division, but that doesn't mean we should blame Mathew". Sanctuary said Knowles would stay with the company in an artist management role, but insiders said he was already negotiating his way out.
Although the specifics of the latest deal are not clear, a press statement says Knowles should regain complete ownership of both his former management company and record label. Details of his future plans won't be revealed until the deal is completed later this month.
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CHINA SET UP COPYRIGHT PIRACY COURTS
China are presumably hoping to combat pressure from the US and elsewhere over its terrible record in copyright piracy through the establishment of a court to specifically deal with piracy crimes. Officials in Beijing last week announced the launch of the Judicial Court Of Intellectual Property, which will operate under the country's Supreme Court and will hear complaints from both local and foreign companies regarding alleged IP theft.
Officials say the new court will aim to reform the judicial process in this area, and to train more local judges on the issues surrounding piracy. Supreme Court judge Jiang Zhipei told reporters that through the new court he hoped "that foreign companies and personnel can send IPR violators to the courts in good time."
China committed to reducing its high piracy levels when it joined the World Trade Organisation in December 2001. Despite an increase of piracy cases going through the Chinese courts in the last two years, and other measures introduced by the country's government to combat both physical and online piracy, copyright theft remains prevalent in China and so the authorities there continue to face international pressure to put things in order.
In related news, rumours that the Recording Industry Association Of America are planning on opening a P2P function at Camp X-Ray where American teenagers are ruthlessly tortured until they agree to smash up their iPods are almost definitely made up. Though not entirely unfeasible.
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LABELS FACE LAWSUIT ON DIGITAL PRICE FIXING ALLEGATIONS
Talking of the Recording Industry Association Of America, no comment from them as yet on all this, though it might be that their lawyers (and certainly the lawyers of their key members) have got something bigger to worry about than file sharing kids in the coming months.
With both New York Attorney General and the US Department Of Justice investigating the major record companies over allegations of uncompetitive practices in the digital music domain, now San Diego based lawyer William Lerach has launched a civil lawsuit against the major labels and some of their parent companies accusing them of price fixing.
According to a report in Red Herring magazine, Lerach's lawsuit says that SonyBMG, Universal Music, Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI worked together to try and stop the online music market from emerging and, once the market did in fact start to grow, "conspired to fix and maintain" prices.
Lerach's suit also accuses the majors of using its market power to force 'most favoured nation' clauses onto the download companies. These clauses - which mean that record companies are guaranteed to share any benefits negotiated by their rivals - are said to be at the heart of Spitzer's investigation. The Attorney General is reportedly of the opinion that such clauses in this context violate American competition laws.
Of course all this talk of price fixing is interesting given that many execs in the major record companies reckon that the '99 cents / 79 pence for any track' pricing model that was essentially launched by Apple is actually not sustainable for the music business in the long term which means that, if the major record companies are guilty of price fixing, they fixed the price too low. Which is a bit odd.
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ENTERCOM TURNED DOWN SPITZER DEAL
The New York Times says that US radio group Entercom was offered an out of court settlement by the aforementioned Eliot Spitzer before he launched legal proceedings against them. As you'll remember, the always busy NYC AG last week began legal action against the radio group over allegations that they broke American payola laws - basically accepting bribes and payments from record companies to playlist their music.
The Times says Spitzer was willing to let the matter lie, albeit in return for an admission of guilt and the payment of a $20 million fine. The paper concludes that for Entercom's lawyers to knock back that offer suggests they think they may well be able to prove to the courts that some of their operations which Spitzer says amount to payola are actually within current legal and FCC guidelines. If that is true, and they do, it will be interesting if that has any effect on the major record companies who admitted that, for their part, they were guilty of payola in relation to those promotions.
Despite all that, Entercom's legal people are reportedly still negotiating with Spitzer behind the scenes, so it's not a foregone conclusion that the case will ever get to court.
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RAPTURE ON NEW ALBUM
The Rapture, who are making progress on their second album with a variety of well known producers, have been speaking to NME.com about how well that's been going.
Frontman Mattie Saffer said "We're pleased as punch to be working with people as brilliant as Paul [Epworth] and Ewan [Pearson] and Danger Mouse. We started with a goal of making an album that's an even happier Saturday night than the last one, and this record is going to be so good that even the engineers get laid off the back of it."
Saffer explained that the band's relationships with the aforesaid producers go back a long way: "The people we're working with we've know for ages. In the time we've been away our friends became the top producers."
Commenting on rumours of trouble between the band and original collaborators DFA who are conspicuous by their absence from the new album, Saffer added: "A little bit of shit went down that we both could have handled better, but we're still friends. I'm sure we'll work together again."
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ARCTIC MONKEYS EP
Arctic Monkeys are planning an EP featuring new material. The band are set to release their next single 'The View From The Afternoon' next month, but hope to expand that release into something a little more substantial and air some brand new tracks they've been working on in recent months.
Jamie Cooke told NME.com: "Yeah we're dong an EP for the next single, whenever it's going to be. It's going to be new 'uns."
Bassist Andy Nicholson added "We're going to finish the new songs, then we're going to record them, then we're going to play them live and stick them on a CD. It's probably going to be an extended player, I'm not joking, five songs, and it's hopefully going be out in April. Fingers crossed."
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MY MORNING JACKET LIVE DVD CD
My Morning Jacket are to release a new live DVD and double CD, to be released separately. On the yet to be titled DVD, which features a gig taking place in the middle of a forest, singer Jim James said: "We want to make this a watchable movie that is an hour-and-a-half or an hour-and-45 minutes, so you can hopefully sit down and watch the whole thing as an experience, rather than it being three hours long with every single song we've ever played."
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NEW KELIS THIS SUMMER
Kelis has announced that her new album 'Kelis Was Here' is to be released in June, with a new 12" single, 'Bossy', out next month. Talking about the LP, which was finished a while back, Kelis says: "I feel like I've been pregnant for a year and a half and I'm ready for it to come out!"
Regarding the video for 'Bossy', Kelis has commented on her blog: "I cut off all my hair folks. I chopped it off in the first scene of my video and for all haters naysayers and just plane fools it was no weave, wig or lace front or extensions, it was the hair the good Lord provided me with for all these years and I feel again absolutely outrageous... it's my tribute to Salt n Pepa but year 2010ish... u know asymmetrical kinda style..."
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RADIOHEAD COVERS: 'JUST' OUT TODAY, REST VIA CONNECT
Have we mentioned the new Radiohead covers album, 'Exit Music - Songs With Radio Heads'? Actually we did, I remember. Anyway, the rather funky and rather good Mark Ronson cover of Radiohead's 'Just' is out today, with the album due to follow on 3 Apr, both via Rapster. Meanwhile, Sony's download platform Connect (remember them?) have exclusively got the whole album available to download ahead of the album's official release - so if you're an impatient type you should check out http://www.connect-europe.com.
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GELDOF AND OTHERS WIN AT GERMAN ECHOES
Robbie Williams, Madonna and Coldplay all took international gongs at yesterday's Echo Music Awards, the German music industry's big awards bash in Berlin. Neither Robbie nor Madge nor Chris M were on hand to pick up their awards, but Mr Williams sent a recorded message thanking his German fans and saying how much he was looking forward to this summer's World Cup which, of course, is taking place in Germany.
Bob Geldof also won an award at the event - it was a Special Prize, because apparently the former Boomtown Rat's been doing some charity work of late. Geldof also looked forward to a forthcoming German event in his acceptance speech, telling the awards audience: "When the representatives of industrialised nations meet next year at the G8 conference in Germany, it will be your turn".
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BROOKLYN HIP HOP FEST ANNOUNCES LOCATION
The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival has announced that it will change location for its second year, moving to the area's Tobacco Warehouse. The outdoor festival, which takes place on 24 Jun, is part of a series of free events programmed by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and is produced by Room Service Productions.
Room Service president Wes Jackson says: "Our mission is to shine the light on the positive aspects of Hip-Hop culture. In a few years, the waterfront will serve as a world-class venue for many performers. We're just excited to begin that process by bringing attention to this incredible venue and hope to find a permanent home for the Festival along the waterfront."
Info from http://www.brooklynbodega.com.
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FRANZ TO EXIT
Franz Ferdinand are one of the first acts to be announced for this year's Exit Festival, which takes place in Novi Sad, Serbia And Montenegro. Other acts confirmed for the lineup include Tiga, Suzanne Vega, HIM, Technasia and Dave Clarke. It all happens from 6 - 9 Jul, get info and tickets here: http://eng.exitfest.org/
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CORTNEY TIDWELL TOUR
Increasingly acclaimed Cortney Tidwell releases her debut mini-album today via Ever Records - it's a taster of the full LP which is due for release in Jun. Meantime, she will tour the UK in May as part of the Twisted Folk tour, which will also include Howe Gelb and The Voices Of Praise Gospel Choir. The dates for that are as follows:
12 May: Gateshead The Sage
14 May: Reading Concert Hall
16 May: London St Lukes Church
17 May: Birmingham Glee Club
18 May: Glasgow The Arches
19 May: Manchester Academy 2
She will also play at the Roots & Shoots night at London's ICA on 13 May - an interesting event which I really must remember to write more about in the Daily some day soon.
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GIVE IT A TOUR, OH YOU HAVE...
The people behind the Give It A Name mini-festival that we've reported on before in these parts are preceding their main events in London and Manchester at the end of April with a mini-tour under the name 'Give It A Name Introduces' which will feature Drive By, Classic Case and Paramore. Dates as follows:
22 Apr: London Islington Academy
23 Apr: Cardiff Barfly
24 Apr: Liverpool Academy
25 Apr: Newcastle Academy
26 Apr: Glasgow King Tuts
27 Apr: Manchester Academy 3
28 Apr: Birmingham Academy 2
More at: http://www.gigsandtours.com
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FIERY FURNACES TOUR
The Fiery Furnaces have announced a series of tour dates to follow the release of new album 'Bitter Tea' on 1 May. They conclude, of course, with an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties. Here are the dates:
5 May: Manchester, Night & Day
6 May: Glasgow, ABC2
7 May: Dublin, Whelan's
9 May: Leeds, Cockpit
10 May: London, King's College
11 May: Brighton, Concorde
21 May: Camber Sands, All Tomorrow's Parties
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CUBAN BROTHERS: INSTORE AND ALBUM LAUNCH
The A-Z Of The Cuban Brothers is out today on Sunday Best, so if you're in London we suggest you get down to HMV on Oxford Street on Thursday night at 6pm where they'll be celebrating with an instore. The Brothers will also be playing at the Bestival Spring Clean party at KoKo on Saturday (18 Mar), which is doubling up as an official album launch party. Tickets for that are a tenner. Press info from Get Involved.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Ils - 'Loving You' (Distinctive)
'Loving You' is the promising third single from 2005's inspired long player, 'Bohemia', which sees breaks-supremo Ils craft a rosy, radio-friendly, pop track. Accessible and incredibly catchy, brassy Donna Dee's soulful, impassioned vocals are evocative and appropriately haunting, while Ils' distinctive live-sampled drums are as raw and ballsy as ever. Like other 'Bohemia' tracks, there's a cinematic quality akin to Hybrid and a clubbier Zero 7; with stimulating, soaring strings, sunlit steel guitars and an emotive break down. It's positive, effortless and classic - at the risk of being profane, 'Loving You' feels a little like a contemporary 'Unfinished Sympathy', albeit lacking that rare, timeless sophistication. Amplifying it for the dance-floor is hot UK duo Atomic Hooligan, who provide the main room breaks-by-numbers remix; laying on the electro bass line and winding the hi-hat led drums up for a big, screeching break down - sure it's lots of fun, but rather lacklustre for such a capable pair. Up-and-comers Drum Monkeys put in a bit more work with their punchy, retro interpretation - filtering the strings to give a diffused, grainy quality, and putting the boot in with a rich, Friendly-esque drum pattern and bleeping synth riff, making this a definite winner. Rounding off the package is the obligatory soulful and downbeat 'lounge' version, competently provided by Italian duo Ajello, but there's really nothing more to say about it than that - it's awesomely average and simply makes no impact considering its source material. OG
Release date: 3 Apr
Press contact: Trailer Media [all]
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FILM SCHOOL LOSE EVERYTHING
San Fran indie band Film School have had their tour van stolen with all of their equipment in it. Thieves broke into the vehicle, which was parked outside the Columbus Boulevard Hotel in Philadelphia, early on Wednesday morning last week. The band are now pleading with fans via their official website to make donations so that they can get back on tour. But surely they were insured?
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CHART UPDATE
So, in case you wondered, it is still Chico Time. It's a wonderful world isn't it? The actually more popular that you possibly realise Orson go up the singles chart from 5 to 2, while the obviously popular Pussycat Dolls slip down one place to number three with 'Beep'.
All of which means we must go down to number four in the singles chart to get our first new entry - Sugababes with 'Red Dress' (which I actually like, despite the mixed reviews).
Other new entries on the singles chart run thus: Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco's 'Touch The Sky' at 6, Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' re-release at 11, Shapeshifters' 'Incredible' at 12, Placebo's 'Because I Want You' at 13, Black Eyed Peas' 'Pump It' at 16, Bow Wow and Ciara's 'Like You' at 17, Craig David's 'Unbelievable' at 18, Rifles' 'Repeated Offender' at 26, Fightstar's 'Waste A Moment' at 29 and Jose Gonzalez's 'Heartbeats' at 40.
Albums wise, and that Dave Gilmour's still got it you now. His new long player 'On An Island' goes straight in at the top of the charts.
Other album new entries like this: Andrea Bocelli's 'Amore' at 4, Van Morrison's 'Pay The Devil' at 8, David Essex's hits album at 14, Shakira's 'Oral Fixation Vol 2' at 22, Delays wonderful 'You See Colours' at 24, Morning Runner's 'Wilderness Is Paradise Now' at 25, Leo Sayer's best of at 30, Mogwai's 'Mr Beast' at 31, Mystery Jets' ' Making Dens' at 32 and the Curious George soundtrack that Jack Johnson had a hand in at 39. Which is quite a lot.
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THIS WEEK'S STUDENT RADIO CHART
1. [2] Kanye West - Touch the Sky (Universal/Roc-A-Fella)
2. [5] Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Domino)
3. [1] The Strokes - Heart in a Cage (Rough Trade)
4. [4] We Are Scientists - It's a Hit (EMI/Virgin)
5. [7] Orson - No Tomorrow (Universal/Mercury)
6. [24] The Kooks - Naïve (EMI/Virgin)
7. [3] Hot Chip - Over and Over (EMI)
8. [16] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (Universal/Polydor)
9. [10] Gorillaz - Kids With Guns (EMI/Parlophone)
10. [8] Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On (EMI)
11. [NE] The Zutons - Why Don't You Give Me Your Love (SonyBMG/Deltasonic)
12. [13] The Feeling - Sewn (Universal/Island)
13. [20] Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats (Peacefrog)
14. [26] The Pipettes - Your Kisses Ares Wasted On Me (Memphis Industries)
15. [14] Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Warner/Atlantic)
16. [15] Fall Out Boy - Sugar We're Going Down (Universal/Mercury)
17. [NE] The Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle With Me (Too Young To Die)
18. [17] Delays - Valentine (Rough Trade)
19. [NE] The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy (Warner)
20. [9] The Rakes - All Too Human (V2)
21. [22] Mystery Jets - The Boy Who Ran Away (679)
22. [21] Massive Attack - Live with Me (EMI/Virgin)
23. [29] The Fratellis - Creepin Up the Backstairs (Universal/Island)
24. [6] Madonna - Sorry (Warner/Maverick)
25. [NE] Gnarls Barkeley - Crazy (Warner Bros)
26. [19] Maximo Park - I Want You To Stay (Warp)
27. [11] Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - In This Home of Mine (Wichita)
28. [NE] Boy Kill Boy - Back Again (Universal/Vertigo)
29. [RE] Bell X1 - Flame (Universal/Island)
30. [NE] Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead (Universal/Vertigo)
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SUBSHOT PLAYLIST
This then, is the line up of the videos being played via the SUBtv network in students' union bars around the UK this week. New entries marked with a **.
A LIST
**Blaze (feat Barbara Tucker) - Most Precious Love (Defected)
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On (EMI)
ColdCut - True Skool (Ninja Tune)
Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me (MoS)
KT Tunstall - Another Place To Fall (Relentless)
Louie - The Curves & The Bends (Fallout)
Madonna - Sorry (Warners)
Massive Attack - Live With Me (EMI/Virgin)
Morrissey - You Have Killed Me (Sanctuary)
**Studio B - Come On Get It On (Skint)
Delays - Valentine (Rough Trade)
B LIST
CagedBaby - Hello There (Southern Fried)
David Gray - Alibi (Warner/Atlantic)
**Fields - Song For The Fields (Black Lab)
Freemasons Ft. Amanda Wilson - Watchin' (Loaded)
**Hot Chip - Over and Over (EMI)
**Hundred Reasons - Kill Your Own (V2)
**Mish Mash - Speechless (MoS)
Ray J - One Wish (Sanctuary)
Shapeshifters - Incredible (Positiva)
**SemiFinalists - You Said (Regal Bear)
The Mystery Jets - Boy Who Ran Away (679)
**The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (Memphis Industries)
**Vanlustbader - Rock & Roll Part III (Nomadic)
White Rose Movement - Girls In The Back (Independiente)
WigWam - WigWam (Instant Karma)
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CMU RADIO SHOW PLAYLIST
The top tunes that appear on this week's edition of the CMU Radio Show which, you all surely know, you can listen to later today via http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/cmuradio
Bell X1 - Flame (Universal/Island)
The Superimposers - Missing (Little League Productions)
Gotan Project - Diferente (Beggars/XL)
Lucky Soul - My Brittle Heart (Ruffa Lane Records)
The Fratellis - Creeping Up The Back Stairs (Universal/Island)
Scully - Who's A Terrorist Now? (Dust Up Records)
The Rogers Sisters - Never Learn To Cry (Beggars/Too Pure)
Delays - Long Time Coming (Rough Trade)
Daisy Daisy - Michelle Plays Ping Pong (Sunday Best)
Kish Mauve - Two Hearts (Sunday Best)
Goldie Lookin Chain - Your Missus Is A Nutter (Warner/Atlantic)
Coldcut - Everything Is Under Control (Ninja Tune)
Spank Rock - Sweet Talk (Ninja Tune / Big Dada)
Dean Grey Presents American Edit - Whatsername (Bootleg)
The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Team9 Remix) (Bootleg)
Big Strides - Suicidal (Tall Order Records)
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KT TUNSTALL DOES NEW FANGLED WAP THING
KT Tunstall is to promote the release of her new single 'Another Place To Fall' - out today - by doing a mobile phone WAP chat tomorrow at 1pm.
To submit a question, fans will need to text TUNSTALL and their question to 88100. They will then be sent a bookmark button for their handset so they can click through easily on the day and see if their question is answered. Is that all clear? Good.
KT says: "It's been a whirlwind of a year, so I'm really looking forward to hearing what my fans think and I'm excited to be connecting with them via their mobiles - after all, everyone has got one so hopefully no-one will feel left out.'
Press info from Nile-On.
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WALLACE SAYS FUQUA WILL DIRECT BIGGIE MOVIE
The Notorious BIG's mother Voletta Wallace has revealed that 'Training Day' director Antoine Fuqua is to direct a yet to be titled movie based on Biggie's life. She told AllHipHop.com "The film [will be] directed by Antoine Fuqua - a very nice director. He's very talented. Who is gonna play Biggie? I don't know yet. Who is gonna play me, I don't know yet. But we are in the process of casting now."
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IAN BROWN COMMENTS ON PRISON TIME
Ian Brown is a bit pissed off that Gary Glitter only got four months for possessing child porn back in 1999, when Brown himself spent the same period in prison in 1998 for verbally threatening an air hostess. Brown says: "I went away for saying words, yet I got the same sentence as Gary Glitter, who'd downloaded 4,000 disgusting images. I was there scrubbing landings with people who'd burgled old ladies' houses. I was like, 'Get fucking scrubbing, you deserve it.' But I wasn't there to do any scrubbing."
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WALSH WANTS MORE MONEY TO DO X FACTOR
I'm not sure this is new news is it? Anyway, The People reports that Louis Walsh is threatening to not take part in the third series of The X Factor unless he gets the same pay packet as fellow judge Sharon Osbourne, which is reportedly £1.5 million. Walsh's relationship with the show and its exec producer Simon Cowell has been a little strained for a while now, partly because his fellow judges were making fun of him on the show too often, but more because he is the least well paid of the judging panel. Cowell is reportedly keen to keep Walsh on the show, and has personally stepped in before to keep him on board. Whether he'll step in with a suitable pay packet this time round remains to be seen.
The People quote Walsh as saying: "I haven't signed any contract yet despite reports saying I have, and there are issues which I am still not happy about but they are yet to be resolved. I'm looking for a pay rise and if I don't get it, I simply won't do it and yes, it's on the back of Sharon's latest deal. This time last year everything was signed and sealed but not this year. They definitely want me to do it but I want more money. End of story."
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JACKO CONSIDERING RESIDING IN THE UK
Lucky us, Michael Jackson is planning to live in the UK, or he is according to the Mail On Sunday. The paper reports he is staying in a hotel in rural Berkshire, and that he has even enquired about the possibility of buying the mansion that houses it.
An official spokesman (apparently) told the paper: "It would surprise no one if Michael ended up staying in Britain. Michael has been in the UK for several weeks now. It is very unlikely he will return to the US. Europe and Britain in particular feel like a safe haven to him at this time. Michael has a special affinity for Britain and can see himself living there".
Despite spending much of his time since being cleared of those child sex charges in Bahrain, Jacko apparently isn't keen to stay there indefinitely.
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GALLAGHER DISSES PEOPLE SHOCKER
Yes, Liam Gallagher has been dissing people again, although, surprisingly, this time he seems to have done it with a minimum of swearing. Who's in the firing line this time? England footballers, Rolling Stones and U2.
On the England players, he's quoted by Ananova as saying: "I'm not one of those people who are that patriotic when it comes to the England team. I think that if you play direct football and deserve to win, you win. At times the England players seem to play like women. Beckham and others, they're gay boys."
Meanwhile, he was asked about recent South American visitors The Stones and U2 on the eve of Oasis' own South American tour. On The Rolling Stones, he said: "They're the biggest bands in the world, without doubt. The Stones are big. They fill stadiums and they're in tune with the times. I respect them but their songs are a pile of crap."
He continued: "As for U2, I don't understand what they're doing. They're not rock stars - for me, they don't say a lot. They don't seem like normal people."
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AGUILERA PREGNANCY RUMOUR
Baby rumours, anyone? This time it's not about Britney but erstwhile pop nemesis Christina Aguilera. The singer has sparked the rumours by saying she wants to have kids whilst young, and as she's now reached the verging-on-geriatric age of twenty five, I guess she'd better get a move on. "I always knew I wanted to be a young mother," she said. "When I know what I want, I go for it."