| CMU Daily - on the inside Monday 7th August |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- CMU at the Edinburgh Festival
- Arthur Lee dies
- Major labels sue LimeWire
- Death From Above 1979 call it quits
- Kiss fans protest at US Hall Of Fame
- Rapper wants Castro to die
- Strokes man releases debut
- Dirty Pretty Things play gig for road safety campaign
- Soprano Schwarzkopf dies
- Osmond publicist denies suicide reports
- Gilmour reschedules concerts over stage concerns
- Kylie promoters crackdown on eBay touts
- Chart update
- HMV to sell music-enabled mobiles
- Tower Records: best but possibly bankrupt
- Law firm confirm new head of music
- More Madonna on a cross outrage
- Slayer ads banned
- Kasabian support Stones - in ticket sales too
- Melua to release song about Kook
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CMU AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL>>
The CMU team are currently covering the largest arts festival on the planet - the Edinburgh Festival - through our sister publication, ThreeWeeks in Edinburgh. If you are in Edinburgh check out the first edition of the ThreeWeeks radio show with Chris, Caro, some great guests and some top music today from 11am to 1pm today (and every day) on 87.7FM all over Edinburgh. Meanwhile, read all the latest news and reviews at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk, and check out some ThreeWeeks reviews right here from this year's Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, which reached its climax this weekend.
Mattias Seuffert Quartet at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival on 31 Jul
Classic jazz with a new vein of life, Seuffert does more than just revisit the music of the 1920's and 1930's. He doesn't play out old standards as homage to the era, he revitalises them and makes them relevant to today. The experienced band included Tom Finlay (piano), Roy Percy (double bass) and Adam Sorensen (drums) with guest appearances from George Washing Machine on violin and his friend on guitar. They were flawless throughout with Seuffert and Washing Machine working off each other up front and Finlay, Percy and Sorensen keeping the mood high at the back. Six guys were up on stage doing their thing to classic jazz scores that felt like they were written yesterday. A mid-afternoon gem. TB
tw rating 5/5
Tord Gustavsen Trio at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival on 31 Jul
This Norwegian trio dressed in smart, shiny suits played slow, mesmerising music and had a shade of intensity about them unlike anything else at the Festival. Their very quiet music opened the door to a world of new sounds especially from Jarle Vespestad on drums who danced around his under-populated drum kit with ease and found scintillating new cymbal effects. Band leader Gustavsen looked like a greasy introvert but, surprisingly, was a charming showman and kept us on the brink of anticipation for most of the performance. Once or twice a song or 'hymn' as he referred to it held for too long and became exhausting, but overall it was a low-key, yet passionate set from these young Scandinavian stars. TB
tw rating 4/5
Evan Christopher, John Bunch Duo at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival on 1 Aug
There wasn't much connection between these two musicians. They were different ages, they have different styles and they didn't have particularly similar tastes. There wasn't any reason why they should be performing in the intimate confines of a duo. Christopher is an excellent clarinetist but didn't have a strong enough stage presence to entertain the crowd by himself and he didn't give off much of a rapport with the octogenarian pianist. Bunch was excellent on the piano but the duo format proved a little demanding for him. The pair went through some nice standards from Berlin, Gershwin, Ellington and Waller but there wasn't much happening in their interpretations and the music never rose above the level of quite pleasant. TB
tw rating 2/5
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ARTHUR LEE DIES
Arthur Lee, the influential singer and guitarist with sixties band Love, has died in his home town of Memphis aged 61 after suffering from acute myeloid leukaemia.
Perhaps best known for the 1967 Love album 'Forever Changes', while Lee struggled to better his early recorded work, he enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years after launching a new version of Love in 2002 and touring quite extensively. Meanwhile the three Love albums have become increasingly admired over the years, with 'Forever Changes' being pronounced the 40th greatest album of all time in a Rolling Stone chart.
He left the reformed band last year, and it was announced earlier this year that he was suffering from leukaemia. A number of fund raising gigs were subsequently held by fans and friends to help meet his escalating medical expenses.
His death comes just weeks after that of Syd Barrett, another legendary yet erratic figure of the sixties music world, whose musical influence was often compared to Lee's.
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MAJOR LABELS SUE LIMEWIRE
Having reached that previously reported landmark settlement with the once flagship P2P network Kazaa, the major record companies have announced they are suing another major player in the non-legit file sharing space, LimeWire. The lawsuit, filed in New York last week, says that since August 2000, LimeWire and two of the company's executives, Mark Gorton and Greg Bildson, have distributed software that enables copyright violation, promoted that software for its "superior infringement capabilities", and profited from selling advertising on the P2P network.
A spokesperson for the Recording Industry Association Of America, who issued the lawsuit, told reporters: "Despite numerous efforts to engage LimeWire, the site's corporate owners have shown insufficient interest in developing a legal business model that adequately respects copyright. While other services have come productively to the table, LimeWire has sat back and continued to reap profits on the backs of the music community. That is unfortunate and has left us no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect the rights and livelihoods of artists, songwriters and record label employees, as well as those companies building legitimate businesses based on music."
Neither LimeWire nor the two execs directly targeted in the new lawsuit have commented as yet.
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DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 CALL IT QUITS
Death From Above 1979 have announced via a lengthy statement on their website that they are to split. The duo's Jesse Keeler explained that the break-up was inevitable, due to the nature of the pair's recent relationship, saying: "Over the last three years of touring, Sebastien and I had grown apart to such an extent that the only real time we spoke was just before we would play and during interviews."
He added that had he and bandmate Sebastien Grainger only continued with their recent commitments "because there were good people working for us who relied on us to make a living and buy Christmas presents and pay rent."
Keeler continued: "We started as a punk band with pop aspirations and we met every goal we set for ourselves. It was my goal to see how big we could become without ever compromising or changing what we did right from the start...and now I know. We did way more than I ever expected and I like to think the fans ... enjoyed it as much as we did."
Chris Taylor of the band's label Last Gang, said in a statement: "We are saddened by the announcement but look forward to continued success with both Jesse and Sebastien individually."
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KISS FANS PROTEST AT US HALL OF FAME
About 200 Kiss fans have protested outside the US Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame museum in Cleveland, demanding that the band be inducted into the hall. Holding banners and with faces painted like their idols, the fans staged a 30 minute protest over the fact that, despite being eligible for membership since the 1990s, Kiss have never been honoured by the Hall Of Fame committee. A spokesman for the museum said it was the first time that fans had protested about any one band not having been inducted, but pointed out that the actual decision making re the Hall Of Fame wasn't made at the museum but at the Hall Of Fame organisation's HQ in New York.
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RAPPER WANTS CASTRO TO DIE
A Miami based rapper called Pitbull has reacted to news of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's current ill health by recording a new track expressing the wish that Castro would die. The reggaeton star's 'Ya Se Acabo (It's Over)', which can be heard on Pitbull's MySpace site, follows reports that Castro had temporarily handed over power to his brother whilst undergoing intestinal surgery.
Lyrics include ones like these: "No more 90 mile trips to the Keys. No more risking your life for freedom. I'm hoping he's dead, because we don't need him."
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STROKES MAN RELEASES DEBUT
Strokes man Albert Hammond Jr is to release a solo album this Autumn and it seems that the long player will only see a UK release. The record, 'Yours To Keep', will be out over here via Rough Trade on 9 Oct. Strokes manager Ryan Gentles says of the album, which features guest appearances from the likes of Strokes bandmate Julian Casablancas, Sean Lennon and Ben Kweller: "It sounds like Albert. If you don't know him, you just have to listen to the record, and you will know him intimately."
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DIRTY PRETTY THINGS PLAY GIG FOR ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN
Dirty Pretty Things are to play a concert in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign, following the deaths earlier this year of three teenage girls, killed on their way home from one of the group's gigs. Carl Barat's band will perform at the special event at The Coronet in Southwark on 13 Sep. Two hundred pairs of tickers will be given away free via a prize draw.
The three fans, Claire and Jennifer Stoddart and Carla Took, died in the accident after a recent Dirty Pretty Things concert in Ipswich. Claire and Jennifer's father, Phil Stoddart, said: "I hope that the Make Roads Safe campaign will help other parents avoid the pain we have been going through as a result of the tragic loss of Claire and Jennifer."
The campaign calls on world leaders to take steps to minimise road traffic injuries, which claim the lives of more than 3000 people globally each day. Carl Barat commented: "It is unbelievable that around the world a child is killed every three minutes on the road, yet almost nothing is being done to prevent this. The recent deaths in Suffolk of Claire, Jennifer and Carla were so sad, such a waste of young lives, and this is happening to families every day. This is why Dirty Pretty Things are supporting the Make Roads Safe campaign."
See more info, and sign the campaign's online petition at http://www.makeroadssafe.org.
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SOPRANO SCHWARZKOPF DIES
German soprano Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf has died at the age of 90, at her home in Austria. Born in the now-Polish town of Jarotschin, the singer trained in Berlin and Leicester, and sang for the Berlin State Opera from 1939 until 1942. She later became principal of the Vienna State Opera, sang with New York's Metropolitan Opera, and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1992, after becoming a British citizen. Schwarzkopf was also married to Walter Legge, artistic director of EMI Records and a founder of the Philharmonia, from 1951 until his death in 1979.
In her later life, she came under public scrutiny for her early links with the Nazi party. In retirement, she admitted that she had applied to join the Nazi Party in 1939 likening it to joining a union, and saying: "I applied for membership when I was 24, in my second year at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. I was told that I must do so if I wanted to continue my career. The membership card never reached me."
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OSMOND PUBLICIST DENIES SUICIDE REPORTS
A spokeswoman for Marie Osmond has denied reports that the former pop star attempted suicide recently, and says that her client's recent admission to hospital was the result of a bad reaction to a medication. Publicist Amy Hawkes explained that Osmond had several days in hospital after the incident but was now "doing fine", adding: "She basically had an adverse reaction to some medication she was taking and she blacked out".
Osmond's manager Karl Engemann said: "We deal with those tabloids all the time. You get tired of responding. It's like punching Jell-O."
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GILMOUR RESCHEDULES CONCERTS OVER STAGE CONCERNS
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour was this weekend forced to postpone two concerts in Venice after a structural defect in the stage was discovered during soundcheck, a defect which could have caused the whole stage unit to collapse mid-concert. The gigs, due to take place in the city's St Mark's Square, will now take place next weekend. Gilmour told reporters: "Our most sincere apologies to all those who were supposed to attend these shows this weekend. A structural defect was discovered in the scaffolding just before the sound check this evening, which has rendered the whole stage structure unsafe."
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KYLIE PROMOTERS CRACKDOWN ON EBAY TOUTS
Promoters of Kylie Minogue's upcoming 'comeback' concerts are hoping to stop people from reselling tickets to the gigs at huge mark ups via eBay.
As previously reported, demand for Kylie's next London shows, her first in the UK since undergoing treatment for breast cancer, was huge, with tickets selling out in minutes. Such was the demand that some touts were auctioning off tickets via eBay at up to five times to face value price.
Promoters of the gig and, according to some reports, Kylie herself, were angered by the unofficial profiteering off her fans, and moves have been made to void any tickets sold in this way.
It is not the first time tickets have been sold for profit on eBay, of course, and some question what exactly promoters can do to stop the practice. However, ticket agency See Tickets says that it has identified several ticket holders reselling tickets online, and has said that it will void their tickets.
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CHART UPDATE
So, the top three in this week's single's chart is pretty much as last week, though Rihanna and Christina have swapped places, meaning it goes Shakira at 1 with 'Hips Don't Lie', Rihanna at 2 with 'Unfaithful' and Christina Aguilera at 3 with 'Ain't No Other Man'.
The first new entry this week comes at 4 from Cascada with 'Everytime We Touch', while pointless Paris Hilton moves up the chart from 35 to 5, making me think that perhaps physical CD sales only kicked in this week.
Lower down the chart you get the good new entries - the great Similou with 'All This Love' at 20, The Raconteurs with 'Trouble' at 29, Captain with 'Glorious' at 30 and Holloways with 'Two Left Feet' at 33. Finally Frank enters the chart with 'I'm Not Shy' at 40.
Albums wise, that James Morrison bloke scores the highest new entry at number one with 'Undiscovered', which knocks Razorlight's new long player off the top spot and into second place. Other new entries include the Puppini Sisters with 'Betcha Bottom Dollar' at 17, DMX with 'Year Of The Dog Again' at 22, Stone Sour with 'Come What(ever) May' at 27 and Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits at 37.
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HMV TO SELL MUSIC-ENABLED MOBILES
Twenty-one HMV stores in the UK have started selling music-enabled mobile phones for both the Vodafone and Orange networks. Handsets on sale in the record stores will include those Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones that include a music player. The phones will be stocked in the shops' 'digital' section alongside MP3 players and the like.
Confirming the move, HMV's Head Of Digital Mark Bennett told reporters: "We're not trying to get into the mobile phones business here - the key point of differentiation for us is that all the phones that we will be stocking will feature music players. This initiative supports the ongoing development of HMV's multi-channel strategy aimed at giving consumers the greatest possible access to music and entertainment."
Many Virgin Megastores have had a department flogging Virgin Mobiles for a long time now of course, but it is the first time their high street rival has stocked mobile phones.
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TOWER RECORDS: BEST BUT POSSIBLY BANKRUPT
More retail news, from the US this time. We don't follow US music retail news very closely here in the CMU Daily, but this story seemed quite amusing. Tower Records was announced 'Large Retailer Of The Year' in the awards bit of the annual convention of the US National Association Of Recording Merchandisers this weekend, which was nice. It was also a bit ironic given that much of the rest of the convention was spent discussing reports that the legendary record store chain, which has struggled a lot in recent years, was about to be forced into bankruptcy, reports that have led to most distribution firms stopping supplying the chain with new products. Tower has been up for sale since February and one possible sale reportedly fell through in the last couple of weeks - leading to speculation that a buyer will not be found and winding up will follow.
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LAW FIRM CONFIRM NEW HEAD OF MUSIC
London law firm Harbottle & Lewis, who lost their remaining music industry partner James Sully to rivals Sheridans a few weeks back, have announced the appointment of former Polydor Business Affairs Director Paul Jones as their new Head Of Music. Harbottles' Managing Partner Lawrence Abramson confirmed on Friday that Jones would be joining them from new media and entertainment boutique Smiths, telling reporters: "His [existing] practice, which is very much focused on the industry rather than primarily talent, is an ideal fit for the firm". That existing practice includes clients like Universal, Pathe and Jamie Cullum.
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MORE MADONNA ON A CROSS OUTRAGE
More outrage in the Christian church over Madonna's exploits on a crucifix during her current live show, this time from Russia's Orthodox Church, who are calling on Russians to boycott Madonna's first ever concert in Moscow because of the routine.
A spokesman for the church told reporters this weekend: "The US singer Madonna exploits Christian symbols - the cross, rosary beads and the crucifix - and tries to equate human passions, including her own personal passions, with something sacred. I don't think that Orthodox believers should support this lady by going to her concert".
So, consider all you Orthodox believing CMU Daily readers fully informed.
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SLAYER ADS BANNED
More annoyed Christians, and the City Of Fullerton in California has banned ads promoting Slayer's upcoming album 'Christ Illusion'. Apparently officials object to the album name, the band's name and the album's cover artwork.
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KASABIAN SUPPORT STONES - IN TICKET SALES TOO
I've no idea if this story is true, but there have been reports that Kasabian were going to have to pay to watch the Rolling Stones this weekend, even though they were the band's support act. Apparently if the Kasabian boys wanted to go and watch the Stones play from front of house they would have had to shell out for a £150/200 ticket.
The Mirror quote the band's Tom Meighan as saying: "It's quite incredible. We're fucking supporting them! So if we get kicked off the stage we've got to buy a ticket, which is about 200 quid".
But he stressed he had no hard feelings towards the Stones themselves: "It's probably Americans who are running it, not Jagger. And Richards isn't going to know what's fucking going on, is he?"
And he waxed lyrical once again about what a thrill it was to open for Jagger et al: "It is a fucking absolute honour you know, they're gods, ain't they? I mean Mick Jagger, Richards, it's just yeah... Shit like that blows your mind again, you know. It just happens so fast sometimes that I just don't know how to take it, but it's a wonderful thing, man."
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MELUA TO RELEASE SONG ABOUT KOOK
That Katie Melua is apparently to release a single that takes as its subject matter her relationship with Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard, which ought to please him as he's notoriously not-keen to talk about it. In fact, the fact that he's not keen to talk about it made for one of the most memorable Simon Amstell interviews to take place during the presenter's tenure at Popworld. So there you go.