| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 8th August |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- CMU at the Edinburgh festival
- ITV boss resigns
- Hawthorne Heights quit Victory Records
- Jacko talks of bankruptcy conspiracy
- Outkast release Idlewild tracklisting
- Zombie remaking Hallowe'en
- Bennett up for Billboard award
- Babyshambles to go on Frog tour
- Elbow and Graham Coxon to headline Manchester charity gig
- Shadow dates
- Jamie T to play next T Mobile street gig thing
- Tube returns
- Nokia buy Loudeye
- EMAP announce kiss plans
- Police called to Macca towers
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CMU AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL>>
Woah, we're extra late today, and that's all the fault of this here Edinburgh Festival, which has been busy distracting us big time. Still, by being so late it meant we got to squeeze in the big TV news story of the day. Meantime, the Edinburgh Festival continues (more at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk), with ever more great comedy, theatre, talks, films, shows and gigs. Re the latter, here's three music reviews from the Edinburgh Fringe from the ThreeWeeks / CMU team.
Mazaika at C Venue in the Edinburgh Fringe (until 28 Aug)
Furious flights of buzzing bumble bees, frenetic fiddling, incessant accordion wheezing, strumming, sliding, operatic singing, costume changing and tap dancing made for an eclectic and highly energetic extravaganza. Both performers could certainly get around their instruments, demonstrating a high level of virtuosity in places. However, the whole show was perhaps a little too highly strung for those with a calmer disposition, for the musicians played the most challenging virtuosic repertoire whilst jumping up and down and sporting comic facial expressions. Ultimately, this duo still showed cuteness of character, steely musicianship and humble conviction. The icing on the cake was a flashing multi-coloured version of James Brown's 'Feel Good' sung by an Arnold Schwarzenegger sound-a-like. A genuine smile. VJ
tw rating 3/5
Life Sucks... And then You Die at C Cubed in the Edinburgh Fringe (until 28 Aug)
From the first moment he steps into the venue and takes his seat at the piano Ray Jessel grabs your attention completely. The delightful Broadway composer plays some of his own older hits along with more recently composed songs full of observations about life which can_t fail to produce a giggle amongst the audience, even if just at the tone of the material escaping this gentle, elderly gent_s mouth. He quickly bashes out a very witty opening song about short-term memory loss which is promptly followed by a quick messing up of the hair and a song about resembling Einstein and being repeatedly mistaken for him. You just can_t fail to fall in love with this amusing individual. KG
tw rating 4/5
Holly Penfield - Both Sides Now at C cubed in the Edinburgh Fringe (until 28 Aug)
They say God loves a trier. And if that_s so then he must love Holly Penfield a lot more than the rest of us. But there_s such a thing as trying too hard, even if you_ve got God on your side. This new cabaret show sees Holly sing her heart out as she attempts to cover both sides of her dual personality. Sadly, her manic behaviour, coupled with some frazzled costume changes (including the use of several ill-advised wigs) make the whole experience a lot like witnessing a schizophrenic episode on stage. The problem is that you_re never quite sure if you_re laughing with her or at her. This ranges into so-bad-it_s-good territory, but remains more worrying than anything else. Keep trying, Holly. AMC
tw rating 2/5
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ITV BOSS RESIGNS
Ending days, weeks, months (I can't remember) of speculation, ITV boss Charles Allen finally announced his resignation earlier today. As previously reported, some of the TV station's shareholders have been calling for Allen to go for sometime now over concerns the company is failing to cope with the ever growing amount of competition in the commercial TV space. Allen will formally leave on 1 Oct, with Finance Director John Cresswell then stepping in until a permanent replacement can be found.
In his resignation statement, he said some or all (well, possibly not all) of the following: "I have enjoyed enormously my 15 years with Granada and ITV and especially in creating a single ITV company and shaping the nation's number one commercial broadcaster as a major player in the digital age. It's a shame no one wants to watch it, but you can't have everything, can you?"
Speculation is now rife as to who will succeed Allen, but we never speculate here in the CMU Daily, so we won't be speculating on this one either. Well, possibly later in the week.
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HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS QUIT VICTORY RECORDS
Ohio based emo band Hawthorne Heights have quit legendary US independent record label Victory Records, and in what could be described as rather acrimonious circumstances. The band have released a really rather bitchy statement laying in to Victory boss Tommy Brummel over his frequently verbal attacks on the major record companies, and his alleged shady business practices (alleged as in the Hawthorne Heights make some allegations.
The band's departing rant says: "Due to recent events we have decided to leave Victory Records. Our departure is anything but amicable. We have decided to leave Victory, in part due to the actions of the man who sits at the head of the label, Tony Brummel. Tony Brummel is a man that cares more about his ego and bank account than the bands themselves".
"Tony is a man whose greed knows no bounds. After selling more than 1.2 million copies of The Silence In Black And White and If Only You Were Lonely, we have never seen a single dollar in artist royalties from Victory Records. Tony will claim that we have not recouped, a term used by those in the music business which means the label has spent more money in advertising than has been made by CD sales. In fact questionable accounting practices are the culprit and we are in fact owed substantial amounts of money much like audits from Taking Back Sunday, Thursday and Atreyu have uncovered".
Brummel is yet to respond.
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JACKO TALKS OF BANKRUPTCY CONSPIRACY
Ah, turns out that Michael Jackson's financial woes have nothing to do with the fact he can't walk across a room without buying it, and more to do with some dodgy lawyers. Well, that's what he's claiming.
A spokesman for the star has told reporters that he now reckons that his former legal team (I'm not sure which one, he's had quite a few) deliberately set out to make him bankrupt. The whole thing is, Jacko claims, "one of the biggest conspiracies in entertainment history". Spokeswoman-now-also-manager Raymone Bain said that the conspiracy came to light when Jackson saw documents which "reveal a deliberate plan by some former attorneys as well as associates and advisors to force Mr Jackson into involuntary bankruptcy".
To this end, Jackson's new legal people are now expected to sue his old legal people, which should prove to be fun.
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OUTKAST RELEASE IDLEWILD TRACKLISTING
Now, we know how many tracklisting fans there are on the CMU Daily mailing list, so consider this your daily fix. The OutKast boys have named the tracks that will appear on their new album 'Idlewild', the soundtrack to their much delayed much previously reported film of the same name. The tracks will run as follows:
Intro
Mighty
Peaches featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar
Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)
Infatuation (Interlude)
N2U" featuring Khujo Goodie
Morris Brown" featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
Chronomentrophobia
The Train featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
Life Is Like A Musical
No Bootleg DVDs (Interlude)
Hollywood Divorce featuring Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg
Zora (Interlude)
Call The Law featuring Janelle Monae
Bamboo & Cross (Interlude)
BuggFace
Makes No Sense At All
In Your Dreams featuring Killer Mike & Janelle Monae
PJ & Rooster
Mutron Angel featuring Whild Peach
Greatest Show On Earth featuring Macy Gray
You're Beautiful (Interlude)
When I Look In Your Eyes
Dyin' To Live
A Bad Note
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ZOMBIE REMAKING HALLOWE'EN
Elsewhere in music related movie news, Rob Zombie has announced that he will be directing a 'rethink' (whatever that means) of Halloween, the 1970s slasher flick.
Yahoo Music quote him thus: "I basically went back and just came up with the idea of a very extended prequel combined with an update of the first film. I thought it would be exciting for fans of the original and it would be exciting for people that never saw the original."
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BENNETT UP FOR BILLBOARD AWARD
Tony Bennett will receive the Century Award at the Billboard Awards later this year which is nice, for him. Commenting on the award, 80 year old Bennett told reporters yesterday that it "means everything", adding: "Billboard is the bible of the music business - my 80th feels like a big payoff to me. It's really the best year I've ever had in show business. It's been a year-long celebration."
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BABYSHAMBLES TO GO ON FROG TOUR
Babyshambles are going on tour again - but don't worry, if they don't show The Holloways and Noisettes will co-headlining, so you'll still get a good night for your pound. The three bands will play 'The Frog Tour' (it's being organised by London club Frog) from the end of next month, dates as follows:
26 Sep: Carlow Music Factory
27 Sep: Dublin Ambassador
28 Sep: Belfast Mandela Hall
1 Oct: Birmingham Academy
2 Oct: Leeds University
3 Oct: Southampton Guildhall
4 Oct: Norwich UEA
5 Oct: London Brixton Academy
6 Oct: Liverpool Academy
7 Oct: Glasgow Academy
8 Oct: Nottingham Rock City
9 Oct: Manchester Academy
10 Oct: Newcastle Academy
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ELBOW AND GRAHAM COXON TO HEADLINE MANCHESTER CHARITY GIG
More live news. Manchester's Platt Fields Park will play host to Elbow, Graham Coxon, Badly Drawn Boy, an Andy Rourke lead super-group and 808 State's new project, Toolshed as part of a big benefit gig in aid of charities working in Kosovo. It all takes place on 23 Sep, and as well as that already rather fine line up you'll get Longcut, The Sunshine Underground, Roland Shanks and The KBC on stage 2. Tickets are £19.50 and are available now.
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SHADOW DATES
Have we already mentioned the dates for the upcoming DJ Shadow tour? I can't remember. Ah well, here they are, just in case...
28 Nov: Newcastle Academy
29 Nov: Glasgow Academy
30 Nov: Leeds University
2 Dec: Sheffield Octagon
4 Dec: Birmingham Academy
7 Dec: Bournemouth IC Solent Hall
8 Dec: Norwich UEA
9 Dec: Manchester Academy
12 Dec: Nottingham Rock City
13 Dec: Bristol Academy
15 Dec: London Brixton Academy
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JAMIE T TO PLAY NEXT T MOBILE STREET GIG THING
The next of those T-Mobile unusual location gig things will feature the lovely Jamie T and will take place in, erm, a public toilet in Shepherds Bush. It's not as seedy as that possibly sounds - it's a converted former WC. Jamie T will play an intimate acoustic set as part of the promotion - tickets for which can, I'm guessing, be won from somewhere. On the venture Jamie told CMU: "It's not often that you get to play in a public toilet! The location and atmosphere are great and I'm looking forward to playing there."
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THE TUBE RETURNS
The famous and infamous The Tube will be troubling the airwaves once again for the first time in nineteen years, though this time it will be in the form of a radio show. The original The Tube courted considerable controversy, of course, mainly for the yoof TV style antics that took place alongside the performances from many of the late eighties finest indie bands. It is the 'edginess' of the show that Channel 4 bosses hope to recreate on their new radio station. C4 head of radio Natalie Schwarz says The Tube was always "fresh, unpredictable and edgy. These are qualities we know the new show will emulate."
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NOKIA BUY LOUDEYE
Nokia has bought Loudeye which, as you'll remember, owns OD2, the back end download platform supplier company who still provide the actual technical know-how behind numerous download services. The deal is said to be worth $60 million.
A statement on the deal from Nokia reads thus: "By acquiring Loudeye, Nokia can offer consumers a comprehensive mobile music experience, including devices, applications and the ability to purchase digital music". Lucky them.
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EMAP ANNOUNCE KISS PLANS
EMAP has announced some of its plans for the long anticipated Kiss FM relaunch - and have confirmed that the Vibe radio stations it acquired with its Scottish Radio Holdings purchase last year (which broadcast in Bristol and East Anglia) will both be rebranded with the Kiss name.
In a bid to rediscover its past glories, Kiss will get a new brand and schedule come September, with all that R&B and urban nonsense that it has relied on of late kicked out of the door, to be replaced by more of that thumping dance music. Presumably EMAP bosses are hoping that we are due another dance music revival, and I think they might be right, so it could prove to be a good move on their part, in the long run any how.
Bill Griffin, the former C4 marketing chief who will be MD of the new Kiss network, told reporters today: "Kiss is one of the biggest youth media brands in the UK and is consistently the number one station for 15-34s in London. We wanted to build on Kiss's incredible heritage ... To recognise Kiss's status as a national media brand, we are building on the current 'young, fun London' ethos with a new philosophy - 'first to move'. We'll also be putting a fresh emphasis on the multiplatform distribution of Kiss."
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POLICE CALLED TO MACCA TOWERS
We may be running late today, but there's still time for some idle gossip. The tabloids have reported that the police were called to the London home of Paul McCartney yesterday after his soon to be ex wife Heather Mills McCartney got her personal security guard to scale the walls of the property after she couldn't get in. Apparently one of Macca's staff spotted the Heather's security guard trying to gain entry into the house and quickly called the police in to sort him out. It really is going to be a fun divorce.