| CMU Daily - on the inside Friday 1st December |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- GnR v EODM: tell that motherfucker to go and fuck himself
- Snoop and Knight bicker some more
- Snoop sues EMI over royalties from Priority albums
- Cypress Hill sued for deposit return
- Three 6 Mafia settle with fan
- Twisted Black sentenced to life in prison
- Madonna happy with Malawian court ruling
- Garrett joins Australian shadow cabinet
- Pavarotti to make first public appearance
- New Fiddy album in the spring
- Biffy Clyro single
- Bloc Party single
- Sanctuary sign former Cranberries singer
- Mills McCartney wants the house
- Rod Stewart divorce finalised, finally
- Kerrang! name best fifty punk albums ever
- God Fires Man EP, tour
- Senses Fail ticket for single thing
- Late at the Tate with the Big Chill
- Manilow signing at HMV Oxford Street this weekend
- Killers cancel Dublin show
- New think tank report lays into labels and BBC
- Verdict's verdict: downloading will boom
- Nettwerk man advocates songs over albums
- Patent application suggests iPod phone in production
- More talk of UTV/SMG merger
- Merchant gets 6music show
- McGee does some Robbie bashing
- Pop acts fight out final I'm A Celeb vote
- Britney's ex on Britney's ex
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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK OF THE YEAR
Email in song title, artist and a sentence on why it's your favourite to [email protected]
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TOP BIT>>
The CMU recommended Breaking Ground breaks feast is this weekend, but there's more details about that in the CMU Recommended slot below. So I thought I'd use the Top Bit to tell you about an entirely different CMU Recommended night, the next edition of Kill All Hippies, the last one of the year, which is all set to be a real stormer, not least because of its huge and really rather good live line up.
On the bill are, Robots In Disguise who, I am told, "pack a full-on left-field funk punk electro shock that's set to spark something of a revolution", which sounds mighty good to me. Next you'll get the anthemic and defining sounds of Roland Shanks and then the indie electro madness of Deaf Stereo. Then there's South East London's Bolt Action Five, perhaps best known for their own No Pain In Pop club night, but also a really rather good band themselves. And finally there'll be Mr Hudson & The Library, a recent My Space Of The Day artist who has just finished what is sure to be one of the best albums of early 2007.
Add to all that DJ sets from The Cooper Temple Clause, Gavin Nugent, The Young Knives, Lois & Pearl and the Scruffy Bird DJs and wow what a night. It all takes place a week today, Friday 8 Dec, at the Carling Academy Islington, from 9pm to 3am. It's £6 before 11pm then £8 after. Tickets in advance from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk, press info from Leyline.
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
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CMU RECOMMENDS>>
BREAKING GROUND
Another storming night for your diaries - the second edition of breaks fest Breaking Ground. All the big names are going to be on the bill - Pendulum (Live), Stanton Warriors, Rennie Pilgrem with MC Chickaboo, Splitloop (Live), Precision Cuts, Janette Slack, Breakfastaz, Deekline & Wizard with MC Ivory, Cltr-Z, Freshold, Si Begg, General Midi, Soto, Merka, Symmetrik, Dirtpop, Mr Sushi and Fyoog. Phew. It will all take place at London's seOne Club on Saturday 2 Dec, from 9.30pm to 6am. Tickets are £18.50 in advance - from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk - press info from Leyline.
Full info>> http://www.leylinepromotions.com/breakingground
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CMU FRIDAY TIPS
VIGSY'S CLUB TIP: Favouritizm's 5th Birthday Party at Plan B
The big draw for this Favouritizm night is Quentin Harris. Yep, Fav boss Sarah Foote, who is celebrating both her own birthday and the fifth birthday of her promo company, has roped in Harris, of Shelter, NYC fame, to ensure we all get one hell of a good night. Quentin will belt out a three hour set of stellar house music - with support from Simon Reid and Foote herself. Should be good, and
congrats to Sarah for continuing to prop up her little corner of dance music.
Saturday 2 Dec, 10pm - 5am, Plan B, 418 Brixton Rd, Brixton, SW9, £10 all night, info at http://www.plan-brixton.co.uk, press info from [email protected]
CARO'S LIVE TIP 1: The Pipettes at Popstarz
The Pipettes are playing live at Popstarz at Scala tonight. I've never seen them play, but I reckon they'll be pretty good live, generally because their music is so fun and poppy. I've never been to Popstarz either, but I hear it's very good too. Anyway, worth checking it out, whatever your orientation.
Friday 1 Dec, 10pm - 4am, Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, N1 9NL, £4 before 11pm, £7 after, info at http://www.scala-london.co.uk
CARO'S LIVE TIP 2: Ennio Morricone
Yes, a second tip. And there are two chances to see this one. The legend that is Ennio Morricone performs tonight and tomorrow at the Hammersmith Apollo. This is the man who wrote the soundtrack to 'The Good The Bad And The Ugly'. 'The Mission'. 'Once Upon A Time In America'. Need I say more?
Friday 1 and Saturday 2 Dec, 7pm, Hammersmith Apollo, Queen Caroline Street, W6 9QH, prices vary, see http://www.livenation.co.uk/events/event_info.aspx?rid=171519
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GNR V EODM: TELL THAT MOTHERFUCKER TO GO AND FUCK HIMSELF
This is what we like. Full on proper feuding between bands. Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes, frontman of Eagles Of Death Metal, has responded to Axl Rose, who called his band "the pigeons of shit metal" before axing them from the support slot on the current Guns N Roses US tour, allegedly after Hughes' band was poorly received at a GnR gig in Cleveland.
Responding via the NME, Hughes politely gave his side of the story: "Axl Rose is fucking out of his mind. He wasn't even there when we played. He got there about 30 minutes after we got done playing. He waltzed on to the stage and went nuts. He had a couple of fans thrown out for pissing him off. Then when he called us The Pigeons Of Shit Metal, Tommy Stinson, their bass player, took his bass off and goes: 'Fuck you, that's it'. And then he threw his bass down. But then Axl picked up his bass and fucking threw it at him dude. It was a fucking circus up there".
Hughes claims that after Axl's raging there was major stress in the GnR camp, with Rose's bandmates furious at how their support band had been treated. So much so Rose's management called up the EODM's tour manager asking the band to rejoin the GnR tour. An offer to which Hughes responded: "You can tell that motherfucker to go and fuck himself because I will never go through that again".
Elsewhere in EODM stuff, the band are due to tour the UK in early 2007, with Hughes' part time partner in crime Josh Homme joining the band for some of the live dates.
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SNOOP AND KNIGHT BICKER SOME MORE
More public bitching, this time in the hip hop domain. Former Death Row boss and recent bankrupt Suge Knight has been responding to comments made by Snoop Dogg in the December issue of Rolling Stone magazine - with the latest dispute between the two hip hop icons basically centering on 'who's the hardest'.
Commenting on his long running feud with Knight, Snoop told Rolling Stone: "I felt like challenging him would either expose his whole card or I would have to kill the nigga. And I was ready to do it. That's where I was with it. So when he got out of jail, I'm fuckin' with him. Never was afraid of him. I was afraid I was gonna have to kill him. That's what I was afraid of".
Responding via the New York Post, Knight says: "I don't have to go around and convince people I'm tough. The only being I fear is God. Snoop has never been in a real fight. When there's trouble, he runs to the police. He throws up and starts crying". Commenting on Snoop's recent and previously reported run ins with the law, Knight predicts his rival will get off on all charges because: "Snoop is a rat. He's a police informer. This is the only guy who never goes to jail no matter what. I don't like rats".
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SNOOP SUES EMI OVER ROYALTIES FROM PRIORITY ALBUMS
More from the Snoop camp, and the rapper is suing EMI over $2 million in royalties which he claims he is owed for hit albums 'Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss', 'Tha Last Meal' and 'Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told'. From 1997 to 2002 Snoop was signed to Priority Records, which became a wholly owned EMI subsidiary in 1998, eventually being essentially merged into EMI's Capitol division. Snoop claims that it is EMI rather than Priority's original management that are responsible for failing to pay him royalties he is due. The lawsuit reportedly says: "Apparently, since EMI has taken over the running of Priority from [founder] Bryan Turner, the once somewhat artist-friendly label has decided to make up for a downturn in the industry by failing to honour the contracts made with its hip hop artists while Turner was at the helm".
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CYPRESS HILL SUED FOR DEPOSIT RETURN
More hip hop litigation. Rap group Cypress Hill have been sued by US music promoters Wavecrest Media over claims they refused to return a $150,000 deposit after a 2004 concert in Tennessee was cancelled at the last minute because of Hurricane Ivan.
The rappers were booked to play alongside Petey Pablo, Alien Ant Farm and Apex Theory at the Tennessee State Fair in September 2004, with Wavecrest reportedly planning to record the event for a future DVD. But the 'category 5' hurricane hit the US on 16 Sep that year forcing the event to be cancelled at the last minute.
Wavecrest say that, because of the circumstances surrounding the cancellation, Cypress Hill are obligated to return the deposit they received when they were booked to play the event, but as yet the group have refused to do so. The promoters have filed papers at the Davidson County Court in Nashville in a bid to secure repayment. Cypress Hill are yet to respond to the litigation.
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THREE 6 MAFIA SETTLE WITH FAN
Rappers Three 6 Mafia have settled a lawsuit brought against them by Pittsburgh teenager Ramone Williams, who claimed to have been severely beaten at a concert and blames the hip hop group because fellow gig-goers acted upon the lyrics of the track 'Let's Start A Riot'.
The then teenager claimed that he became uneasy when the band began their performance of the track at the 2003 event, and says that by the end he had been thrown to the floor, hit with a chair and kicked in the face, resulting in a fractured jaw.
The settlement is closed, so we don't know how much it was for. Though, presumably some money changed hands. So remember, performers, don't say anything in your tracks that could be used against you in this way. In fact, just quit with the lyrics altogether. They're too dangerous by far.
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TWISTED BLACK SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
US rapper Twisted Black, real name Tommy Burns, has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. His alleged co-conspirator, one Courtney Iglehart, testified as to how he had met Burns at a recording studio in Texas back in February of 2005 and paid him $4,500 for a quarter of a kilogram of powder cocaine. Another witness testified to the fact that Burns and a friend, aspiring rapper Zet, aka Zeteral Perkins, were dealing as much as a kilo of coke per three week period throughout 2005.
The rapper, who released four albums via 3R Entertainment/Scarred 4 Life between 1995 and 2005, had just signed a new deal with TVT Records when he was arrested by officers of the Drug Enforcement Agency in July this year. His first album for TVT is due in 2007. Which is all good timing, jail sentences often boosting hip hop record sales of course. Though it being a life sentence it's probably less good news for his long term relationship with TVT.
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MADONNA HAPPY WITH MALAWIAN COURT RULING
According to Madonna's Malawian lawyer, the singer and her husband have accepted the Malawian high court ruling that will allow the country's Human Rights Consultative Committee to monitor them as she tries to formalise her adoption of little David Banda. Alan Chinula told reporters: "The Ritchies called me from London and I explained to them the ruling ... they have no problem with the ruling and are also willing to sit back and wait".
As previously reported, the coalition of human rights groups are concerned that the government fast-tracked the adoption procedure for Madonna, and, whilst they are not objecting to the star's actual adoption of the child, they maintain that the regulations must not be subject to short cuts and must be followed to the letter if the children in such cases are to be adequately protected.
David Banda's father Yohane Banda, meanwhile, has said that he hoped the law would be reformed to make it easier for foreigners to adopt Malawian children. He told reporters: "In Malawi, there are too many underprivileged children, most of them orphans. I appeal to rich people with Madonna's kind heart to come and adopt these children."
He added that he is happy that Madonna is taking care of his son, saying: "We are happy here. I know Madonna loves the child, I want to encourage her to keep on loving David."
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GARRETT JOINS AUSTRALIAN SHADOW CABINET
Former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, who became an MP for the Australian Labour Party back in October 2004, has been appointed to the party's shadow cabinet. The singer's work as part of the ALP has been relatively low-key until now, working as secretary for Reconciliation and The Arts, but according to reports he will now take on a climate change portfolio. The job will see him challenging prime minister John Howard on issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and water shortages.
Garrett quit Midnight Oil back in 2002, of course, to concentrate on environmental campaigning, before moving into party politics, claiming that was the only way he could effect any meaningful change.
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PAVAROTTI TO MAKE FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE
Luciano Pavarotti is to make his first public appearance since his previously reported surgery for pancreatic cancer when he receives a prize on 6 Dec at a music festival in the Italian city of Bergamo. The tenor will be awarded the Donizetti prize in recognition of his performances of the composer's operas. A spokeswoman from the Donizetti Theatre says: "His health has improved, aside from some problems walking. He uses a small cane".
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NEW FIDDY ALBUM IN THE SPRING
50 Cent's new studio album 'Before I Self Destruct' is expected to be released in the spring. As previously reported, the rapper says that his third LP will have a Motown influence. "I show more vulnerability on this record than on others," he says. "I'm in a space where I can experiment a little bit. I mean, I felt a lot of pressure between each one of my projects."
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BIFFY CLYRO SINGLE
Biffy Clyro are set to release a new single. I don't know exactly when. But I know what it's called. It's called 'semi-mental'. No capitals. Just to clarify, no upper case. 'semi-mental', just the way I've written it. Got that? Good.
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BLOC PARTY SINGLE
Bloc Party are to release their new single 'The Prayer' on 29 Jan, which is, as I'm sure you all know by now, just two days before my birthday. Anyway, it's the first single release from the band's upcoming second album, 'A Weekend In The City' which will be out on 5 Feb via Wichita. The single will be available as a CD, backed by a second track 'We Were Lovers', plus a remix of the a-side. It will also be released on two 7"s, the first backed by 'England', the second by 'Version 2'.
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SANCTUARY SIGN FORMER CRANBERRIES SINGER
Sanctuary Records have signed the former lead singer of The Cranberries, Dolores O'Riordan, to its Sequel label. The record company will release O'Riordan's first solo album, 'Are You Listening?'.
Confirming the signing, Sanctuary's A&R head Malcolm Dunbar told CMU: "I'm delighted Dolores has chosen to sign to the company. This album will further establish her reputation as an exceptional songwriter and singer".
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MILLS MCCARTNEY WANTS THE HOUSE
According to reports, Heather Mills will apply for access to the home she formerly shared with estranged husband Paul McCartney. The reports are based on the fact that Mills was pictured carrying a writing pad on which were written the words: "I am seeking an order for occupation of the matrimonial home".
Back in August, police were brought in when Mills tried to gain entrance to the house in St Johns Wood, and reports claimed at the time that the ex-model had arrived there with daughter Beatrice for a scheduled visit to find that the locks on the house had been changed. Her security guard apparently scaled the walls, prompting staff to contact the authorities.
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ROD STEWART DIVORCE FINALISED, FINALLY
Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter have finalised their divorce at last, seven years after they separated. Documents from LA's Superior Court show that the final papers were filed on 2 Nov, but reveal no details of any financial settlement. Stewart, of course, already has a new fiancé, Penny Lancaster, and has a one year old son with the thirty five year old model. They've been together almost, er, seven years.
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KERRANG! NAME BEST FIFTY PUNK ALBUMS EVER
Always nice to have one of those arbitrary 'lists of best things' to get all wound up about on a Friday, so why not check out Kerrang!'s top 50 best punk albums ever, which they published this week. I can't find the list on the Kerrang! website, but the whole thing is on the Punk News site at this here URL...
http://www.punknews.org/article/21079
So, should you not be of the opinion that the Sex Pistols, Green Day, Dead Kennedys, Nirvana and The Offspring are behind the best five punk albums ever, here's some great source material to help you get angry this afternoon.
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GOD FIRES MAN EP, TOUR
New New York band God Fires Man (that's not a typo, they're a new band, formed back in August this year, and they're from New York) have released a free to download three track EP, available until 6 Jan. Go to their website to get it: http://www.godfiresman.com/
The band are supporting Hundred Reasons on their UK tour in January, dates as follows:
7 Jan: Wrexham Central Station
8 Jan: Glasgow Garage
9 Jan: Aberdeen Moshulu
10 Jan: Newcastle Academy II
12 Jan: Manchester Academy II
13 Jan: Birmingham Academy II
14 Jan: Exeter Lemon Grove
15 Jan: Brighton Concorde II
16 Jan: London Barfly * w/ Now Its Overhead
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SENSES FAIL TICKET FOR SINGLE THING
Senses Fail tickets went on sale this week. If you're in possession of one of those tickets and you send a photo or a scan of it to [email protected] you'll get a free Senses Fail 7" single. These are the dates of next year's tour:
6 Feb: Glasgow Kings Tuts
7 Feb: Manchester Academy 3
8 Feb: Birmingham Academy 2
9 Feb: Cardiff Barfly
10 Feb: London Islington Academy
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LATE AT THE TATE WITH THE BIG CHILL
The Big Chill people are hosting a Late At The Tate night at the Tate Britain in London tonight. Eva Abraham and AGK will perform live, Chilled By Nature will perform an AV set, plus there'll be performances from VAMP and Kevin Atherton, and readings from Jake Chapman, Janice Kerbal, Chris Hammond and others. All kicks off at teatime and admission is free, info and stuff at http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/eventseducation/lateattatebritain/
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MANILOW SIGNING AT HMV OXFORD STREET THIS WEEKEND
Hey, while we're doing dates for your weekend, why not check out Barry Manilow at HMV on Oxford Street London this weekend? Though he's only doing a signing I think, no instore from Mr Manilow. But if you want your copy of 'The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties' signed you need to be there this Sunday, 3 Dec, at 12.30pm (actually, you need to be there earlier, because you need to pick up a wristband in advance, they will be available from 9am). Don't go saying we didn't tell you, now.
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KILLERS CANCEL DUBLIN SHOW
The Killers were forced to cancel their show in Dublin last night when Brandon Flowers was declared unfit to perform. By a doctor, obviously.
The band released a statement which read: "We've had to make the terrible decision to cancel tonight's show in Dublin since we've fallen foul to the dreaded flu bug. Brandon has bronchitis and is unable to sing. We're devastated to have to disappoint so many people, but it's simply impossible for us to go ahead with the gig. We've had some of our favourite shows in Ireland, 2004's Oxegen Festival was the best ever, and we were really excited to be finishing our European tour with tonight's show at The Point. It was set to be the biggest show on the tour and we know the Dublin audience would have made it spectacular."
They continued: "We're so sorry, Dublin. We'll find a way to make it up to you, we promise!"
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NEW THINK TANK REPORT LAYS INTO LABELS AND BBC
A new report commissioned by a think tank called the Economic Research Council says that any problems the record industry has suffered in recent years has been "entirely self inflicted", primarily because of major record companies' inability or unwillingness to utilise the potential of the internet. It also argues that the UK music business too frequently fails to break its new artists in the US, while American bands penetrate the British market with ease, because record companies over here don't properly understand the American market.
The report's author, American but British based musician Andrew Ian Dodge, says: "For every group that conquers the US like Coldplay, the Spice Girls and Iron Maiden, there are many acts like Robbie Williams, Oasis and Busted which have come back with their tails between their legs. It's partly because of the bands themselves and their trust in their handlers. But in many cases, it is the British music companies themselves which seem to have no knowledge of the American market".
The report also criticises the BBC which, it argues, unfairly dominates the airwaves while failing to champion a diverse enough variety of new music, too readily supporting the music industry's 'mass manufacture' of boy/girl bands.
You can find out more and order copies of the report at http://www.ercouncil.org/
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VERDICT'S VERDICT: DOWNLOADING WILL BOOM
On the upside for the music business, a new report from Verdict Research reckons the download market will continue to grow, grow, grow in the next few years, so that it is worth around £468 million a year by 2011, compared with £112 million right now. The report also says video downloading will take off proper in the coming years, and that video sales should account for a third of the download market by 2011.
Commenting on the report, Verdict's Senior Retail Analyst Alastair Lockhard says: "Over the past year digital downloading has really started to capture the imagination of customers. The increasing availability of high speed internet access is encouraging more consumers to experiment, downloading songs to their MP3 players using the ever increasing number of new site becoming available. Looking ahead, as well as continued growth of music downloads, Verdict forecasts significant growth in video downloading."
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NETTWERK MAN ADVOCATES SONGS OVER ALBUMS
And talking of the future of the music industry, and dissing major record companies, the boss of Canada based Nettwerk Music Group, Terry McBride, has said the music industry should become less album focused, and recognise that in the digital domain sales of individual songs are more important.
According to Jam Showbiz, McBride told the Transmission music conference in Vancouver this week: "We've got ourselves in this situation where our metric system of measurement is an album. What's an album have to do with music? An album has nothing to do with creating a song".
McBride has long been a critic of the way the major record companies have responded to the internet, in particular in launching litigation against individuals who share music online. With that in mind he continued: "Music is more popular than it's ever been. It's a matter of looking at that behaviour and learning how to market that behaviour versus fight that behaviour".
McBride suggested record companies should look to new business models that capitalise on file sharing. Technology is available, he said, that means labels can encourage fans to share their music for previewing purposes, with preview tracks that have a sell through system inbuilt. He concluded: "Stop talking about having kids transfer music to every device they have. Just do it. You can do it right now. There's nothing stopping you. The only thing that's stopping you are your egos".
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PATENT APPLICATION SUGGESTS IPOD PHONE IN PRODUCTION
A patent application filed by Apple Computers back in August, but made public this week, has heightened speculation that the technology company is close to launching an iPod phone. The Apple patent, filed with the US Patent And Trademark Office, outlines a mobile device that "may correspond to the iPod". According to Digital Music News, the patent application describes a "tube-like" player constructed with "zirconia" and "alumina", adding that the device would be "cost effective, smaller, lighter, stronger and aesthetically more pleasing" than other mobile music phones.
Of course it has been assumed that Apple has been developing a proprietary mobile phone ever since the firm's collaboration with Motorola on the iTunes enabled ROKR phone. Despite involvement in developing that device, Apple never really gave it any passionate support in the public domain, much to Motorola's annoyance. Cynics concluded that, for Apple, their collaboration with Motorola was a learning experience in order to develop their own mobile device. Subsequent talk of a collaboration between Apple and US phone network Cingular Wireless has added to speculation an iPod phone was very much in development.
Chat on the IT blogs now centres on when Apple will launch their iPod phone. The computer firm traditionally announce big new products at the Macworld Expo event in San Francisco in January, but some commentators reckon the mobile device won't be ready for that event, and point to a Spring launch instead.
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MORE TALK OF UTV/SMG MERGER
Talk of a merger between UTV and Scottish Media Group, who own the ITV franchises in Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively (and well as a number of radio stations, SMG own Virgin Radio, UTV own TalkSport), have begun again, despite very real merger talks being axed earlier this year over disagreements regarding the respective value of the two media firms. People who know about these things say, however, that recent announcements by SMG regarding "difficult trading" might make them more willing to accept they would be equal partners with UTV in any merger (previously they felt they should have a higher valuation, hence the failure to do a deal). That said, not everyone who knows about these things says that, with the Scotsman quoting one source as saying: "It's a judgment to make. Would SMG say yes to a renewed approach from a party they have turned down twice in recent months?" Neither side have formally commented on the renewed merger talks.
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MERCHANT GETS 6MUSIC SHOW
Stephen Merchant - the co-creator of The Office and Xtras and co-host of the Ricky Gervais radio show (just in case someone out there didn't know) - has been given his own show on the BBC's 6Music station. The show will air on Sunday afternoons from 14 Jan.
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MCGEE DOES SOME ROBBIE BASHING
Seems Poptones man Alan McGee shares the sentiments of his most famous signings when it comes to all things Robbie Williams. The Gallaghers have dissed Robbie quite a bit over the years, of course, and now McGee has laid in too. He told BBC 6Music that he couldn't understand why Robbie was so popular compared to the likes of Elton John and George Michael, saying: "These people are brilliant, world class musical talents. Robbie's just a showbiz chancer. It's people like him who are destroying British pop culture. He has one per cent of Mick Jagger's talent. He's the post 9/11 feel good factor. He doesn't mean anything. He's utterly vacant".
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POP ACTS FIGHT OUT FINAL I'M A CELEB VOTE
OK, so everyone has been voted off I'm A Celeb except the three pop star celebs - Myleene Klass, Jason Donovan and Matt Willis. David Gest and Dean Gaffney were both voted off yesterday. The grand finale is tonight. Donovan is still generally favourite to win, though a Klass victory isn't out of the question. Either way, Donovan should win in terms of bank balance, because EMI are planning on releasing a new version of his greatest hits to capitalise on his renewed exposure via the reality show.
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BRITNEY'S EX ON BRITNEY'S EX
Obviously if you want gossip on Britney's soon to be ex-husband, the place to go is Britney's already ex-husband. Jason Alexander, Britney's 'childhood sweetheart', who you'll remember had a 3 day marriage with Spears after a rather impromptu Vegas wedding, has told the Sun: "It's best for everyone that Kevin and her have split. She is much more confident now. I was really shocked when she married Kevin. I figured it was a fling that would fly over. I never thought she'd marry him. He always seemed so negative".
On Fed-Ex's application for custody of the couple's children, Alexander continued: "The custody thing is to up the amount he gets from her. There is no way that he will get it. It's all about the money. From what I understand he's already doing his thing. He's been asking beautiful women to join him backstage on tour. He'll get hold of pots of money and be off having a good life".
Elsewhere in Fed-Ex news, rumour has it the wannabe rapper is high up the wish list of Big Brother bosses for their next celeb outing in the New Year. Presumably because every reality show now needs the ex of a high profile music star to be a success.