| CMU Daily - on the inside Friday 25th April |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Microsoft to stop supporting MSN music tracks
- Starbucks withdraw from music
- Run DMC murder witness jailed
- Amy Winehouse accused of assault
- Snoop Dogg granted UK visa
- Yoko Ono sues someone
- Chicago press call for open access to R Kelly case
- Winehouse and Lewis make young millionaires list
- NME US award winners
- The Good, The Bad And The Queen reform
- Coldplay announce single giveaway
- Ne-Yo renews Universal deal
- Charlatans man suggests Doherty drug delivery
- Rough Trade logo stuff
- Paul McCartney to play massive Ukraine show
- MAMA financials upbeat
- Apple sales and profits up
- Universal Publishing acquire Big Life
- Former radio music chief heads to C4 radio
- Channel 4 makes a loss
- Virgin Media boss says ISPs need to engage
- Lou Reed marries Laurie Anderson
- Simpson won't comment on pregnancy rumours
- Paris Hilton denies engagement
- Wiley enters the Jay-Z/Glastonbury debate
- Kasabian frontman is weird
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TOP BIT RECOMMENDED
Of all the things we CMU Recommend on a regular basis, this is the one most people tap me for insider information on during those weeks when the date as been set and we're hearing the gossip from Leyline Central regarding who is close to being booked. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we can now tell you who will play the next edition of the Insomniacs Ball, the all night mini-festival which takes place in the vaults beneath London Bridge station.
The next edition of the Ball takes place on 31 May and will feature sets from no less that The Long Blondes, Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong and The Ghost Frequency. All brilliant. On the decks will be the likes of Riton, Radioclit and DJ Orgasmic, while there'll be an Adventures Close To Home zone and a Be @ Insomniacs indie cabaret room.
This is going to be another very special night, with more bands tbc. Tickets are £12.50, with early bird tix available for just £9.50. Plus, before 11pm there'll be a buy one get one free drinks offer - which is pretty flippin marvellous. Keep an eye on http://www.myspace.com/insomniacsball and here in the Top Bit for more details as they are confirmed.
PS: Don't forget it is the CMU Recommended Indy Awards at the London Forum tonight - check out a full winners report in the Daily on Monday. More info in the meantime at http://www.indyawards.co.uk
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JOBS N STUFF
PART-TIME PROMOTIONS ASSISTANT REQUIRED
Internet savvy promotions assistant required for new and expanding dance music promotions company based in London. Clients include DFA, Modular and Domino. Working 2-3 days a week, you will assist with our online promotions and other club, radio and artist management duties. You must be bright, articulate, extremely organised and have an excellent attention to detail, plus a REAL interest in electronic music and new media. Previous administration experience would be an advantage. To apply, please send your CV and covering letter explaining why you think you'd be good for the job to [email protected]
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CMU FRIDAY TIPS
VIGSY'S CLUB TIP: Pathaan's Musical Rickshaw at Big Chill House.
Kings Cross' Big Chill House has some interesting nights, that's for sure. Next week sees Stoned Asia's Pathaan stepping in, no doubt set to hit us with everything from chill out cuts to breakbeat bangers - and maybe some tracks from his new 2CD GlobeTronica compo - all with a global feel. He'll be joined on the decks by Ash from the Asian nubeats night Swaraj and by Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee who'll be doing a live PA. This particular flautist beatboxes at the same time as playing, which sounds weird I know, but me and one of the CMU Eds saw him in action with Nitin Sawhney at Cargo a while back, and he went down a storm. Add to all this great entertainment the news that this night is nada/zippo/liebe, well, I spy a bit of a roadblock.
Wed 30 Apr, 7pm - 12am, The Big Chill House, 257-259 Pentonville Rd, King's Cross, London N1 9NL. 020 7427 2540. Free. more at http://www.bigchill.net, press info Sam at Big Chill.
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MICROSOFT TO STOP SUPPORTING MSN MUSIC TRACKS
So, the major record companies may be in the process of dismantling the disastrous tower of digital rights management they built in recent years, but the PR damage caused by their idiotic insistence that tracks sold via a la carte download platforms come with DRM limitations, a strategy that clueless out-of-their-depth really-should-have-been-fired-years-ago senior label execs hung onto years after its foolishness was obvious to anyone with even the most basic understanding of digital music, will continue. And the majors will have no control over some of that PR damage because, as much previously ranted, one of the biggest problems with DRM is that it gives all the power to the IT firms that make it.
Microsoft have announced that they will stop supporting tracks bought via their MSN Music download platform as of 31 Aug this year. What this means is that, while songs bought via MSN Music will continue to play, if a user transfers those tracks to another computer - ie because they buy a new one - then the songs will stop working. When Microsoft DRMed songs are transferred to a new device they need to download a licence key from the MSN Music servers in order for it to play - that requirement is designed to monitor and control how many devices a users puts their music on. Which is all well and good, except that as of the end of August the MSN Music licence key servers will be turned off. Meaning music bought via the download platform will only work on the user's current computer. You might think that that is a very shit deal for music fans, and you'd be right. The only silver lining is that not many people bought tracks from MSN Music, which closed down in 2006 after Microsoft launched its new and totally incompatible download venture Zune.
MSN's Rob Bennett alerted those who did buy MSN tracks back in the day about the finite future of their digital music collections in an email sent out on Tuesday. It informed them: "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers. You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play".
Of course owners of MSN-Music-bought music will be able to give tracks a longer life by burning them to CD (as the DRM allows) and then ripping them as non-DRMed MP3 files, though tech types point out this isn't ideal because the WMA files supplied by MSN Music are already quite compressed and another burn and rip to MP3 will affect sound quality.
All this arguably reflects badly on the record companies as well as Microsoft, even though they don't have any control over whether or not MSN Music tracks are supported. And in some ways the record companies should take some responsibility - because this kind of scenario was so predictable, and the fact major label chiefs, who persisted with their DRM strategies until as little as four months ago, failed to prepare for it is a major failing. But let's not dwell on the past, and instead put the accelerator on these promises to go fully DRM free in the a-la-carte download market, and ensure future commercial decisions by software makers don't have a negative impact on music fans.
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STARBUCKS WITHDRAW FROM MUSIC
Ah, you see, coffee companies may be occasionally interesting in dabbling in music, but when their share price takes a tumble all energies return to getting that milk frothed, and the record label gets sidelined. Starbucks has announced it is downsizing its entertainment division, and is transferring its record label, Hear Music, over to its partner in the venture, US independent the Concord Music Group.
The coffee chain has been dabbling in music for a while now, recognising that coffee drinking consumers may be persuaded to buy carefully selected and mainly classic artist CDs while getting their morning cappuccino. They stepped up their music ambitions last year by launching Hear Music as a fully fledged record label, and grabbed the headlines by reaching a deal with Paul McCartney and releasing his album 'Memory Almost Full'.
But with the coffee conglom going through a tricky time financially, they announced yesterday that they were handing most of their music operations over to Concord, while the company's entertainment boss Ken Lombard will leave the firm. They will still dabble in entertainment projects, though they will be more digitally focused, shown by the decision to put their entertainment department under Chief Technology Officer Chris Bruzzo.
It's not clear whether the Concord managed Hear Music will still be able to use the Starbucks café network as a distribution platform for selling CDs and promoting downloads from artists signed to the label - that being at the core of the whole venture presumably they will. Though Starbucks are known to keen to do more book based promotions moving forward, presumably recognising that customers may be persuaded to buy carefully selected books while getting their morning cappuccino.
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RUN DMC MURDER WITNESS JAILED
A man thought by US Federal prosecutors to have been a witness to the murder of both a Tupac associate and Run DMC's Jam Master Jay has been jailed for robbery.
As reported last year, it has been claimed that Ronald Washington confessed to an unnamed witness his involvement in the 1995 fatal shooting of producer and Tupac Shakur associate Randy 'Stretch' Walker and the 2002 fatal shooting of Jam Master Jay. The witness made the allegations during investigations into Washington's involvement in six armed robberies, for which he was convicted last April. Regards the Jam Master Jay shooting, prosecutors claim that Washington held people at gunpoint while another unknown individual shot the Run DMC DJ.
Washington has now been convicted on further robbery charges and sentenced to 17 years in prison. However, Judge Nina Gershon declined calls from prosecutors to include Washington's presence at the recording studio on the night of Jay's murder in the charges held against him. Washington has always denied any involvement in Jam Master Jay's shooting and his defence lawyer told the Associated Press that those allegations were nothing but "gossip".
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AMY WINEHOUSE ACCUSED OF ASSAULT
Amy Winehouse has been busy, if reports are to be believed. Police are apparently investigating three allegations of assault by the singer. A 38 year old man told police that Winehouse assaulted him on Chalk Farm Road in Camden in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to Sky News. This follows reports in The Sun that Winehouse also "HEADBUTTED a Good Samaritan who hailed her a cab outside a bar" in North London, as well punching "Moroccan musician Mustapha el Mounmi after he refused to give way to her at the pool table" at the Bartok bar in Camden, leaving him with a bruised eye and swollen lip. We await confirmation of which, if any, of these actually happened (although The Sun did print a picture of Mustapha el Mounmi and his bruised face). If convicted of assault, Amy could face up to six months in prison.
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SNOOP DOGG GRANTED UK VISA
Good news for fans of hip hop and airport altercations. Snoop Dogg is allowed back into the UK. As previously reported, he was banned from the country after a fracas at Heathrow Airport in 2006, a ban which led to the cancellation of UK dates on a co-headline Snoop/Diddy UK tour. There have been various appeals in a bid to have the ban overturned, and now a UK judge, Neha Bird, has said the hip hopper should be allowed into the country, seemingly after watching video footage of the rapper quietly playing with children, then later being pushed to the ground by a police officer without retaliating. The Home Office, who were behind the original visa ban, obviously, is now considering whether to take the case to the Court Of Appeal.
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YOKO ONO SUES SOMEONE
Another day, another Yoko Ono copyright lawsuit. Today, she, along with Sean and Julian Lennon, are suing Manhattan production company Premise Media for using 'Imagine' in their film 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed' without permission.
The firm's defence is that the song's inclusion is covered by the US's 'fair use' doctrine, which allows the use of copyrighted materials without permission for the purposes of commentary and criticism. Their documentary, currently number 10 in the US box office charts, examines alleged discrimination against teachers who support the intelligent design theory of creation (ie creationism) and, the makers stress, only uses "a very small portion of the song".
I'm no expert, but I'm not sure they have an especially strong case. The fair use doctrine means you can use copyrighted material without permission to communicate an opinion on the material itself - I'm not sure it lets you use any random track on the basis you've got an opinion on something. I mean, I have opinions on intelligent design, too, and there are a few songs I can think of that would soundtrack my thoughts, but I'm not going to attach them to the Daily and plead a fair use defence.
Anyway, Yoko Ono's lawsuit aims to prevent Premise Media, C&S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures from continuing to use 'Imagine' in the film, as well as seeking unspecified financial damages.
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CHICAGO PRESS CALL FOR OPEN ACCESS TO R KELLY CASE
Two Chicago newspapers and the Associated Press have called on the courts to make R Kelly's long pending trial on child porn charges to be heard in public. They have requested access to transcripts of closed pre-trial hearings, and have asked for the gagging order in place in relation to the case to be lifted. They argue that Kelly's celebrity status is not enough to justify a media ban on the case. Kelly's lawyers have asked for more time to respond to the media organisations' demands. As previously reported, Kelly has been charged with videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. He's denied the allegations, which have taken a very long time to come to court.
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WINEHOUSE AND LEWIS MAKE YOUNG MILLIONAIRES LIST
The Sunday Times is set to publish its annual rich list this weekend and the likes of Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis have joined the publication's list of the top one hundred richest young people (under thirty) in music.
Winehouse takes tenth place in the list with £10million, whilst Leona Lewis enters at fourteen with an estimated £6million. Also on the list are Corinne Bailey Rae, Natasha Bedingfield and Dhani Harrison, son of the late George Harrison, who tops the list due to the £160million inheritance he shares with mother Olivia. The highest new entry was UK-born model Karen Elson, who joins the list at number six thanks to her marriage to Jack White, and their joint fortune of £25million.
Other music celebs remaining on the list from previous years include Katie Melua, Joss Stone, Charlotte Church and Jamie Cullum.
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NME US AWARD WINNERS
So, it was the very first NME USA Awards this week, and most of the headlines went to Jane's Addiction who reunited to perform at the awards show after winning the Godlike Genius prize. The Killers also grabbed some column inches by winning two gongs at the reader voted awards, while former Clash guitarist Mick Jones got a lifetime inspiration prize and those Arctic Monkeys won the Best International Band award. Which is all lovely. Anyway, here's the full list of winners...
Best Video: Justice - DANCE
Best Breakthrough Track: MGMT - Time to Pretend
Best New Band: Vampire Weekend
Classic Album: The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
Best International Band: Arcade Fire
Best Live Act: My Chemical Romance
Best Track: The Killers - Sawdust
Inspiration Award: Mick Jones
Best Solo Artist:Albert Hammond Jr
Best Breakthrough Artist: Vampire Weekend
Best International Album: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Best International Track: The Klaxons - Golden Skans
Best Album: The Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Best Band: The Killers
Godlike Genius: Jane's Addiction
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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN REFORM
"But I didn't even know they'd split up", I hear you cry. Well, that'll be because they did it in secret. But they will be reforming especially to headline this weekend's Love Music Hate Racism carnival.
Paul Simonon, who plays bass in the Damon Albarn-fronted group, told the NME: "Effectively The Good, The Bad & The Queen finished last year, I mean permanently finished, in September, but I think because of the subject matter and what this event entails and stands for we all decided it was definitely a worthy cause to get us back together for a few tracks and possibly some new ones".
Simonon also spoke about his memories of playing the first ever Rock Against Racism event with The Clash in 1978: "I played one of these with The Clash called Rock Against Racism, I don't know why they changed the name, but this is the updated version and the problems are still there. You would have thought that we wouldn't need another one in this country. I went to school when the first West Indian people and their families were invited over. So, I went to school with first generation you could say and you would have thought over the years there would have been some integration, and that BNP tendency would have died down. This country has always had immigrations, we've have Vikings here, you name it and it's people working together that's what our country is about".
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COLDPLAY ANNOUNCE SINGLE GIVEAWAY
Coldplay have announced that they will give away the first single from their new album for free. As previously reported, the band's latest LP is called 'Viva La Vida' and will be released on 16 Jun. The free single, 'Violet Hill', will be exclusively distributed as a 7" on the cover of the May edition of NME. The track is expected to get its first airplay on 6Music and Xfm on Tuesday next week. Can't wait.
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NE-YO RENEWS UNIVERSAL DEAL
Ne-Yo has renewed his global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. And that's the news, really. Chairman/CEO David Renzer commented: "Ne-Yo has emerged as one of the hottest and most consistent songwriters, as evidenced by his Grammy win for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Not only is he a very talented artist, but his songwriting also finds his touch continually at the top of the charts. And he can make a mean potato kugel".
As we're sure you're aware, Ne-Yo, aka Shaffer Smith, started out as a songwriter, penning tracks for the likes of Celine Dion, Usher, Rihanna, Beyonce, and Mario.
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CHARLATANS MAN SUGGESTS DOHERTY DRUG DELIVERY
Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess has told Uncut magazine that he thinks Pete Doherty should have his drugs delivered to his home if he plans to carry on using them. I always thought that's what he did - we've all seen the pictures. Anyway, here's what he said: "What I used to feel about people like that is that they shouldn't go out and get hammered, that they'd be better off doing it all at home. Why doesn't he go for home delivery? Pete's a fucking rock star. Get it delivered! We always did".
He said that he thought that drugs had initially been helpful for Pete "in terms of making great music". However, he did suggest that Pete's habit wasn't doing him much good these days: "His songwriting has rapidly gone downhill, that's the most worrying thing. "So much great music has been created on drugs. In Pete's case, maybe heroin and crack is not such a productive combination".
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ROUGH TRADE LOGO STUFF
Rough Trade shops and record label Full Time Hobby have joined together to create the first variation on the theme of the Rough Trade logo, to appear on limited edition t-shirts. London designer Supermundane is responsible for this first redesign - further artistic reinterpretations of the logo will follow in conjunction with a number of Rough Trade's other favourite record labels, bands and shops.
For more info see:
http://www.roughtrade.com/site/user_components/
newsletters/merchandise/merchandise_press.html
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PAUL MCCARTNEY TO PLAY MASSIVE UKRAINE SHOW
Paul McCartney will play to hundreds of thousands of people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev this summer. The free show, which will be held on the city's Independence Square on 14 Jun, aims to "strengthen the confidence and understanding in the Ukrainian society".
McCartney said of the event: "Me and the band are going to be there and we're going to have to a great evening. ... It's going to be great evening hopefully for the Ukraine. Pull together, groove, rock and roll - all together".
The event's organiser Viktor Pinchuk, who is the son-in-law of the former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, said the event would be "the first time we have the opportunity to hear the songs that changed the world and created a new culture".
The concert is expected to be even more successful than a performance by Elton John in Independence Square last year, which was attended by 200,000 people.
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MAMA FINANCIALS UPBEAT
City news everybody. Ever expanding music and marketing firm the MAMA Group has announced its interim financials for the half year up to 31 Jan. Among the headlines from the financial report are that their turnover increased by 132%, that profit was just over £1 million, that the live division tripled in size, and that there was a significant increase in the company's festival assets.
MAMA bosses Adam Driscoll and Dean James told CMU: "We are delighted to be reporting a further profitable result for the period and we expect to deliver a strong set of results for the second half of the year, where we are now seeing the real growth that we expected from the live venue acquisitions being delivered".
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APPLE SALES AND PROFITS UP
More financials, from the IT sector, though it's Apple, whose financial performance counts as music news these days, given the importance of the iPod and iPhone in their overall operations. And the second quarter of their current financial year, which they reported on this week, seemed to go rather well, what with sales being up 43% and profits up 36%. Much of the sales increase, though, actually came from Mac computers, iPod sales being up just 1%. iPhone sales were also up, though the next big push on them is expected to come later this year when a new version, possibly using the faster 3G mobile network, is released.
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UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING ACQUIRE BIG LIFE
Universal Music Publishing has acquired the Big Life publishing company, the indie publisher founded by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry in 1987. The deal brings the publishing major a 2000 track catalogue including chart topping tracks from the likes of Snow Patrol. Universal Music Publishing Europe President Paul Connolly told reporters: "Rarely do you find a music company as edgy and diversified as Big Life. Jazz and Tim have consistently pushed the creative envelope over many years. We are delighted with the acquisition and of course very proud to represent Snow Patrol."
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FORMER RADIO MUSIC CHIEF HEADS TO C4 RADIO
Former Radio 1 head of music Alex Jones Donelly is heading back to radio after three years working in the wacky world of music publishing. Donelly quit the nation's favourite in 2005 to take a Senior A&R VP role at EMI Music Publishing, but announced this week he is moving to 4Radio, the digital radio venture being set up by Channel 4. C4's Director Of Radio, Bob Shennan, says this: "Alex is highly experienced and respected in the music industry. His kudos and standing will be a great asset to our radio business and I look forward to him joining the team".
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CHANNEL 4 MAKES A LOSS
Talking of Channel 4, the TV firm has admitted last year saw it make its first operating loss since 1992, as audience share and ad revenues declined. The publicly owned commercial broadcaster is struggling amid increased competition from new digital channels and online content services and the rising costs of operating multiple C4 TV channels.
Admitting that the broadcaster faces increasing challenges, the company's Chairman, Luke Johnson, told reporters: "The online revolution means the competition for eyeballs and advertisers is more intense than ever. We have to work harder and harder to attract audiences and find original ideas that will make compelling viewing". However, he also renewed calls for government to find new ways of funding the channel in addition to advertising income - something C4 has been pushing for a while. He added: "We need a revised remit, which reflects today's media universe. We need a funding mechanism to replace the diminishing value of our gifted spectrum".
Commenting on the finacials, C4 CEO Andy Duncan said: "After a run of growth in audience share that has more than held up against the competition in recent years, we did experience a drop in all-time share on the core channel, although within this the peak-time schedule performed better. Across the digital channel portfolio we enjoyed an all-time high in peak time and our second strongest portfolio performance ever. Nevertheless, the revenue trend is clear and our surplus was only just above break-even... The need to agree an updated form of public support to replace the historic subsidy of analogue spectrum is growing in urgency".
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VIRGIN MEDIA BOSS SAYS ISPS NEED TO ENGAGE
The boss of Virgin Media, Neil Berkett, who recently said he thought so called net neutrality, the idea that all content owners should have equal access to net users (rather than rich content owners paying internet service providers for faster more reliable access), was "a load of bollocks", was more cautious in his views on the future on the internet when talking to the Cable Congress in Madrid this week, saying that the ISP industry must engage with other interested parties on issues like privacy, copyright, child protection and net neutrality.
He reportedly told the conference: "In the UK, attitudes towards service providers are at something of a crossroads. If we can simultaneously demonstrate we're engaging with these complex issues and capture the excitement and opportunity of our services, we could emerge as the enablers of choice in an industry that is sometimes regarded as a bit sterile and remote. Or we could go the way of the utility companies or the financial services industry and become resented by consumers and seen as little more than a necessary evil".
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LOU REED MARRIES LAURIE ANDERSON
Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson have announced that they got married at a private ceremony in Colorado on 12 Apr. The couple have been together since 1995, and news of their wedding reached the public thanks to a private party held to celebrate the event at the New York home of photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. Lou Reed, of course, is known as the frontman of The Velvet Underground, and for his equally successful solo career. Laurie Anderson is a genius and if you don't own her 1982 album 'Big Science' then you should be ashamed of yourself. The pair have worked on various musical projects together, including Reed's 2003 album 'The Raven'.
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SIMPSON WON'T COMMENT ON PREGNANCY RUMOURS
Ashlee Simpson has refused to comment on rumours that she is pregnant, rumours most recently fuelled by the announcement of her engagement to Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz earlier this month. Of course, when you refuse to comment, everyone automatically assumes that the rumour is true, so if she isn't pregnant, she might as well deny it, and if she is, might as well admit it. She's not taking advice from me, though, and told TV show host Ellen DeGeneres, when asked if she was up the duff or not, "Well, that has been going on for quite a while. That is something that I choose personally not to discuss".
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PARIS HILTON DENIES ENGAGEMENT
Elsewhere in celebrity relationships, Paris Hilton has said that she's enjoying dating Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, but says they're not planning to marry, despite rumours to the contrary. Colleague/friend Nicole Richie is supposed to be marrying Madden's twin brother Joel this summer, of course, following the birth of their daughter in January - but there are other rumours to the effect that things aren't going so well chez Richie, so who knows.
Anyway, this item's about Paris and Benji, not Nicole and Joel. Asked if a wedding was on the cards, the irritating celebrity heiress said this: "No! We're really happy right now. He's definitely different than any guy I've ever been with. He makes me feel really happy, comfortable and really in love. We totally trust each other and we're in love and we have an amazing time together".
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WILEY ENTERS THE JAY-Z/GLASTONBURY DEBATE
There were no comments about Jay-Z, or Glastonbury, or Jay-Z and Glastonbury to report on yesterday. Something which I'm sure upset you as much as it did me. So, hooray for Wiley. The rapper has come out in defence of, er, Noel Gallagher - who you might remember recently claimed that having hip hop acts at Glastonbury was "wrong". Well, he only sort of came to Noel's defence, and in a kind of backhanded way. Wiley said to The Daily Star: "What Noel means is: 'How come a US artist is headlining Glastonbury?' He doesn't mean urban and he doesn't mean black. Noel is just upset because he's not getting his band out there. He should stop worrying about what other people are doing. He's got the money, he should stop being greedy. Personally, I like Jay-Z and respect him".
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KASABIAN FRONTMAN IS WEIRD
Kasabian's Tom Meighan has been telling Loaded about his obsession with the lead character from Steven Spielberg's 1982 film 'ET.' "I'm obsessed with ET.," he said, confirming my opening sentence. "I love the film so much, even talking about it makes me want to cry. The only time I believe in ET. is when I stand there and I'm really out of my mind and I've got a statue of him, a rubber thing. It's a 4ft fuckin' ET. living in my house. When I'm not really with it I start talking to it and that's the only time I really believe he's alive. He's got a massive cock".