|
|||||||||||||||||||
DATE SET FOR SPECTOR RETRIAL
Phil Spector's retrial for murder will take place in October, after his defence team's previously reported claims that changes to the charges in the new trial would lead to a 'double jeopardy' situation were rejected.
As previously reported, the legendary producer's lawyers last week requested an indefinite stay on the retrial in order for them to further pursue their double jeopardy claims, which stem from the lesser crimes of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter being added to the charges to be considered at the second trial. However, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler, who had already previously said he did not think that this amounted to double jeopardy, denied this request and set the date for the new trial.
Spector, of course, is accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson at his Beverly Hills home in 2003. He maintains she shot herself.
--------------------------------------------------
DMX JAILED UNTIL OCTOBER
DMX is currently being held in a Florida jail, following his arrest outside a Wal-Mart store in Miami last week. As previously reported, a warrant was issued for the rapper's arrest after he failed to appear at a court in Arizona. His lawyer told the court that he had been unable to attend due to being hospitalised, but the judge decided that not enough evidence of this had been provided and issued the warrant anyway. Although the warrant initially set bail at £25,000, this was revoked following the arrest.
Brad Cohen, DMX's lawyer, reportedly contested the no bail status given to his client. However, this was not successful, meaning that they rapper will have to stay in jail until his next court date on 2 Oct.
Judge Schwartz, who oversaw proceedings in Florida, told Cohen: "Until the state of Arizona lifts its no bond status, it's a no bond status at this point".
--------------------------------------------------
30 SECONDS TO MARS SUED BY EMI
Jared Leto fronted band 30 Seconds To Mars have spoken out about a lawsuit filed by EMI, suing the band for $30 million after they failed to renew their contract with the label. The band claim that they were within their rights to break that deal, and decided to do so because they have not received any payment from the two million album sales they have generated, and because the recent job cuts at the label mean that the team they had been working have all moved on.
In a lengthy statement, Leto told fans: "As you may have heard, we are being sued by our former record company for the ridiculously oversized, totally unrealistic and pretty silly (but slightly clever) sum of $30,000,000. ... We had been signed to our record contract for 9 years. Basically, under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years. This is widely known by all the record companies and has been for years. In fact, so aware of it are they that they desperately try to make deals outside of California whenever possible. It is a law that protects people from lengthy, unfair, career-spanning contracts. This law also gave us the legal right to explore other possible opportunities.Yes we have been sued by EMI. But NOT for failing to deliver music or for 'quitting'. We have been sued by the corporation quite simply because roughly 45 days ago we exercised our legal right to terminate our old, out of date contract, which, according to the law is null and void.We terminated for a number of reasons, which we won't go into here (we'd rather not air any dirty laundry) but basically our representatives could not get EMI to agree to make a fair and reasonable deal".
He continued: "If you think the fact that we have sold in excess of two million records and have never been paid a penny is pretty unbelievable, well, so do we. And the fact that EMI informed us that not only aren't they going to pay us AT ALL but that we are still $1.4 million in debt to them is even crazier. That, and other issues, like the new regime at EMI firing most of the people we know and love, wanting to place advertisements on our website, EMI owning 100 percent of the masters of our record... forever, and basically having a revolving door of regimes at the company made it easy to not want to continue as is".
So now we know.
--------------------------------------------------
ALLEN BLAMES EMI FOR ALBUM DELAYS
30 Seconds To Mars aren't the only ones unhappy with EMI this week. Lily Allen has blamed job cuts at the label for the delay on the release of her second album. Last week it was claimed, rather weakly, that the release date had been pushed back because it was feared that the current success of Katy Perry would impact on Allen's album sales.
Writing on her blog, Allen said: "The album ... has been finished for a while now. I don't really know what's going on with it. The record industry is a very political place at the moment and I am on EMI Records. Lots of people have been fired or have taken redundancy recently as the company was taken over by a private equity firm called Terra Firma. Many of these people were people assigned to my projects and now I don't quite know what's going on. I'm sure everyone will find their feet soon enough and I'll be able to put the album out soon".
--------------------------------------------------
BONO LEAKS NEW U2 ALBUM
Bono is reportedly responsible for leaking U2's new album, rumoured to be called 'No Line On The Horizon'. Well, kind of. The singer apparently played the new album to friends while on holiday in the South Of France and a nearby holidaymaker overheard and recorded four of the tracks, including the first single, 'Sexy Boots', before putting them on YouTube. The tracks were subsequently removed from the site.
--------------------------------------------------
THE GAME REOPENS BEEF WITH JAY-Z
The Game has attempted to re-engage Jay-Z in their earlier beef because, well, he has an album to promote and that's what he always does. The disagreement began in 2005 when The Game mistakenly thought Jay-Z had insulted him on one of his tracks. Jay-Z has never responded to the attacks, insisting that he bore his contemporary no ill feeling, saying he would rather 'let him commit suicide".
It is this blatant slight upon his character that The Game has used to fire things up again. He told Phoenix radio station KISS FM: "I'm too disrespectful for Jay-Z, I go to hard. His beef is mediocre beef, it's more swag and less hardcore. Me, I go in on your grandma, your kids and your girl... It will get ugly and I don't mind... So basically, let me commit suicide because I'm the only cat to commit suicide and resurrect every time. I can be a fan of Jay and still rip him limb from limb lyrically and still be a fan. After I finish him off, I'm still going to listen to [Jay-Z's album] 'Reasonable Doubt' afterwards. I'll kiss Jay goodbye with his own lips. I'm going to make him mad enough to where he has to say something. Jay I'mma make you so mad you gonna have to diss me".
He later told AllHipHop.com, that the cause of his new onslaught was actually something Jay-Z might have said while he was at Wimbledon, watching a tennis match. Seriously. He said: "I heard that Jay sorta said something about me at the Wimbledon tennis match. I didn't see him say it, I didn't hear no audio so I don't really know if he was dissing me, if he said something about me. Jay-Z's a legend, man. I respect his music, [but that] doesn't really mean I have to respect him if he's disrespecting me. The Jay that was talking about me at Wimbledon under his breath, or says anything about me, is the Jay that I'll go at, and that's just it. Jay the rap artist, Jay the legend, Jay from Marcy Projects; that hustler turned dope artist, turned probably best lyricist that ever lived: I have respect for. I'm not gonna add wood to a fire that's already burning out".
The Game's new album, 'LAX', is due for release on 26 Aug, but has already leaked on various P2P networks.
--------------------------------------------------
PRODUCER JERRY WEXLER DIES, AGED 91
Legendary producer Jerry Wexler, who helped shape the rhythm and blues sound, and gave the genre its name, has died at home in Florida on Friday, aged 91. He had been suffering with congenital heart disease for two years.
Wexler worked with numerous great artists in his career, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Led Zepplin, Otis Redding and The Rolling Stones. The horn section on Wilson Pickett's 'In The Midnight Hour', was apparently inspired by Wexler's rhythmless dancing.
His first job in the music industry was as a writer for Billboard in the 1940s. It was there he coined the term 'rhythm and blues' for the magazine's charts, replacing the term, 'race records' that had been used until that point. While working at Billboard, he met Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records. The pair became lifelong friends and when, in 1953, Ertegun's business partner left the company to join the army, Wexler stepped in as the label's co-director.
In 1987, Wexler was added to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He said at the time: "No one really knew how to make a record when I started. You simply went into the studio, turned on the mike and said, 'Play'".
--------------------------------------------------
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 'A JOKE', SAYS MCGEE
Alan McGee has branded My Bloody Valentine's reunion tour a "nostalgic cabaret" on his MySpace blog, and said that he only signed them to his Creation label in 1991 as "a joke", which doesn't really explain why he spent so much money on them. But, hey, that's what he said.
He said: "There is a beautiful irony that the nostalgic cabaret that is My Bloody Valentine are throwing at people in 2008 gets critical acclaim in the easily pleased UK press with MBV still playing the exact same set they did 20 years ago and the only trick Kevin Shields has anymore in 2008 is actual volume and double extra PA to numb you and zero new songs. ... My Bloody Valentine were a joke signing in 1991 maybe they got better..."
--------------------------------------------------
ALBUM REVIEW: Soil & Pimp Sessions – Planet Pimp (Brownswood Recordings)
Straight outta Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label via Tokyo, Soil & Pimp Sessions' second album is chock full of cosmic jams and space funk workouts. In fact it's hard not to use the words "cosmic" and "space" to describe this music, but with track titles such as 'Fantastic Planet' and 'Mars', I guess it's not just me. The opening track manages to pay homage to Bach, The MC5 and John Coltrane in the space of 20 seconds, before turning into a frantic and mildly unsettling jazz freakout, then settling into an easy funk groove. It soon becomes apparent that this is not your typical jazz album, and throughout the band veer from straight up mellow jazz to Latin, funk, punk metal, jazz funk and 4 Hero-esque drum & bass. Often such eclecticism can feel a bit "aren't we zany" but with Soil & Pimp at no stage does it feel contrived. It's just the kind of thing you can imagine the likes of Gilles P or Louie Vega wigging out to at home or in the Jazz Café. According to the band their aim is to "create exciting jazz with far more interaction between the players and the audience". Cosmic. Special mention must go to the track 'Struggle', which made my dog's ears prick up in a comical fashion. Go on, feed your inner Howard Moon. DEG
Release Date: 18 Aug
Press Contact: Gerry Lyseight [all]
Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon
--------------------------------------------------
FOALS ADMIT TO BEING FLAWED
Foals have said that their first album was rubbish and that anyone who bought it was so stupid that they deserve to be punched in the face repeatedly until they fall down, and then everyone nearby should just point and laugh at them because they're so stupid. Okay, they didn't actually say that, but they did say 'Antidotes' was flawed that they'll do a better job next time.
Frontman Yannies Philippakis told BBC 6music: "We don't feel like 'Antidotes' was an insurmountable record by any means. To us it sounds flawed. We just wanna make a different record. I think it will be better because we're older and we understand a lot more about music. I think it's gonna have bigger contrasts in it than the first record, and we've been messing around with a lot of ambiance and echoes and I think we wanna make something that's a bit lusher".
--------------------------------------------------
MORRISSEY DISOWNS NEW LIVE DVD
As he so often does, Morrissey has said he's not happy with a new release branding his name. This time, it's the 'Live At Hollywood Bowl' DVD we announced last week, which is due for release on 6 Oct.
In a statement, the singer said: "The slapdash release of 'Morrissey Live At The Hollywood Bowl' is done by Warner without any consultation to me whatsoever, and is in breach of their terms as laid out by themselves in an agreement made for the film between Warner and my ex-manager. Being Warner, predictably the sleeve art is appalling. It is the work of cash-hounds, and I urge people not to buy it. I am not signed to Warner, and no royalties from this DVD will come to me. Please spend your money elsewhere".
I'm going to buy two copies.
--------------------------------------------------
KEANE REVEAL TRACKLIST
Keane have announced the tracklist for their forthcoming third album, 'Perfect Symmetry', which will be released on 13 Oct. So, er, good.
Tracklist:
Spiralling
The Lovers Are Losing
Better Than This
You Haven't Told Me Anything
Perfect Symmetry
You Don't See Me
Again And Again
Playing Along
Pretend That You're Alone
Black Burning Heart
Love Is The End
--------------------------------------------------
FULL TIME HOBBY RELEASE COMPILATION
Very cool indie label Full Time Hobby release a special compilation next week, 'Not Doing It For The Quids', to celebrate their fourth year in existence. For the silly price of £1.99, you'll get ten tracks of pure musical goodness.
Full Time Hobby was established in 2004 by Nigel Adams and Wez, inspired by labels such as Elektra, Rough Trade, Domino and Creation, whose 'Doing It For The Kids' compilation title was adapted for their's. However, says Adams, "Creation inspires us less and less as Alan McGee continues to make statements like, 'all record companies are fucking rubbish'. You've had your turn, now let us have a go".
Adams says of the compilation: "We looked back at what we'd released to date and had to admit that we were really pleased with how the label has grown. And we wanted to draw it all together, and celebrate".
Tracklist:
Tunng – Take
Fujiya & Miyagi – Dishwasher
Micah P. Hinson – Tell Me It Ain't So
White Denim – Mess Your Hair Up
Malcolm Middleton – A Brighter Beat
The Accidental – Illuminated Red
The Hold Steady – Your Little Hoodrat Friend
Sufjan Stevens – She Is
Viva Voce – Lesson No. 1
Autolux – Turnstile Blues
--------------------------------------------------
MOSHI MOSHI TENTH BIRTHDAY PARTY
Moshi Moshi have announced details of their tenth birthday party, which will take place at that new Matter venue on 18 Oct. Music on the night will come from Tilly & The Wall, Florence & The Machine, Slow Club, The Wave Pictures, James Yuill, Greco-Roman DJs and some very special guests, who are currently remaining nameless but, we are assured, are very, very special indeed, and have released records on Moshi Moshi in the past.
More info shortly on www.moshimoshimusic.com
--------------------------------------------------
CARCASS TOUR TO SAVE LEGACY
Reunited metallers Carcass have announced their first tour of the US for fifteen years, and revealed that they reunited because they fear they will be forgotten if they don't.
Frontman Jeff walker told MTV: "If we don't do this now, Carcass will be erased from the history of rock, to a certain extent. There's so much access to information out there, [but] it seems to me that the new generation of kids just really don't know shit. They don't really know who Black Sabbath is, never mind Carcass. There's definitely a generation of kids out there who are not aware of Carcass, because we haven't been around for fifteen years. A year is a long time in metal these days. It seems, to me, nostalgia is the new rock and roll. Not to sound arrogant, but I'm well aware of the importance of this band, even if no one else is. There's a generation of people who were into Carcass who've grown up now, that never saw the band. And now they have some disposable income. They've created the demand for this reunion".
But don't expect a new album from the band. Walker continues: "Never say never, but I can't see [an album] happening. I can't see it working. It would be sad, I think. These bands that start playing again, some of them get carried away, and they write an album, and they start saying, 'It's the best thing we ever done.' And then it just isn't. We don't want to be one of those bands. We don't want to be doing this next year. We don't want to be doing it just for the money, because it can turn into a chore - that's what happened the first time. It seemed like work, and it wasn't fun anymore, so I figured, 'Fuck this, I'll go get a job'. If you're doing something just for the money, I think having a job is a bit more honest than playing in a band just for the money".
--------------------------------------------------
THE PRODIGY ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
The Prodigy have announced a UK tour, which they are calling 'The Invaders Academy Tour' (see if you can guess why), which will apparently see the band going 'back to basics'.
The band said: "After the two club shows we did in Sheffield and Birmingham earlier this year, we want to carry on that buzz with some smaller shows for the fans ahead of next years full-on album tour".
Tour dates:
7 De: Liverpool, Academy
8 Dec: Glasgow, Academy
9 Dec: Birmingham, Academy
11 Dec: Sheffield, Academy
12 Dec: London, Brixton Academy
13 Dec: London, Brixton Academy
--------------------------------------------------
ALBUM REVIEW: The Chemical Brothers – Brotherhood (EMI/Virgin)
So, what can I say about the Chemical Brothers that hasn't already been said? Not much really, apart from it's odd that they should choose to release essentially a best of album only two albums down the line from their last one. I understand it's an attempt to introduce their back catalogue to a US market, which has awarded them Grammys for their last two LPs, but it begs the question for those of us in the UK – who is going to buy this? Well, in a marketing coup they have added a second disc of rarities – white labels released to DJs over the years under the name of 'Electronic Battle Weapons 1-10'. Sounds exciting doesn't it? I'm afraid I can't tell you any more though because we didn't get sent that CD. So, I'm left with an albeit fantastic selection of tunes I already own and one new track, 'Keep My Composure', featuring Spank Rock which slots in with the others as well as you would expect. It's a difficult one, this, because the CD is great but when you can get the singles collection in a bargain bin for probably half the price it's difficult to recommend – although if someone sent me the 'Battle Weapons' disc I might change my tune... IM
Release Date: 1 Sep
Press Contact: Virgin IH [NP, RP], Nile On [O]
Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon
--------------------------------------------------
CHART UPDATE
Very little change at the top of the single's charts this week, with Katy Perry and Kid Rock occupying the two top slots. Perry was knocked off the number one slot in the US last week, after seven weeks, but holds firm in the UK still.
Madcon make the only new entry into the top ten this week, with 'Beggin'. Bloc Party enter at sixteen, Little Jackie at 26, Solange at 27. Keane, whose new single, 'Spiralling' became Universal's most successful free download ever last week, makes less of an impact with its commercial release, coming up at number 28.
Script's album, 'The Script', enters the album charts at number one, knocking the 'Abba Gold' down to number two. Noah & The Whale enter at number five and Jane MacDonald enters at seven. Further down the chart, The Levellers enter at 24 and Late Of The Pier enter at 28.
--------------------------------------------------
TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART
It's the Total Rock World Album Chart, as counted down on Total Rock over the weekend - www.totalrock.com. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.
1. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight (Warner Bros)
2. Disturbed - Indestructible (Warner/Reprise)
3. Motley Crue - Saints Of Los Angeles (Motley Records)
4. Kid Rock - Rock - N Roll Jesus (Warner/Atlantic)
5. Nickelback - All The Right Reasons (Warner/Roadrunner)
6. The Offspring - Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace (SonyBMG)
7. Scars On Broadway - Scars On Broadway (Universal)*
8. Judas Priest - Nostradamus (SonyBMG)
9. Soulfly - Conquer (Warner/Roadrunner)*
10. Daughtry - Daughtry (SonyBMG)
11. Queen - Greatest Hits 1,2,3 (EMI)
12. Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists (Warner/Reprise)
13. Weezer - Weezer (Universal/Interscope)
14. Billy Idol - The Best Of Billy Idol - Idolize Yourself (EMI)
15. Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider (SPV)*
16. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers)
17. Guns n Roses - Greatest Hits (Universal/Geffen)*
18. The Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden (Universal)
19. Buckcherry - 15 (Warner/Eleven Seven Music)*
20. Rick Springfield - Venus In Overdrive (New Door)*
--------------------------------------------------
P. MILLER LAUNCHES TV CHANNEL
Hip hop mogul P. Miller (formerly known as Master P) has announced that he will launch a new TV station next year. Better Black Television (BBTV) will provide "positive" viewing for the Black community. Amongst the members of the board at BBTV will be actors Will Smith and Denzel Washington, DJ Kool Herc, and basketball player Derek Anderson.
Miller told reporters: "Better Black Television has been a vision of mine for some years. I've done a lot to promote and change the way messages are relayed to our children and our families over the last few years. Promoting positive content and positive messages is so important to educate and preserve the next generation. Being exposed to positive content is what changed my life. I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network that provides a new brand of superior programming that caters to all aspects of television from reality to original programming. In addition, I'm excited to be able to expose the urban community to a vast array of jobs in the entertainment community that they might not otherwise be privy to. I have a great relationship with BET and MTV and my son and I will continue to do work with them and support their networks. With BBTV, we're spearheading the initiative to meet consumer demand for family friendly hip-hop content".
The channel will, however, be in direct competition with BET (Black Entertainment Television). Miller said: "I remember Bob Johnson, founder of BET, telling me back in the day that if you wanted to know real estate, you've got to hang out with real estate investors. If you wanted to know sports, you've got to hang out with athletes. I wanted to know TV, so I hung out with Bob and learned the TV game from one of the best in the business".
--------------------------------------------------
NORTON FOR EUROVISION
Graham Norton is reportedly set to replace Terry Wogan as the face of Eurovision on the BBC. Wogan, of course, announced last week that he may well retire from the show after 37 years.
A source told The Sun: "The BBC need an alternative and Graham is their man. He is currently talking to bosses about the 'Song For Europe' show, which will run some time in March next year. Execs have big plans for the show and want to make it more glitzy, with one eye on 'X Factor'. Terry may decide he still wants to do the commentary for the actual contest but if he doesn't, Graham will do that as well".
--------------------------------------------------
FEWER ARTISTS HITTING PLATINUM SALES
The number of new UK artists reaching platinum status with their music has fallen to it's lowest level so far this century. Research carried out by Music Week has found that Adele and Duffy are the only artists to have released their debut albums this year and sold more than 300,000 copies. Last year five artists managed this, while in 2006 it was nine, and 2004 and 2005 saw six achieve the platinum status.
--------------------------------------------------
CLOTHING COMPANY PROVIDES REVENUE FOR SONGWRITERS
Clothing company Lyric Culture have set themselves the goal of saving the music industry. The company prints song lyrics onto its clothes and pays the writers for the privilege. It might sound unlikely, but with the clothing selling for up to £300, gaining songwriters between 25p and £10 per item, all the major music publishers have leapt on board, giving the company access to a huge pool of content.
Lyric Culture owner Hanna Rochelle Schmieder, who apparently got the idea while writing lyrics on her own clothes, told Associated Press: "My goal is to save the music business. This is about generating new revenue streams for musicians. The record companies take a piece of the tour and the merchandise, but they can't take a piece of this".
--------------------------------------------------
SLINT TRACK MADE INTO CHILDREN'S BOOK
'Good Morning, Captain', which closes Slint's 1991 classic album, 'Spiderland', has been turned into a new children's book. No, really. Despite its dark lyrical content and that terrifying scream of "I miss you!", artist David Stack has decided that it makes the perfect bedtime story for his kids, and has shared it with the world on self-publishing website Lulu.
Download it for free, or buy a printed copy here
--------------------------------------------------
ABC CORRECTION
One day we'll report on the ABC magazine circulation figures without saying something contentious or, as in this case, just wrong. On Friday, in our article on the new ABCs, we said that Uncut's circulation was down 1.2% year on year. It is, in fact, up by that amount, making it the only monthly music title to register positive year on year growth over the recorded period. IPC's Publishing Director Paul Cheal told CMU "we're very pleased to say that amongst a tough set of results Uncut is the only paid-for music magazine in the sector to show year on year growth".
--------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER ANGRY AT OASIS
Fans in Manchester are angry that Oasis have snubbed them on their forthcoming UK tour, which will come to Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, London, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Belfast, Aberdeen and Glasgow, but not their home city.
One Manchester resident responded by saying: "[Oasis were] never a true Manchester band. Just a bunch of wannabe cockneys!"
If you want to stop receiving this e-bulletin click the 'unsubscribe' button below and follow the instructions. If any of your colleagues want to receive the CMU Daily tell them to email their name, company, job title and email to [email protected].
If you would like to recieve the CMU Daily as a text email, send a blank email from the email address you are registered at to [email protected].
MEDIA PEOPLE>> If you want to run stories from the CMU Daily in your media, please credit it to UnLimited/CMU with a link to www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk - thanks! If you are looking for an independent quote on anything to do with the music business, or you need someone to come on your TV or radio show and talk music business, then we can help. There's nothing we don't know about. Email requests to [email protected] or call 020 7099 9050.
CMU is published by and (c) UnLimited Media - www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk
Send news stories to [email protected]. If we don't respond directly, we do apologise, only we get sent hundreds of emails a day and don't have time to respond to every one of them. However we do check every email sent to the musicnews email address, and do pull out stories that we feel are relevant to our readers.
Send CDs for review to CMU, UnLimited Media, 221-222 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PJ.