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JANET JACKSON HOSPITALISED
Janet Jackson spent Monday evening in hospital, instead of playing a concert in Montreal, as had been planned. The singer was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital after she "suddenly got ill during the sound check", according to a statement released by W&W Public Relations.

The show's promoter, Groupe Spectacles Gillett, said that they only received the news that the concert was cancelled minutes before support act, LL Cool J, was due to go on stage, but that they hoped to reschedule the show soon. Jackson also cancelled a show in Detroit at the last minute on Friday, citing "production constraints".

A spokesperson for the McGill University Health Centre told AP that Jackson was discharged from the hospital around two hours after she checked in. The actual nature of the illness, or where Jackson went after she was discharged, remain unknown.

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BEENIE MAN CLEARED OF TAX-EVASION CHARGES
Beenie Man, aka Anthony Davis, has been cleared of tax evasion charges by a Jamaican judge, after government officials failed to inform him of his legal rights. Authorities in the country say that the dancehall star owed nearly $1m in overdue taxes, but Judge Owen Parkin threw out the case against him this week when it became clear that auditors had not informed the star of his rights when issuing their assessment last year.

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DJ-AM ATTENDS MEMORIAL SERVICE
DJ-AM, aka Adam Goldstein, ignored his doctors' orders and attended a memorial service in LA for Chris Baker, one of the four people killed in the plane crash last week, which Goldstein and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker survived.

Goldstein's various burn injuries were reportedly covered with bandages. Baker was Barker's PA, but the drummer was unable to attend the service as he was still travelling back to LA after being discharged from hospital in South Carolina.

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NEW GLASTONBURY TICKETING SYSTEM FAIREST YET
Michael Eavis says the new ticketing system for Glastonbury 2009 will be the fairest ever, giving everyone who wants one a chance to get a ticket. As previously repored, tickets for next year's event go on sale on Sunday, with fans able to pay in full or put down a £50 deposit.

Eavis told BBC Newsbeat: "After three years, I am now confident that we have developed the fairest ticketing operation available anywhere. With the new scheme, backed by the all-important registration process, everyone has an equal chance of getting a ticket. And most importantly, every ticket will be going to a genuine festival-goer direct. I'm also convinced that the £50 deposit will help a lot of people to spread the payment for their ticket over a much longer period".

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GROHL SAVED FROM GALLAGHER-STYLE ATTACK
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl was saved from being attacked on stage at a gig at the Austin City Limits festival in Texas on Sunday after quick-thinking security guards wrestled a man to the ground as he ran across the stage towards the singer.

Despite initially appearing shocked, Grohl later played down the drama, telling the crowd: "He's just a drunken college dork. I've been there".

As previously reported, Oasis were recently forced to cancel various live dates due to injuries sustained by Noel Gallagher when he was pushed over by a fan on stage at the Virgin Festival in Toronto.

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FBI SEARCH FOR THE KILLS' MISSING TOUR BUS AND DRIVER
In recent weeks, we've had bands' equipment go missing. We've even had a van go missing. But The Kills have taken it one step further, after their entire tour bus and its driver disappeared during their current US tour with The Raconteurs. The disappearance has sparked an international search by FBI and the police.

The Kills told CMU: "While on tour in the United States with The Raconteurs, our bus and driver have vanished. It is thought that the driver has commited grand theft auto or that he is in some kind of trouble. The bus and driver were last seen on the morning of the 26 Sep at a Prevost dealership in Los Angeles. The driver got some new tires and was set to head to Austin, Texas to meet back up with us. His phone has been off since that afternoon".

They continued: "Federal investigators and police are searching for the bus and driver through out the US and Mexico. We are currently travelling to Nashville and have no luggage or belongings. But aside from this bad luck, touring with The Raconteurs has been great, so we're in good spirits. The magnitude of the loss hasn't quite sunk in to our shell shocked bones. If anyone has seen a black Prevost tour bus with Tennessee plates 0305 EA, call the police".

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EP REVIEW: Our Brother The Native - Parting Marrows EP (FatCat)
Our Brother The Native are a sublimely brilliant band. The 'Parting Marrows EP' is an off kilter but delicate EP of what would be usually termed 'freak folk' or part of the New Weird America movement, a genuinely out of the ordinary piece of music that brims with personality; rattles of metal combine with shards of guitar and piano, and hushed vocals, to create a comforting world of sound. The cynic in me might suggest that early Animal Collective is being ripped off a bit here (along with at points MV/EE and Mum). Yet, the quality of Our Brother The Native's music is such that they can be forgiven. The opening tracks 'Augural Wraith' and 'Seminal Paws' are anorexic compositions with surging bursts of creaks and rattles, along with the hushed melodies that pervade the EP in general, and are beautifully relaxing without being tedious. The third track 'Failed Panegyrics' is possibly let down by a baffling Springsteen-esque harmonica burst, but again fits the general vibe of the EP, and the schizophrenic whispers in the background build nicely at the end to a mellow harmonic drone. 'Warm Refines' is a gabble of non-western vocals and high pitched harmonising over an easy throb of unconventional instruments. It then mutates into an ecstatic mix of folk and world music with various found and recorded rhythms bumping into each other quite brilliantly. Finally, 'Parting Marrows' is a piano led song that throbs and rattles along with sparks of sound, hums of vocals and samples of street chatter. The found spoken samples are uneasy conversations with audible snatches of weddings being bombed in Afghanistan and nuclear war, and it's an intelligent juxtaposition that works well in the context of the peaceful ebb of the EP. PG
Release Date: 20 Oct
Press Contact: FatCat IH [all]

Buy from Amazon

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UK VIDEO AWARDS ANNOUNCE NOMINEES
The nominations are out for the first ever UK Music Video Awards, which will takes place next month in London, hosted by comedian Adam Buxton.

Amongst those gracing the shortlists are videos for tracks by the likes of Chemical Brothers, The Ting Tings, Duffy and Hot Chip. Categories include best pop video, best rock video, best indie/alternative video, best urban video and best dance video, as well as more technical ones like best cinematography, best editing and best visual effect. There's also an award for the best budget video.

Directing duo Diamond Dogs have been nominated seven times for their various videos for The Hoosiers, as well as being placed on the best director shortlist. Nima Nourizadeh isn't far behind, similarly nominated in the best director category as well as receiving six nominations for his videos for CSS, Mark Ronson, Hot Chip and Flight Of The Conchords.

Also appearing in the best director list are Ting Tings directors Alex and Liane; plus Dougal Wilson, who has worked on promos for Goldfrapp and Bat For Lashes; Jaron Albertine, who worked on Roisin Murphy's 'You Know Me Better' video; and comedy actor Richard Ayaode, who has turned his hand to promo making of late, working on videos for the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals.

Up for the people's choice award, to be presented in association with Capital Radio and Global Radio's local radio One Network, are videos for Adele's 'Chasing Pavements', Duffy's 'Mercy', Estelle's 'American Boy', The Hoosiers' 'Goodbye Mr A', Leona Lewis's 'Bleeding Love', Mark Ronson's 'Valerie', Sam Sparro's 'Black and Gold', Sonny J's 'Handsfree', The Ting Tings' 'Shut Up and Let Me Go', and Will Young's 'Changes'.

MVA Editorial Director David Knight says, "UK music videos have been an important part of British creativity and culture for more than three decades, and the UK music video industry continues to be a hotbed of talent and ideas. Once it gets its start in music videos, that talent base consistently feeds into other areas of film, commercials and TV".

The awards take place on 14 Oct at London's Odeon West End. Tickets for the event are now on sale, and you can see the full shortlist of nominees here.

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DJ MAG TOP 100 DJS POLL ANNOUNCED THIS MONTH
The winners of this year's DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll will be announced at a star-studded party held at Ministry Of Sound in London later this month.

And apparently it's all change in the poll this year, with increases in the magazine's readership in Brazil, Mexico, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine bringing a whole new wave of voters. Just three names are non movers since last year, and there are a staggering 25 new entries and 35 climbers, which means the big names are no longer safe, and suggests that dance music is in better shape than it's been in for years.

If you fancy getting the list hot off the press, and partying alongside those winners, get yourself down to Ministry Of Sound on 29 Oct. Tickets are just £5 on the door and all profits got to the RNID.

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ONLINE ARTS FESTIVAL LAUNCHES 2008 PROGRAMME
NOISEfestival.com, the previously reported online arts showcase for under-25 creative talent, launches its new website today, showcasing some of the best art, fashion, design, photography and music work submitted this year. Which work gets showcased on the site has been selected by leading names in each genre, in music Badly Drawn Boy and Bless Beats did the selecting. For more information, and to view this year's best new artists, go to www.noisefestival.com.

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PAUL MCCARTNEY TO REVIVE FIREMAN PROJECT
Paul McCartney and Martin 'Youth' Glover are to revive their electronic The Fireman project, following a decade of silence. The Fireman first released an album, 'Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest' back in 1993, though McCartney's involvement in the project was initially a secret, albeit not a very well kept secret. A second album, 'Rushes', was released in 1998.

Now a third album is to be released. 'Electric Arguments' will be out via MPL, an imprint of McCartney's own publishing company, on 17 Nov, and will be distributed by One Little Indian. The new work is apparently the first to feature vocals, and also includes more traditional classic rock and acoustic type stuff.

Here's the tracklisting:

Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight
Two Magpies
Sing The Changes
Travelling Light
Highway
Light From Your Lighthouse
Sun Is Shining
Dance 'Til We're High
Lifelong Passion
Is This Love?
Lovers In A Dream
Universal Here, Everlasting Now
Don't Stop Running

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COLDPLAY ANNOUNCE NEW EP
Up-and-coming pop combo Coldplay have announced that they will release a new download-only EP, called 'Lost!', on 10 Nov.

Announcing the new release, drummer Will Champion said: "That song ['Lost!'] had been around for a long time, without ever getting finished. I was starting to get into using a particular drum programming programme. I was messing around with that and I built this beat up from scratch. Then Chris overheard it and played 'Lost!' over the top of it".

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MATT FINUCANE ANNOUNCES DEBUT SOLO EP
A man who will be coming to a CMU Social near you very soon, Matt Finucane, has announced that he will release his debut solo EP, 'Episodes', on 20 Oct via Light Crude. It will be preceded by a free download single featuring two tracks from the EP, 'Kafka Song' and 'What Comes Next'.

Formerly the frontman of cult indie band Empty Vessels, Matt says he's trying to see how far he can "push the idea of one man and his guitar" with his solo work - creating his EP with just with a guitar, rudimentary electronic effects, reverb, distortion, a deep distrust of the traditional singer-songwriter tag and a love of Lou Reed's 'Berlin'.

On the free tracks, Matt told CMU: "'Kafka Song' is a straight biography. It was meant to be the theme in a rock opera about Kafka versus a flesh-eating space-monster, for glove puppet theatre (I'm not making this up) but we couldn't get it together. Maybe that was for the best. As for 'What Comes Next', I'm a selfish person, but hopefully not a bad one. I just want to survive. That's as good a base as any for a catchy tune, don't you think?"

Check out Matt on MySpace at www.myspace.com/mattfinucane

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THE HOLD STEADY POSTPONE UK TOUR
The Hold Steady have been forced to postpone their upcoming UK tour because lead guitarist Tad Kubler has been hospitalised with pancreatitis. The cancelled dates are currently being rescheduled and will be announced shortly.

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SWN FESTIVAL LINE-UP ANNOUNCED
The full line-up for this year's Swn Festival, the arts festival set up by Radio 1's Huw Stephens, has been announced. Amongst the many great bands performing this year are The Pipettes, Rolo Tomassi, Dananananaykroyd, Indian Jewlry, Thomas Tantrum, volcano!, Peggy Sue, Johnny Foreigner, Thomas Truax, Skinnyman, Future Of The Left and Goldie Lookin Chain. There will also be a number of seminars, which will include talks from various music industry experts, movers and shakers, and will include a live interview by Huw Stephens with Scouting For Girls.

The festival takes place in venues around Cardiff from 14-16 Nov. Wristbands for the event cost just £45.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Long Blondes - Singles (Angular)
Having written and recorded quite a number of tracks before singing to Rough Trade, tracks released by minor labels Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation and Angular, what better for The Long Blondes to do than slap all them onto CD together? And in the shape of the sensibly-titled 'Singles' (part statement of contents, part play on the title of their second album, 'Couples'), here they are. It is a little unfortunate that the opener, 'New Idols', sounds like it was recorded by chimps with a glass pressed to the wall of the room adjoining where The LBs were playing. Despite this, it's still the spiky pop we're accustomed to from the Sheffield quartet. Among the tracks on this compilation are some of the hits which shot them to cult status in the city of steel, including the original version of the glorious 'Giddy Stratospheres', 'Appropriation (By Any Other Name)' and the A14/A1 anthem 'Separated By Motorways'. There are also quite a good few lesser known tracks, including 'Polly' and even the previously unreleased 'Autonomy Boy' and 'Peterborough'. For those who didn't encounter The Long Blondes until their debut album 'Someone To Drive You Home', this album is a actually a great way to catch up: 'Singles' very neatly brings The Long Blondes' history together and charts their growth from being a very unpolished pop-group to the indie super-heroes they are hailed as today. DH
Release Date: 20 Oct
Press Contact: The Darling Dept [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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EMI APPOINT NEW CHIEF FOR JAPANESE DIVISION
Another EMI executive appointment story, especially for those of you who collect EMI executive appointment stories. EMI has appointed San-e Ichii as President and CEO of EMI Music Japan. He will take over the job from 1 Oct, and replaces Shoji Doyama who left the Japanese division of the major back in June.

Ichii is another new EMI appointment whose background is in management outside the music business, having previously worked for Kraft Foods and healthcare firm Baxter Limited. However, Ichii does come to EMI from a music job, he is currently CFO for Warner Music Japan.

Confirming the appointment, EMI Music Asia Pacific/Latin America President Adrian Cheesley told reporters: "I am delighted to welcome San-e Ichii as the new leader of EMI Music's Japanese business. His experience, passion and leadership skills will be invaluable to EMI Music's development and success in the major music market of Japan".

Ichii added: "EMI is an established and attractive brand with a rich history of developing great artists and recordings both from Japan and from all over the world. At this moment of great global change in the music industry, the company remains committed to its goal of bringing music to as many consumers as possible in all the ways they want. I am honoured to be leading the EMI Music Japan team and I look forward to working with the wonderful artists, managers and employees associated with this great company".

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EMI RENEW BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER RELATIONSHIP
More EMI, and the major's classical division has announced it has renewed its partnership with the Berliner Philharmoniker, which will see the label work with the orchestra and its Music Director Simon Rattle on an exclusive basis for another five years, continuing a label partnership that has existed for nearly a century.

Confirming the new deal, EMI Classics A&R Director Stephen Johns told CMU: "We are extremely pleased to be continuing our long and close relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker. It is their uncompromising commitment to the highest of standards in all aspects of their music-making that sets them out as perhaps the finest orchestra in the world. We look forward to sharing their vision of widening the reach of their performances, and continuing to enhance their distinguished catalogue of recordings with EMI Classics".

Berliner Philharmoniker board member (and cellist) Olaf Maninger added: "The Berliner Philharmoniker feel privileged and honoured to continue the extraordinary partnership with EMI. The combination of Sir Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker and EMI, the strongest label for classical music, is a brand in itself, standing for the highest musical standards and a supreme way of bringing our performances and capturing the unique sound of the orchestra in recordings".

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WALMART TURN OFF DRM SERVERS
Just in case anyone still needed more evidence that digital rights management on music was the stupidest idea in the world ever, WalMart in the US last weekend told their digital music customers that they are about to turn off their DRM servers which will mean any DRMed music bought from the supermarket giant's download store will stop working. Customers will have to burn any music they bought that way onto CD (which was allowed under the DRM rules), and then rip it back as MP3 (which wasn't, but can still be done, and who cares?).

WalMart are switching off the DRM service after taking their digital music offer down the MP3 route earlier this year. As you'll remember, a similar fate befell those who bought music from the MSN download service in the US after Microsoft launched the Zune player and decided to stop supporting their own Windows Media Audio DRM.

This is why the record companies should never have let tech firms and etailers talk them into DRM in the first place. We'll be sending "I told you so" badges to every previously-DRM-supporting label execs still in work.

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SENATE GIVE EXTENSION TOO FOR WEBCASTER ROYALTY NEGOTIATIONS
The US Senate followed the lead of the country's House Of Representatives and yesterday passed a bill to give the net radio companies and US online music rights group SoundExchange more time to reach a voluntary deal regarding the royalties online music services, including webcasters, should pay to the content owners. Both sides say negotiations are going well, but that they needed more time that the US Congress had originally allowed them to reach a voluntary deal. If the deadline for a deal had not been put back the Copyright Board would have put in place a statutory royalty rate that webcasters say would put them out of business. The net and music firms now have until next February to do a deal, while the rest of America's political types get sidetracked with the old Presidential election.

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GMG RADIO SCOTLAND BOSS EXPANDS BRIEF
The boss of GMG Radio Scotland, Billy Anderson, is having his remit expanded - he will now oversee the company's North East England stations too, with GMG's North East MD Debbie Bowman reporting into Anderson.

GMG Radio Group Operations Director Shaun Bowron told reporters: "Billy has earned recognition and respect both from his colleagues within GMG Radio and the Scottish media market for the way he has driven the success of our Scotland business. He will rise to the challenge of driving forward the development of our North East of England stations and his appointment as Regional Director is part of our ambition to ensure we have the very best support structure in place for our staff as our group continues to grow".

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SCOTT MILLS HOUSE INVASION UNDER WAY
I meant to mention this last week, but forgot. But in case you don't know, Radio 1 has turned Scott Mill's London flat into its own Big Brother house, and is webcasting from the DJ's home 24 hours a day all week. Mills is also presenting his show from his home. Mills was apparently the only Radio 1 presenter willing to allow such an intrusion on his life in the name of entertainment. I suppose it saves him having to do the commute. You can watch Scott (sleeping as I write this) at this URL:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/scottmills/scottcam/

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OFCOM TO CONSULT OVER SKY'S DUMPED PAY-TV SERVICE
OfCom has said it will consult interested parties about Sky's plans to use its channels on Freeview to launch a new terrestrial pay-TV service called Picnic, after publishing a 111 page report on the proposals.

The media regulator plans to investigate the proposals further despite Sky's decision to dump the Picnic project, blaming OfCom for the project's demise by saying the slowness of their review of their proposals had made the whole thing unviable.

Despite denying it was to blame for delays in the review, and despite raising a number of concerns in its report, OfCom says that ultimately they would anticipate giving Sky permission to launch a pay-TV service on the Freeview network, though probably with conditions, because not to do so would be "highly interventionist".

Sky have said that while the Picnic project is on hold, they may consider "whether to reactive the project when we have regulatory clarity". With the consultation process now planned, it's not clear when that clarity will be achieved.

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BRITNEY TO TOUR NEXT YEAR
Britney Spears has confirmed reports that she will probably embark on a world tour next year. Asked when she would be touring, she told New York radio station Z100: "Oh, definitely next year. Probably around the world". See?

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HILTON INSPIRED BY KYLIE
Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton says that the sound of her second album is greatly influenced by Kylie Minogue, and that the new LP is a tribute to the Aussie pop princess. Hang on a minute. She's releasing a second album? How did that happen?

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FLEA GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has revealed that he is using his band's previously reported hiatus to get ejikated. He told MTV News that he has enrolled at the University Of Southern California to study music theory, music composition and jazz trumpet.

He said: "Being in a band has been an education, and being on tour has been an education, so this is just me furthering my education in a different way. When I was a kid and it was time to go to college, I thought, 'College is for people who don't have the street smarts to make it on their own - get in a band, get in a van and get rockin'. That was a good philosophy for me at the time, [but] there were a lot of things I wanted to learn, and I want to learn them now".

He added that, after an uncertain start, he and his classmates are getting used to the situation. He continued: "At first there were a few looks, but everyone's so busy trying to learn. There's the occasional autograph or whatever, but it's just so not about that. It's about learning and studying music. I'm just another student trying to learn. I was running across campus with my backpack, and I didn't want to be tardy. I was thinking, 'What the fuck am I doing? I'm a 45-year-old rock star and I'm worried about being tardy?'"

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GEORGE LAMB PISSES OFF RAY DAVIES
Okay, George Lamb, thanks to his continued position as host of BBC 6music's morning show, pisses off a lot of people. But yesterday he was specifically pissing off former Kinks frontman Ray Davies.

Lamb interviewed Davies on yesterday morning's show, but after being asked questions like "Are You Bald?" and "What's your favourite vowel?", Davies said the line was bad and offered to call back. After playing 'Waterloo Sunset', Lamb told listeners that Davies did not want to continue the interview. He then proceeded to insult Davies throughout the rest of the show, at one point saying that his famously unstable relationship with his brother would "come back to you and you might die a horrible death".

By the way, there is a petition to oust George Lamb: www.getlambout.org.uk

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