| CMU Daily - on the inside 4 Dec 2002 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• Gallagher back in UK – German dates cancelled,
• System Of A Down man joins anti-Bush debate,
• Whitney and Brown admit former drug problems,
• Damon won’t talk about Graham,
• Eminem house sale: not all bids serious,
• Liberal peer criticises communication bill,
• Review: Future Sound Of London Present Amorphous Androgynous - Mello Hippo LP,
• Fischerspooner hope for spring success in US,
• Midweek chart update,
• Yousef looks for unknown djs for Boxing Day gig,
• Radio 1 return to Belfast for New Year,
• Linkin Park on album number 2,
• New entertainment magazine named,
• Goldie and Dennis at a club near you?,
• Pop’s finest on ITV shortlist
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What did ‘Charlies Angels’ do to ‘Coyote Ugly’, that ‘The Next Best Thing’ also did to ‘The Beach’ back in 2000?
Answer tomorrow
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WHAT'S THE BEST SINGLE AND ALBUM OF 2002
Vote now in the CMU chart of the year. Email your name, where you work / study and the name of your favourite single and album of 2002 to [email protected] – and look out for the chart of the year on 20 Dec.
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GALLAGHER BACK IN UK – GERMAN DATES CANCELLED
Oasis have cancelled their remaining German dates and Liam has returned to Britain (though, as Australian website Undercover put it, his teeth have stayed in Germany!). According to the band’s website Liam was more seriously injured than first thought after a brawl in a Munich hotel at the weekend, making it impossible for him to perform: "The damage to Liam's teeth is worse than it first appeared and he will have to return to the UK for surgery before he will be able to perform again."
Prosecutors in Germany are still considering whether to press charges against Gallagher and Oasis drummer Alan White over their involvement in the brawl, though they were both able to leave the country after paying a hefty bail. Gallagher claims the attack on him and his band mates was unprovoked.
No word yet on whether the injury will affect the group's eight-date UK tour, due to kick off in Cardiff on Sunday.
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SYSTEM OF A DOWN MAN JOINS ANTI-BUSH DEBATE
System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian is the latest rocker to condemn US president George Bush. Talking to NME.com during an instore promotion at an LA record shop last week, Tankian said Bush’s controversial victory in the 2000 elections was unlawful (if you remember, dubious vote counting in Florida, the state governed by Bush’s brother, gave George his victory over Al Gore).
"My feelings are that I think that there was a coup d'etat in this country without military weapons a couple of years ago. I'm trying to say it lightly, but I think the American dream has definitely been taken for a ride by people with very strong financial concerns whose needs are being met by our foreign policy and whose negative repercussions are meeting us at our doorstep".
Serj’s criticisms of Bush, and particularly his foreign policy, follow comments by former Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who told NME that he thought George Bush should be tried as a war criminal if he invaded Iraq. That story sparked media debate in the US, Serj’s comments are sure to fuel that debate.
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WHITNEY AND BROWN ADMIT FORMER DRUG PROBLEMS
Whitney Houston has admitted she's used to “abuse drugs” in an interview to be screened on US TV show Primetime tonight. Interviewer Diane Sawyer asks her, "Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?", to which Houston responds, "It has been at times." "All?" Sawyer asks. "At times," Houston says.
Talking about his use of marijuana, husband Bobby Brown added: "Me and drugs. We're not friends. We're not friends at all. I'm a very high-strung person. ... Marijuana seems to help me from going up and down."
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DAMON WON’T TALK ABOUT GRAHAM
Damon Albarn has told the Blur fan club magazine that he won’t be talking about the departure of Graham Coxon in interviews when he does the media circuit to promote the band’s forthcoming album.
"When we've finished this record we'll talk exactly what the record is about," he said. "But we're not going to talk about why Graham isn't in the band any more. It really is, from my point of view, a private thing - and we're not going to waste any time and breath talking to the press about what is essentially a private thing. Because you know what the press is like and the press have no respect for private life. If you take that policy of not discussing personal things in the press, it is always very difficult to talk to the press because they demand that of you."
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EMINEM HOUSE SALE: NOT ALL BIDS SERIOUS
The owner of a house formerly occupied by Eminem has said he’s not taking seriously the highest bids to buy the property on auction website eBay. The man who offered £63.5 million has already admitted his bid was a joke, and current owner Darren Martens is dismissing another £12.8 million bid.
Martens reckons the bids in the region of £1.6m are serious, and he expects the final sale to be in that region. This would still be quite a coup given houses in the area currently sell for $85,000.
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LIBERAL PEER CRITICISES COMMUNICATION BILL
Senior Liberal Democrat peer Lord McNally has criticised the government's communications bill which is about to go through parliament, saying he has "no confidence" it will protect the public against commercial interests. Talking to a Voice of the Viewer & Listener meeting last night he said: "All the consumer and campaigning groups who submitted such compelling evidence to the Puttnam committee must keep up their activity as the bill goes through parliament. Commercial interests that have billions riding on the outcome will do their utmost to weaken and undermine the bill's public service commitments.”
McNally feels the bill, which will allow major media companies in the UK to merge, and for US companies to takeover key players here, will have a detrimental affect on media output. "There are dangers and weaknesses in the bill which, if left unamended, will undermine plurality, quality and choice in our media. There is the potential for a weakening to the commitment to national and regional news and production, a dumbing down of programmes generally and a concerted effort to marginalise the BBC under the cloak of fair competition.”
The bill is expected to come under increased criticism from public-service supporters as it goes through the Commons and Lords.
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REVIEW Future Sound of London present Amorphous Androgynous - Mello Hippo LP (Artful Records)
It’s depressing when your idols finally no longer are. ‘Papua New Guinea’ – one of the top 50 dance singles ever. ‘Lifeforms LP’ – progressive ambient soundscapes, and diverse electronica with ISDN. But now what? – a Beatles type take - nonsensical lyrics with an annoying ‘Strawberry Fields’ organ coursing through. Perhaps they were locked up in a room with too much lysergic. The tracks here are just altered variants of one another and after the first couple it becomes pretty unbearable. ‘Yo-Yo’ is the archetype – rock guitars, flute, chanting, pretty poor slow downtempo chill. The ‘Jacknife Lee mix’ is vaguely tolerable whereas ‘Things Permanent’ is like a bad trip – a childish collage of sounds. It’s worse than the Orb’s useless ‘Pomme Fritz’ mini album. If you enjoyed FSOL’s former glories then stay away from this. I mean it. A huge waste of 33 minutes. It hurts me to say that, but they say the truth hurts. PV
Release date: 25 Nov
Press contact: Ian Cheek [CP, RP, NP] Artful IH [CR, RR, NR]
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FISCHERSPOONER HOPE FOR SPRING SUCCESS IN US
After disappointing sales in the UK, despite the media hype, New York electro-clash duo Fischerspooner will be hoping for more success in their home country when they release debut album ‘#1’ there next February. Signed to Ministry of Sound’s record label in the UK, they will have the marketing power of EMI label Capitol behind them in the US, where a DVD of the duo’s innovative film work will be released alongside the album. UK label bosses are still hopeful of commercial success here when the duo tour early next year.
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MIDWEEK CHART UPDATE
Midweek chart news spells bad news for two former chart topping divas. According to The Sun Mariah Carey's new album ‘Charmbracelet’, her first since being dumped by EMI, is not selling well. Early predictions suggest it will enter the charts at 50. But she is fairing better than Martine McCutcheon whose new album – featuring songs from the musicals – is yet to capture the imagination of record buyers, despite a tie in TV special on ITV last weekend. Word is only 3000 copies have been sold so far giving her a chart position of 60. Label bosses will be hoping the album features on the Christmas shopping list of record buyers this weekend to boost that chart position.
Tough competition for another former chart topper in the singles chart this week too. Robbie Williams may have topped the album charts with new album ‘Escapology’, but new single ‘Feel’, whose release date was brought forward, probably to avoid the competition from those popstar bands, is unlikely to enter the chart at the top. Eminem is currently way ahead with ‘Lose Yourself’, a track from his movie ‘8 Mile’. Robbie, meanwhile, is fighting for second place with the Cheeky Girls, the Romanian duo who released ‘Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)’ after their appearance on ITV1’s ‘Popstars The Rivals’. Current indication is the Cheeky Girls will push Robbie into third place.
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YOUSEF LOOKS FOR UNKNOWN DJS FOR BOXING DAY GIG
Yousef is looking for six unknown DJs to spin the records in the bar at the Boxing Day night at his Liverpool club Circus. Interested DJs should send mix tapes/CDs (with contact details) asap to Circus DJ competition, The Masque, Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4BH (closing date 13 Dec). Those selected will DJ alongside Yousef, Lottie, Onionz, Loft (Chibuku) and Mr Scruff (who is planning a six hour set!).
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RADIO 1 RETURN TO BELFAST FOR NEW YEAR
Radio 1 is planning to broadcast a live show from Belfast’s Donegal Square for its New Year’s Eve celebrations following the success of a similar show last year. The free event will feature sets from DJ Judge Jules and Agnelli and Nelson, and will go live on the radio between 11pm and 1am.
Meanwhile sister digital station 1Xtra will broadcast seven hours of live sets from clubs in Bristol, Newcastle and Swansea.
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LINKIN PARK ON ALBUM NUMBER 2
Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda has been talking to Rolling Stone magazine about the follow up to debut ‘Hybrid Theory’.
"I'm sure we could do some crazy stuff now," he said, "but we like what we like. We know what kind of music we want to make, and we just go after it."
Making reference to the first album he continued: "We did that project with all these different people who are sample-based musicians. I learned a lot from those guys. So our samples on this album are a lot more interesting than on ‘Hybrid’."
Word is the band entered the studio with fifty odd songs. These have been cut down to fifteen which, according to Shinoda, are "heavier" than prior efforts, but maintain the group's trademark melodic edge.
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NEW ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE NAMED
Independent publishing house Development Hell, set up by a bunch of former Emap high-fliers, has given a name to the ‘mature mens entertainment’ magazine they plan to launch next Spring. The magazine, created by David Hepworth, the man who helped launch Just Seventeen, More, Empire, Mojo and Heat for EMAP, will be called Word.
Talking about the title – expected to cover music, books, film and new technology, but not celebrity culture or "girls in their pants" – Hepworth’s business partner Jerry Perkins told Media Guardian: "There's a strong feeling that there is a need for something really different in the monthly entertainment market."
The magazine’s editorial team will also be made up of former EMAP people. Mark Ellen, a former editor of Emap titles Smash Hits and Q and the former editor-in-chief of Emap Metro, will head up he team with Andrew Harrison, another award-winning former Emap editorial director, as associate editor.
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GOLDIE AND DENNIS AT A CLUB NEAR YOU?
The surprise friendship to come out of Celebrity Big Brother – that of Goldie and Les Dennis – could cross over into the dance world. Rumours are afoot of a Goldie and Les collaboration. Dennis told Radio 2: “Apparently he wants to do a show with me and I think I’m going to go out and DJ with him, which would be great – Les and Goldie.”
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POP’S FINEST ON ITV SHORTLIST
No surprises on the favourites to win ITV’s viewer voted Record of the Year this weekend. Holly Valance, Gareth Gates and Will Young are current favourites, though the short list also includes Darius, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Liberty X, Elvis V Junkie XL, Atomic Kitten and Ronan Keating. The final viewer voting takes place on the night.
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Answer to Tuesday's pop quiz:
Which pop star said: "I've never succeeded in reading book from cover to cover"?
Ms Victoria Beckham – though to be fair she said it a while back, she may have read her way through a small library by now.