| CMU Daily - on the inside 14 Aug 2002 |
|
First names – which four bands began life as Smile, Rain, Seymour and Naked? Answer tomorrow
-------------------------------------------------
MASSIVE ATTACK JOIN ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGN
Massive Attack have added their names to a CND petition opposing the prospect of a new war in Iraq. Massive Attack’s 3-D had previously called on UK acts to oppose the proposed British backed US attack on Iraq by "taking out ads in the NME". In postings on the band’s website he has said he wants artists to show their opposition to any British involvement in a military campaign aimed at driving out Saddam Hussein. Also online, he confirmed he had signed the CND petition that will be handed to the government next month. He wrote: " There will be a demonstration in London on September 28. We’re still working to create the NME ads with CND drumming up money and support from other bands/ artists. Any petitions or publicity for this campaign is gonna give us as groups or individuals a voice." Whether the IPC owned title will support the campaign with some cut price advertising space remains to be seen.
-------------------------------------------------
NEW COLDPLAY MATERIAL PREVIEWED
Coldplay previewed six new songs and a b-side from their forthcoming album ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ on Tuesday at a sell out gig at New York's Bowery Ballroom. The new and older Coldplay tracks were accompanied by a number of covers – one of Oasis' ‘Songbird’ (the Gallaghers were in the audience) and one of Bruce Springsteen's ‘Hungry Heart’ (Springsteen was playing a rival gig across town that night). They closed with a cover of Echo & the Bunnymen's ‘Lips Like Sugar’. The new album is released on 26 Aug.
-------------------------------------------------
FOO FIGHTERS BACK TO BASICS
The Foo Fighters are set to prove they can rock with the video to their next single ‘All My Life’. After a string of comedy videos the band are relying on a simple live performance recording for their next release. Frontman Dave Grohl told MTV: "Because for the last five years we've been making these funny videos, like the 'Big Me' Mentos video or the 'Learn to Fly' thing or the 'Breakout' thing, people recognise us for our videos, and then they come see us play and they're like, 'Damn, you guys really rock out. You guys really do it up.' So we figured this time we'd just sort of show everybody this is what it's like when we play live. We're not in dresses. We're not on an airplane. We don't sell candy. We just jump around and scream a lot." That said, Grohl is directing the video, so it isn’t likely to be completely conventional. "Once we decided on a performance video, I started thinking, 'God, everybody's done a performance video. What kind of twist can you put on it? How can you make it different than any other performance video?’ So basically, it's like the greatest show we've ever played in our lives, but ... sorry, it's a surprise.”
-------------------------------------------------
PAPA RAOCH REFUSED BRIDGE JUMP PERMISSION
Papa Roach, meanwhile, have had to scrap plans for a bridge-jumping scene in their next video - for next single ‘Time and Time Again’ - after local officials refused them permission to film. Frontman Jacoby Shaddix planned to bungee jump from Folsom Bridge in his home town of Sacramento, but someone once committed suicide from the same location so city officials were unwilling to give permission for the thrill-seeking feat. Initial plans to film the jump on another bridge came to nothing when officials told them no other bridges in the city could be closed to traffic on the video shoot days.
-------------------------------------------------
INDUSTRY REACTIONS TO FALL IN UK MUSIC SALES
Industry leaders are using a number of excuses for the fall in music sales between April and June this year. The World Cup, in particular, is cited – major sports events like the World Cup generally affect record sales and as a result less new music was released. Record retailers also cited the Jubilee weekend and bad weather as other factors which affected consumer spending during the quarter, and stressed that the same quarter the previous year had been particularly strong, making year on year comparisons unreliable. But either way, a quarterly downturn in total sales value of 15.4% is clearly unwelcome news for the UK industry which has recently outperformed most other international territories. But despite the fall, annualised trade deliveries of albums remained at more than 220m units per annum and their value recorded a small percentage increase. Industry officials hope that stronger releases in the second half of the year, and continuing success of titles such as the quarterly best seller ‘The Eminem Show’, mean sales increases may still be recorded in 2002 as a whole.
-------------------------------------------------
MADONNA PENS KYLIE A SONG
Radio 1 have reported that Madonna has written a new song for Kylie - the first time she's written a track for anyone else. Word is Kylie has already recorded it, though Parolophone say there are no plans yet for a release date. Kylie, meanwhile, has created a tune for Atomic Kitten called 'Feels So Good'.
-------------------------------------------------
MOVIE CLIP ISSUES FOR EMINEM
Eminem is in more trouble again. Slim Shady uses footage of US senators at the opening of his Anger Management gigs - part of the show’s criticism of high profile US politicians, especially those who have been critical of Eminem in the past. The clips used are owned by production house C-Span, a Washington company who televise the US Senate and House Of Representatives. Last week they informed Eminem he was using their footage illegally. But it materialised that the production company hired by Eminem to supply video footage for the tour had in fact gained a licence, they just hadn’t told C-Span what it would be used for. Although critical of said production company’s decision not to disclose that Eminem was their client, C-Span has allowed the star to continue to use their clips. A spokesperson for C-Span denied their approach to Eminem had been backed by any of the senators ridiculed, in a bid to strike back at the star. “This has nothing to do with any public figures," the company told NME. "This has to do with C-Span's intellectual property rights."
Meanwhile Eminem's own feature film – which includes his acting debut – will be shown as a work-in-progress at the Toronto Film Festival. A semi-autobiographical story, ‘8 Mile’ is set against the backdrop of the mid-'90s Detroit rap scene that spawned Eminem, and co-stars Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer and Brittany Murphy. The film festival kicks off on 5 Sep.
-------------------------------------------------
KERR COMMENTS ON NEW MATERIAL
Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr has been talking to music website Undercover about his recent album ‘Cry’. "I'm still a Glasgow boy but I live the very opposite in Europe now,” he says, “I live now in the south of Sicily and I think coinciding with beginning a new life in a different place, the music came back and the pleasure of making music came back. Not only is ‘Cry’ a pleasant surprise but it came with relative ease". The new album was produced very quickly by Simple Minds standards, but Jim says: "My partner Charlie Burchill says the good songs are written in ten minutes and the daft ones take a year because intrinsically they are daft. They fool you into thinking if you hang in there there will be something. But let's just say the ones that have something to say tend to land on your lap. ‘Promised You A Miracle’, ‘Waterfront’ and ‘Alive and Kicking’ all came with ease. Even the political ones ‘Belfast Child’ and ‘Mandela Day’, I don't remember going round the houses with them. But the album tracks, where you think you have a great riff but you don't have a great song ... it is experienced I guess". ‘Cry’ was released on Eagle Rock earlier this year.
-------------------------------------------------
SNOOPS BROTHER SHOT DEAD
The brother of rapper Snoop Dogg has been found dead in Las Vegas after a shoot out with police. Initial reports allege Jermaine Fuller, the brother of Snoop's wife Shante, died of a self inflicted gun shot wound shortly after a run in with the police. The body of Fuller was discovered about eleven hours after the shooting but police say they did not fire at him. They claim a police officer approached Fuller at around 11pm Monday and that he had fired two shots, one of which injured the policeman who is now in a serious but stable condition. Neighbours reported hearding movement in his apartment just hours before Fuller was found dead. Overnight, after the shooting, he is said to have called a local radio station saying he wanted to talk to Snoop Dogg. Snoop (real name Calvin Broadus) and his wife Shante are reported to be in mourning after the news.
-------------------------------------------------
Answer to Tuesday’s pop quiz:
What did West End lyricist Tim Rice do three times between 1990 and 2000 which Elton John, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen only managed the once?
He won the Oscar for Best Song From A Movie. Rice won in 1992 for ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin, in 1994 for ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ from The Lion King and in 1996 for ‘You Must Love Me’ from Evita. Elton John won an oascar in 1991, also for ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ from The Lion King, Bob Dylan won in 2000 for ‘Things Have Changed’ from Wonder Boys and Springsteen in 1993 for ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ from Philadelphia.