| CMU Daily - on the inside 18 Sep 2002 |
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Gabrielle’s single ‘Rise’ famously makes use of a sample of Bob Dylan’s ‘Knocking On Heavens Door’ – but what sample was used in the original version of the song and why was it changed?
Answer tomorrow
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MS DYNAMITE TAKES THE MERCURY
The indisputable rise and rise of Ms Dynamite continued last night when her debut album ‘A Little Deeper’ was awarded the Mercury Music prize, beating favourites The Streets and The Coral, and music legend David Bowie. The star enjoys a £20,000 prize as the winner as well as a guaranteed increase in mainstream interest and record sales. Initially speechless at winning the trophy she later told journalists: "I feel really happy and excited that my music has been acclaimed and accepted." Ms Dynamite, real name Naomi McLean-Daley, is expected to have another night of glory at next month’s Mobo awards where she has six nominations.
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MORE INTEREST IN NAPSTER
After a Spanish porn company expressed an interest in buying the Napster name and URL to launch a porn exchange service, now a least another ten bidders have expressed an interest in buying the company’s assets. More details have come forward about the Private Media deal, the porn company is offer 1 million shares in its own operations which would be worth about $2.82m, but that is less than half the minimum asking price set by the investment bank when the bidding process started. Yesterday had been set as a deadline for interested buyers to come forward and the company’s bankers are expected to announce later this week what moves it will take next.
Private Media’s Chief Executive has been talking more about his company's ambitions: "We feel Napster stands for the free exchange of ideas and information between like-minded people. The technology is not terribly relevant to us because we are not going to support the exchange of MP3s, just the exchange of adult videos, text, photos, and stories. We would look at how to tweak the brand to make it more sexy. The brand and the logo are fabulous. The cat stays. The earphones may go. We may need to add horns to him, as my design department has shown me.” Private Media's shares have risen 24% since its share bid was first announced last week, but some reckon the company’s interest in the Napster brand may be a publicity stunt to give the company worldwide news covareage.
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DEE DEE OVERDOSE DEATH VERDICT
An LA coroner has confirmed that Dee Dee Ramone, who died in June, was killed by a heroin overdose. Tests during a post-mortem examination found he had a lethal amount of heroin in his body – an overdose was suspected when a syringe was found near his body. In his autobiography ‘Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones’ Dee Dee Ramone, real name Douglas Glenn Colvin, wrote of his struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
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MANSON’S GROTESQUE ART GETS PUBLIC SHOWING
The first gallery showing of Marilyn Manson’s art opens this Friday in LA. Manson has described his ‘The Golden Age of Grotesque’ exhibition as a demonstration in “conflict, whereby viewers experience mixed reactions. I'm pointing out the interesting ways to take pretty colours to make grotesque images. Or to take grotesque images and paint them with pretty colours and make them into something that's very provocative and interesting." Admission to the exhibition is free and all the pieces on show are up for sale, though Mason isn’t too keen on parting with them all: "I don't want to sell any of them, but I have to let go at some point. I think the most famous one is the one I did for Rolling Stone of [Columbine shooters Eric] Harris and [Dylan] Klebold, with the hand making a peace sign with the two kids' head on it." Word is Manson has pretty much finished his next album, also called ‘The Golden Age of Grotesque’, though a release date is yet to be set.
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MORE PIRACY RAMBLINGS
Delegates at the In The City industry conference in Manchester have been told that new technology could make CDs copy-proof without alienating listeners. Consumers have complained past pirate-proof CDs wouldn’t play on their PCs or older CD players. But experts reckon they have developed copy-proof technology without the limitations.
Delegates at the industry conference have also launched an education programme to combat perceptions among young people that music should be free. As part of the debate some industry insiders criticised labels who have started using free MP3s to promote album releases. "Is it right that people in our own industry are giving music away?" Andrew Yeates, of the British Phonographic Institute, asked. "We are shooting ourselves in the foot," AIM’s Gavin Robertson added. They’re wrong of course (see the CMU feature on the 'death of the music industry' – click on the downloads button at www.cmuonline.co.uk), but the education programme is an interesting idea.
Meanwhile the worldwide industry body the IFPI has announced the introduction of a new, optional logo that record companies can use to inform consumers that a CD incorporates technology to control copying. The logo will be used worldwide and can be incorporated into artwork or stuck onto the box. IFPI Chairman and CEO Jay Berman told us: "Copy protection is a logical response by the music industry to protect its product from mass copying and digital piracy. The new, optional logo will be of practical help to record companies and retailers in informing consumers that a CD carries some form of copy control."
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DEADLY AVENGER’S DEEP RED LAUNCHES
Deadly Avenger has released his track ‘We Took Pelham’ as a single. The track featured on a Fabric compilation earlier this year and can be found on his new album out later this month. The track features a sample of Bill Conti's 'Going The Distance', which featured in the score to movie ‘Rocky’, except rather than sample the original Avenger, aka Jay Berman, used a 47-piece Hungarian orchestra to recreate the sound! Fans can catch him Djing at a number of album launch parties around the UK to mark the launch of the new album, ‘Deep Red’ – which features samples from a number of Berman’s favourite soundtrack composers. Launch party dates include:
19 Sep: Xfm’s Remix Night, Cargo, London
25 Sep: Buddha Lounge, Brighton
27 Sep: FABRICLIVE
2 Oct: Switch, Cargo, London
4 Oct: Po Na Na, Bristol
5 Oct: Breakdown, Belfast
12 Oct: Blue, Blackpool
23 Oct: Rehab, Leeds
23 Nov: The Cross, London
The album is released on 30 Sep on Illusive.
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HOT TICKETS BECOMES METRO LIFE
Hot Tickets, the Evening Standard’s entertainment listings magazine, is being relaunched as ‘Metrolife’. It will lose the TV listings and position itself as London’s ‘guide to going out’. Among the new additions will be a Heat-style celebrity section and a clubbing section written by Pete Tong. "This is an extremely exciting venture and a smart marketing move for the business," the Standard's new MD Mike Anderson told Media Guardian. "Through our continual investment in London we've created a market for a brand new entertainment magazine."
The choice of name is interesting – the popular freesheet Metro is published by the Standard’s parent company. Whether there will be any design similarities between the two remains to be seen.
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MR JONES GOES TO CLASSIC FM
No not Tom, but Aled. The former chart topping choir boy, currently presenter of BBC 1’s ‘Songs of Praise’ has been signed up to host the weekend breakfast show on the national classical station. He will join the station as it marks its 10th anniversary. "Classical music has been an enormous part of my life and without it I'd be lost," Jones told reporters. "I've always been a huge fan of Classic FM.”
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GODSKITCHEN'S BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY
Superclub Godskitchen will celebrate their fifth birthday with a mega-party at the Newcastle Telewest Arena at the end of this month. DJ Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Tidy Boys, Scot Project and Mauro Picotto will play to an expected 8000 clubbers alongside party performers including fire breathers, stilt walkers and a trapeze act. Dance station Galaxy will be broadcasting the party between 1-6am on their five stations around the UK.
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SISTERLY LOVE
Dannii Minogue has told the Evening Standard that Kylie has quit showbiz for six months to give her a “chance to shine". "She will be chilling in Australia - she has been working really hard lately," Dannii told the newspaper, "So she said to me "Okay, you take the baton now, it's your turn to run with it and do your best. Of course there is competition between us - like there is with any two people in the music business. But it's good natured stuff and there are no catfights. We give each other a break when we need it." Kylie pushed back the release of her next single a week to avoid a head to head clash with her sister.
Meanwhile Kelly Osbourne has said her elder sister Aimee is helping with her first album. Kelly has told reporters it was Aimee's idea to record a cover of the Madonna hit. "Doing Papa Don't Preach was my sister's idea. It was going to be on her album but she isn't ready to put anything out yet so she suggested I do it," she said. "My album is very pop. It was a whole new experience writing music. I don't know whether my dad's fans will like the album or not.” Aimee is the least familiar of the Osbourne family because she refused to let the cameras follow her life in the MTV reality TV show, moving out of the family home for the duration of the filming.
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Answer to Tuesday’s pop quiz:
What achievement have The Beatles, Abba, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi got in common?
They all had five consecutive number one albums.