CMU Daily - on the inside 16 Apr 2004
yesterday's Daily - Daily archive

In today's CMU Daily:
• Universal takeover gossip galore
• Coxon’s guitar playing will appear on one new Blur track
• Queens Of The Stone Age happy with current line up
• Destiny Beyonce sued by talent agency
• Authorities look into memorial for club fire victims
• Review: Short Break Operator – EP
• Midweek chart update
• Festival update
• Peppe on the media backlash after the Zoe allegations
• RAJAR add World Service to survey
• Live Review: Fog @ Live At Dingwalls
• Slash’s band still on look out for front man
• Congress pass bill that might kills US dance scene
• Courtney Love negotiating for new record deal
• Faith Hill set for movie debut
• Review: Badly Drawn Boy – All Possibilities
• Investors sue AOL Time Warner over finance mis-representation
• Sharon uses TV court to air grievances after restaurant bust up
• Kelly on Stereophonics album four

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CMU POP QUIZ
With Mr Scruff's remixed Sweetsmoke CD out end of May, we have some Scruff goodies (a mug, t-shirt and some vinyl) to give away. To be in with a chance of winning keep the answers to our sample related pop quiz questions each day this week – details of how to win on Thursday.

Q3: The tune from 'Groove Is In The Heart' by Dee-Lite comes from Herbie Hancock's theme tune to which 60's film?

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UNIVERSAL TAKEOVER GOSSIP GALORE
Rumours galore with regards the sale of Vivendi Universal's music operations. After reports earlier in the week that Apple Computers were considering making an offer for the Universal Music Group, reports in the New York Post now say Microsoft is considering making a bid. The Post said the IT major was "poking around, kicking the tyres" with regards a major record company acquisition.

However the Wall Street Journal concurrently reported that it had been Universal Music executives who had been approaching the computer firms regarding a takeover, rather than the other way round, and that the idea may not be favoured by bosses at the label's parent company back in France. The same report suggested that after some proactive buyer searching by Universal Music bigwigs following the departure of chief executive Barry Dillier last month, most at the top had now opted for a 'wait and see' approach.

However the thought of the IT giants buying into the music industry is still creating much buzz among major label execs. The New York Post reckons Apple's interest in actually acquiring Universal Music is stronger than Microsoft's - but Microsoft might be in a stronger position to actually pursue the acquisition and could well step up its interests in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere in the Universal Music empire there are rumours some major restructuring may be about to take place in its UK operations which would see more integration between its three main divisions - Polydor, Mercury and Island – which currently operate more or less autonomously. We'll let you know if we here anything.

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COXON'S GUITAR PLAYING WILL APPEAR ON ONE NEW BLUR TRACK
Word from the Blur camp is that Graham Coxon's guitar playing will appear on one track on up coming album 'Think Tank'. The high profile split between Coxon and the rest of the band occurred early on in the album's recording sessions and few expected the hand full of recordings he did do in the early stages to make it into the final mix. But word is his work on the track 'Battery In Your Leg' will appear on the album, marking his final note with the band. The album is released on 5 May.

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QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE HAPPY WITH CURRENT LINE UP
Queens of the Stone Age have confirmed that current line up - Nick Oliveri on bass, Josh Homme on guitar and vocals, Mark Lanegan on vocals, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and keyboards and Joey Castillo on drums – will become permanent. Since they formed in 1997 QOTSA have been notable for the regular guest appearances in certain roles in the band - with Screaming Trees Van Conner, Soundgarden's Matt Cameron, Dinosaur Jr's Mike Johnson and, of course, Foo Fighters Dave Grohl all making appearances on certain recordings or tours. But the band now say the current line up is permanent and they will be working together for the foreseeable future. The band plan to tour for much of the rest of the summer before returning to the studio to work on a fourth album which they hope to release early next year.

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DESTINY BEYONCE SUED BY TALENT AGENCY
Destiny's Child's Beyonce Knowles is being sued by the US based talent agency Wilhemina Artists who claim they are still owed commission payments for arranging her L'Oréal ads. They claim she has, to date, refused to pay the 10 percent of her $1m (£640,000) fee that they are due for brokering the deal.

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AUTHORITIES LOOK INTO MEMORIAL FOR CLUB FIRE VICTIMS
Local authorities in West Warwick, the Rhode Island town where that club fire killed 99 gig goers, are asking the families of the victims if they would like the site to be used as a memorial. It might sound like a stupid question (who would say no to a memorial), except that if the owners of the club donate the site for said memorial it would take a key asset out of the equation should the owners be forced into bankruptcy by lawsuits being undertaken by the victim's families.

Mark Tourgee, a lawyer representing the West Warwick authorities, has written to lawyers representing the victims' survivors saying the club's owners have offered the town ownership of the land in order to create a memorial through a nonprofit group. He pointed out that the location is probably worth several hundred thousand dollars should it be sold for commercial or residential use and therefore: "it does have potential value to any of the victims or their families as a potentially recoverable asset in any litigation down the road."

Lawyers representing family members told reporters they had received the letter but had yet to talk to their clients about it. Though one added: "I can't imagine that they would object to a memorial."

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REVIEW: Short Break Operator – EP (Virgin/Radiate)
This is an unexpectedly delightful debut EP, comprising, for the most part, of lo-fi down-tempo folktronica that would sit easily alongside stuff on Twisted Nerve or Memphis Industries. 'Glory Verse' and the summery 'Some Winter Song' are particularly redolent of Badly Drawn Boy, the former sounding akin to Damon Gough struggling with a faulty drum machine. 'Take Route/Point Odinsve', meanwhile, recalls Orbital's luminous mathematical melodies. Despite an absence of 'conventional' song structures, it remains difficult not to be charmed by these understated yet beguiling melodies and arrangements. Quite possibly a perfect accompaniment to relaxing in or out of doors whilst the sun beats down. (This year's Ed Harcourt, then, or something). MS
Release date: 21 Apr
Press contact: Virgin IH

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MIDWEEK CHART UPATE
Madonna is expected to reaffirm her position as queen of pop by going straight into number one this weekend with 'American Life'. As reported yesterday the track has already charted despite only being released on Monday – there were enough import sales last week to take it to number 54 a day before actual release. Elsewhere in the mid-week chart reports it looks likely the current number one from Room 5 and Oliver Cheatham will drop to number two, followed by new releases from Blur and Robbie respecitively.

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FESTIVAL UPDATE
More festival news – this time from two of the August Bank Holiday festivals. First, the Carling Weekend (the umbrella for the Reading and Leeds Festivals) have confirmed Interpol, Electric Six, The Libertines, Primal Scream and Hot Hot Heat will all play both sites over the Bank Holiday weekend. Second, Massive Attack have announced they will follow up their current UK tour with a set at Creamfields, the last big dance fest of the summer.

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PEPPE ON THE MEDIA BACKLASH AFTER THE ZOE ALLEGATIONS
Dan Peppe, the DJ who found himself at the heart of the media storm surrounding the troubled marriage of Zoe Ball and Norman Cook earlier this year, has told Jack magazine that he was "shocked" when suddenly he, his friends and his family, were "at the mercy" of the tabloid press when news of Peppe's alleged affair with Ball was splashed across the Sunday papers in January.

Speaking to the magazine just before reports that Ball and Cook were back together he said: "You're at the mercy of the papers and they write whatever they want. If you're in a situation like mine, that's difficult. You do the right thing – you don’t make any money out of the story and you keep your mouth shut - so they just write what they want. It's a no-win situation."

Commenting on his decision to talk to the Sun about the alleged affair shortly after the story broke, he explained he hoped to take the media eye off him and his family by giving his side of the story. "My instincts were to say nothing, but I was told, 'You're starving a hungry beast. You've gotta give them something'. So I did one thing with the Sun, the idea being to calm things down. I had no idea it was going to be the front page. Obviously I was pretty shocked by what was going on, this was the early stages. I didn't get any money for it, the Sun made a donation to charity on my behalf.”

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RAJAR ADD WORLD SERVICE TO SURVEY
RAJAR, the people who survey radio listening figures in the UK, have confirmed they will add the BBC World Service to their surveys for the first time – meaning the global station will get UK audience ratings for the first time in its 70 year history. Commenting on the prospect of getting UK listening figures the station's marketing chief Alan Booth told reporters: "With many new ways to listen and a growing appetite for an international news perspective, we believe this will give us an accurate picture of whether the people who fund us, taxpayers in the UK, are able to benefit from and enjoy the service." Three digital stations - Kerrang!, Oneword and Smash Hits – will also be added to the survey when it releases its next results on 8 May.

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LIVE REVIEW: Fog @ Live at Dingwalls on 13 Apr
The 12 May sees Ninja Tune signee Fog return with his second album 'Ether Teeth' after the surprise success of his debut single 'Pneumonia' and his eponymous album. The live show reinforces where 23 year old Fog (Andrew Broder) has taken his sound. The slender misfit stood slightly stage-left, guitar in hand, and whispered "hi" into the mic. Such a bashful opening might have led one to believe that the native Minneapolan would not have delivered the uncompromisingly energetic and emotional performance of songs like 'Cheque Fraud' and 'Girl From The Gum Commercial'. The one man show not only showcases Broder's eccentric heartfelt voice, but his musical aptitude as he plays keys and guitar – oh, and a bit of beatbox-scratching to fill the gaps on 'Cheque Fraud'. Although the intimate gig often felt like a comedy routine with Broder's off-the-wall sense of humour evident in song and mid-track-bantor, you couldn't escape the genuine heart and soul that flowed from this little man and his kazoo. JG

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SLASH'S BAND STILL ON LOOK OUT FOR FRONT MAN
The yet-to-be-name new band from original Guns 'n' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum are still auditioning singers, according to Slash's official website, which encourages wannabe frontmen (or women) to get in touch. That said, given the list of singers rumoured to be interested, there is some stiff competition. Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, former Buckcherry frontman Joshua Todd and Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton are all said to have expressed an interest, though Patton, at least, has said he is too busy with other musical projects to join another band.

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CONGRESS PASS BILL THAT MIGHT KILL US DANCE SCENE
A bill has been passed through US Congress that some argue could severely affect the dance music scene in America. The bill, (strangely introduced as part of the Amber Alert Act, a bill designed to heighten public awareness of missing children) extends current "crack house" laws to allow prosecutors to slap fines and jail sentences on venue promoters or owners who host raves that can be proved to exist principally "for the purpose of providing an arena for illegal drugs." Some argue that the legislation will scare promoters and venue owners into shying away from anything nearing a 'rave' meaning dance culture will be deprived its infrastructure and either die or go underground.

However Bill McColl, national policy director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which has led the dance/electronic music community's lobbying efforts against the bill, told reporters yesterday that while he "disappointed" that the bill had gone through congress he would advice caution against overreaction. "Is it a threat? Yes. But does it kill the music scene tomorrow? No. We can work through this," he said.

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COURTNEY LOVE NEGOTIATING FOR NEW RECORD DEAL
Courtney Love, who was released from her recording contract with Universal Music last year after a long legal fight, is said to be in talks with EMI, V2, Sanctuary and several other independents with regards a label to release the album she is already working on (working title 'America’s Sweetheart'). Any deal will presumably cover global releases because as far as we're aware she has already signed a deal with Telstar / Poptones for UK releases.

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FAITH HILL SET FOR MOVIE DEBUT
More music stars in the movies - Faith Hill is set to make her big screen debut in a remake of the 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives. Word is Hill is currently in talks with Paramount executives about playing the role of suburban wife Charmaine Wimperis alongside an allstar cast which currently includes Nicole Kidman, John and Joan Cusack, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken and Roger Bart.

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REVIEW: Badly Drawn Boy – All Possibilities (Beggars/TwistedNerve)
Starting like the soundtrack to some bad 1980's cop show where the heroes run a mariachi bar by day and fight crime by night, ‘All Possibilities’ then evolves into the trademark multi-layered upbeat virtuoso performance that makes the Boy so distinctive. The understated optimism and the last vestiges of hope in the lyrics are mirrored by the punchy horns and strings section, and the whole composition is so gloriously cheery it's clear the Boy could write an uplifting song about slitting his wrists. How and why anyone with any self-respect can think Coldplay are so vital and important, when records like this betray them to be shoddy grief tourists, is beyond me. Come into the light, one and all. TO
Release date: 21 Apr
Press contact: Beggars IH

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INVESTORS SUE AOL TIME WARNER OVER FINANCE MIS-REPRESENTATION
More doom and gloom for the struggling AOL Time Warner group. The University of California has joined with Amalgamated Bank to file a lawsuit against the company claiming they lost up to $500 million in investments after the media company allegedly lied about its financial condition. The lawsuit says that executives misrepresented revenues and subscriber growth after the 2001 merger of AOL and Time Warner and that led to investors making costly (and wrong) decisions. They also allege that a number of senior insiders sold off $779 million in stock just after the merger before the accounting revelations that would cause the stock price to plummet were revealed. No response as yet from the entertainments conglom – though the allegations will add to the group's woes which have grown since they reported the biggest corporate loss in US business history earlier this year.

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SHARON USES TV COURT TO AIR GRIEVANCES AFTER RESTAURANT BUST UP
Sharon Osbourne appeared on US TV show 'Celebrity Justice' last night to talk about the 'altercation' she had with talent agent Renee Tab. As reported in the Daily yesterday, Osbourne reportedly required hospital treatment after being allegedly hit by the talent agent in an LA restaurant.

The incident relates to an ongoing feud between the two women which began when Renee won a raffle at the Osbourne's New Years party even though she hadn't been officially invited. "I honestly thought my jaw was broken," Osbourne told the show. "After the swing, the next thing I remember thinking was 'my jaw is broken ... my jaw is broken.' I have really bad pain here in the side of my jaw, and my neck is still bad."

In a statement given to the programme by Tab's lawyer the agent claimed that Osbourne had confronted her on the way back from the restroom, and that she then spat in Tab's face and hit her. Tab's response, they argue, was in self defence. Draw from that what you will, though 'Celebrity Justice' producers did manage to find two witnesses who supported Osbourne's claim that Tab was the one who hit first.

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KELLY ON STEREOPHONICS ALBUM FOUR
Kelly Jones has been talking to MTV about the up coming new album 'You Gotta Go There To Come Back', the follow up to 'Just Enough Education to Perform'. "The record is probably the most varied album we've made yet. When you tour an album like 'JEEP' which is relatively mid-tempo and acoustic, it's inevitable that the next record is gonna be quite rock and roll. And thank God for that. I wanna rock." The first UK release from the album will be 'Madame Helga'.

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