| CMU Daily - on the inside 3 Jun 2003 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• All Tomorrow's Parties in the US
• US media laws change despite opposition
• Review: The Androids - The Androids
• Grandaddy UK dates still on despite accident
• Metallica album release brought forward
• Tricky disses Red Hot Chilli Peppers
• Penk radio show axed
• Robbie enlists fans to play him in video
• Beyonce album release date brought forward
• Legit music video streaming
• Strokes track gets us release
• Kazaa try to lure people to legal file sharing
• New post at BMG filled
• First UK Travis gig for a year
• Review: Massive Attack - Butterfly Caught
• Justin Timberlake update
• Apple in bed with Amazon
• MTV movie awards
• London Arena to be replaced by tower block
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ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES IN THE US
Following the news that LA's edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival is being pushed back to the Autumn a spokesperson for the festival's organisers has admitted that slow ticket sales were to blame. The news follows problems for the East Coast edition of the festival which is having to move from its Astbury Park venue to an as yet to be confirmed venue.
But fingers crossed both will take place come September. The Matt Groening curated West Coast event has booked the likes of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Mission Of Burma, the Breeders, Yo La Tengo, Wire, and the Magic Band. The line up for the East Coast event, which is most likely to be curated by Stephen Malkmus, is as yet unconfirmed.
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US MEDIA LAWS CHANGE DESPITE OPPOSITION
Despite the previously reported campaigns in he US against the proposed changes to the media ownership laws there, which will allow Murdoch et al to own a big slice of the pie, the Federal Communications Commission made the bill law this weekend.
Any one company is now allowed up to 45% of the US national television market (it was previously 35%). Another major change affects cross-platform ownership; in all but the very smallest TV markets, companies are now able to own two TV local stations, as long as there are another six in competition. Companies are also allowed to own combinations of those TV stations along with newspapers and radio stations in that same market. In the largest markets, such as New York and LA, one company can now own up to three stations - provided there are another eight in competition.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said: "Keeping the rules exactly as they were was not a viable option. I think you'll see some restructuring, but I happen to personally believe not nearly as much as some of the alarmist rhetoric would suggest. Just because somebody can buy something doesn't mean it makes strategic or financial sense to do so."
Opposing the changes, Jeff Chester, Director of the Centre for Digital Democracy told reporters: "By allowing broadcast networks to amass even more power in the number of stations they can now control across the country, and by setting aside the prohibition against a single company owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same community, the FCC has weakened the very fabric of our democracy. Fewer owners of the mass media means fewer voices will be heard, fewer opportunities for discourse and debate will be available, and ultimately fewer options for those who seek alternative and minority viewpoints. A handful of companies will gain from today's decision, but the public at large will lose."
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REVIEW: The Androids - The Androids (Universal/Island)
The Androids are responsible for one of the crappiest ad campaigns in recent memory (for their single 'Do it with Madonna'). As such, it hurts like hell to tell you that their album isn't too bad, actually. The extremely slick production raises questions about their alleged self-financed recording sessions, and parts of the album are sludgy and dull ('Brand New Life'), but the pop hooks which lie at the surface of the punk bluster are pretty good, and abetted by story-telling lyrics. Although these lyrics are mostly boy/girl stories and the like, they are nicely written and mostly forgivable. Where they become a weakness, however, is on the aforementioned single (puerile in extremis and easily the worst track on here) and on 'Take it too Far', which uses cliched lines like 'Who do you think you are?' Certainly, The Androids are more palatable than fellow countrymen The Vines or predecessors Blink 182. So it ain't all bad. DR
Press contact: Wild [CP, CR] Island IH [RP, RR, NP, NR]
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GRANDADDY UK DATES STILL ON DESPITE ACCIDENT
Grandaddy's Jim Fairchild was hit by a tour bus in San Diego. But don't worry, Fairchild – who admits he was pissed at the time – isn't too hurt. He fell in front of the band's equipment bus and broke a number of bones in his shoulder as it went under the wheels. The injury meant he couldn't play the San Diego gig, but he was well enough for their Los Angeles' gig.
In a statement on official website grandaddylandscape.com the band say: "Here is a quick recap: the booze was flowing so the details are a bit blurry. Jim sort of did a little stumble fall down the steps and out of the door of the bus and on to the ground. Unlucky for him, the 18 wheeler that carries the production gear was on its way to San Diego. As it was leaving the parking lot the 17th or 18th wheel rolled over Jim's shoulder, breaking some little bones that I can't pronounce let alone spell. Jim was taken to the hospital, he is OK, he can play guitar, he just does it in a chair with a sling on his arm!"
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METALLICA ALBUM RELEASE BROUGHT FORWARD
Due to what the label call an "unprecedented level of anticipation and the prevalence of substandard versions," (that is to say, an awful lot of MP3s doing the rounds) Warners label Elektra has moved up the US release of Metallica's new 'St. Anger' album to this Thursday (6 Jun) from its scheduled street date of next Tuesday (10 Jun).
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TRICKY DISSES RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS
Tricky is blaming the Red Hot Chilli Peppers management for the delay of his last album 'Blowback', labelling them 'little girls' and vowing never to work with them again. Tricky told launch.com, that even though the Chilli Peppers had wanted to work with him for several years, "their manager is like, 'Well who is this guy Tricky? We sell 23 million albums or whatever. This guy, he's not on our soundscan." This led to the release of the following collaboration being delayed. This was put down to the band's management concentrating on the release of 'By The Way, and not clearing the project. "It was almost like I was begging them to clear it. So my attitude is like I don't want to work with your band. I don't even listen to your band, so just forget about it, but it was too late then. We had to put back my single because of their album. Little pop stars, they're just like little girls, man." Current album 'Vulnerable' is out now, and he says that he has two more albums pending, including tracks with Kelis and Polly Harvey.
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PENK RADIO SHOW AXED
Capital Radio have axed Stephen Penk's show only a year after here- joined the company. The station told Penk that his show with its prank phonecalls to celebrities and the public alike was "about as close to the edge as [Capital] could comfortably go". Penk, best known outside London for those painful yet amusing 'Televisions Naughtiest Blunders' shows, is now trying to further his TV career by turning his risque radio show into a family entertainment programme. Penk's management - MPC Entertainment – told reporters the show would be "your typical Saturday evening show", and had been in development for some time.
Penk famously quit Capital – despite being one of the favourites to take over the Tarrant slot if he ever retires – to host the Virgin breakfast show after they fired Chris Evans. But he quickly fell out with Virgin bosses, famously quit and was soon found across the Capital network with his late night show. His management say he remains on good terms with Capital and hopes to work with them on future projects.
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ROBBIE ENLISTS FANS TO PLAY HIM IN VIDEO
Following a Pop Idol style audition, Peter Caruana, 29, and Bjxrn Wenner, 23 and music student Rebecca Durrant, 20, are to play Robbie in the video to his next single 'Something Beautiful'. The winners were chosen by Robbie's dad, club entertainer Pete Conway, leading the a panel of three judges who chose the winners after auditions on Saturday.
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BEYONCE ALBUM RELEASE DATE BROUGHT FORWARD
The release of Beyonce Knowles' debut solo album 'Dangerously In Love' (with its many collaborations – including Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Sean Paul, D-Roy & Mr. B, OutKast's Big Boi, and Luther Vandross) has been pushed forward two weeks in an attempt to stop pirating. Though this move seems to be targeting traditional bootlegging rather than downloading – word is advanced copies of major artist albums are big business after 50 Cent's 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin' album was found to be available on the streets of NY.
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LEGIT MUSIC VIDEO STREAMING
A new online service backed by former Virgin Records boss Paul Conroy is hoping to further the idea of music web TV. www.vidzone.tv is a website which will stream a library of music videos. Viewers will be able to watch videos on demand for a subscription of £2.99 per month. Unlike the download sites the tracks will never be stored on their hard drive.
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STROKES TRACK GETS US RELEASE
Following September 11 The Strokes track 'New York City Cops' was pulled from the album 'Is That It? – its content (: "Well, kill me now… They act like Romans/ But they dress like Turks … /New York City Cops / They aren't too smart") deemed a little insensitive given the circumstances. But said track is now going to surface on a new compilation recognising the innovative new acts of the city titled 'Yes New York'. The album is set to hit US shops next week.
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KAZAA TRY TO LURE PEOPLE TO LEGAL FILE SHARING
In a move that might just placate some of the majors (though don't hold your breath) the people behind Kazaa are introducing incentives to swap legal files instead of pirated ones via their peer to peer network. The Peer Points Manager programme is akin to a frequent flyer scheme. Kazaa users will earn points for making legal files available to others over the Internet. The points can then be swapped for small prizes, or used to enter sweepstakes to win larger items.
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NEW POST AT BMG FILLED
BMG have announced Deirdre McDonald will fill the new position of Senior Vice President of Industry and Government Relations in the US. McDonald will advise and shape BMG's strategic objectives in the areas of legislation, regulation and policy. She will work with BMG's labels and divisions worldwide to address issues such as piracy and new technologies. She will also represent the company to legislative bodies, governmental agencies and trade organizations such as the RIAA and IFPI.
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FIRST UK TRAVIS GIG FOR A YEAR
Travis have announced that they will play King George's Hall in Blackburn - their first British gig since drummer Neil Primrose broke his back jumping into a swimming pool in France last summer. The show, in aid of the famine relief charity Concern at the Edinburgh Usher Hall, will see the band joined by Idlewild and Teenage Fanclub.
Primrose has made a full recovery after sustaining multiple fractures in his vertebrae as he was knocked unconscious as he hit his head.
The show precedes their forthcoming charity gig in Edinburgh on 22 Jun.
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REVIEW: Massive Attack – Butterfly Caught (Virgin)
The exciting part of this single release is the remixes. With remixes from Paul Daley and current avante-hiphop darling RJD2 it seems like a real treat. The 6 minute Jagz Kooner remix offers little more than a few nu-skool breaks and a bit of delay. The RJD2 remix is the most exciting of the mixes but still a tad disappointing: its prog-hop beats and RJD2's signature build it and strip it down approach are nice, but more than a little anticlimactic. With its long string and synth intro, Daley's remix is a downtempo nu-electro cut with 3D's off-centre vocals lilting in the background. Octave One's remix signals a departure from the downtempo with some 4/4 house tempo business – 7mins 18secs seems more than enough to prove that you didn't do anything interesting with this track. JG
Release date: 9 Jun
Press contact: Virgin IH [CP, CR, RR, NR] APB [RP, NP]
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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE UPDATE
Justin Timberlake has hit back at a critic who said that the world in which he now lives is a distant memory. "Teen pop will never be dead. The death of teen pop and its venue as it was, sure. But as long as there are teens, and as long as we have culture with popular music in it, 'teen pop' will never die."
With regards to the impending reunion of NSYNC Timberlake said: "As a creative person that hasn't even thought about what we would work on and where the direction would go, I know that it would have to be something a little new, creative and different. I can't make any promises about what it's going to sound like, or if we even feel confident enough to put it out… I'm sure we will."
That said, Justin admits that his personal tastes have changed in the two years since the group's last release in 2001. "I've become so much more open to rock music. I just enjoy it so much now more than ever. And I think I'm fully dug into all different styles of music now. I think that comes when you mature as a person."
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APPLE IN BED WITH AMAZON
Apple's iTunes Music Store may soon to be available on Amazon.com. The parties are in advanced talks and a deal is expected, though sources warn that plans may might still fall through. If the deal happens, Apple would gain a significant new distribution outlet for its new music service, and Amazon would be able to fulfil a long-wanted goal – expand its offerings to digital music.
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EMINEM'S LATEST MARIAH JIBE
While collecting his award for best actor and best breakthrough male at the MTV Movie Awards this weekend (for 8 Mile obviously) he told he audience: "I can't believe I beat Mariah for her role in 'Glitter'."
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LONDON ARENA TO BE REPLACED BY TOWER BLOCK
A Jehovah's Witness gathering will be the last event ever to be held at the London Arena, Docklands on 15 Jun. The venue on the Isle of Dogs is to be torn down to make way for a housing block. That said, Tower Hamlets council has yet to approve the plans for the 1,088 apartment plan.