| CMU Daily - on the inside 25 Jun 2003 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• Touring Starsailor on Spector
• BET awards
• Nick Cave DVD
• Punk'd due back
• Coral £40k homecoming
• "Pumpin' NERD in the deck…"
• Cable, digital and satellite on the up
• Warp on the streets
• Review: Various - Morrissey presents: Under The Influence
• More snags for the US live industry
• New Kazaa
• Diana Ross drink driving
• E4 +1 launch set
• Live Review: Cerys Matthews - Union Chapel, London, 19 Jun.
• Eminem… aaah bless
• Toronto SARS gig
• Everybody's bored of BB
• Tim Burgess solo
• Review: Kinesis - Forever Reeling (Independiente)
• Marvin Gaye stamp petition
• Guerilla advertising? Cow advertising
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TOURING STARSAILOR ON SPECTOR
With rumours that Spector might give up music producing following those murder allegations Starsailor have spoken about the possibility of having the last ever Spector produced album. The legendary producer worked with the band on their 'Silence Is Easy' album (out 15 Sep).
The band's James Walsh told NME yesterday: "It feels strange really. The time we spent with him, he was eccentric but by no means was there any indication that he could be capable of anything that serious. I think it was an amazing experience first and foremost. To see, for example, the way he could make a string quartet sound like an orchestra. His hours were very unconventional. He started at six at night and finished at four in the morning. That was quite hard work. He didn't want to use anything modern, any pro-tools or anything like that. Whatever you recorded, stuck. You couldn't really go back over anything and say 'That could sound better or that could sound better'. In the end, two of the songs he did are on the album - 'Silence Is Easy' and 'White Dove'. That style suited those two songs better than the other ones. It would obviously be a great honour if we were to be the last band. But also it would mean the loss of someone so good who had given so much to music."
The rest of 'Silence Is Easy' was produced by the band and Danton Supple, with 'Shark Food' produced by John Leckie.
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BET AWARDS
Last night saw the broadcast of the BET Awards – awarding music, film and sport talent in the black community in America. The music section of the BET event is something of an American version of our MOBO awards.
Award highlights include: 50 Cent got two awards - best new artist and best male hip-hop artist; James Brown got a lifetime achievement award; R&B quartet B2K got top group; Queen Latifah got best actress; R. Kelly tied with fellow crooner Jaheim for best male R&B artist; Erykah Badu and Common won best video for 'Love of My Life'; and Snoop Dogg and Pharrell won best collaboration for 'Beautiful'.
The awards are voted for record label executives, news media representatives and fans.
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NICK CAVE DVD
Cave is set to release his first DVD 'God Is In The House' which will include the video of 'Fifteen Feet of Snow' which was directed by John Hellcoat and featured Jarvis Cocker and Jason Donovan (of all people!). The recording session documentary of 'No More Shall We Part' - also directed by Hellcoat - will also be on the DVD. The Live DVD, 'God Is In The House' was recorded at Le Transbordeur in Lyon on 8 Jun 2001.
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PUNK'D DUE BACK
MTV's celebrity prank 'Punk'd' (like Jeremy Beadle but with famous people – kind of a cool Noel Edmonds Goatcha) will be back this autumn for a twenty episode series. Premiered in March, the show that has 'punk'd' the likes of Justin Timberlake and Kelly Osbourne is proving very popular with the teen market. Announcing the show actor and host Ashton Kutcher told reporters: "All of Hollywood should be afraid. If you are famous, we will find you and you will be 'Punk'd'."
Executive VP of series and movie development Lois Curren said: "MTV is excited to be working with the Punk'd team for series two, and excited to be working with Ashton and Jason [Goldberg, executive producer] on the new season. One of our goals at MTV has always been to partner with the most sought-after talent in the industry to produce such great hits like 'Punk'd.'"
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CORAL £40K HOMECOMING
The Coral will have to cover a £40k deficit with their own money after their lavish homecoming gig in hometown New Brighton, Merseyside this weekend. The Midsummer Night's Scream gig involved shipping in and erecting a massive purpose built tent – such were the costs that even though all 6000 tickets were sold the band were £40k down at the end.
Keyboardist Nick Power told reporters before the gig: "We're spending loads of our own money but it's not about the money, it's about putting on a special day, something to remember".
Since the gig the band's manager, Alan Wills, has told reporters: "They were told to do it over two days to cover costs, But they didn't want to do that. They wanted to make it special, a one-off in their hometown."
The Coral, who release their new album 'Magic And Medicine' on 28 Jul, will doing a series of secret shows throughout the summer in order to make up the shortfall. These will be announced at a day's notice in the press local to the venues.
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"WE GOT NERD IN THE DECK…"
Aug 5 will see the release of a long awaited Neptunes compilation album. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo -who have been responsible for cuts from Britney Spears, Snoop, NSYNC and Justin Timberlake - don't release original material under the Neptunes moniker (using their NERD alias instead) so this will be the first CD actually bearing the Neptunes name.
Because this isn't actually a Nerd release it will be released on BMG/Arista who are affiliated to the Neptunes production outfit. (NERD releases come out on EMI/Virgin of course).
'The Neptunes Presents … Clones' will feature their next single with Busta Rhymes, 'Light Your Ass On Fire'.
The tracklist is as follows:
Intro featuring Pharrell
Clipse featuring Ab Liva & Rosco P. Cold Chain - 'Hot Damn'
Clipse featuring Ab Liva - 'Blaze of Glory'
Rosco P. ColdChain featuring Clipse - 'This Beat Is...'
FAM-LAY featuring Pharrell & Kelis - 'Rock N Roll'
Kelis featuring Nas - 'Popular Thug'
SuperCat featuring Foxy Brown - 'Don of Don's'
Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell - 'Light Your Ass on Fire'
Pharrell featuring Jay-Z - 'Frontin'
Nerd - 'Lord'
Spymob - 'Fuck & Spend'
Vanessa Marquez - 'Good Girl'
Dirt McGirt (O.D.B) featuring Pharrell
Nore featuring Pharrell - 'Put Em' Up'
Ludacris featuring Pharrell - 'TBC'
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CABLE, DIGITAL AND SATELLITE ON THE UP
Freeview is now watched in 1.6 million UK homes, according to the latest ITC multichannel report. The fast growth of the BBC backed terrestrial digital service means 48.6% of households now have some form of multichannel TV in their home, and 43.9% of households now have digital TV.
The figures from the quarter to the end of March show that one in five households are now 'free-to-air' digital homes, including those with digital terrestrial and free-to-air digital satellite. Freeview, which has accounted for almost 60% of growth in the digital TV market since its launch, is seen in 1.6 million homes (though Sky still lead the way in the multi-channel market with 6.4 million subscribers).
Cable added 56,000 digital subscribers in the quarter and contributed to a total of 2.1 million digital cable homes.
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WARP ON THE STREETS
The home of Aphex Twin, Prefuse73 and Mira Calix, Warp Records have announced that they are looking for people to join a Warp Street Team, which will carry out 'carefully assigned promo missions and report back'. The plan is to infiltrate clubs, gigs and shops with assorted promotional material and win over the hearts and ears of Joe Public. If you're interested in being part of Warp's street team you must be a UK resident and live near a major city or town. In return for your efforts you'll be rewarded with free Warp booty and gig entrances. For more information visit www.warprecords.com
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REVIEW: Various - Morrissey presents: Under The Influence (DMC)
In the recent 'The Importance Of Being Morrissey' documentary the eminent Mancunian spun 'So Little Time' by 1950's film starlet Diana Dors on his gramophone. That song is included here but nothing else is as kitsch as that. It's a diverse selection taking in much that is obscure; the traditional Irish folk of The Sundown Playboys, the rockabilly of Charlie Feathers, the Scott Walker-esque torch singing of Jimmy Radcliffe and the opera of Klaus Nomi. Even when Morrissey has chosen familiar icons including Marc Bolan and Patti Smith, he selects little known tracks. Most of the songs are from the 50's and 70's, the closest we get to a modern song is the 80's indie of Ludus' 'Breaking the Rules'. Oddly it is striking that much of the collection sounds very contemporary. Morrissey was president of the New York Dolls' fan club and the glam-tinged chords of their 'Trash' is surprisingly reminiscent of the Suede song by the same name. Patti Smith's 'Hey Joe' brings to mind PJ Harvey, and the Ramones - represented here by 'Judy Is A Punk' - have inspired countless imitators (the Donnas et al). The Cats do a ska version of 'Swan Lake' which sounds like a terrible idea but its fantastic. Morrissey rarely gives interviews and when he does he doesn't give much away, your best chance of getting into the psyche of pop's poet laureate is this collection. The misery, death, humour, weirdness; its all there. JW
Release date: 26 May
Press contact: Sainted PR [CP, RP, NP] DMC IH [CR, RR, NR]
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MORE SNAGS FOR THE US LIVE INDUSTRY
While the British live music industry enjoys a boom summer as the major festivals experience record ticket sales - the US's summer looks less rosy with the live industry still in decline.
A number of big tours in the US have had to scale down their operations and cancel dates due to slow ticket sales. Mariah Carey's Charmbracelet tour was last week rescheduled with planned arena dates swapped for smaller theatre gigs.
Beck's US tour has also been scaled due to slow ticket sales. The down-sizing included dropping Dashboard Confessional from the bill because of the high cost of high profile support.
Other reports suggest that tickets for the Flaming Lips, Dixie Chicks, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and the Lollapalooza are all slow sellers.
And while Justin has added a number of dates to a second UK leg of his 'Justified' world tour - the US promoters admit that, while all shows are likely to be near capacity on the night, sales for the Justin/Christina joint tour have been slower in some areas than they had anticipated.
Insiders have suggested the war, SARS and the faltering economy have all contributed to the slump. Others say ever rising ticket prices are to blame – live trade magazine Pollstar reckons the average ticket price is up $10 since 1999.
On a more positive note Pollstar's editor said: "There are always going to be pockets of shows where acts don't do well. As long as promoters are scaling their expectations to what the market can bear, they should be OK."
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NEW KAZAA
Sharman Networks yesterday launched a new version of their peer-to-peer fileshare tool Kazaa Media Desktop. Called Kazaa v2.5 it has a number of new features, including licensed content channels, a rewards program for sharing licensed content, and upgraded security.
Nikki Hemming, CEO of Sharman Networks said: "The evolution of Kazaa Media Desktop reflects our commitment to Sharman's long-term goals. It provides an excellent user experience by improving choice, usability, and security, and further bridges the gap between content creators, owners and users."
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DIANA ROSS DRINK DRIVING
Diana Ross was in court in Arizona on Monday to fight the drink-driving charges she faces after being stopped by police at the end of last year. The gist of the case seems to be that Ross and her lawyer feel she was only prosecuted because officers recognised her and decided to proceed with a breath test when they probably wouldn't have bothered with someone else. The officers argue there were definite signs Ross had been drinking when they pulled her over and they were just doing their jobs. We await a ruling.
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E4 +1 LAUNCH SET
Channel 4 will launch their E4's one-hour timeshift channel (showing E4 shows one hour behind the main channel) on 14 Jul. E4 +1 will be found on channel 206 in the Sky EPG at launch. Delayed Big Brother Live will be the highlight of the first fortnight on air.
Dan Brooke, MD of 4 Channels said: "E4's viewers are young and upmarket with busy lifestyles, so the launch of a second, time-shifted version will give them greater flexibility to catch their favourite shows."
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LIVE REVIEW: Cerys Matthews - Union Chapel, London, 19 Jun.
Former Catatonia front woman Cerys graced the teeny weeny Union Chapel with a quickly sold out, rather intimate gig that was so mellow and warm you felt as if you were spending a night with old friends. A very pregnant and most radiant Cerys opened her set with 'Chilly Winds,' a future B-side, not featured on her current debut solo album 'Cockahoop'. She did, however, go on to perform each and every track from the fantastic country/folk flavoured album which features six new tracks written by Cerys herself, plus five covers, including a very popular rendition of the catchy Roger Cook classic 'Chardonnay,' a cover of the Hansom Family's 'Weightless Again,' and Welsh Hymn 'Arglwydd Dyma Fi,' which Cerys explained was a "really special" song that her Gran had taught her. She also performed her version of 'Banjo Moon,' claiming that Lucky wouldn't let her put it on 'Cockahoop' because it "wasn't country enough." The three song encore included a duet with support act Adam Green - a performance of his forthcoming single 'Jessica,' and the night was wrapped up with album closer 'All My Trials'. A couple of Welsh flags were proudly swayed throughout the night as fans sipped their beers, quietly seated in the pews, all ears open to their heroine. Cerys is a great live vocalist, and tonight was no disappointment: stripped down, chilled out and honest. MY.
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EMINEM… AAAH BLESS
Allegedly responding to tabloid reports that claim he blew £500k on presents in just seven days, Eminem shocked the crowd at Milton Keynes by removing his necklace, which he said was worth £275,000, and giving it to a fan.
He took the chain off and holding it aloft he said: "I'm not fronting, but this cost me $450,000." He then went to the front of the stage and gave it to a stunned fan.
An onlooker said: "She looked so astonished! She almost fainted with disbelief but her friends held her up. At one point I thought she was going to puke up over Eminem's shoes!"
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TORONTO SARS GIG
Justin Timberlake will join the Rolling Stones at that benefit gig in Toronto we reported on yesterday. The gig aims to revive tourism and spirit in the city following an economic downturn due to the SARS outbreak.
AC/DC, the Flaming Lips, the Isley Brothers, the Guess Who, Sass Jordan, Sam Roberts and Kathleen Edwards will also be performing, and the show will be hosted by Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi.
Proceeds from the gig will be donated to the newly created Health Care and Hospitality Workers Relief Fund. Net.
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BORED OF BB
Channel 4 and producers Endemol are hoping that the latest Big Brother stunt involving a contestant swap between the African and UK versions of the show will lead to a surge in popularity, after the number of eviction votes cast slumped by around 40% on last year and ratings continue to slide.
Just 3.87 million votes have been cast in the first four weeks of the show, compared to 6.5 million in the same period last year.
An extra Friday night show, with voting extended for several hours, and last week's stunt of evicting two forgettable nobodies instead of one has failed to boost ratings.
Channel 4 earned almost £5m in text message votes and alerts alone when the total number of votes topped 25m last year.
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TIM BURGESS SOLO
Charlatan's frontman Tim Burgess has recruited Jennifer Lopez, P Diddy, Lil' Kim, Snoop Dogg and Beck to help out on his solo album.
With the single 'I Believe In The Spirit' (the first from his album I Believe, 8 Sep) due on Aug 25, Burgess has been writing his own songs while also working on a new LP for the band.
As well as appearing at V2003, Tim will be on tour at the following venues:
12 Aug: Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
13 Aug: Leadmill, Sheffield
14 Aug: Birmingham Academy
19 Aug: Scala, London
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REVIEW: Kinesis - Forever Reeling (Independiente)
This Bolton quartet are full of promise, which helps when you sing songs about despair and the like. Having generated column inches about everything from suing Top Shop to rocking the various toilet venues in the UK, Kinesis have developed a formidable fanbase. Though 'Forever Reeling' is not a patch on the previous singles, 'Billboard Beauty' or 'And The Obey' it is still a fine example of how great Kinesis can be. FC
Release date: 16 Jun
Press contact: [Hall Or Nothing CP, RP, NP] Anglo [CR, RR, NR]
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MARVIN GAYE STAMP PETITION
The LA Chapter of the Motown Alumni Association has launched a campaign to obtain a million signatures in favour of a US postage stamp for what would have been Marvin Gaye's 65th birthday - on April 2, 2004.
Fans can write letters of support to Dr. Virginia Noelke, Chair of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service: 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 5670, Washington, DC 20260-2437.
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GUERILLA ADVERTISING? COW ADVERTISING.
A digital music TV station will be putting their logo on a herd of cows that graze in fields along the A37, the route to Glastonbury. The 'Moovert' will be launched on Thursday by Bez from The Happy Mondays.