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Okay, so this week Michael Jackson has continued to dominate the music news, thanks in no small part to the all-star memorial event in LA on Tuesday. Thankfully the bizarre rumours and speculation seem to have died down a little, although that's probably also just thanks to the all-star memorial event in LA on Tuesday. In which case, you can expect news that Jacko left us to lead an alien race in its mission to kidnap the moon next week.

Much of the discussion in the CMU office this week (aside from where the hell all the coffee's gone and when the bloody lift is going to be fixed) has been about the promoters of Jackson's ill-fated O2 residency AEG Live's somewhat dubious attempts to claw back the (estimated) $30 million they'd already spent on the shows before the star's death. Having said that fans would be treated with "reverence and respect", ticketholders were promptly told that they could keep the tickets for the shows if they agreed not to take a refund. Now the company has put up all the merchandise manufactured for the shows on sale.

Well, you know, I suppose if this stuff is just lying around getting in the way, you might as well try to get rid of it. But this does all look a bit like they're trying to cash in on Jacko while interest in him is still at its peak. Something lots of people are doing, of course, but few so brazenly as AEG.

Anyway, I should probably stop talking about Michael Jackson-related things now. There are plenty more Jacko bits to come when you get past my weekly ramble and into the real meat of this week's CMU Weekly. As ever, we've got all the biggest news from this week, quotes you can relay to you friends in the pub later, recommendations for what you should be listening to, interviews with some dead good music types, and some reviews as well.

This week's competition gives you the chance to get yourself some VIP tickets to next week's Remix All-nighter at Matter. The tickets give you access to a private VIP gallery above the dancefloor and stage, where you can look down and laugh at all the 'normals' who have to stand with all the other 'normals'. Oh, and you'll get a great view of the live bands playing the night, including headliners Ladytron.

One final thing before I let you get on with reading this thing; this week is the final outing for the Where Are They Now? section. It's served us well these last few months, but, to put it bluntly, it just takes too long to do all that research. So, next week there will be a brand new section in its place. To bid it farewell, this week's is a very special edition.

Team CMU
 


 
 
  JACKSON REMEMBERED AT ALL-STAR MEMORIAL
Family, friends and fans of Michael Jackson amassed on the Staples Centre in LA on Tuesday morning (evening our time) to pay their last respects to the King Of Pop, who spent the duration in a gold coffin at the front of the stage. Jermaine Jackson was the only member of the family to actually perform, giving a rendition of the Charlie Chaplin penned song 'Smile', which a tearful Brooke Shields had just revealed was Jacko's personal favourite song. Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson and 'Britain's Got Talent' contender Shaheen Jafargholi all did a turn as well. Speakers included Berry Gordy, Al Sharpton, Smokey Robinson, Queen Latifah, basketball stars Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, the children of Martin Luther King - Martin Luther King III and Bernice King - and Jackson's daughter, Paris. Written messages from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela were read out. 1.6 million people worldwide had applied for the 11,000 free tickets made available to the public. 5500 of the registered fans won places inside the Staples Centre, with the remaining 6500 getting tickets for seats in the neighbouring Nokia Theatre, where the event was simulcast. Overall, it's estimated that around a billion people watched the event live via TV and the internet.
     
 

ANDERSSON DENIES ABBA REFORMATION RUMOURS
Abba's Benny Andersson has denied rumours that the band are to reform in order to fill AEG's slots at the O2 left empty by the demise of Michael Jackson. Did anyone really think they would? Appearing on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross', Andersson said in response to the claims made in The Sun: "No-one's asked us and if they did we wouldn't say yes". However, Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have confirmed that they will take part in a BBC Radio 2 concert recognising their body of work. 'Thank You For The Music... A Celebration Of The Music Of Abba' will take place in Hyde Park on 13 Sep, and the group's two songwriters are planning to be there to see guest vocalists performing material from their back catalogue. In a statement, the pair said: "This must be the greatest honour that can be bestowed on any songwriter. We are absolutely delighted and we hope thousands of Radio 2 listeners will join us there".
     
  FREELAND ACCUSES PEAS OF PLAGIARISM
Marine Parade man and all round CMU favourite Adam Freeland has accused those Black Eyed Peas of stealing a chunk of his track 'Mancry' - our favourite song off the current album from his band Freeland, 'COPE(tm)' - for their song 'Party All The Time'. Talking via Twitter, Freeland told his fans: "OK. Check this. Listen to our song 'Mancry'. Now listen to Black Eyed Peas 'Party All The Time'. WTF!". What the fuck, indeed. Listen to the two tracks side by side - which you can do via this rather handy YouTube video - and, unless we're going insane, it's pretty clear the Peas have just taken the Freeland track wholesale and dropped it in behind their vocals. Cheeky. Freeland insiders have confirmed they knew nothing of the sampling of their track until Adam stumbled across the Peas song. Needless to say, lawyers have been informed. Because, as Perez Hilton will testify, it's probably best not to challenge Will.i.am face to face on such things. Meanwhile, you can listen to 'Mancry' in its entirety on the 'COPE' player at www.freeland.fm.
     
 

NEW JACKO RECORDINGS WILL BE RELEASED - EVENTUALLY
The boss of Sony's Epic US division, British singer-songwriter Amanda Ghost, has confirmed that new recordings made by Michael Jackson prior to his death will be released eventually via her label, but said that there's no rush, and that they hadn't yet discussed the specifics of how and when those recordings would see the light of day. Speaking to the BBC this week, Ghost confirmed that, while Jackson famously fell out with Sony Music following the relatively disappointing performance of 2002 album 'Invincible', he was still working with the label and had intended to eventually release any new material with them. As previously reported, recent recording efforts had seen Jackson collaborate with the likes of Ne-Yo, Akon and will.i.am. Asked about those recordings by BBC 6 Music, Ghost said: "I have no idea when it's coming out, but it will come out on Epic. We haven't made any decisions because we just want to be respectful for his memory and not be seen in any way as trying to cash in. [But] the appetite is definitely there [for new music]. If we do release any of the unreleased material, it has to be fantastic, it can't in any way damage his legacy or his legend. I won't let that happen at Epic".
     
 

SMASH HITS RETURNS TO PAY TRIBUTE TO JACKO
Smash Hits is back. But only for one week. And only because Michael Jackson is dead. Yes, the legendary pop mag has been resurrected for one edition to commemorate the life of the King Of Pop, a staple for the magazine in its eighties hey day. In fact, if I remember rightly, many an edition of Smash Hits back then was dedicated with continuing the manufactured 'pop war' between Jackson and Prince. A ridiculous 'war' with hindsight, I wonder if they'll mention that in the special edition? Anyway, Bauer Media, who inherited the by then defunct Smash Hits brand when it bought EMAP in 2008, has got one of the pop mag's former editors Barry McIlheney in to produce the one off special, which will look back at Jackson's career, his eighties peak, and Smash Hits' coverage of it all. It's one of a number of rushed-to-press Jackson tribute magazines that are propping up the news-stands this week. If the Smash Hits one gets all you eighties pop fans feeling all nostalgic and in need of another hit of the magazine, well, you'll presumably have to sit in there and wait until Madonna, Prince or Kylie bite the dust. Possibly Jason. Or maybe Whitney. She was pretty big news back then too wasn't she?
     
  THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS
You know when you're holding something and then you get distracted and put it down without really thinking and then five minutes later you can't remember where you put it and you spend ages looking for it because it's somewhere completely illogical. That's annoying, isn't it? Anyway, read some reviews of Ear Pwr, The Rumble Strips, and Scott Matthews here.
     

Want more? Want daily in-depth music news? Want all this for free? Well, ha, you're in luck. Click here to subscribe to the CMU Daily.

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WIN VIP TICKETS TO THE REMIX ALL-NIGHTER
The CMU-approved Remix All-nighter is back at Matter in London for a second round of awesomeness next week. If you didn't already know, it's the place where dance rocks.

This time they've got Ladytron (live), Orbital's Phil Hartnol (DJ set), The Japanese Popstars (live), Alex Metric (DJ set), Punks Jump Up (DJ set), Burn The Negative (live), Matrix & Futurebound (DJ set), and of course, a DJ set from Remix overlord Mr Eddy Temple-Morris too.

It all takes place next Friday (so you can read your CMU Weekly to distract you from your excitement first), kicking off at 10pm and going right through to 6am on Saturday morning. That's why they call it an all-nighter.

  

 

We have two pairs of VIP tickets to give away. All you need to do is email competitions@unlimitedmedia.co.uk by 12 Jul to be in with a chance of getting your hands on them.

Advance tickets are available now for just £5. Click here to buy them from Ticketweb, or get them sent straight to your mobile phone by Ticket Text here.

Look what they won...
Well done to Emma Guirao and Martyn Savigar for winning last week's Bent competition in CMU Weekly!
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Jarvis Cocker, famous, of course, for wiggling his bum at Michael Jackson during the Brits in 1996, comments on the star's death: "If there's a tragedy about the whole thing, I would say that's that if he'd have kept making great records - like he did in the mid-80s - up to now that would have been great. But for some reason, for the last 20 years he didn't do that, and for me that's the tragic part of it"
     
 
You probably haven't even got around to hosing off your wellies yet, but Michael Eavis has revealed that he's already working on getting next year's Glastonbury headliners: "We've got some headliners who haven't played for a few years and some who have never played here. I'm not saying names, it will be the same old guessing game. But they're all on the phone at the moment so it will be special"
     
 
Patrick Wolf says he may enter a song for next year's Eurovision song contest if it receives a good response when he performs it at the Latitude festival next week: "There is a big hit song that I have been sitting on for the sequel to 'The Bachelor' that I have plans to debut at Latitude. If it goes down well, then I will enter it into the Eurovision Song Contest. No joke"
     
 
Michael Jackson's longtime dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein denies, with an unusual turn of phrase, rumours that he was the sperm donor for the singer's eldest two children, managing to do exactly the opposite of what he was aiming for: "To the best of my knowledge, I am not the father of these children. I can't answer it in any other way. I don't want to feed any of this insanity that is going around"
     
 
Ash frontman Tim Wheeler reveals that, from October, the band will release a new single every fortnight for a year: "We've already recorded 44 tracks and we're going to do more as well, because we're experimenting a lot. About half of them are at the level we need them to be. When we're releasing that many songs in a year, we need to be pleased with them"
     
 
Noel Gallagher says bands who don't do drugs are idiots: "I look at Chris Martin, who says he has never taken drugs in his life, and I think he is an idiot. Doing drugs is the most beautiful thing about being in a rock band. Up until 1998 I must have spent £1 million on drugs - then I stopped, because it is bad for your health, brain, life and for people around you. But while you use them - mamma mia"
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  Listen to Blur play Hyde Park. Didn't manage to get Blur tickets? Well, comfort yourself with this. A recording of last Friday's Blur gig in Hyde Park can be enjoyed on the Absolute Radio website, but only until the end of this week, so get there quick. The site is also running a competition to win a deluxe double CD of the performance - www.absoluteradio.co.uk/player/7110/live_at_hyde_park_2009.html
     
 

The Deer Tracks. CMU favourites The Deer Tracks have just launched a new YouTube channel. Up at the moment are the videos for '127SexFyra' and 'Slow Collision' from the Swedish duo's debut album, 'Aurora'. But we're promised that in the coming weeks there will be live clips, video blogs and behind the scenes footage of recording sessions for their second album posted up there - www.youtube.com/thedeertracks
     
  Ranger3 release new single. CMU favourites Ranger3, who do a very nice line in writing folk songs, cutting them up into little pieces and then putting them back together again, release their latest single, 'Sense Of Direction', this week. The video for the track, which sees a group of claymation animals take over the forest, was created by award-winning director Eric Power - www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2lcAdrnQVQ
     
  Neon Indian. A new project from Alan Palomo (of VEGA fame), Neon Indian serves up washed out synth pop with great hooks and vocals that form the middle ground between Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips and Luke Sleepy Jackson. Indeed, there are parts that sound like Luke's current band, Empire Of The Sun, with dreamy production and a intermittent synth loop on 'Deadbeat Summer' - www.myspace.com/neonindian
     
 

Jesu and Isis men team up for new band. Jesu and Godflesh's Justin Broadrick and Diarmuid Dalton, Isis frontman Aaron Turner and Head Of David's Dave Cochrane have teamed up to form a new band, Greymachine. The results, as you would expect, are heavy. Very, very heavy. You can download 'Vultures Descend', a track from their forthcoming debut album, 'Disconnected' - www.avalancheinc.co.uk/Vultures_Descend.mp3
     
  Pearly Gate Music. This is a lovely little project from Zach Tillman, brother of Fleet Foxes' drummer J Tillman, who also features in the band. It's similar stuff to his sibling's project, so expect Crosby, Stills and Nash style alt-folk, soaring vocals and delicate acoustic instrumentation throughout, though there's a slightly melancholic undertone and some Beach Boys-style harmonies thrown in too - www.myspace.com/pearlygatemusic
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  Q1 How did you start out making music?
WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS: "Because my parents are both blind, it was the only way they knew how to communicate with me on a completely even playing field. So much of verbal communication is based on non-verbal elements, on seeing a person's facial expression, or body language, etc... I couldn't ever share those things with my mother or father. But with music, we could speak to each other and understand exactly what we were trying to say. It was the main language that my family and I spoke"

Read more of William Fitzsimmons' answers
   
  Q2 What inspired your latest album?
NOUVELLE VAGUE: "This one is again devoted to punk, post punk and new wave music - Nouvelle Vague only really covers songs from this era. The idea was to have it sounding a bit more country, bluegrass, but still sounding pretty much like Nouvelle Vague. We also wanted to invite some of the people we were covering onto the album, so you can hear Martin Gore, Ian McCulloch, Barry Adamson and Terry Hall on there"

Read more of Nouvelle Vague's answers
   
  Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
ACOUSTIC LADYLAND: "I write all the music and then we take it apart and rebuild it in the rehearsal studio - with the other band members writing and arranging bits - before gigging as much as possible and adapting the songs as we go"

Read more of Acoustic Ladyland's answers
   
  Q4 Which artists influence your work?
THE COUNT & SINDEN: "Anybody that has a maverick approach to music, that will take risks and trail the way for others. Artists such as Björk, Outkast, The Clash, Radiohead have all done this throughout their careers. Even though their influence doesn't directly impact on my sound, I aspire to do what they've achieved with every single album - to keep moving forward"

Read more of The Count & Sinden's answers
   
  Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
TOM MIDDLETON: "My music comes from the heart and is loaded with emotion, hope, optimism and positivity. It's normally very uplifting and you should feel the love!"

Read more of Tom Middleton's answers
   
  Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
CLARK: "I really want to get some synths and amps into the courtyard of my flat. It's got this amazing dense reverb. If you played loads of hi notes and slowed it down by four octaves on tape it would sound like the world was howling itself to death. Not sure how my landlord would feel about it though. We don't get on, he and I"

Read more of Clark's answers
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This week, Michael Jackson.

Still dead.
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