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Oh dear, things have gone and got a bit hectic around here. It's that time of year again. Just as the rest of the music industry lies down to have a little nap, we lend our sister publication ThreeWeeks a hand has they attempt to cover as many shows at the Edinburgh Festival as possible. And there are a lot of shows at the Edinburgh Festival. Last year they reviewed over 1700 of them. In less than a month.

For those of you who don't know, the Edinburgh Festival is the world's biggest arts and culture event, where thousands of actors, comedians, dancers, and musicians from around the work all converge on Scotland's second largest city to drink heavily and lose all their money. They also perform to thousands of people, and ThreeWeeks is there to cover it.

It's all very exciting, if a little stressful. You can find out more about it here: www.threeweeks.co.uk.

But don't think we've forgotten about you, CMU Weekly readers. We still love you. Look, here's another outstanding edition of your favourite weekly music bulletin, just to prove it. Look how shiny and lovely it is. Mmm, pretty.

In this issue, we've got all that news stuff you like so much, and some quotes, some tips, some interviews, and even a little joke. Oh and we've got another amazing competition. I mean really amazing. Totally and uttering amazing. And certainly not a last minute thing put together in a hurry because we'd forgotten about this week's competition. No, as I said before, despite all the other stuff going on in our office at the moment, we haven't forgotten about you. And we never will. And we will fight anyone who says otherwise. A Chris Isaak Christmas DVD is a gift that keeps on giving, whatever the time of year.

Team CMU

		FISHER WINS FINAL PALE DISPUTE APPEAL Procol Harum's long-running copyright dispute reached its conclusion in the House Of Lords yesterday, and the Lords reinforced a High Court ruling that said that the band's organist, Matthew Fisher, should be recognised as a co-writer of the outfit's biggest hit, 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale', overturning a Court Of Appeal judgement that said Fisher had left it too late to make his claim. For those that fell asleep at some point during this long running legal dispute, here's a quick summary. The Harum's 1967 hit 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' has always been credited to the band's frontman Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid. But in 2005 organist Fisher said that he had actually devised the song's haunting, distinctive and now rather iconic organ melody while the band worked on the track in the studio; Brooker's original musical score, he argued, did not include what is now the song's most famous bit. Welcoming the ruling, which reinstated the 2006 judgement that gives Fisher a 40% share of post-2005 royalties, the organ man said the case "was never about money", adding "there will not be a lot of that anyway. But this was about making sure everyone knew about my part in the authorship". His legal man, Hugh Cuddigan, told reporters that the ruling should "reassure composers that their rights will be acknowledged and upheld by our courts".

		AMY NOT GUILTY OF ASSAULT Amy Winehouse was found not guilty of assault last Friday. As previously reported, the Aimster was accused of assaulting a dancer at a charity event in London last September. Sherene Flash claimed she went to Winehouse's dressing room to ask the singer if she'd pose for a photo with her, only to find Amy's fist in her face. But the singer, on good form in court, claimed otherwise, saying that while a rather drunk Flash and her friend Kiaran Connolly had been somewhat rude to her, she did not lash out at either of them, arguing she was too short to have punched Flash in the way the dancer described. The judge hearing the case, Timothy Workman, said it was difficult to rule given the discrepancies between the claimant and the accused's testimonies, and the fact most witnesses were a bit the worse for wear drink wise (Connolly admitted to being "hammered"). But he said he'd assessed all the other evidence available to him, and felt the medical evidence presented by the prosecution did not show "the sort of injury that often occurs when there is a forceful punch to the eye". It could not, therefore, be said beyond reasonable doubt that Winehouse had deliberately punched Flash - it was quite possible, he thought, that a scuffle resulted in the dancer being injured by accident.

		SPOTIFY IPHONE APP ON ITS WAY A Spotify iPhone app, which will let you use the streaming music service via your iPhone, if you have such a thing, is ready to go and just awaiting approval from the powers that be at Apple. Those who like to call Spotify an "iTunes killer" have suggested that Apple would be mad to let the app through. But those that call Spofity an "iTunes killer" are stupid. Spotify's Communications Manager, Jim Butcher, told Pocket-lint: "We have a great relationship with Apple, think the iPhone is awesome and absolutely expect them to approve our app in the next few weeks. Apple has already approved several other music services such as Last.fm, Deezer and Pandora. We very much look forward to people being able to access their Spotify library wherever they might be and we've spent significant time and resources to ensure we've stuck to Apple's developer guidelines point by point". Although Butcher is talking about the app being available within weeks, some on the net are saying days - not sure where they are getting that from though. If you want to watch a video of the app in action you have too much time on your hands. Though there is one, here.

		SNEAKY MAN CLAIMS EMPIRE SOUND AS HIS OWN Sneaky Sound System's Donnie Sloan has claimed responsibility for the Empire Of The Sun sound, telling Australian newspaper The Herald Sun that he wrote four of the songs on the duo's debut album, 'We Are The People', 'Walking On A Dream', 'Half Mast' and 'Without You', in 2005. He is credited with doing so on their debut album, so it's safe to assume he's telling the truth. Although those credits were only added after the threat of legal action, Sloan says he still has a good working relationship with the pair, The Sleepy Jackson's Luke Steele and Pnau's Nick Littlemore. He told the newspaper: "I created these tracks, on my own in 2005, long before Empire Of The Sun existed. Musically, the template for Empire Of The Sun is mine. They pulled the rug from under my feet and took my sound. I told Nick I didn't want him to use the tracks. I was hoping to save them for my own project". However, following the publication of the interview, Sloan took to his MySpace blog to say that there was no bad blood between him and the Empire Of The Sun boys, adding that he is actually involved in the pair's second LP as well.

		SONGWRITER HITS OUT AT CLARKSON CLAIMS American songwriter and producer Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote Beyonce's recent hit 'Halo' and the new Kelly Clarkson track 'Already Gone', has hit out at claims by the former American Idol that he basically sold both singers the same song. Clarkson was responding to criticism that her song, which is getting a single release, is a rip off of Beyonce's single from the start of the year. She reckons Tedder provided both her and Beyonce with basically the same music for their respective tracks, and that has led to the similarities. Speaking to a Canadian radio station she said: "No one's gonna be sitting at home, thinking, 'Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonce and Kelly the same track to write to'. No, they're just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said 'I don't understand. Why would you do that?'" But Tedder has hit back, saying: "'Already Gone' is one of the best songs I've written or produced since [Leona Lewis hit] 'Bleeding Love' and stands tall on its own merits apart from 'Halo'. They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically and lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyonce into recording over the same musical track".

		REVIEWS My flat gets really hot, even though it never gets any direct sunlight. I suspect the people below are running a kiln at all hours. I've never seen or met them, but I imagine that'd be just the kind of thing they'd do. Anyway, read some reviews of Darker My Love, The Nextmen, The Twilight Sad, Wild Beasts, The xx and the new Soma compilation 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. back to top

WIN A CHRIS ISAAK CHRISTMAS DVD
As I said in my intro, this is a very fine prize and not one we quickly pulled out of a box because we haven't got around to organising a competition this week. No. How could you even think that? I'm so hurt by that assumption that I'm considering not giving it away at all. No, I will.

'Chris Isaak Christmas' is one of the most important live DVDs ever released. It's influence on the world of music DVDs is immeasurable. Across its 58 minutes you are treated to no less than 18 live Christmas songs, featuring duets with Michael Bublé, Brian McKnight and Stevie Nicks. At the end they all get together and the four of them sing 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'. It's such a beautiful moment that only the very hardest of cynics and naysayers will be able to hold back the tears.

We have a copy of the DVD just sitting here gathering dust, and unless one of you lot takes it, we're going to throw it in the bin. No wait... One of you incredibly lucky readers could soon be in possession of this amazing prize. To get your hands on it, all you need to do is email competitions@unlimitedmedia.co.uk by 7 Aug. It really is that simple.

Look what they won...
Well done to Chris Lucraft and Patrick Quilty for winning last week's Bloom festival competition in CMU Weekly!

While Damon Albarn has said he'd like to let Blur go out on a high after the recent reunion shows, Graham Coxon has other ideas: "I'm up for doing another [album] - it would be a really interesting thing to do. I don't want it to be like 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' or nostalgic bollocks. I want it to be a development. There's nothing saying there's a great big 'No'. My gut feeling is, 'Why not?'"

According to Phil Spector's publicist, Hal Lifson, prison isn't actually that nice: "Phil Spector was always a highly productive, creative person and now he's in a five by nine foot cell with no windows and maybe a half hour outside to walk around. It's essentially solitary confinement. It's a terrible existence for a millionaire record producer who lived in mansions and most recently in a castle, a 35-room home"

The Game says he's ready for war over derogatory lyrics on Jay-Z's new album, even though Jay-Z says they're not about him and rap feuds are silly: "He's slick, man. You gotta watch that cat, man. I'm probably the only rapper in this world besides Nas that's really not scared to go at this dude's neck. He knows if he goes to war with me, then it's going to be never ending, man"

Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden reveals that he's working on an autobiography, probably (it's due to be published next year): "I'm lightly working on one, but I don't want to put a book out there if it's not actually meaningful. I'm not going to go there unless I can deliver. If I put a book out, I want it to be something that matters to me. It has to be real, you can't just put a book out to put a book out"

Ian Brown reveals he's written songs for Kanye West and Rihanna. And where can we hear these songs? Er, Ian Brown's new album: "We wrote this song called 'Vanity Kills' [for Kanye] but we were a bit late sending it in, so I've kept it for the album. 'Stellify', we wrote for Rihanna, but as we got to the end of writing it I thought, 'You know what? I'm gonna keep this for myself, we'll give her another one'"

David Byrne takes a shot at U2 for perhaps not being as right on as they're always telling us to be: "Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It sure looks just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all"

		Mountain Goats announce new album and download. The Mountain Goats will release a new album, called 'The Life Of The World To Come', in October. All the songs on the album are based on passages from the Bible (although main goat John Darnielle assures us he's not had some sort of religious awakening). You can download a free track from the album, 'Genesis 3:23', now - static.4ad.com/audio/themountaingoats/genesis_3_23.mp3

		Jonsi And Alex / Riceboy Sleeps. Sigur Ros frontman Jón Þór and his boyfriend Alex have apparently been collaborating on this project for some years now, and it's a labour of love where the result totally justifies the time invested, with lush ambient instrumentals - that sit somewhere further towards 'experimental' than SR - to be found throughout their debut album - www.myspace.com/riceboysleeps

		Ultimate Power. Listening to power ballads is generally frowned upon. It makes people question your taste and coolness. Well, what could be more cool and more tasteful than standing on a packed dancefloor, one fist in the air, singing along to 'I Want To Know What Love Is' at the top of your voice? Nothing, that's what. Which is why if you're to have any chance of getting in tonight, you'll have to get down early - www.ultimatepowerclub.com

		Japandroids. If I was still a 16-year-old kid, Japandroids' eponymous album is the kind of record that just might have shaped my year. Smart, catchy, fast-paced punk straight from the better end of the Vagrant catalogue, it's embodied by a lovable, careless sense of fun, though still manages to verge on the lo-fi No Age-type garage sound, giving them a credibility that other pop-punk acts lack - www.myspace.com/japandroids

		Home made recordings album to accompany new Hodgkinson book. Writer Will Hodgkinson has written a book called 'The Ballad Of Britain' in which he travels around the UK making recordings in an "attempt to capture the spirit of the land and its people through its music". An accompanying CD featuring some of those recordings is also being released, including a contribution from Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys - www.theballadofbritain.com

		Geggy Tah. Word of mouth is still the most effective, unusual and unexpected way of finding new music, and it's how I discovered Portland's Geggy Tah, having been sent a YouTube clip of a young girl hoola-hooping to their track 'Holly Oak'. Digging deeper revealed that they were signed to Luaka Bop, which is David Byrne's world music label and boasts talent including Shuggie Otis and Nouvelle Vague - www.myspace.com/geggytah

		Q1 How did you start out making music? TRIP: "Mostly plinky-plonking around on keyboards in the music room at school and making drum beats on the tables in the canteen. I'd write silly little hooks for songs and then phone myself to leave them on my answer machine - so as not to forget them. I still do that. I guess pirate radio, free parties, spoken word and open mic nights, as well as watching my mates' bands in sweaty little venues, were all catalysts in me making my own music" Read more of Trip's answers

		Q2 What inspired your latest album? THE TWILIGHT SAD: "Lyrically the album's inspired by some experiences that have happened over the past year or so, that aren't the happiest of things, and musically we wanted just to develop and move on from the first record" Read more of The Twilight Sad's answers

		Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track? FLASHGUNS: "Jam non-stop, all the time, every day. There are no rules to our writing - sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes five weeks. I have about 40 tracks floating around my brain at any one time, sometimes ten of those will make up one track, other times I can get 30 of them all down. I'm a big daydreamer and have never lost that kid-like quality of being interested in almost everything - maybe slightly naively. I use this aspect like a sponge to encourage my writing. I like going to the country to write also, but that's a bit of a cliché, isn't it?" Read more of Flashguns' answers

		Q4 Which artists influence your work? ANIMAL KINGDOM: "It's really tempting to be inspired by what's currently on everyone's iPods but most of the time it's a case of trying to forget all the great songs out there and find something new. It's very easy to play a song in the style of one of our musical heroes but much harder to come up with something genuinely original, or at least to conceal your influences enough that no one notices!" Read more of Animal Kingdom's answers

		Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time? THE DOMINO STATE: "Is this annoying? Me speaking to you, while you're trying to experience our music for the first time? It IS a bit annoying, isn't it? Eh? Eh?" Read more of The Domino State's answers

		Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future? MAGISTRATES: "To have a massively successful debut album that is owned by as many people as there are eyeballs in the world, and to be able push the boundaries of pop music forward continuously. To keep progressing and maturing as a band, and to create something that stands the test of time and makes a big 'M' shaped imprint in the surface of the Earth" Read more of Magistrates' answers

Robbie Williams walks into a bar.

Ouch.

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