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So it's late, I'm in bed, lights off, eyes closed.
"What's the matter, Andy? You look tense", says my girlfriend suddenly. "I was just trying to remember what record label Snoop Dogg is signed to", I say after a moment's thought. Why the hell was I thinking about that? (It's Geffen, by the way). I hadn't realised I was doing it until I was suddenly snapped back to reality. I was left floating in the shallow end of some thought that had no relevance to anything. It's not like I'd been writing about Snoop that day. No, some chain of thoughts in my head in the middle of the night had brought me to this point. And now not being able to remember which record label Snoop Dogg is currently signed to was bothering me to such an extent that someone else had noticed. In the dark. This has played on my mind a bit ever since. Is it a good thing that the obsession with music and the music business that began in my teens has flicked something on in my brain that is now impossible to turn off? No wonder I find non music-related tasks so frustrating. I guess I should just be thankful that I have a job where it is actually a good thing (I've had jobs where it really wasn't much help at all). That job (oh my God, I'm so good a seamless links) is to bring you news and information about the world of music. And here is a whole load of said news and information in one handy email. You know, news, reviews, quotes, interviews and stuff. Oh, and a hilarious joke. This week we have an extra round of reviews from our sister publication ThreeWeeks, the staff of which, as I have mentioned several times, are currently slaving away reviewing almost every show at the Edinburgh Festival. We've picked six of the best music shows from the festival so far. Our competition this week is once again Edinburgh-themed, as well. We've teamed up with ThreeWeeks to offer a pair of tickets to see 80s legends Magazine at the Edge Festival, which is currently taking over venues around the city and showcasing some of the best music from around the world. That's it from me. Next week I will try not to give you quite such an unnecessary insight into my private life. Maybe I should start writing about biscuits again. |
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GEORGE MICHAEL ARRESTED AFTER CRASH George Michael was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drink or drugs after crashing his Range Rover into a lorry on the A34 at around midnight last Friday. He was released without charge after five hours in custody, though, and has said that he was "stone cold sober" at the time of the crash, although the driver of the lorry, Laurie Rowe, said that the singer was "quite merry". Michael has only recently begun driving again following a two year ban in June 2007, after he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit due to drug use. That conviction came after he collided with three parked cars. He was also cautioned twice for cannabis possession in 2006 after being found asleep behind the wheels of his car on two occasions. George insists that Rowe is attempting to cover up his own responsibility for the accident, saying in a statement: "Neither of us was charged because we were both stone cold sober. We both think the other is to blame so this is just an insurance fight. I don't want my fans or my family worried by what they are reading all over again". |
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U2 BRUSH OFF TOUR CRITICISM U2 broke the record for the largest ever attendance at Wembley Stadium last Friday, playing to 88,000 fans, 5000 more than the previous record set by Rod Stewart in 1995. The higher capacity is due to the band's "claw" stage structure, which allows for a 360 degree view. However, with the three steel structures that make up the stage costing between £15m and £20m each to build, and around 100 lorries required to transport it all, the band have come in for criticism that the cost and environmental impact of the tour is at odds with their politics. The Edge brushed of any criticism of the cost, telling BBC 6 Music: "We're spending the money on our fans, I don't think there's a better thing you could spend it on". On the subject of the number of vehicles required to transport the tour around the world, he added: "I think that's probably about as realistic as you can be right now. We'd love to have some alternative to big trucks bringing the stuff around but there just isn't one". But surely the alternative to having so many lorries moving around is to have a less extravagant stage. Look, there, I thought of that without much effort at all. Shut up, The Edge. |
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SPECTOR FEARS FOR SAFETY Phil Spector's publicist Hal Lifson has released letters written by the producer from prison in which he says that he fears for his safety amongst "all these lowlife scumbags, gangsters and Manson types", which I'm sure will make them all warm to him all the more. However, making friends may not be so important, as he adds that he is trying to get himself transferred to "a better prison with people more like myself in it". To be honest, I'm not sure there are that many people like Phil Spector out there. Although it is possible that's because they're all filling up one US prison. Despite all this, he said that his spirits were kept up by visits from his wife, Rachelle, who makes the round trip of 800 miles to the prison from their Alabama home twice a week: "She's a real trouper - all in all, it's like a dream come true having her by my side again". He also added that food parcels she brings him help him to feel safer, as it means he doesn't have to go to the dining hall with the other inmates: "I know it is a chance to get out of my cell going to the dining room but the less I see of the inmates, the better and safer I feel". |
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YELLOW SUBMARINE TO GET 3D REMAKE While the music industry leaps from one foolish project to another in a bid to combat online piracy, the film industry has come up with an equally ludicrous idea - make everything 3D, cos that way we'll all want to sit in cinemas wearing stupid glasses that make our eyes hurt rather than downloading movies to our iPhones. Now the world of music has been dragged into this idiotic gimmick with the announcement that US director Robert Zemickis is in talks to remake The Beatles' 1968 animated film, 'Yellow Submarine'. According to Variety, Zemickis and Disney are currently trying to secure the rights to use the sixteen songs featured in the original film and are hoping to have the whole thing completed in time to coincide with the 2012 Olympics. So long as he doesn't start remaking the 'Back To The Future' films in 3D, I can just about cope with all of this. |
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PLANS FOR GIANT JACKO ROBOT HOTEL REVEALED Of all the Michael Jackson-related stories since he died nearly two months ago, this is without doubt my favourite. If only for the opportunity to write that headline. In 2007, fashion designer Andre Van Pier, his partner Michael Luckman and artist Timothy Patterson began work on conceptual drawings for a giant Jackson robot, which would roam the Nevada desert acting as an advert for a planned Las Vegas residency, though these were apparently made more as a method of attracting financial backing for the show than as a project that would ever be realised. However, Jackson apparently liked the designs so much that he decided he would like to do something with them in the future, and the team (minus Van Tier, who died in August 2008) continued to work on them, coming up with a design for a hotel and casino guarded by the giant Jacko robot. Whether anyone ever believed this would become a reality, we know not. But enough of this talk, what would this hotel look like? Well, something like this. |
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REVIEWS Discovering new music is one of life's great joys. I've never understood people who suddenly stop listening to anything but the bands they liked when they were teenagers. Maybe our reviewers have been listening to your new favourite thing this week. Check out reviews of the new albums from Imogen Heap and Sally Shapiro here. |
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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 TICKETS TO SEE MAGAZINE AT EDGE FESTIVAL Since launching as T On The Fringe in 2000, the Edge Festival injects an enviable music programme into the Edinburgh Festival each August, taking over eight venues in the city for a whole month and bussing in an astounding mix of international and home-grown talent. Past acts to grace the Edinburgh stage at Edge include Pixies, Muse, Kanye West, Radiohead, Morrissey, Nancy Sinatra, Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire. This year, the line-up includes Magazine, The Streets, David Byrne, Faith No More, Calvin Harris, Amanda Palmer, Biffy Clyro, N-Dubz, Broken Records, Frightened Rabbit and many more. |
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For more information on Edge Festival, go to www.theedgefestival.com. And to find out more about ThreeWeeks, head to www.threeweeks.co.uk
Look what they won...
Well done to Ben Brace and John Corr for winning last week's Beachdown Festival competition in CMU Weekly!
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The Stranglers at The Edge Festival. "Making up for lost time" is how bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel describes The Stranglers' first show in Edinburgh for eighteen years. More than three decades into their career and they still sound more innovative than most modern bands: the groove of the thick, intoxicating bass defines their sound, but the precision of Baz Warne's guitar gives credence to the intricacies of their music - more | |
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Mumford And Sons at The Edge Festival. Mumford And Sons seem to be blissfully ignorant that they're not actually hillbillies; however, I'm not going to be the one to tell them the truth because their distinct folksy bluegrass is frankly too good to risk ruining the magic. With a stamp and a yelp they have brought double basses and old fashioned harmonies rollicking into the modern age - more |
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Courtney Pine at the Edinburgh Jazz And Blues Festival. Playing a set partly inspired by early jazz sax pioneer Sidney Bechet, and fusing elements of Afro-Caribbean and ethnic music, Courtney Pine demonstrated the virtuosity and chops that have kept him at the forefront of UK jazz for over two decades. Such a masterfully played, eclectic set was a vibrant celebration, and greatly enjoyable - more | |
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Camille O'Sullivan at Assembly. With a sweeping gothic entrance and a sinister, almost schizoid, streak of avant-gardism underpinning her performance, Camille's warmly-welcomed return to the Edinburgh Festival is again a fine exhibition of cabaret. Swelling interpretations of known classics from Bowie to Nick Cave show off the band's well rehearsed skills, but Camille herself is the absolute spectacle - more |
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Bal Masqee at Universal Arts. One won't see a more eclectic show than this cabaret rollercoaster. With elaborate costumes, excellent musicianship and some deadpan gags, influences come from Grace Jones, Kylie Minogue and Rufus Wainwright in an audiovisual thrill of a show. It's powerful stuff with odes to freedom, love and loss and it would be churlish not to recommend this with utmost vim - more | |
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Adriano Adewale: Sound Journey at Augustine's. Dripping water, whistles, flip-flop soles and the fastest vibrating tambourine I've ever heard are just some of the instruments employed by Adewale in his 'sound journey'. A highly expressive performance infused with humour and curiosities. The journey evoked is very much one of sound, exploring rhythms and pulses, rather than with a set purpose and narrative - more |
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Q1 How did you start out making music? MEW: "We were hanging around Jonas' parents house and they had a lot of instruments lying around, so we picked them up and started playing them and it sounded great. From the first chord. True story" |
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Q2 What inspired your latest album? ROB SPARX: "I wanted to write music without having to worry about the usual bullshit. You know: 'Is this tune the right genre for a label? Will it work on the dancefloor?' I wanted to write something that stands out from the crowd. I wanted to go for a deeper more epic sound than usual, concentrating much more on melodies, harmonies and soundscapes but keeping the basses as loud as possible so the music still works on a large soundsystem" |
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Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track? RISQUE: "I have many ways of working, but my true passion is drums. I love drums and bass. I generally start with these elements using my Music Man bass guitar or my Roland System 100 modular synth. I'm a big fan of analogue synths for bass - I've been obsessed with bass from an early age" |
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Q4 Which artists influence your work? SEAN KINGSTON: "Bob Marley has definitely been a huge musical influence for me. I love Kanye West, Wyclef, Jay Z. I also love artists like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. I am inspired by true artistry" |
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Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time? RUN TOTO RUN: "I'd recommend them listening to the whole track, we tend to build things during the course of a song, so I often worry that people might miss the beautiful bits at the end" |
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Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future? ELLEN MARY MCGEE: "I prefer critical acclaim to the idea of a mass following and loyalty from fans is important in these fair-weather times. I would like my album to strike a nerve with people. I kind of make music because I enjoy making music and never saw it as a career option because it's unsteady work and bills don't pay themselves" |
Q. Why doesn't Robbie Williams eat penguins? A. Because he can't get the wrappers off. |
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