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There has been, as I'm sure you've noticed, a lot of talk about the future of music of late. Not least in these editorials.

I like to think that I have a fairly open and optimistic view of all and any new developments in the music industry, and I definitely reckon there is nothing wrong with as many new products and services, and re-works on the way music is presented and delivered, being tried out as possible. Doing so will hopefully help us all find something genuinely good.

There is, however, one word that often crops up when people discuss the future of music which strikes fear into my heart: interactivity. It all stems from something someone said to me a couple of months ago: "The last album I bought was an iPhone app. You had to play a game and you were given access to each track by completing various tasks. I think that really is the future of music".

Oh God. Please no. This is the last thing I want. Seriously. All I want from music is music. I like the fact that music isn't interactive. I don't want to have to jump through a hoop to be able to listen to it, I don't want to be given the opportunity to remix tracks, I don't want behind-the-scenes footage from the studio. I just want to press play and listen. That's what music does. It's what it's good at.

OK, there might be mileage in marketing campaigns or promotional gimmicks that involve some sort of fan interaction, but interactivity at the heart of the music product? Surely that ruins one of music's greatest assets over, say, TV, films or games - the fact it is something that can be enjoyed entirely passively. And surely if you want to interact with music you play it loud and jump around your bedroom, and you don't need any new fangled technology to help with that.

Basically, what I'm saying here is I just don't believe interactivity is going to be at the heart of future music. And look, I managed to say so without requiring any interactivity on your part bar basic comprehension. See, I practice what I preach.

Getting the most out of the rest of the CMU Weekly may involve a bit more interaction on your part, but no more than a bit of mouse clicking. As ever, we've looked at all the stuff that happened in the world of music this week and compacted it all down into one easy to handle email. We've also got a competition, of course. This week we're giving away tickets to see Taylor Swift at Wembley Arena, where Kanye West won't be able to get at her.

Team CMU

		JACKO WAS "FAIRLY HEALTHY", AUTOPSY REVEALS Michael Jackson was a "fairly healthy" 50 year old, according to his autopsy report, which is good news for This Is It promoters AEG, who have been insisting the singer was physically up to the fifty night residency he was booked to play in London prior to his untimely death. Chronically inflamed lungs were listed as the late king of pop's most serious health problem, but the coroner adds this did not contribute to his death. No mention was made of whether this, or any other health problems, would have inhibited his ability to perform on stage.

		THOM YORKE ANNOUNCES NEW BAND Thom Yorke has announced the members of his new live band, with whom he'll tour to perform some of his solo work, including tracks from his debut solo album 'The Eraser', as well as new material. The group is made up of drummer Joey Waronker (who has previously worked with Beck, REM, The Smashing Pumpkins and Elliott Smith), Forro In The Dark percussionist Mauro Refosco, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. The band perform their first shows together in LA this weekend.

		ROBBIE RECORDING WITH TAKE THAT, REPORTS CLAIM After reports last week that Robbie Williams might be performing with Take That at a charity event later this year, the latest news is that he's been recording in secret with his former bandmates. As far as I can tell, the sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York began as part of Mark Owen's stag do, so they were probably all drunk. But it seems things have gone well, as Robbie was filmed outside the studio again earlier this week. Speaking to GMTV he claimed to be training as part of a five-man bob-sleigh team.

		U2 BIGGER THAN THE POPE U2 have broken the attendance record at New Jersey's Giants Stadium, previously set by Pope John Paul II in 1995, cramming 84,000 people into the venue. As when the band broke the attendance record at Wembley Stadium in August, these record breaking achievements are all thanks to their 360 degree stage, which gives a view of the band from all angles, and allows promoters to sell tickets for all seats (rather than having to leave the seats behind the stage empty).

		DJ AM'S DEATH RULED ACCIDENTAL Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, died of an accidental overdose, the New York City medical examiner's office has ruled. The cause of death was listed as acute intoxication due to the combined effects of prescription drugs and cocaine in his system. As previously reported, Goldstein's body was found in his New York apartment on 28 Aug after friends, concerned that they were unable to contact the DJ, alerted police. With "drug paraphernalia", rumoured to be a crack pipe, found in the apartment, and no sign of foul play, it was announced almost immediately that it was believed Goldstein had died from an overdose, with speculation that his death may have been suicide.

		REVIEWS Music hasn't always been primarily used for entertainment. Up until 1856, its main job was to warn sailors away from caves containing sea monsters. Melodies would be blasted out of 50 foot high hollowed-out replica ducks floating in the sea. Thankfully, things are very different these days, and we can all sit dow to enjoy our favourite bands without fear of attack from a massive octopus. You can read reviews of new albums from Boys Noize, Junior Boys Own, The Twilight Sad and Union Jack 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 TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETS
If you weren't already aware of Taylor Swift, you'll surely have heard of her now, after Kanye West hijacked her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for her single, 'You Belong With Me', at the MTV Music Video Awards last month.

Thankfully, you'll be able to check out the nineteen year old country singer's talents properly, with no fear of interruption from Kanye, when she comes over to the UK next month.

Taylor will be playing two live shows at Wembley Arena in London and the Manchester Evening News Arena on 23 and 24 Nov, playing songs from last year's 'Fearless' album, as well as her eponymous debut.

We have a pair of tickets to give away for Taylor Swift's Wembley Arena show on 23 Nov. To be in with a chance of winning, just send an email with your name and address to [email protected].

You can buy Taylor Swift music from 7digital here.

Look what they won...
Well done to Chris Barnard, Natalie Thomas, Stephen Christie and Sarah McIntyre for winning our Oxjam competition in CMU Weekly and The Remix Update.

Dizzee Rascal speaks about his near-fatal stabbing in Ayia Napa in 2003: "Getting stabbed, it's not glamorous. It was a bad time. I had internal bleeding in my chest so I was coughing up blood all the time, I was on a drip that was getting on my nerves. It changes you into a really dark person. But really, I'm a joker. I'm a clown. It's only just starting to come out in my music"

Sugababe Amelle Berrabah comments on the group's split from Keisha Buchanan: "Keisha didn't leave off her own back - me and Heidi couldn't carry on. We all couldn't work together anymore. We weren't happy, me and Heidi, and it was a struggle to come into work. [But] we didn't enjoy it. We didn't think [our management would] want to carry on when we said we'd had enough"

La Roux's Elly Jackson says that the duo's next album might be a development from the first: "Maybe I'll go acoustic. Or dancehall. I really like dubstep too. But I'm also into songs that are long and epic. I'd like it to be a worldwide thing. It would be great to sit there at 40 and go, 'Fuck, I sold ten million records'. But it's not just about money, it's about creating something that loads of people want to buy"

In possibly the most stupid statement we've ever heard, Nelly Furtado says the Oasis split left her "inconsolable": "I was inconsolable when Oasis split up. That band meant the world to me. As a sixteen year old I would write letters to Liam with my photo attached and pray that he would ask me out on a date, but he never did. Oasis were everything I loved about pop music"

Just last week N-Dubz's Dappy was complaining that people had leaked some of their older material onto the internet, now the groups' Tulisa Contostavlos has named and shamed the person responsible for that happening: "We have so many problems with Dappy burning CDs then leaving them at people's houses that we've banned him from doing it with the new album"

Snoop Dogg confirms that his taste in comedy is pretty terrible: "They still run [dire 90s BBC sitcom, 'Keeping Up Appearances'] on BBC America, so I think Mrs Bucket must have some sort of cult following in the US. I still watch the show to this day and it makes me laugh so hard. She has to be one of the funniest people on TV"

		Watch Mew's new video. Mew are ace. Their new album is ace. They have an ace new single coming out. It is called 'Repeaterbeater. It has an ace video. You should watch it. You'll think it's ace. It was directed by Martin De Thurah, Adam Hashemi and Lasse Martinussen. They are ace. The single is released next month to coincide with UK tour dates, which will be ace - www.youtube.com/user/mewofficial#play/all/0/U16ORXh5Ag0

		Throw Me The Statue. Seattle's Throw Me The Statue make relentlessly upbeat college indie music that recalls the sunny pop of Apples In Stereo and, at times, Beck. 'About To Walk' is the highlight of their MySpace offerings, verging on anthemic with the initial buzzing synth and acoustic guitar overcome by crashing cymbals and an increasingly yearning vocal around the two minute mark - www.myspace.com/throwmethestatue

		Stream the new Deadmau5 album. Deadmau5 has made his new album, 'For Lack Of A Better Name', available to stream via We7 ahead of its release on 5 Oct. The producer and DJ told our sister publication, The Remix Update: "It's really where my sound is now and how it has developed from the last album, 'Random Album Title'" - www.we7.com/#/album/For-Lack-Of-A-Better-Name!albumId=392058&play=false

		Palms. Here's some exotic electronic music for you, with New Yorkers Palms working with some sparse beats on their debut album, 'It's Midnight In Honolulu', a record that recalls the German kosmische movement of Cluster et al as much as the lo-fi indie of Velvet Underground. It's a record full of sweet sounds that are both uplifting and escapist, though there's a prevalent dark undercurrent - www.myspace.com/palmsgroup

		Daniel Johnston iPhone game. If I was compiling a list of musicians most likely to be the subject of an iPhone game, cult singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston would not be on it. So it's lucky I haven't made such a list, because it would just have been proved meaningless. Johnston's art and music feature in a new iPhone game called 'Hi, How Are You?', which has just been released - tinyurl.com/y98rgs7

		Boy Of Girl. Formerly known as Moon Unit, pop duo Boy Of Girl are set to release their new single, 'Hot Chocolate Boy', on 2 Nov, the second to be taken from their debut album, 'Off The Uncertain Button'. Those of you hanging around the capital tonight can catch them live at Cargo, for the rest of you, the video for 'Hot Chocolate Boy' is up on the internet right now - vimeo.com/6518464

		Q1 How did you start out making music? ADAM SKY: "I was a precocious little squirt. I was deeply into the post-punk and art-rock on the John Peel radio show in the late 70s and sent a demo of my little brother and I (aged five and eleven respectively) playing kiddiepunk on toy instruments to Bob Last's (the Human League's manager) Fast Product Records... and amazingly got signed! That enabled me to buy a piano, which I taught myself to play by playing along to The Specials and Madness tunes" Read more of Adam Sky's answers

		Q2 What inspired your latest album? DEADMAU5: "The latest mix album is a collection of all the music from the last few months. It's really where my sound is now and how it has developed from the last album 'Random Album Title'" Read more of Deadmau5's answers

		Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track? PENS: "We'll generally write it at practice, then have a really hard bit when it all goes wrong, then it all comes together eventually. The lyrics usually come last" Read more of Pens' answers

		Q4 Which artists influence your work? CICADA: "I think there is view that electronic/dance music has a narrower set of influences than a lot of other music. But we have pretty varied musical influences and there isn't a sequencer in sight in a lot of it. These vary from Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson and Bernard Herrmann to Blondie and Can, not to mention Chic and Daft Punk" Read more of Cicada's answers

		Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time? INVASION: "Thanks for listening to our music, I hope it's not too horrible. I guess what we're trying to do is write heavy music that has something new going for it. Basically it's pretty standard riffs put together in a tasteful way, but our vocals are quite exceptional and different to what's been done in extreme metal before, because they're retro soul influenced" Read more of Invasion's answers

		Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future? A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW: "Well, the latest album is done, so it is out of my hands at this point! Obviously I'd love for as many people as possible to hear it. In the immediate future I'd just like for us to tour as much as possible. But hopefully next year we can get more records done. I really love making records and songs" Read more of A Sunny Day In Glasgow's answers

Q. When is a door not a door?

A. When it's Robbie Williams.

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