Eurovision

Terry Wogan on Eurovision (via The Telegraph)
Bjorn Erichsen, director of Eurovision television, has claimed that Wogan’s commentary is a “problem” which undermines the contest’s reputation.
The Dane accused the BBC and the British public of failing to treat the extravaganza with the seriousness it “deserved”.

He said: “Terry Wogan is […]

Soul on Fire

It’s wonderful to see Spiritualized back, especially after lead singer/songwriter/all-round-genius Jason Pierce nearly died from pneumonia… twice.
I’m not sure that it’s up with favourites like Come Together or Do It All Over Again, but their strength is often in making great albums, so I’ll be probably take a punt on “Songs in A&E”

Windows Jam!


Portishead: Machine Gun

This is a great return:-

Unknown Pleasures

From The Mirror (it was them or The Sun)
Fans have named Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures as the most iconic album cover of all time.
The “pulses” design by artist Peter Saville topped a poll which included the Beatles and Pink Floyd.
And like so much else that came out of Factory Records looked great. I […]

EU Suggests Longer Copyrights

From the IHT
“If nothing is done, thousands of European performers who recorded in the late 1950s and 1960s will lose all of their airplay royalties over the next ten years,” said EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, the union’s internal market chief. “These royalties are often their sole pension.”
Well, maybe they should have seen a financial advisor […]

Opera Explained in 10 minutes

Very funny summary of some operas…

U2 Manager on Piracy

U2 manager ‘wants to end piracy’
The manager of rock band U2 has urged internet service providers (ISPs) to help end illegal music downloads, according to The Hollywood Reporter
OK
Paul McGuinness called for policies on disconnecting those who acquired tracks illegally, using a speech in France to urge governments to take action.
Which is almost impossible.
Let’s say that […]

Portishead

If there’s one band who seemed to depart before their stay was outwelcome and the hosts started yawning, looking at their watches and hinting that they had to be up early, it’s Portishead. Thankfully, after being away for 10 year, they’re back.
Dummy was a brilliant album of experimentation, Portishead a more refined affair, but for […]

Propaganda

On the europop theme, I was going to post the video of Propaganda’s Duel, when I stumbled across this terrific 2004 live performance of Dr Mabuse. I’m now trying to track down the DVD of the concert…