Well, they promised us different, and I can confirm that Coldplay have delivered something different. But is it good? Hell yeah.
Even speaking as a determined Coldplay hater, Violet Hill sounds dark, foreboding, and heavy. Less of the piano-sturbation, and Chris Martin retires the falsetto in favour of a more earthy vocal tone.
So, you’re in the club, chatting up a girl you’ve met. Next thing she’s wearing your bloody Rolex. Happens me all the time, folks, so I’m glad Wiley wrote a song about it.
Seriously though, tracks like this are taking over the charts, and with good reason. There’s been an explosion of UK urban talent recently. Not that guys like Wiley haven’t always been around – it’s just that they’re crossing over into the mainstream in their droves. It’s practically an invasion.
We haven’t seen her since All Saints disappeared from the scene in 2006, but Shaznay Lewis is back with a banging* new collaboration with Wideboys.
Daddy-O isn’t just catchy. It’s one of those songs that gets lodged in your subconscious and won’t come out. In fact, Daddy-O proves Lewis should ditch the dead weight in the Appletons and the other sexy All Saint, and go it alone.
Ever find yourself longing for the days when Def Leppard released albums with titles that didn’t stretch beyond one word? Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize. OK, forget Adrenalize, but you know what I mean.
But Songs From The Sparkle Lounge? How rock and roll is that for an album title? And take a look at that album cover – I see what you did there, Leppard, you ripped off the Sgt Pepper’s cover. Highly original. Bet no-one’s done that before.
Misery-rockers Coldplay are to release their new single Violet Hill as a free download which will be available from their website from 12:15pm today. Presumably the timing is to coincide with the radio premiere of the song on Jo Whiley’s radio show this morning.
Jo’s show runs until 12:45, so I’d imagine you can expect to hear Violet Hill some time around 12:00. Maybe just listen to the whole show to be sure, though – I don’t want you blaming me if you miss it!
Well, it looks like Mrs Fielder-Civil – otherwise known as Amy Winehouse – has been getting busy while Blakey’s been ‘incarcerated’. The Sun is reporting that Amy’s been involved with two blokes recently – an American photographer called Blake Wood, and her manager’s assistant, Alex Haines.
Allegedly the relationship with Blake Wood only lasted a couple of weeks, but from what I’m reading, Amy and Alex Haines are currently an item.
I can’t keep up with this guy! No sooner that being kicked out of Velvet Revolver and rejoining Stone Temple Pilots for a reunion tour, Scott Weiland has plans in the pipeline to release a new solo album.
Apparently alt-rock producer Steve Albini is signed on to twiddle the knobs for the project and No Doubt drummer Adrian Young (fed up with waiting for Stefani to get her act together) is said to be collaborating on the album as well.
I read via The Consumerist that EMI is trying to block music lovers from backing up their music to an online storage service at MP3Tunes. Now, from what I’m reading, the service MP3Tunes provides isn’t a fanciful view of file sharing – it’s actually a secure file storage service.
However, EMI are mounting a legal challenge because the service allegedly breaches copyright laws.
Right, we don’t give a stuff about EMI. That’s a given. As a consumer, you want music in a format that’s convenient to you. And with the rise of the MP3 and a generation of iPod users, listeners prefer digital.
Now, anyone who’s had a bad experience with a computer can tell you that they’re fragile. Viruses, hard drive failures and idiots can all conspire to delete an entire library of MP3s that have taken years to accumulate. A backup plan is essential if you want to keep your data safe.
There’s a great quote in Exchange Magazine about this:
Content owners have rights, but those should not extend to shutting down music storage websites that are not abetting copyright infringement. And nothing is stopping EMI from developing its own digital locker service. That a Web startup dreamt up an innovative business model to complement consumers’ busy lifestyles is no cause for judicial intervention.
MP3Tunes is neither facilitating piracy nor discouraging people from buying music in any way. In fact, by making music collections more accessible and therefore more valuable, MP3Tunes might actually cause people to buy more music.
OK, from another perspective, I can see how an account on MP3Tunes could allow people to share logins and therefore share files over the service. However, if EMI were to work with MP3Tunes, they could easily detect abuse of an account. Simultaneous logons from different locations, IP addresses, etc. Not a problem.
Unfortunately in the context of the recording industry’s long-running feud with the Internet, this latest case looks like yet another reason to see the major labels as a draconian money machine looking to protect it’s own interests as opposed to those of the customer.
Another voice in this issue is the man behind MP3Tunes, Michael Robertson. He writes clearly about the situation and questions the right of the record labels to invade their customers’ privacy:
Files are not MP3tunes’ possessions any more than the contents of a safety deposit box are owned by the bank that houses them. The storage provided by MP3tunes is the user’s own space. A Locker is empty when someone opens an account and that customer decides what files are placed into their Locker.
It certainly raises questions about the rights of the consumer when dealing with music they’ve bought. If you’ve had a hard drive failure, does the record company expect you to buy every MP3 again? That’s simply not realistic. If I’ve purchased the music, then surely I’ve got the right to insure against losing it?
The problem is, record companies are so busy trying to protect their precious copyrights these days that there’s virtually no legal way to listen to music unless it’s on the original CD. Customers like me are confused and concerned by the attitude of record companies to customers. I think it’s high time they stopped suing us and started listening to us!
What about you?
Hey, you!
Yes, you. In front of the screen, reading this page.
Who are you?
One of the most frustrating things about running any sort of blog is that I do the writing and you do the reading. I thought it was time we got to know each other.
If you’re reading this on the site, or you’re an email or RSS subscriber, leave a little comment for me. Tell me about yourself, if you’ve got a website, what you like or dislike about Unreality Music.
I’d really love to know. So, let’s have a little chat down in the comments area…
You’d never know Internet music phenom, Sandi Thom, was about to release a new album, would you? Over the last few weeks, there’s been a trickle of pathetic news stories about what a rocker she is and how ‘wasted’ she’s been since she became famous.
Blah blah blah.
I’ve made no secret of it before, but I hate it when musicians resort to making dumb statements to stay in the public eye. Especially when they have something to sell.
