Lovely playlists

I have been sent some beautiful looking sites that allow you to listen to music playlists without registering

Deezer

Liveroom.tv/

Mystrands.tv/

All very beautiful sites that I'll be using lots in the next few weeks, for reseach purposes of course...

Dylan writes me a verse

Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues has a memorable, oft-copied promotional videos. The latest homage is a really nice bit of viral promoting the release of a greatest hits allbum. I know bloggers are turning against PRs and marketing at the moment but this has given me some joy, so I thought I'd pass it on.

"The bloody (pizza) pies"

Watching a really dramatic ending of The Sopranos, with that feeling when you know the series is going to get better and better and end suddenly.
It was really weird to hear a northern accent singing:
"The bloody pies are bloody old
the bloody chips are bloody cold"

It was John Cooper Clarke singing Evidently Chicken Town.

According to Wikipedia, John Cooper Clarke is having a bit of a resurgence among the current indie scensters. He's recently been on stage with Jon McCrure from Reverend and the Makers and one of his poems is printed on the inside of the last Arctic Monkeys single sleeve.

Ever get the feeling...

You're going to be hearing a lot more of a song...

I imagine this will be on more adverts and TV trails than The Gossip.

It's a very accessible and catchy tune from the achingly hip Modular label...It's Dr Love by The Bumblebeez

No Little Kindness

Thank you to the wonderful Said the Gramophone I have become mildly obsessed with a Pasadena gospel band called No Little Kindness. Their song, Cast off your Troubles is reminiscent of Tender by Blur. The lyrics are of a more religious bent than I'm used to, but it's just beautiful, swooping music.

Sign of the Times

Seeing as half of London seem to have seen Prince this year. I was interested to see that the New York Times commented on the Mail on Sunday distributing his album and the rationale behind his 3121 - oh no sorry, I mean 21 - gigs in London this summer.

It's certainly a clever move on his behalf, I'm not sure anyone I know who would have bought 3121, but I don't seem to know anyone who hasn't seen him live. If, as New York Times assume, he made as much from selling distribution rights to his album as he would have from selling it, then he really is as shrewd a businessman as he is mega-talented musician.

He also renamed a Las Vegas club 3121, playing there twice a week, as well as performing at the Super Bowl, high profile shows in the USA for $3,121 per couple, he's made a song from Planet Earth a free download to certain US mobile networks and introduced the 3121 perfume by playing at his local Macy’s.

It is without cynicism or surprise that New York Times comment:
"This is how most pop stars operate now: as brand-name corporations taking in revenue streams from publishing, touring, merchandising, advertising, ringtones, fashion, satellite radio gigs or whatever else their advisers can come up with."

But then is it wrong to make money off your music in whatever way you can in the current climate? Is Prince cynical, or just a good businessman?

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog. In the past I've begun to blog about a variety of topics, from what's hot on 4Unsigned to my unprofessional and sometimes dangerous fumblings with cooking. This time it's different though. Inspired by a women and blogging conference a mere three months ago, I'm back into the blogosphere.