I Eat Music

This year’s MOBO Awards take place on Wednesday at the SECC Arena in Glasgow. Always a big draw for major artists from across multiple genres that grew out of black music and culture, this year’s nominees include Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, Herbie Hancock, Dizzee Rascal, Keri Hilson, Amadou And Mariam, Baaba Maal, N-Dubz, Tim Westwood, and many more. Here are a few of CMU’s favourites from this year’s nominations.

01: Herbie Hancock – Rockit
Okay, let’s start with a classic. Herbie Hancock is up for the Best Jazz Act award. But here’s his 1983 single ‘Rockit’, a major early influence for turntablists like Mix Master Mike and DJ Qbert. Not jazz, but certainly an indicator of Hancock’s talent as an innovator in music.

02: N-Dubz – Better Not Waste My Time
I think this is CMU’s favourite N-Dubz track. We had a meeting about it. You can’t choose these things lightly. I don’t want you think we’re just picking these things out of the air. We’re also rooting for N-Dubz in the Best UK Act category.

03: Tinchy Stryder – Never Leave You (feat. Amelle)
Tinchy Stryder’s album ‘Catch 22′ is really a lot more enjoyable than you’d perhaps expect. Which is possibly how it got a nomination for Best Album. Here’s Tinch with Sugababe Amelle Berrabah being all catchy and that.

04: Chipmunk – Diamond Rings
This video features in the Best Video category, but maybe we shouldn’t mention that, as Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’ is also in there, and I’d quite like to get through this playlist without Kanye West butting in.

05: Bashy – Kidulthood To Adulthood
Nominated in both the Best UK Act and Best Album categories, Bashy may not have the high number of nominations that some on this list have managed, but he’s picked up the ones that really count, as he further establishes himself on the UK hip hop scene.

06: Eminem – We Made You
So, breaking from tradition, the first single from Eminem’s latest album announces that he is back and then insults a load of other celebrities. Oh, Eminem, I’m not saying you’re formulaic, but I’m feeling a little bit of deja vu here. Still, if it gets you nominated for Best International Act and Best Hip Hop Act, I guess it’s working.

07: Kanye West – Gold Digger
I’m in a dilemma here. I feel like I should make some sort of Kanye/Beyonce/interruption joke here. But I kind of already made one, and those jokes were tired two weeks ago. So, what should I do? Oh, I’ve run out of space.

08: Sean Paul – Press It Up
Up for the Best Reggae Act gong, Sean Paul recently released his fourth studio album, ‘Imperial Blaze’, from which this track is taken. It’s not his best work by a long shot, but it keeps things moving along nicely enough.

09: Nneka – Heartbeats
One of ten strong contenders for the Best African Act, Nneka is currently winning the award for my favourite track on this playlist. Released earlier this year, ‘Heartbeats’ is a fantastic piece of pop. It isn’t nominated for Best Song at the MOBOs, though. I may turn up with my own handmade award to make up for this.

10: Beyonce – Crazy In Love
Any awards ceremony needs to go out with a bang, so let’s finish our MOBO rundown with a live version of ‘Crazy In Love’. If it’s a showstopper you want, Beyonce is always your woman, which is one of the reasons she can be found in three MOBO categories.

And there you have it, a brief CMU guide to the 2009 MOBO Awards. Watch all these videos here:

And for more information on the MOBOs, check out www.mobo.com.

It seems no one can keep hold of that number one spot in the singles chart at the moment. Still, Dizzee Rascal shouldn’t feel too down about only managing a week at the top. If you’re going to be knocked off the top by anyone, there are worse people than a team consisting of Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West. Oh, and Sugababes, who are a new entry at number two. And David Guetta, who is at three. But fourth is still good, Dizzee. Well done.

Still, if it’s a real chart success story you want, look no further than Kings Of Leon, who are back in the top ten again with ‘Sex On Fire’ this week, at number six. Presumably this sudden leap in sales means that the track is now close to toppling Lady Gaga’s position at the top of the all-time highest download sales chart, which was only published yesterday.

Anyway, moving on. And speaking of Lady Gaga, as we were, she features on Wale’s ‘Chillin’, which is new at 12 this week. A short step down at 16, Booty Luv have another new entry, with ‘Say It’, while Jamie T’s ‘Chaka Demus EP’ is new at 23, and Friendly Fires go in at 30 with ‘Kiss Of Life’.

In the album chart, it seems that talk of chickens and dickheads was enough to keep Arctic Monkeys at number one, fending off a sustained attack from Vera Lynn. There’s something you don’t get to write very often. Yep, it looked for a while like all the kids rushing out to buy ‘We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best Of Vera Lynn’ would outnumber the more aged folk shuffling down to HMV to buy the new Arctic Monkeys album, but it was not to be. Vera did knock David Guetta down to number three, though. So that’s something to be pleased with.

At number four, it’s only those bloody Kings Of Leon again. After fifty weeks on the chart, their fourth album, ‘Only By The Night’, has jumped from 22 to number four this week. It’s probably about time they let someone else have a go. Someone like Noah And The Whale, maybe, who are this week’s highest new entry at 16. Okay, maybe not them. What about Just Jack, who’s also new at 22? Or Sean Paul at 38? Come on Kings Of Leon, get out of the chart and make space for someone else.

In fact, while we’re at it, why don’t we clear out everyone who’s been on the chart for 40 or more weeks? I’m looking at you James Morrison, Beyonce, Pink, Elbow and Abba. And Duffy. Duffy! You’ve been in the top 40 for 70 weeks now. It’s just greedy. Get out.

The charts are reported as cold hard facts and not even changed a little bit to look nicer by the Official Charts Company.

The artwork for Mariah Carey’s new album, ‘Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel’, will carry adverts, it has been announced. Due for release on 15 Sep via Island Def Jam, the first million copies of the album in the US and first 500,000 in Europe will come with a specially created miniature Mariah-centric edition of Elle magazine as the CD booklet, containing adverts for Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Métier de Beauté and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, as well short articles on the singer, lyrics and the usual credits and suchlike.

A condensed version of the mini-magazine, minus the CD-specific elements, will be inserted into 500,000 subscription copies of the October issue of Elle (published shortly after the album’s release) and in the US the CD will be sold alongside Carey’s new perfume, cunningly called Fragrance, at its manufacturer Elizabeth Arden’s counters in WalMart stores.

With ad revenues funding 100% of the booklet’s printing costs, Island Def Jam are hoping that if this experiment goes well, they will be able to sell off the artwork of albums by Kanye West, Rihanna and Bon Jovi in a similar fashion.

The label’s chairman, Antonio ‘LA’ Reid told Brand Week: “The idea was really simple thinking: ‘We sell millions of records, so you should advertise with us’. My artists have substantial circulation – when you sell two million, five million, eight million, that’s a lot of eyeballs. Most magazines aren’t as successful as those records”.

He added that Carey had been “very open” to the idea when he had shown her the original mock up of the booklet, adding: “I wouldn’t want to do Mariah Carey and Comet abrasive cleaner. I wanted things that really reflected her taste”.

He admitted that partnerships like this would become increasingly important as revenue from record sales continues to decrease. He continued: “We don’t have music retailers any more, so a smart consumer products company that understands the value in distributing music is going to restore the vitality of our business. If we distribute music properly and if it’s done tastefully, it could be a huge profit centre for all of us. That is the missing link – we need partnerships”.

Ah yes, partnerships. That old thing. While it’s true that CD sales still make up three quarters of revenues for record labels, sales do, of course, continue to slip. Then again, magazines, particularly fashion titles, aren’t doing so well either so I’m not sure how long this specific kind of partnership will work. I wonder how long it will be before ads creep onto the CDs (or downloads) themselves, Sigue Sigue Sputnik style. Hmm, now there’s an idea. Though if you work in marketing or advertising, forget I said that last bit.

Set in the idyllic surroundings of Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire, this year’s Big Chill festival is bigger than ever before, both in terms of space and line-up, with more fields added for extra camping comfort and an impressive collection of music. This year’s headliners are David Byrne, Orbital and Basement Jaxx. By my estimation, everything else is a bonus. So, some of your bonus acts include Spiritulaized, video director Chris Cunningham, Friendly Fires, Calexico, British Sea Power and Emmy The Great, plus many more. Here Team CMU pick ten of their favourites from this year’s line-up for a Big Chill CMU-Tube selection.

01: Alphabeat – Fascination
I have had various discussions with Duncan CMU about the merits of this song. I say debates, he tells me it’s brilliant, I shrug. It is pretty catchy though, I will admit. In fact, it’s really infectious. The more I listen to it, the more it grows on me. My God, it’s brilliant!

02: Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At
So, here’s the basic gist of this video: Scientists genetically modify monkeys to not only have the faces of the members of Basement Jaxx, but to also be able to play their music. The monkeys go mad. There is violence. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen at The Big Chill, it would kind of ruin it.

03: Broken Records – Until The Earth Begins To Part
This video is beautiful, in a Tim Burton, freaky animation kind of way. The song is also beautiful, and taken from the band’s debut album of the same name. The album is a popular one amongst Team CMU and their Big Chill set should be a must-see.

04: Friendly Fires – Jump In The Pool
Another very popular band in the CMU office is Friendly Fires, and it’s not hard to see why when they crank out singles like this one. If you’re very lucky, their Big Chill set will feature a few tracks from their forthcoming second album.

05: Hafdis Huld – Kongulo
We’ve been fans of Icelandic singer-songwriter Hafdis Huld for many years now, so it’s nice to see her getting some more recognition of late. Kongulo means spider in Icelandic, and this song is about the skyscraper-climbing Frenchman Alain Robert. The video represents this is a fairly lo-fi manner.

06: Hexstatic – Living Stereo
My friend Paul came back from the Big Chill a few years ago raving about Hexstatic, having seen them play one of their legendary audio/visual sets. The Ninja Tune veterans should certainly be on your list of bands to see.

07: Magistrates – Heartbreak
In-keeping with the current pop zeitgeist, Magistrates make music with a decidedly 80s sound. But they have done more research than most, coming out with a smarter, more substantial sound than many of their contemporaries. Well worth checking out.

08: Mr Hudson & The Library – Ask The DJ
I’m not sold on Mr Hudson’s new Kanye West-produced music. No doubt he’ll be playing all that at The Big Chill, but hopefully he won’t completely eschew his earlier work with The Library, because together they made some quite lovely pop tunes, like this one.

09: Mr Scruff – Get A Move On
Another Ninja Tune veteran here, and an owner of a tea company to boot. Bringing the two together, Mr Scuff will be hosting a tea party at The Big Chill and furnishing attendees with one of his epic DJ sets, which is always something to get excited about. His tea is very nice, by the way.

10: Spiritualized – Come Together
Fronted by former Spacemen 3 man Jason Pierce, of course, Spiritualized are reissuing their seminal album ‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space’ later this year. The Big Chill will be a chance to give yourself a quick refresher course.

Now you’ve read the blurbs, find out what we’re banging on about by actually watching the videos, here:

For more CMU-Tube stuff go to www.thecmuwebsite.com/tube. Meanwhile check out all things Big Chill at www.bigchill.net/festival

		While Damon Albarn has said he’d like to let Blur go out on a high after the recent reunion shows, Graham Coxon has other ideas: "I’m up for doing another [album] – it would be a really interesting thing to do. I don’t want it to be like ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ or nostalgic bollocks. I want it to be a development. There’s nothing saying there’s a great big ‘No’. My gut feeling is, ‘Why not?’"
		According to Phil Spector’s publicist, Hal Lifson, prison isn’t actually that nice: "Phil Spector was always a highly productive, creative person and now he’s in a five by nine foot cell with no windows and maybe a half hour outside to walk around. It’s essentially solitary confinement. It’s a terrible existence for a millionaire record producer who lived in mansions and most recently in a castle, a 35-room home"
		The Game says he’s ready for war over derogatory lyrics on Jay-Z’s new album, even though Jay-Z says they’re not about him and rap feuds are silly: "He’s slick, man. You gotta watch that cat, man. I’m probably the only rapper in this world besides Nas that’s really not scared to go at this dude’s neck. He knows if he goes to war with me, then it’s going to be never ending, man"
		Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden reveals that he’s working on an autobiography, probably (it’s due to be published next year): "I’m lightly working on one, but I don’t want to put a book out there if it’s not actually meaningful. I’m not going to go there unless I can deliver. If I put a book out, I want it to be something that matters to me. It has to be real, you can’t just put a book out to put a book out"
		Ian Brown reveals he’s written songs for Kanye West and Rihanna. And where can we hear these songs? Er, Ian Brown’s new album: "We wrote this song called ‘Vanity Kills’ [for Kanye] but we were a bit late sending it in, so I’ve kept it for the album. ‘Stellify’, we wrote for Rihanna, but as we got to the end of writing it I thought, ‘You know what? I’m gonna keep this for myself, we’ll give her another one’"
		David Byrne takes a shot at U2 for perhaps not being as right on as they’re always telling us to be: "Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It sure looks just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all"

These quotes, as regular readers should now be aware, were taken from the 31 Jul 2009 edition of CMU Weekly. In it we gave away a Chris Isaak Christmas DVD. Imagine! Read it in full here.