currybetdotnet Music archive
Balloons at Depeche Mode's O2 gig illustrate the difference between 'community' and 'fans'
My colleague Meg Pickard gives a great presentation about the nature of social media, and it includes a slide of three people waiting at a bus stop, with the question 'is this a community?'. At the weekend I had cause to think about the nature of being 'in a community' at Depeche Mode's O2 gig. There is no doubt that I am a big fan of Depeche, and have been for many, many years. I also visit a lot of...
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop in The Guardian's archive
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to have the chance to see some of the surviving members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop play live at the Camden Roundhouse, and to attend a question and answer session with them beforehand. Photo by Stickpeople Almost certainly the biggest impact the BBC Radiophonic Workshop had on popular culture was Delia Derbyshire's electronic realisation of the Doctor Who theme. However, that didn't hit the nation's screens until 23rd November 1963, 46 years ago...
"And on the seventh day..." - Sunday newspaper branding highlighted at Summer Sundae
The goodie bag we were given at the Summer Sundae festival, featuring The Observer newspaper but Guardian branded merchandise, reminded me how odd I find the historic commandment that on the seventh day, newspapers shall be known by a different name.
Summer Sundae 2009
Yesterday I posted about a festival I went to twenty years ago. Today it is the turn of one I went to less than two weeks ago, Leicester's Summer Sundae. It was my first trip to that particular festival, which is held in the grounds of the De Montford Hall, and which this year was due to be headlined by The Streets, The Charlatans and The Zutons. I say 'due to be', as on the Friday The Streets had to...
It was twenty years ago today...the 1989 Reading Festival
Unless major figures have died, there has been a massive terrorist attack, or a man has landed on the moon, there aren't many days of the year where you can be absolutely sure you know what you were doing exactly twenty years ago, but today is one of them. Twenty years ago today I was in a muddy field listening to New Order. I know this because one of the pubs near to where I used to live in Muswell...
Reasons the music industry has lost the plot #12 & #35
The campaign leading up to the release of the new Muse album has been really interesting, with an online/real-life game of hunt-the-USB-stick called PROJECT EURASIA Well, the campaign was interesting until it got to the bit where they actually release the music for sale. Today was the digital release of single "Uprising". Sort of. Or as they put it: "Following the worldwide radio premieres yesterday, Uprising is now available to download in some countries. Release dates vary around the world"...
D45's from Apple's iTunes? I'd give it a 'D'
The music industry has been going 'back to the future' for format inspiration again, with the launch this week in the US of the D45 via iTunes. These digital downloads feature an 'A' and a 'B' side, and the thumbnail image embedded in each digital file looks a bit like an old 7" single sleeve or a jukebox promo version of an old hit. The range includes a 'D45' from Michael Jackson (of course), and 'Use Somebody' by Kings Of...
Michael Jackson and search at The Guardian
With the memorial service over, it looks like we'll now gradually see diminishing amounts of column inches devoted to Michael Jackson. I wanted thought to put down some of my thoughts about what the reaction to his death tells us about search on the Internet, and on news sites. There were a lot of articles looking at the reaction of search engines to the news. This is always one of the cases that fascinates me about the whole problem of...
Daisy dares you to be young
I can't remember who pointed me to it, but earlier this week I was directed to a free download of a track by Daisy Dares You - the project of 15 year old Daisy Coburn. In order to get your free mp3 you need to sign up for some permission marketing. I always like to see a well optimised form, and so it was good to see 'United Kingdom' and 'Ireland' head the list of territories. There had obviously been...
Michael Jackson's death sweeps BBC expenses from the front pages
"Michael Jackson's death spares the BBC"
What would have been on Friday's front pages.
Idlewild's post file-sharing blues
Last week the new CD by Idlewild - "Post-Electric Blues" - arrived at our house. Like several bands before them including Marillion, the recording and pressing of the album was financed by getting their fan base to pre-order it in return for a physical CD and a mention inside the sleeve. As well as a booklet featuring my wife's name, the CD came with a small note imploring fans not to upload the album to file-sharing sites. "Thank you very...
BBC Radiophonic Workshop Q&A at the Camden Roundhouse
On May 17th I went to see an evening with 'The Radiophonic Workshop' at Camden's Roundhouse, which was part of their Short Circuit festival of electronica. Yesterday I posted my review of the gig. Photo by Stickpeople Before the show started there was an hour long Q&A session with 5 members of the Radiophonic Workshop, which I was lucky enough to attend. Here are some of my notes from the event. The conference circuit Thanks to their involvement with Doctor...
BBC Radiophonic Workshop live at the Camden Roundhouse
"BBC Radiophonic Workshop live"
Read my review of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop gig at Camden's Roundhouse, along with my notes from the Q&A session which preceded it.
Idlewild go iPodwild in Camden
On Thursday I went to Dingwalls in Camden to see Idlewild play two of their albums in full, as part of a three night residency they were doing there. We were standing behind the sound desk, and it was interesting to see a real contrast in the technology on display. The mixing desk incorporated a touch-screen control panel, and looked worth a fortune. However, the poem by Edwin Morgan that closes one of my favourite tracks, 'The Remote Part /...
"The look and the sound of The Voice" - Ultravox at The Roundhouse
It may seem to the casual observer, that, having recently seen The Cure and ABC, I'm trapped in a desperate mid-life crisis retro cycle of watching 80s bands live. I did nothing to dispel that illusion the other week by going to see Ultravox at Camden's Roundhouse. They were the first 'modern' band that I went to see live. In 1984 I wasn't old enough to go to a gig on my own, so one of my friends got tickets,...
The computer print-out Evangelists of the future
It is twenty years since The Shamen released their second album, "In Gorbachev We Trust". This was the album that saw them move from being a psychedelic indie four-piece band, to being a duo experimenting with acid house. [1] The main single from "In Gorbachev We Trust" was "Jesus Loves Amerika", a stinging rebuke to right-wing evangelists in the USA. It features vocal samples from several American televangelists, including an opening quote from James Robison stating: "I'm sick and tired...
ABC's "Lexicon Of Love" live at the Royal Albert Hall
In the unlikely event that a) I'm ever on Desert Island Discs, and, b) that they've changed the format so that you can only take one album with you, I would be faced with a tough choice between two contenders. I suspect that Talk Talk's "Spirit Of Eden" would probably provide longer lasting spiritual nourishment for the soul and greater depth of listening. However, I'm pretty certain that I would in the end opt for ABC's "The Lexicon of Love"....
Their greatest album?
The new U2 album is being promoted by a TV spot in the UK, using a chunk of the middle section of "Get On Your Boots" - the first U2 lead single from an album to miss the UK Chart Top 10 since "Gloria" in 1981. The TV ad quotes Q's opinion of "No Line On The Horizon" "Their greatest album - *****" I'm unsure where the quote comes from. Try as I might, the only line close to this...
"You are what you measure" - why the music industry should adopt user-centred charts
In my line of business, we have a mantra - "you are what you measure". If you decide page views are your KPI, then you can increase those by simply splitting articles across three pages. If you decide time spent on the page is your main measure of success, then you can publish longer articles and puts lots of images in so it requires more scrolling, and so on. The music industry measures success by 'the charts', and the charts...
"It feels like one hundred years..."
I can actually remember the exact moment I became a fan of The Cure. It was in 1986, and they had just released their first singles compilation - 'Standing On A Beach'. A friend used our 80's style peer-to-peer network to swap the music files with me i.e. he physically lent me his cassette of the album. Double-play edition with extra unavailable b-sides no less. I was on the 34 bus. The route ran as far as Whipps Cross then,...
More like 'pop your clogs' than 'get on your boots' for the U2 iPod
The evil of searching for 'Gary Glitter'
I wouldn't be voting for this as my interaction of the year
A young person's guide to science fiction by Cliff Richard
"You've lost your place in the queue" - the battle to buy Depeche Mode tickets from Ticketmaster
Will The Telegraph's tie-up with eMusic expose the staff's guilty pleasures?
Will last.fm ever ask for the last time?
"The year 2525: Were Zager & Evans right?"
The Verve - limey w%$ker c*&£s with bad teeth?
'Lost playlists' and Chipwrapper in the Guardian's Music sections
Download 'A lifetime of lost playlists'
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 12 - Pretending to see the future
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 11 - It's more fun to compute
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 10 - Wired for sound
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 9 - Gimme dat thing
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 8 - Mixed up
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 7 - Revolution #9
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 6 - If you buy this record (your life will be better)
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 5 - Poised over the pause button
John Fogerty at the Royal Albert Hall - comments follow-up
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 4 - Forever changes
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 3 - Watch the tapes
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 2 - The kids are alright
A lifetime of lost playlists: Part 1 - Pump up the volume
Being an extra on John Fogerty's Live at the Albert Hall DVD
The Daily Mail's moral stand over 'Emo' protests
When does it stop 'being' Kraftwerk?
Promoting bands online in 1995 - Telwhat Mutelibtech to where?
Sony finally ready to disconnect music store
Response to my 'DRM for vinyl' article on Idolator
Audiophile pressings - where the maufacturing process is more important than the music
Dynaflex - RCA's 1970s ultra-thin vinyl
Quadraphonic: The forgotten surround sound of the 70s
Copy-protection for vinyl in the 1970s
This year's digital Christmas number one
I'm gonna spend my Christmas with a Dalek
Voting for your American Idol in Greece
Finding, sharing, and playing with that Tony Palmer BBC rejection letter
It is so hard to be a Depeche Mode completist these days
Pay what you want for Radiohead's new digital album "In Rainbows"
The London freesheets and the web - Part 1: Music reviews
Between a Northern Rock and a hard rock place
Sony closes the door on the European CONNECT store
Reckless Records RIP - Part 11: Afterburner
Reckless Records RIP - Part 10: Expansions
Reckless Records RIP - Part 9: Keep The Customer Satisfied
Reckless Records RIP - Part 8: Future Sound Of London
Reckless Records RIP - Part 7: Television Personalities
Reckless Records RIP - Part 6: Digital Penetration
Reckless Records RIP - Part 5: OK Computer
Reckless Records RIP - Part 4: Computer World
Reckless Records RIP - Part 3: High Fidelity
Reckless Records RIP - Part 2: Happiness In Magazines
Reckless Records RIP - Part 1: An End Has A Start
A tour of Tour De France news sites - Prologue
'Cancel' just doesn't seem to mean 'Cancel' for iTunes 7.2 on Windows
Musical social networking (slight return)
Tweaking my old Glastonbury articles in response to searches
Can We7 fare better than Sigue Sigue Sputnik in making people listen to adverts?
No Beatles digital downloads on Sgt. Pepper's 40th anniversary
How much did shingles cost in 1963?
The Rhino Hi-Fives reinvent the 'Greatest Hits EP' for the digital era
It was twenty years ago today...The Beatles CD reissues from 1987
Sony Connect music download store relaunches in Europe - part two
Sony Connect relaunches with improved information architecture for browsing
Vodafone relaunches their web music store in the UK
Slacker equivalent already on the market in Europe - meet Sony and Vodafone's Radio DJ
Playing with the Virgin Radio player beta
Why not be accessible Instead - trying to buy Onetwo's new album
Idlewild using Channel 4 footage as an incentive to pre-order digital downloads
eMusic subscription changes = price rise
Buy the so-called "Complete" Depeche Mode iTunes box set? No thanks, Apple
Thoughts on being locked out of my iPod's content by Apple's DRM
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"Journalism in the digital age"
I'll be appearing on a panel with Sarah Hartley and Iain Hepburn at the Edinburgh International Science Festival on Sunday April 11th. More details...
Posts of the moment
Day of the Triffids
If everyone suddenly went blind, how long would the Internet survive, and could you still publish news on it?
With professionals of this quality, who needs 'citizen journalist' enemies?
It is hard to argue that ethics and quality set the 'professional journalist' apart from the amateur blogger, if the 'professional' keeps publishing articles so wrong that they have to be deleted.
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