R.E.M. Reluctant To Pin Down New Album Direction (Billboard)
MS: Mills says that he, Stipe and Peter Buck "made an agreement we weren't going to say what it is or not because we don't want to have expectations out there in any direction. But, of course, you can go on YouTube and listen to some of the Dublin shows and get a pretty good idea of where we're going."
Klaxons Win U.K.'s 2007 Mercury Prize (Billboard)
MS: The members of the Klaxons were clearly exhausted after their victory, with James Righton admitting later that he shed some tears on the podium. When asked how it felt beating out Winehouse, group members Jamie Reynolds later told the press, "Her record is a retro record, ours is the most forward thinking record of the year. We are moving forward."
Rock stars face young death, say doctors (NME)
MS: The findings are based on 1,050 American and European musicians and singers who were active between 1956 and 1999. The average age of death was 42 for US musicians, and 35 for European musicians.
How the internet can make you a pop star for almost nothing (Daily News)
MS: Maybe it would be worth having a stab at recording, releasing and promoting a single from the relative comfort of my bedroom, in just one month.
With so many bands chasing our decreasing attention span, how easy would it be to achieve some measure of success?
People assume, after reading about Sandi Thom and the Arctic Monkeys, that by simply setting up a MySpace page - as they did before they found widespread success - they can magically shoot into the charts.
So can it be done? It has to be worth a try, doesn't it?
No one wants to pay for music anymore (The Guardian)
MS: This leaves the record companies stranded. They're selling things people don't buy any more. I wish I could feel sad for the record companies but I can't. Their product was poor value - all filler and no killer.
Doing It Right, Again: The Go! Team's Ian Parton on why more of the same ain't no bad thing (Drowned In Sound)
MS: Our songs haven’t really been used in ads. I’ve turned down maybe 95 per cent of offers we’ve had, where I can say no I will basically. It’s just frustrating when people bang on about these adverts, I’m like, “Fuck off, man”. It’s used on TV and stuff and I can’t stop that. Like, it’s on some bullshit makeover programme or something, and there’s nothing you can do... But sometimes it’s cool, like on the Winter Olympics when you’ve got people motoring down luge tracks. That’s pretty hot.
Why Did Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake Commit Suicide? (New York Magazine)
MS: But then Blake, triggered by nothing in particular, spent 45 minutes talking about his relationship with Beck, about how the two grew close after working together on the album cover but ultimately had a falling-out because Beck was a practicing Scientologist, and Scientologists, Blake was confident, used networks of spies to watch over anyone they perceived as a threat to the church.
Underdog Amazon Set To Challenge iTunes (NY Post)
MS: Unlike Apple, which charges 99 cents for songs with DRM and $1.29 for unprotected tracks, Amazon is expected to have at least two prices for individual songs: 99 cents for new and popular MP3s, and 89 cents for music from emerging artists and back catalog tracks.
Bloc Party looks out for Beyonce—and stays far away from Madonna (Chicago Tribune)
MS: Madonna coming into our dressing room because she's a super-huge fan. Our tour manager is this guy from Scotland that doesn't know much about popular culture and popular music. So when she came in, he alerted security and security dragged her out. They had her head in a headlock, and they were putting her out of the dressing room. It was really surreal, and everyone stopped speaking. And the only thing we could hear is Madonna cursing and saying she's gonna kill these guys.
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