Glasto Day 2

Amazing set from Crosby, Stills and Nash.
There are some great videos from Glastonbury on the BBC website like this one featuring Doves

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Popular reviews w/e 27/6/09

Strummer Magazine

• 1. New Education; Another Miracle (13/07/2009; Kids Records) (last week no.1)
• 2. Enter Shikari; Common Dreads (Ambush Reality; 15th June 2009) (last week no.2)
• 3. Andy Stedman - You Keep Me Up Till 3 O'Clock (Sonic Vista, June 1st 2009) (last week no.4)
• 4. Slashed Seat Affair; No More Lies (04/05/2009 Fill The Void Records) (last week no.3)
• 5. Malakai, Edinburgh Picturehouse, 23/04/09 (new entry)
• 6. The Jessie Rose Trip; Forever and a day (4/5/2009,New Music Club/Voluptuous Records) (new entry)
• 7. El Dog; A PRINCESS, A MONKEY, THE STARS AND THE SEA / -00- (Lo-Five Records 15/06/2009) (last week no.5)
• 8. The Ghost Of A Thousand; Bright Lights (18/05/2009 Epitath Records) (new entry)
• IT 'Departure' (Sonic Vista 1/7/09) (new entry)
• Rancid; The Last One To Die (25/05/2009 Hellcat Records) (new entry)

NME and SWELLS

Conor McNicholas resigns as NME editor. Apparently he wasn't interested in music and has gone to work for an auto magazine. How ironic is this news in the same week that Steven Wells (the ex NME writer) sadly passed away.
Swells (as he was known) was either loved or hated depending on your standpoint but at least he had an opinion, something the NME has lacked for years. Let's hope this turn of events may shake things up a little (but don't hold your breath). The best they could do is move the editorial offices to Manchester. RIP NME.

Spotify, Indy Charts and the plan to count freeloaders

3 interesting pieces of news this week. Spotify the free streaming website set to overtake We7 due to its intuitive interface has launched a CD quality service to its premium users. These users pay £9.99 per month as it is, so it's not a big deal really. If you are prepared to pay £9.99 a month and want CD quality surely you'd buy the CD. Umm... i guess they did their market research so who knows.

Hot on the heels of that news was the announcement from Martin Talbot - head of the official charts company - that free downloads would 'at some point in the future' play a part in the official chart calculations. Quite how they would administer that is another matter. Guess the NME is having a slow news week!

By far the most significant piece of news (again from Mr. Talbot) is the re-launch of the independent music charts. Starting in June these charts will compile all sales bar those from the majors. Given that the majors output is mainly commercial tat, it paves the way for some credible rundowns and gives the far more exciting independent sector some overdue exposure.

More at strummer magazine website
Most recent review: Dan Black: Symphonies

New Reviews posted

Reviews posted today for:
Royksopp - The Girl and The Robot
Glyn Bailey - Moonwalkers
Engineers - Three Fact Fader

Reviews at strummerlive.net (Strummer Magazine)

Popular reviews week ending 20/6/09:
1. New Education - Another Miracle
2. Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
3. Slashed Seat Affair - No More Lies
4. Andy Stedman - You Keep Me Up
5. El Dog - A Princess, A Monkey, The Stars and The Sea

Strummer Magazine - Independent Music Reviews and Media