No Rock And Roll Fun

... AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR: As if Coldplay's post-Sep'ven album wasn't enough of a prospect of joy, the news that Feeder's new album Comfort In Sound is going to be "heavily influenced" by the suicide of Jon Lee makes the likelihood of a dismal autumn for British music, as the racks fill up with Misery - the Feeder album is being described by the nme as "more mature", usually a euphemism for "black... black... everything is black..." Of course, it needn't be so - there's no reason why tribute couldn't be paid to Lee by celebrating his life rather than mourning his loss; of course, death influences people differently, but the buoyant, life-embracing joy of The Charlatans after Rob Collins' early exit in a car crash six years ago seems more like an affirmation of what the man believed in (not to mention nicer to listen to) than any number of sombre tunes could have hoped to convey.
Let's hope Feeder consider some of the points raised by Ian Mayes when it comes to talking about suicide in the media...