Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Face/Off

In the history of post-Blur/Oasis limp chart battles, this one is the lettuce left out a month in the hot sun: Weller versus, erm, AC-DC. It's such a non-event, it falls to the Skegness Standard to document what is essentially 'two totally different acts release albums on the same day, which, frankly, happens every Monday, and one of them will, normally, outsell the other'.

Nobody is going to bother to offer an opinion on such a story, are they?

Nobody, that is, save for Gennaro Castaldo - he can't hear the word 'chartbattle' without saying 'yes, that is a proper word, and I have some insight to add'. Although even he struggles:

Gennaro Castaldo of retailer HMV said: "With so many new acts about these days, there aren't as many classic chart face-offs as we've seen in the past. And it's certainly rare to see such iconic 'heritage' artists battling it out for the No 1 album spot in what might be dubbed a bit of a mods versus rockers contest.

"Ultimately, however, the thing that's most important is that, while both acts have very dedicated followings, their music is now being picked up and enjoyed by a whole new generation of fans."

"... there are no losers, everyone will have prizes, and it's the taking part that matters. Play up, play up and play the game!" he concluded, before asking the headmaster to grant a half day's holiday.

Seriously, Gennaro: Mods versus rockers? Despite Weller now being more rocky than poorly-loaded sheep wagon cornering on a slippery hillside, and AC-DC being a metal act? It's more like 'mid-life crisis versus unpaid tax demand', isn't it?