Alan McGee laughs as the world burns

Long-term friend of this blog Alan McGee has been sharing the benefit of his insight into the modern world of music with The Australian.

Shall we listen in?

“I don’t really like music,” he said, adding that considering that people in the industry were “drug-addled” and he’d grown tired of them. “With music it’s never enough for anybody… everyone wants to be Jagger or McCartney. As you grow older, it’s bullshit, you’re not that.”

Alan McGee was thirty six when he helped bring Be Here Now into the world. So clearly he must mean you have to quite a bit older before you realise that shouting drug-doused donkeys isn't that interesting. Thank god he's reached 50 and finally worked that one out.

He explained that in his time away from the industry not much has caught his attention. In fact, outside Glasvegas and The Libertines he wasn’t fussed on much these days.

Yeah, if you want an example of band that doesn't have any sense of a singer with a drug-addled Jagger complex, The Libertines would be exactly the sort of thing you should go for.

Still, McGee knows the struggles of being a small label owner, so perhaps he'll drop his grumpy old sod persona when asked about the PIAS fire?

“I read that the Sony PIAS Building burnt down. I’m probably the only person who thought that was funny. I call that a result. Got rid of all the shit music. And you get paid for it, the stuff you couldn’t sell.”

Oh.

What a contrarian, right?

Indeed, when asked about the comments later, McGee even trotted out a defence which even included that last refuge of the boring old fart, the "I'm not afraid of being politically correct" line:

I hate Sony, if the Sony building burnt to the ground again as it did, I’d say that was a result, I think it's funny. Loads of shit music getting burned, I think it's great, and I'm sorry if that’s not popular and if that's not PC, but fuck PC, that’s what’s ruined England, not being able to say what you think; sorry, but I do, and if you don’t like it go fuck yourself.

Let's just try and stop our eyes rolling for a couple of minutes to squeeze in one last quote - because as well as standing by his oh-so-brave assault on PC, he also claims all the other things he said were just ignored:

The British media have tried to ignore what I think. They took the statement, they weren't even there; come down here and basically take what I said out of context, which was basically taken from 5 or 10 seconds from a 30-minute chat, but I don't back off it, there’s loads of shit music and if it gets burned so what?

Perhaps they only took those few seconds because everything else was boring, confused garbage like how all music is rubbish apart from The Libertines?

[Thanks to Michael M]

50 Cent's house burns

Good lord, it's no fun being 50 Cent, is it? When he's not being shot at, his house is burning down to the ground. This particular house (we believe he has some more) has been at the heart of a battle between Mr. Cent and Shaniqua Tompkins, mother of Cent's kid Marquise; the arson squad have apparently been having a poke about to try and determine what caused the house to go up.

Cent has issued a statement:

"Informed this morning while filming a new motion picture on location in Louisiana, Curtis Jackson expressed deep concern over this fire at his property," a representative for 50 said in a statement. "He is extremely thankful that everyone including his son, Marquise, escaped the burning house safely. He is confident that authorities will be conducting a thorough investigation of the incident and is eager to review their findings."

"Deep concern". Goodness, that's almost a human reaction.

Arson about: Prison for Wayne Fontana

Wayne Fontana's decision to turn up at court for the hearing into his arson charges dressed sort of like Justice may not have worked that well:

The judge criticised the former lead singer of the Mindbenders, real name Glyn Ellis, for arriving at Derby Crown court dressed as the Lady of Justice.

He had to hand [in] a sword and scales to guards but wore a crown, cape and dark glasses, claiming "justice is blind".

The judge, Andrew Hamilton, wasn't amused:

: "He regards this whole procedure as a pantomime.

"He has come dressed as a fool and he wants to act like a fool - I hope they give him a prison uniform at Nottingham Prison to keep him warm."

Fontana has pleaded guilty to arson being reckless to whether life is endangered, but denies arson with intent to endanger life. Fontana had set fire to a car driven by a bailiff who visited his home.

The case is adjourned until July; Fontana has been remanded in custody and the judge has ordered psychological reports.