Nicki Minaj's old school tie forever loosened

You know how schools love a former pupil who's made it. Any chance they have to wheel them in - no matter how slim their claim to fame - and once again that 1996 Olympic fourth-placed canoeist will be on the stage handing out prizes.

Which makes it all the more surprising that when Nicki Minaj offered to do an event at her old High School, the school school said no thanks.

Oh, and this isn't because the school might be thinking that a career in pop music is a bit beneath what they want for their pupils. Minaj went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. The school that they based Fame on.

U2: Why that 'free' album is dangerous as well as turgid

There's a good piece on The Register about why pushing an unwanted U2 album into people's faces is more than just impertinence:

Some have said that the offer would have been more palatable if a band with more "street cred" had been promoted.

But that's not really the point. Days before the U2 push, crooks were spamming fake Apple emails accusing marks of buying the film Lane Splitter on a computer or device that hadn’t previously been linked to their Apple ID. In reality it's not an Apple purchase notification, it's an attempt to trick users into handing over their Apple ID usernames and passwords to a phishing site, as Symantec details. The scam messages are distributed by the Kelihos botnet.

With Apple randomly messing with the contents of people's iTunes cloud libraries, this sort of email alert looks plausible: I just got a free album, maybe I just got a free film, victims may wonder. Celebrities had their private nude images spilled from their Apple iCloud accounts – have I been hacked too, others will ask when faced with an email notifying them of an unexpected purchase.

Apple want to trust us with using their products as an electronic wallet. Proving they can't be trusted with your keys doesn't seem a great idea right now.

Neil McCormick (who knows Bono) says why the Apple U2 'gift' was OK

Neil McCormick, who knows Bono, just popped up on Today to explain why people who are annoyed that Apple has foisted an undeletable U2 album into their personal music collections are wrong.

Neil, who knows Bono, muttered something about how the people complaining were the same ones who let Google serve ads next to their emails. Then he came out with this:

[They're] whinging because the biggest band in the world has put a free album in their box

Firstly, Neil, who knows Bono, One Direction are completely innocent in all this so I don't know why you're suggesting they've done anything at all.

Oh, maybe you meant that U2 are the biggest band in the world, like you're sending a dispatch from the early 1990s.

This suggestion that, somehow, it's okay because U2 are (or rather, once were) popular is fascinating - 'why are you complaining? They've had number one albums'.

Neil then went on to say that it didn't matter any way because it was all somehow in the cloud which also makes it alright, but then I had to go and watch some magpies throwing a mouse corpse around in the street. This isn't a metaphor; it was something that actually happened.

Screamobit: Robert Young

So, no, then: as it became clear yesterday, Throb's death wasn't just a Twitter rumour.

The Primal's official statement, signed by Andrew Innes and Bobby Gillespie:

"We have lost our comrade and brother Robert Young.

"He was an irreplaceable talent, much admired amongst his peers.

"He was a true rock and roller. He had Heart & Soul tattooed on his arm and I'm sure on his heart too.

"He once said to me, 'When we go on stage it's a war between us and the audience'. He never let go of that attitude."

"Our love and thoughts are with his sons, Brandon and Miles, and their mother Jane, his wife Rachel, and his immediate family."

The Independent has marked Young's passing by publishing a large, glorious photo. Of, erm, someone else. And then slaps on a caption that references someone else again.

In other poorly considered tributes, Liam Gallagher tweeted "Live Forever" which, while understanding the sentiment, seems a poor choice of words. Andy Bell, the one who was in Ride and some other bands, managed a better way of saying the same thing:

"That big power chord in Loaded is ringing out on the other side now."

Robert Young was 49; his body was found Sunday in Hove. Sussex Police have said the death was not suspicious, but natural justice says it was way too soon.

Throb?

According to a scattering of tweets, Robert Young - original member of Primal Scream; 'Throb' to the band and its fans - has died, although there isn't anything approaching official confirmation. Let's hope its a bad Twitter rumour.

Venuewatch: The Cockpit

Sad news from Leeds: The Cockpit, which closed for "maintenance" at the start of the summer, is not going to reopen:

“It is with great regret that we have to announce the permanent closure of the Cockpit.

“After 20 great years as an integral pillar of the Leeds music scene we have decided that it is no longer viable to deliver you the level of service you deserve with the building in it’s current condition.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you who came to watch your favourite bands, danced, stage dived, crowd surfed, found your life partner and gave the Cockpit its reputation as one of the best live music venues in the UK.”

It added: “All forthcoming live events will be moved to alternative venues and all original tickets will remain valid.”

According to the BBC report, attempts to make good two decades' worth of skipped maintenance proved overwhelming, closure being the only option.

It's a shame, though. A lot of history in twenty years in those poorly-distempered walls.

Here's Rolo Tomassi playing there:


[Thanks to @CJHutcheon for the tip]

Quick message to Apple

Hi Apple.

Why is there a shitting U2 album in my iTunes this morning?

Why would you do that?

What do you think the advantage to me is of having, hidden amongst music that I actually like and want to have in my collection, a U2 album that I did not ask for, do not want, or would never seek out?

By all means, offer the record in your store. Advertise its availability far and wide. Float U2 on the magma atop a volcano, film the event in HD and book every advertising slot on every TV channel to show the results.

But do not, ever, insert unsolicited bullcrap into my iTunes library. Ever. You're making a Surface seem like a good idea.

I don't even seem to be able to delete the stinking things, either...

No, I don't want to "hide" them. I don't want them in my Cloud purchases. I want no connection with these tossers. I want them gone. I want them deleted.

Please don't ever do this again.

[This reminds me of the time that the BBC shoved unfunny sitcom Dossa and Joe onto Sky+ boxes without asking first.]

Tom Clarke: I am not a Hobbit

Time Out appears to have called Tom Clarke out The Enemy a Hobbit.

Tom - known for his outspoken barbs himself - giggled a little and said 'you know what? I wish I had one-tenth of Martin Freeman's charisma'.

Oh, sorry, I'll just read that again. He didn't do that.

Instead he did this:

@Leonbradley7 @theenemyband @TimeOutLondon I like how they stooped to playground insults rather than anything insightful. Poor journalism.

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) September 9, 2014

If I had a pound for everytime a journalist called me a hobbit I could buy enough bullets to round them up and disfigure the lot of them.

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) September 9, 2014

Absolute fucking children. What they fail to appreciate is that I've achieved more than they ever will despite being a fucking hobbit.

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) September 9, 2014

Morons. Jealous, juvenile, inept, generically conformist morons. With your little pens. Do me a favour and get yourself a life transplant.

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) September 9, 2014

It's 2014 and we're still obsessed with what people look like instead of who they are or what they do. Society needs to grow the fuck up.

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) September 9, 2014

Tom, Tom, Tom. They don't use little pens any more. Actually, little pens was people in bookies or Argos; most journalists used normal sized pens. They use keyboards. Although maybe you misspelled penis.

We perhaps shouldn't be surprised that Tom is threatening to shoot people in the face for a mild comment - he also uses his Twitter feed to bang on at some length about his broadband problems.

And there's this:

Twitter raped.....got to respect that ☺️

— Tom Clarke (@tomclarke_enemy) August 12, 2014

I have no idea what Tom is referring to. But I'm pretty certain he hasn't, actually, been raped.

Time Out did make a mistake in calling Tom Clarke a Hobbit. It's easy to get confused, but the cave-dwelling fictional creature they were really going for was a Teletubby.

Kate Bush: Filming the filmic live performances

This morning Digital Spy asks a question:

Kate Bush to release live DVD of 'Before The Dawn' London shows?

It's just pondering. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Who could tell? How could anyone know?

Unless, erm, they read the story right underneath the headline:

The singer - who is currently performing her first live dates in over 35 years - has sent out a message to fans with tickets for the September 16/17 gigs to say that seats are being rejigged "to film the show for a DVD release".

I'm no expert, but that suggests that maybe there's going to be a DVD. Although who can say for certain with such a typically gnomic utterance?

Venuewatch: Vice drives out Death By Audio?

Williamsburg venue Death By Audio is closing. They announced it like this:

After seven years of operation Death By Audio will close on November 22, 2014. Running this space has been an incredible undertaking and a joy since day one. We have been fortunate enough to host bands from all over the US and the world nearly every night of the week. Amazingly, we've hosted in excess of 1000 acts a year for the past seven years. The effect pedal company will remain open and relocate to a temporary space until we find a more permanent home.

When we first moved onto south 2nd street the only things on our block were a used police car lot and several empty buildings. Now there are a half dozen expensive restaurants, bars, a daycare center and a new condo building (that was an empty lot when we moved in). All ages DIY music venues are almost by definition temporary, and we feel fortunate to have lasted in this space for this long. We knew from the beginning that it couldn't last forever and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has preformed or attended any of our shows. We are still weighing options about what happens next and will let everyone know more about the future of Death By Audio as soon as we can.

Our closing party starts Wednesday Sept 10 and we will have great programing for these last 75 days. We are looking forward to putting on some really incredible shows to send off what has been one of the greatest undertakings of our lives. We hope to see you there.

Edan and Matt

P.S. If you're in Hot Snakes please get in touch.

So they're going without rancour, and the tale of 'grassroots venue eventually forced out by the very improvements to their area their presence helped generate' won't be surprising to anyone who follows any music scene in a city.

Part of the reason things got tougher for DBA was Vice's expansion in the same building. Impose reported on this back in July:

DBA manager Edan Wilber also confirmed that they did not have plans to be moving anytime soon, but added, “We’ll see how that goes when our lease is up.”

While it remains to be seen if either venue withstands the test of time (or the more pressing threat of neighbors like VICE driving up the cost of rent), this news means that local music fans will still be able to see shows in two of Williamsburg’s best venues for at least a little while longer.

Only a little while longer in the case of DBA, it turns out.

Obviously, it's not Vice's fault - a successful business needs space, and a rising tide lifts all rents and so on.

But... as Brooklyn Vegan pointed out, Vice got given $6.5million in tax breaks to remain in Williamsburg which, when space is being parcelled out, might be seen as giving an unfair advantage to the already cash-rich media organisation over a sweat-and-love driven local venue.

Embed and breakfast man: The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers did Letterman yesterday. Here, don't take my word for it - here they are...

What is Emeli Sande up to these days?

In 2013 Emeli Sande would appear singing as soon as three or more people gathered, like a Magic FM version of the riot act.

This year, she's been quieter.

So, what's she up to these days?

Erm... she appears to have become the Arthur Daley of music, flogging cars down by the Thames:

Emeli Sandé performed at a secret location on the River Thames tonight (September 8), helping to unveil the [new car].

The singer played a 45-minute set, including a song titled 'Feels Like' which she created especially for the launch of the new vehicle.

But I know what you're wondering now - was there some sort of half-arsed social media campaign to launch the new car?

Using #FEELXE, the public shared words, pictures, sounds and films through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Actually, it looks like mostly "the public" here means 'car dealerships, motoring journalists and PR people', but even DigitalSpy is struggling to find anything to say about it. That line is just 'there was a hashtag', isn't it?

The car is expensive. Part of what you're paying for is the cost of the sing-song by the Thames. But there was a hashtag.

Kpopobit: Kwon Ri-sae

The crash that led to the death of Go Eun-bi has claimed the life of a second member of Ladies' Code. Kwon Ri-sae died on Sunday.

Known professionally as Rise, she had had a career before joining Ladies' Code, both as a participant in the 2009 Miss Korea contest and then on a number of reality shows. Ladies' Code was a change of direction, or at least a difference in emphasis, as she moved into music.

Kwon Ri-sae was 23; she died September 7th following emergency brain surgery.

Paloma Faith kind-of misses the naked photo point

The myriad of difficult privacy and security issues that fall out from the hacking of the iCloud? Paloma Faith isn't that bothered:

She told The Sun on Sunday: ''I don't feel like I've ever done anything that I'm particularly ashamed of.

''I would rather they didn't see naked pictures of me, but if they did, I can honestly say I've never taken an untasteful one.''

That's a bit like being told that there are burglaries in the area, and shrugging with a "well, at least if they pinch the silver, I've had a chance to polish it first."

Also: why would you even share your thoughts on mobile phone hacking with the the News Of The World? It's like going to Russia to talk about territorial integrity.

This week just gone

Five years ago: The most-read stories from September 2009, in September 2009:

1. Downloadable Los Campesinos tracks
2. RIP: Jake Brockman
3. Lily Allen quits the battle against filesharing
4. The Kings Of Leon want you to be impressed
5. James Blunt rallies behind Lily Allen
6. Wogan announces an end to breakfasts
7. Madonna uses Lourdes to remind people how she used to be
8. RIP: Wycliffe Johnson
9. Phil Collins quits drumming
10. Courtney railing at Kurt's avatar

These were interesting this week:


Esben And The Witch - A New Nature



Blonde Redhead - Barragan

Download Barragan




Peggy Seeger - Everything Changes

Download Everything Changes



Pulled Apart By Horses - Blood

Download Blood



Jennifer Castle - Pink City

Download Pink City

Linkin Park versus all of Malta

Malta were stood on the pitch, ready to play Slovakia. But first, their anthem.

Except the anthem wasn't played in. Linkin Park blasted through the speakers instead.

Digital Spy reckons less than a second of Linkin Park played before the correct tune was found - in the olden days, that would have been preceded by that 'needle scratching over a record' sound.

To be honest, looking at the Maltese anthem's lyrics:

Guard, Lord, forever, as you´ve done erst and ceasing never,

This land whose name we received, our motherly-named Mother.

Her you have draped with a light whose grace exceeds all other.

On those who govern, sovereign God, bestow understanding,

Grant wellness to those who work, largesse to those employing,

Make firm, make just all our bonds, the peace we are enjoying.

... I kind of wish every time Linkin Park appeared on a speaker they get rapidly preempted by that instead.

How Kate Bush has won music

A handy guide from Ampp3d

Chris Brown: still reeks

To be fair, the full story from the Chris Brown/Billboard interview isn't released until later today, so perhaps it will be less painful than the cover makes it look:

But the 'maybe I was out of control' strapline doesn't give one hope.

Maybe you were out of control, Chris Brown.

Or maybe you're a violent, beat-first asshat who is now trying to salvage some sort of career with a minor concession that perhaps - just maybe you were out of control.

Or maybe you knew exactly what you were doing when you pulped Rihanna's face that time.

Maybe that.

IPC subeditors no longer dictate our youth; no longer IPC subeditors

IPC is IPC no more. The NME publisher is rebranding as Time Inc UK.

It's unlikely the new brand will ever inspire anything as glorious as this Clinic track, though:

Kpopobit: Go Eun-Bi

Go Eun-bi, member of KPop group Ladies' Code and known professionally as EunB, has died after the band were in a traffic collision.

The band was formed last year and released two albums. They were travelling between gigs when the accident happened; two other members were seriously injured.



Go Eun-bi, a graduate of South Korea's Hanlim Multi Art School, was 22.

See ya, CeeLo

The only disappointing thing about TBS cancelling CeeLo Green's TV show is that they decided to do it because they realised nobody wants to watch CeeLo Green doing a TV show, rather than because of his apparent belief that simply not being awake is a way to consent to sex:

According to screen shots of his Twitter page, Green reportedly wrote, "People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" He added, " "If someone is passed out they're not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent."

Another tweet noted: "Let me 1st praise god for exoneration fairness & freedom! Secondly I sincerely apologize for my comments being taken so far out of context."

Yeah. I'm not sure there's any context you could put those comments in which would make them suddenly sound ok. Unless you lived in some sort of society which regularly turned a blind eye to rape.

Yeah, I know. I know.

To be fair, CeeLo did suddenly try again to apologise:

I truly and deeply apologize for the comments attributed to me on Twitter. Those comments were idiotic, untrue and not what I believe.

Although the earlier CeeLo was reportedly furious with this later CeeLo, claiming that later CeeLo's suggestion his comments were idiotic and wrong was taking them out of context. "Later CeeLo just doesn't understand" complained earlier CeeLo. "Why is he treating me so unfairly? Why is he impinging on my freedom to suggest that if someone falls asleep on your sofa they're saying it's okay to rape me? What's wrong with later me? Did I take a panicky call from someone in my management team or something?"

CeeLo, genuinely, is currently working on an album called Girl Power.

Gary Barlow would quite like to apologise

It's now three months since Gary Barlow and some of his chums were found to be "avoiding" tax by putting their money into a made-up scheme to allow rich people to shirk their responsibilities.

Gary has finally got around to sort-of-muttering an apology.

After three months. It's true, there are some operations you'd wait longer for on the NHS, but that's partly because rich people like Gary Barlow put their cash into dubious schemes to avoid paying their share of taxes.

Still, three months in the making, so let's hear it, Gary:

Three months. Two tweets. He's been writing his apology at 35 characters a week.

Three months. And what do we get?

I want to apologise to anyone who was offended by the tax stories earlier this year

There's no need, Gary. Genuninely no need to apologise, as nobody was offended by "the tax stories". In fact, we were grateful for the tax stories.

It's your tax affairs you ought to be apologising for, chuckles. The idea of very, very wealthy men investing in a company designed to lose money just so they could keep a few extra pennies out of paying for the police, and roads, and schools - that's what was offensive.

Not that you were found out and some people wrote about it.

And what does "working to settle things with all parties ASAP" even mean? Maybe you're going to write a cheque to the Exchequer - although I suspect if you were, you'd be a bit more explicit about that - but that doesn't "settle things", because it doesn't undo the fact that, when the nation was passing the hat round to pay for things we all share, your first thought was to try and avoid chipping in.

And you can't even bring yourself to say 'sorry' properly.

Leave your OBE on the hall table and sod off back to your mansion, Barlow.

James Blunt does a nice thing

It's not often there's a James Blunt story which everyone can read an enjoy. But here's one.

James Blunt played a festival which gives some of its takings to a local homeless charity, and as a result that charity got twice the size of the donation as the year before.

The charity is Two Saints, who help hundreds of people in the South of England.

Rockobit: Jimi Jamison

Jimi Jamison, singer with both Survivor and Cobra, has died.

He wasn't with the band for Survivor's greatest hit - he joined just after Eye Of The Tiger, when original singer David Bickler for polyps on his vocal chords. He was singing for the diminishing-returns Rocky IV hook-up Burning Heart.

When Bickler recovered, the original members of Survivor reunited with him, although that didn't stop Jamison from also touring as Survivor. Naturally, a lot of money was wasted on legal squabbles as a result; eventually both sets of Survivor came back together and the band toured with two lead singers.

Jamison also found time for a solid solo career - including writing and performing one of the many Baywatch theme tunes.

His family have issued a statement:

"Jimi was a friend to everyone he met. He was a loving father and grandfather and was always a person who valued people more than anything else."

Jimi Jamison was 63, and died September 1st in Raleigh. The cause of death hasn't yet been determined.

Atlantic 25-2

Twenty five years ago today, Atlantic 252 - the station based in Ireland which attempted to take on Radio One by broadcasts aimed solidly at the UK - went on air for the first time. Radio Today have got the documentary about the station which went out on the day it closed.

Long Wave music radio. It's a miracle that never caught on...

Miley Cyrus' historic struggle struggles with history

Miley Cyrus almost has a point here:

Speaking on Australian TV show Sunday Night, the Wrecking Ball singer said: "Elvis, he wasn't wearing the outfits I was wearing, but he was coming out and he was doing like the OG twerking... Like, no one wants to admit that he was twerking, he was.

"He was like sex. He was a symbol of sex but no one would have ever called Elvis a shit because he wasn't a girl.

Cyrus continued to say that she believes she is helping to empower women in the music industry. She said: "It's that double standard and I think I'm doing something for the double standard."

Well, up to a point. For his time, Presley's gyrations were quite extreme, although I'm not sure 'rubbing your arse in the crotch of a man singing a song about how it's difficult to know when you're actually raping someone' is quite what you'd get if you multiplied Presley's pelvis by the social change of the last sixty years.

Leaving that aside, the very fact that Presley gave an interview to the Charlotte Observer in 1956 addressing how people, erm, attacked him for dancing all sexy on stage disproves Miley's claim:

“When I sang hymns back home with Mom and Pop I stood still and look like you feel when you sing a hymn,” Elvis told the Charlotte Observer in June 1956. “When I sing this rock and roll, my eyes won’t stay open and my legs won’t stand still. I don’t care what they say, it ain’t nasty."

But, oh boy, they called him nasty:

Another Christian condemnation of Elvis appeared in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel on April 13, 1957. In it a Rhode Island Roman Catholic bishop deplored “youth’s lionization of a ‘pelvic contortionist.’” Without mentioning Elvis’s name, Bishop Russell McVinney of Providence denounced rock ’n’ roll as “a musical fad which is leading its young devotees back to the jungle and animalism.” Referring to the unnamed ‘pelvic contortionist,’ Bishop McVinney stated that, “his stage antics are intended to arouse the lower instincts. Apparently he is succeeding.”

But why would Miley need to try and reach back to the dawn of rock and roll to uncover a double standard? She could, obviously, just point at how Robin Thicke got away with Blurred Lines. Although having shared a stage with him, that might be a more difficult front to open.

Miley Cyrus suggests self-googling worse than bong-hitting

'Miley Cyrus says Facebook, Google, Instagram worse than drugs' shocker, right?

Well, not quite:

In an interview with Australian news magazine program Sunday Night ahead of a tour down under, Cyrus was asked whether her use of marijuana has deleterious effects on her health. Her response was to dismiss the notion and instead offer the following pearls of wisdom:

“You know what hurts your brain? Googling yourself. You know what hurts your brain? Instagram. You know what hurts your brain? Reading comments on Facebook. You know what hurts your brain? Reading US Weekly."

To be fair, since 1994 US Weekly has carried a surgeon general's health warning on the front page.

But if Cyrus really believes that Instagram is bad for you, should she really have an account with seven million followers? Isn't she effectively destroying brains by the dozen?

NB: This question is rhetorical.

UPDATE: Jesus, I can't tell the difference between Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry any more, even when it's just their name written down. Thanks, Frank.

This week just gone

Most-read August stories:

1. Beyonce crosses the Madonna horizon
2. Morrissey and label come apart
3. ... and the label pulls the Morrissey album
4. Drummer in Pink tribute act sues "Pink" for ten million dollars
5. Canadian radio station decides three minutes is too long for a pop song
6. Remember that time Kate Thornton kicked up a shitstorm for Pulp?
7. Kate Bush: first night reviews
8. David Thomas Broughton film seeks funding
9. That guy who wants to buy all the vinyl
10. RIP: Michael Johns

These new releases. Surely one of them must excite you?


The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers

Download Brill Bruisers



Ty Segall - Manipulator

Download Manipulator



Robyn Hitchcock - The Man Upstairs

Download The Man Upstairs



J Mascis - Tied To A Star

Download Tied To A Star



The Wytches - Annabel Dream Reader

Download Annabel Dream Reader



Tina Dico - Whispers

Blink and you'd miss it

A press release arrives, breathless with excitement - guys, they've got the band back together:

Irish indie legends “Blink” have announced a comeback show in The Button Factory on October 25th to celebrate the 20th anniversay of “A map of the universe” and a career spanning greatest hits compilation “catch that moment” out on October 24th.

Yay! Blink! Blink are back together...

Hold on. Who?

Genuinely, I spent a couple of minutes staring into space, trying to recall Blink. Blink?

Best remembered for hits like “Cello”, “Going to Nepal”, “It’s not my fault”...

I'm sure it's more me than them, but this isn't sounding familiar at all. And a quick check at the official charts website suggests that the band managed one entry, at 57, with a song that they're not best remembered for. Happy Day.

And that brings it back - the slightly irritating sub Frank And Walters act who did this:

Just me and you and you and me,
In a little mad hat
Down by the sea.

It barely counts as a ditty.

And from that comes memories of shouting at The Chart Show "why are you playing this again from the indie chart?", and what I presume was the follow-up single (orangey-browny sleeve?) cluttering up the mark-down dump bins of every record shop in Liverpool for an age and a half.

So, one grating number 57 hit in the UK, and a landfill problem for the sale-or-return department at Parlophone to solve. Somehow I doubt that's going to make it into the press release:

Blink had a string of top 10 singles, 3 hit albums one of which was Billboard Album of the Month in the US, Meteor award nominations

A "string of top ten singles" probably refers to Ireland, although the band's brief Wikipedia page offers a different view:

Blink's first singles 'Going To Nepal' and 'Happy Day' reached the top 20 in Ireland. Their third release 'It's Not My Fault' debuted at No 8.

And worth noting that the third 'hit' album waited two years for a release in Ireland.

But there must be more to them than this?

...and in between the even found time to be the first ever band to appear on the old Eircom Phonecards

They were on a phonecard. That must have been a fun conversation in the office:

- We really need to stress that this isn't just a small band who were marginally important and of their time. We've got to make it clear that they're timeless. What can we find that will resonate with a modern audience?
- Let's mention those phonecards. That'll make the teenagers interested.

But it wasn't just phonecards. Oh, no.

... as well as a much publicized spat with some guys who wanted to be in Blink too. They changed their name to Blink 182.

Yeah. I know this might seem like Blink won, but... which band is easier to Google? Which wound up with a stronger branding?

Still, nice to be reminded of a band I'd totally forgotten ever existed. And, astonishingly, reminding myself who they were, an even more obscure name fell out the internet, from an interview with the band in 1994:

it was a college tour and the NUS organised the dates with ourselves and Orange...

Orange! Surely they must be about to reappear for a 20th anniversary shindig any moment now, right?

Really, Perez Hilton? Really?

I know Perez is well past his prime these days, but apparently this is what passes for insight these days:

Nicki Minaj Isn't The Only One! These Pop Stars Sampled Classic Hits In Their Songs Too!

What's that? Pop stars have sampled classic hits before Nicki Minaj did? Really? I'm shocked.

But she's the first one to use a drumbeat on her song, right? Tell me at least that's a new thing, Perez.