Third world views on London by Cardinal

I'm disgusted and fuming over Cardinal Walter Kasper's comments on Britain - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2010/sep/15/cardinal-kasper-vatican-true-beliefs. We are a diverse society, live in an open minded and tolerant nation. London is the lifeblood for freedom, equality and sets the foundation for another nations and capital cities to follow suit.

Cardinal Kasper is stuck in a dark spiral, he needs to recognise equality in Britain and pop his right wing bubble which is full of total ignorance. It does not help the cause in promoting equality and pushing The Catholic Church in a positive light especially as most congregations especially in Britain represent a diverse and multicultural market. Fortunately the Cardinal will not be coming over for the Papal State Visit to spread his diseased theory on modern society. I think that's an excuse for him to not face the flack over his jibe. If you don't like the UK - simple don't come over here.

Mercury Prize: 2010

This years Mercury Prize was unveiled by Jools Holland at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House hotel to a packed audience of music industry executives. Sponsored by Barclays, (previously Nationwide), the prize has honoured the best album of the year by a British or Irish band since 1992.

The 12 acts nominated this year:

Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions

Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea

Dizzee Rascal – Tongue n' Cheek

Foals – Total Life Forever

I Am Kloot – Sky at Night

Kit Downes Trio – Golden

Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

Paul Weller – Wake Up the Nation

Villagers – Becoming a Jackal

Wild Beasts – Two Dancers

The xx – xx

Previous winners have included Elbow, Roni Size and Ms Dynamite. Paul Weller, Dizzee Rascal and Laura Marling were also in the running nominated for the second time respectively. It was The XX who scooped the prize wining £20,000. Their debut album XX received critical acclaim as 'the best album of the year' from Rolling Stone and NME. It bridges the gap between electro, punk and indie but very electronic based. Many critics have questioned whether The XX will increase their fans base and album sales or might end up being a poisoned challis similar to last year’s winner Speech Debelle who failed to receive chart success due to lack of distribution or recognition for her album Speech Therapy.

Listen again to my thoughts on The XX winning and who might scoop next year’s prize on Good Morning Wales on BBC Radio Wales.
       

    
  
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The first lady of Radio 1

Four decades on and Annie Nightingale is still rocking and rolling on the nation’s favourite radio station. Her reign as the first lady of Radio 1 influenced the influx of female DJs from Janice Long, Zoe Ball to Sara Cox. Annie’s tenure kicked off in 1970 with a Sunday Evening Show progressing to a request show in the 80’s and late night chill out show in the mid to late 90’s. She was the first DJ to play in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq war cease fire.

Annie has been at the forefront of championing independent and cutting edge music bringing unknown bands and DJs to the mainstream. Underworld, Beth Orton, Primal Scream, The Chemical Brothers and Pendulum are just a few of the artists Annie has championed along with discovering new music/cultural trends. She continues to be on top of her game as the ‘queen of breaks and beats’ with a weekly show aired on Thursday/Friday mornings from 2 till 4am championing the best in breaks, grime, dnb and electronic beats. Tune into BBC Radio 1 tomorrow night (September 8^th) from 7pm for a special night of programmes to celebrate her reign as the first lady. – www.bbc.co.uk/radio1

David Walliams Stag Do

Little Britain star David Walliams had his stag do (dinner and after party) at Nobu and The Met Bar last night. I played a retro set mainly 80's records from Depeche Mode, Bronski Beat to Grace Jones http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1278330/Natalie-Imbruglia-plays-gatecrasher-David-Walliams-rounds-cast-celebrity-male-friends-stag-do.html

New York - Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2010

I covered the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction which took place at the prestigious Waldorf Hotel for Up All Night on BBC Radio 5 Live. Met Wyclef Jean,  Phil Collins - we had a brief chat about football and Genesis being inducted and the reggae don dada Jimmy Cliff. Just in case you missed it here's a chance to listen to the live link broadcast on 5Live -  http://soundcloud.com/wfa2009/bbc-radio-5-live-up-all-night-nyc-link-from-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyes (Jakwob Remix)

BBC Sound of 2010 winner Ellie Goulding has had an impressive remix done on her current release 'Starry Eyes'. The dubstep mix by Jakwob takes Ellie into a different arena and enriches her crisp vocals under an array of squelching baselines, murked especially for the dancefloor. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmvI98s2jno

Gorillaz

After a lengthy five year wait, Gorillaz are back with their third album Plastic Beach. It's the follow up to Demon Days and features heavyweight collaborations from Bashy, Snoop Dogg to Lou Reed. Mos Def and legend, Bobby Womack guest on Stylo (if you haven't heard of Bobby Womack, google search and check his back catalogue - you will be blown away and overly impressed). Plastic Beach is out now. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs

Q and A with Polly Scattergood

When you think of Essex, two for ones, beer guts, Southend and Jodie Harsh. Need I say anymore but Colchester born and bred Polly has redefined the classic stereotype, taken the prada out of pop and spiced it up with great authenticity. Influenced by Joni Mitchell, Portishead, Gregory Crewdson, Bonnie, Prince Billy, David Lynch, Tim Burton to Mylo along with Blip's and whirrs, textures, words, Electronic and Raw Acoustic moments, Polly is one of the best things to come out of 2009.

Her unusual quirkiness will zap Lily Allen or Katie Perry back into training for Kindergarten Cop. Her imminent arrival has replenished the singer/songwriter world giving fresh hope to rising stars proclaiming the desire to succeed without hanging out in fancy bars to shag z list footballers and make bubblegum hits "I think my record is so far away from that scene (is there a bubblegum pop scene!?) it couldn't save it, even if it wanted to!

Polly has allowed the unusual and unbalanced to be explored and respected. Not afraid to be expressive and far from a trendsetter this 21 year wants to express her thoughts without the glear of press intrusion or being stamped on celeb infested mags. "I have no interest in fame or celebrity culture, the thing I live for is writing, I just hope enough people buy the record to warrant me making another one,one day!

Beyond the music Polly believes Girlpower has become a coined tag which made its point to heal conceited wounds, "Girl Power is one of those words I things I heard people saying lots in the 90's and never really knew what it represented, as the context it was used in was often quite blurred,I am not a feminist, I don't believe women are better than men,I believe we are all equal in this world and as powerful or as weak as we choose to be in that moment."

Her debut album should not to be placed or compared - its a true dressing of excellence which is set to go a long away. "I don't know what my songs are based on,some are based on experience,some are based on watching other peoples experience,some are based on fantasy,but all of them are real,some more than others. Every song I write means some thing to me, I don't think I could write a song if it didn't have a piece of me in it. But as for godly view, I don't have any of that, although I heard you can get it by drinking copious amounts of vodka red bull and put on some reading glasses backwards.

What do we expect to get when we enter Polly's World? "Just come with open eyes and broken happy hearts, No one has to do anything, there are no rules in "polly world". As for chill time Polly likes to rummage through a box of smarties, mainly the red ones to recharge the bars for more creative genius.

Hyph Mngo

This has to be one of the finest records I have heard in a while. 'Hyph Mngo' is a funky fusion of Dubstep, Garage, Breaks, Jungle and House. Produced by Joy Orbison, it takes dubstep onto another level. Joy was recently tipped as 'one to watch' by BBC Sound of 2010. A rising star who has certainly revolutionised the dubstep landscape . Expect to hear more gems from this unique dub/funkstep king.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsJVW5apRmY

BBC 6 Music and Asian Network

It's a sad time for UK radio if rumours are to be believed with the axing of BBC 6Music and Asian Network. The two networks are vital to the BBC in targeting minority and alternative audiences. It would also threaten the future of digital radio. Ok so commercial radio has to survive on market share and ad revenues in order to entice investors but surely that could be combined with a strategy to incorporate specialist music trends and support independent labels similar to the BBC model used heavily by Radio 1 and 1Xtra to champion new music. If you flick the dial you are bound to hear JLS, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole or something relative on your local commercial radio station - a repetitive formula that is used on American Radio.

The Asian Network brought numerous acts to the mainstream including M.I.A and Jay Sean, who got signed by US rapper Lil Wayne and scooped a number one hit in the states. 6Music is the hub for alternative and cutting edge new music and no one can replicate that. Polly Scattergood, Florence and The Machine, The Bamboos and other UK artists all received early support with daytime spins. I'm sure you would not have heard these artists on XFM, Capital and Kiss etc. If it disappears then that would cut the connection for new music to shine and branch off to other networks. Commercial radio execs complain that the beeb has too much resources, stop moaning and support new music.

Weedy Dave

One of the best singer/songwriters on the block. Weedy Dave has been compared to the likes of Mark Ronson and Ian Brown. Currently touring across London, playing at Camden Rock and The Cobden Club. This is Weedy Dave on BBC Three Counties, BBC Introducing show broadcast on Friday evening, fast forward to 27 minutes on the BBC iPlayer link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p006jk47/BBC_Introducing..._In_Beds_Herts_and_Bucks_26_02_2010/ .

London Bus Drivers

Travelling across London can be tedious at times, but when you expect your bus to turn up and its been rerouted, it can be a pain in the ass, especially late at night. This is what happened to me back in January. I was hoping to jump on a 189 from Oxford Circus. After a 15 minute hike up to Portman Square I finally arrived at the rerouted starting point. To my disgust the bus driver refused to pick up any passengers on and drove off. I was not impressed and capture this on film (check the attached link). I complained to TFL, was ignored three times then forwarded the matter to the transport regulator who then forwarded my original correspondence on to TFL who finally replied.

Hello!

At last, it has taken me literally ten zillions years to create this blog and its here. This blog will cover everything related to Music, Arts, Comedy along with Entertainment stories including my DJ dates and monthly chart update.