Editor’s Blog: 16 February 2010

On Sunday night I asked JJ, “I know that music from the BBC Winter Olympics coverage ads, but cannot for the life of me remember who it is.” JJ couldn’t remember either (and he usually remembers everything rock). Then the following news arrived on my desktop and I was delighted:

“Elliot Minor - Solaris - download only Feb 21st.February 21st sees the iTunes exclusive release of Elliot Minor’s single ‘Solaris’. This new version of the track came about after enquiries about its use in music bed links for the BBC’s broadcast of the Winter Olympics. Singer/songwriter Alex Davies came up with more instrumental versions of the album over the Christmas period and the result reveals a fresh Elliot Minor sound. For a preview of its use on BBC2’s Winter Olympics coverage go to www.youtube.com/hungryforyou100. The iTunes digital release is timed around this exposure and the band will be back on the road in April playing shows across the UK.”

We loved the new album which featured strongly in our best-of-year list, but it seemed that no other hack/broadcaster  had heard it and so it remained largely unplayed/unreported. It’s a great album and if created by one of the ‘biggies’ would have been hailed as the best thing since sliced bread, all over the place. It should at last give the album the important push it needs and recognition for a young Brit band that is totally deserved. Well done lads.

It reminded me of another album released back in ‘99 that received little attention but I raved about, and because of it travelled the 200 miles to a tiny hotal in London to interview the artist responsible. His name was Moby, the album was called PLAY which it didn’t get from the BBC or anybody else. I just couldn’t figure it out. 6 months later the advertising industry picked up on it and used several tracks on TV ads. The BBC relented and it went on almost a year later to become the UK’s biggest selling album. We also picked up in Damien Rice (O), David Gray (WHITE LADDER) and several others when the rest of the media was nowhere to be seen, but (very)slowly and eventually smelt the coffee…

‘Tears For Fears’

The broadcast media has much to answer for, including giving free and substantial publicity to the political elite, and their mates. Spinmeister Campbell and PM Gordie Brown are in fear of their political futures, credibility and possible prosecution. So ITV and the BBC give them both a public platform to cry and generate public sympathy. The timing of both appearances was acutely planned and executed, and I just hope that the ‘great British’ electorate is not taken in by it. I wasn’t…

‘The Car In Front…’

I feel sorry for Toyota. After producing the most reliable motor transport known to man (I had a 1991 MR2 which after 265,000 kilometres still felt and worked like new) the Yanks made sure that the world knew about an accelerator problem and potential massive recall. Toyota responded quickly after establishing the fault (with a component made in the UK and Germany) and a remedy. The headlines were full of it and poor old Toyota were made to seem like villains and frauds. I then found out that last year there were no less than 123 motor vehicle recalls including a serious one from Renault for their Clio model. Did we hear about them…? No, and probaby because the manufacturers involved are minor players in the USA market, whereas Toyota is the largest. I was, however, reminded about camera supplier Canon… Over two years ago the company released an expensive pro camera body called the 1D MK III. A ‘white paper’ was released prior to its availability providing details of how good the camera was. When eventually released buyers (including many professional news agencies) discovered problems with the auto focus performance. I tried two examples and eventually returned them. A USA pro photogrpaher called Rob Galbraith tested several examples and reported the results on his website. They were not good. It took Canon just short of a year to acknowledge the problem with their £3,000 camera and another six months to finally provide a fix (after several false starts). Many Canon loyalists went over to Nikon in frustration and the company lost significant professional market share, which nearly three years later has not returned. Toyota will survive and prosper because it acted quickly and effectively. Canon will continue to struggle, and rightly so.

Early this morning I was walking my dog when I spotted a piece of paper on the pavement. It was lined note paper with red hearts clearly visible and soaking wet after the rain. As a curious hack, I picked it up, took it home and dried it on the radiator. It turned out to be a three-page letter from a young man to a young lady, and as I read it I realised that the young man was currently a guest of HMP (Her Majesty’s Prisons). As I read it I imagined the desolate loneliness of incarceration and how one could so easily ‘fall in love’ with a female friend who had taken the trouble to visit and, apparently, often write letters, perhaps in sympathy. I hoped it would all work out for them both, but also wondered whether such an intimate and moving letter had been tossed aside or accidentally dropped…