Music Blogs

Famethrowa returned from a fairly idyllic spot of holidaying on the South coast this weekend to the anticipated avalanche of post seemingly breeding behind my front door. Amongst the jiffys dispatched by the UK music industry was not, however, the new Verve album, which is due out at the end of this month. Instead, I received news of what was expected of me before I could get a listen to "Forth" in an email from the band's record company. In these days of label internet piracy terror and as music business execs oversee what is fast resembling the last days of Rome, it still comes as a surprise to be confronted by a ‘Confidentiality Agreement'.

This official legal document is three pages long and includes the following clause: "IT IS HEREBY AGREED 1. Each party shall treat all information supplied by the other pursuant to or in connection with the Project as being confidential whether such information is supplied in written, oral or other tangible or intangible forms which may include but is not limited to, discoveries, ideas, concepts, know-how, techniques, designs, specifications, drawings, blueprints, disks, diskettes, diagrams, tapes, marketing plans, customer details and other financial, technical or business information (individually and collectively "Information") provided that neither party shall be obliged to treat as confidential any Information which it can show is or was..."

Quite frankly, upon reaching this point, most accountants, let alone barely functioning music journalists wondering where their next rock high jinks are coming from, would surely be near suicidal. Having now gazed at the stupefying contract a number of times, I'm still cross-eyed as to what it means. Or why such military laws are necessary. There is mention of the ‘High Court of Justice in England' in there somewhere, which makes me wonder if arrest will quickly follow this blog. Perhaps The Verve are fearful of a pre-release backlash, in the vein of the review in today's OMM, which describes Richard Ashcroft and co's first album in a decade as "a very long slog indeed". Well, it seems I may never hear it. The contract has to be returned by fax and I don't have a fax machine.

Today's Famethrowa's

New: Fujiya & Miyagi "Knickerbocker"
Old: Tom Waits "Martha"