“It seems to me that history keeps repeating itself,” Hardo notes in a press release we were sent yesterday afternoon. “Every time I read a newspaper or watch the news it all sounds too familiar.” You can read more about ’19′ on Paul Hardcastle’s website.

The new mix thing is out on April 19 (do you see what they did there etc) and there is a spooky ambient ‘trailer’ on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohjXTFTT8c8

We hope the proper full-on version is a bit more ‘full throttle’ in the tempo stakes: in common with ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ the good thing about the original ’19′ was its belief that seriousface lyrics needn’t necessarily get in the way of dancefloor action. That’s the problem with the Helping Haiti single. Well, that and ‘the presence of James Blunt’.

Funnily enough we were watching TV recently and, like Paul, found
ourselves moved to record a song. Thus we can exclusively reveal
details of our new single ‘Don’t Go Out On The Lake Joe (Drowning Is
Too Good For You, The Worst Soap Character Of The Last 1000 Years)’, a
moving YET DANCEABLE tribute to (THAT’S ENOUGH OF THAT THANKS – ED)

In other Paul Hardcastle news, this is still amazing.

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

Thought For The Day
“If it wasn’t for the Vietnam War, ‘Spiceworld The Movie’ might never have existed.”

» A Digital Spy article claims Ke$ha “sold clothes for food” although on closer inspection it seems she simply worked in a clothes shop/ (Digital Spy)

» Simon Cowell‘s Haiti charity record is Number One, selling 453,000 copies in its first week. (BBC News) We wonder how much could be raised if every single person involved in that song spent half a day not recording a song but, instead, filming an ad or performing an exclusive gig for a corporate sponsor? For example how much do you think JLS got paid for that Nokia gig they did over the weekend? What about Cheryl Cole’s L’Oreal commercial? What we’re proposing here readers is a ‘new model’ for popstar charity singles in which no song is actually recorded but the stars in question each give up half a day to the highest bidder, with cash going straight to the charity. T-Mobile pay £40,000 for Robbie Williams to do some print ads, James Blunt raises £10K by doing a Poundland endorsement. All across the music industry people are looking at alternative revenue streams – why shouldn’t charity singles do the same?

» British radio is shit. (The Register)

» Alex Gardner has shot a video for his new single. Shooting videos for singles – whatever next? (MySpace and XO’s Middle Eight)

» Florence from Florence & The Machine says that she likes having a tour manager so that she doesn’t need to really worry about what she needs to do, where she needs to be or when she needs to be there. This is early warning that in precisely 18 months from now Florence will be utterly incapable of even wiping her own arse without permission from some bloke with a clipboard. (Digital Spy)

» The subtle ‘heart effect’ on these pictures of JLS and The Saturdays suggests that someone in The Sun’s art department is undergoing some sort of minor mental breakdown. (The Sun)

» Toni Braxton has been a-warblin’ her new tune on US TV. (MuuMuse)

» The Sun has some old videos of Marvin from JLS. It’s
interesting that the whole ‘half haircut’ phase seems to have been
erased from Marvin’s history, but it is important that we all remember.
(The Sun) WE WILL NOT FORGET.

And that’s your lot. Except to say…

» FISH NEWS. Seafood Holdings is on for bumper results this year. Founder Toby Baxendale says “we have continued to grow during the recession”. Fish: it’s recession proof. (FishUpdate)

This track was on ‘Smooth Radio’ last night.

It was the first time we’d heard it in some time – well over a year – and it struck us, as we washed up some cutlery, what an incredible and pwoerful song this is. It contains all the best bits of a great pop song: wistfulness, nostalgia and references to dancing, music making the people come together and happier times, all with a very slight sense of emo clinginess and possible ‘you really have to stop phoning me now’ tendencies.

Do you remember when it came out and we were like ‘it would be amazing if there was a dance remix of this’, and then there was a dance remix, and it was shit? They were bleak days, viewers. Bleak days.

» Duffyis going to get some free clothes from Dolce & Gabanna. This mustall be very exciting for her because they didn’t have clothes in Waleswhen she was growing up. Didn’t you know? There was no pop music inWales, and everything was in black and white. And it was just fields.Fields as far as the eye could see. The invention of fire was still some years off. (The Mirror) 

» Amy isn’t doing the James Bond theme after all. (Yahoo) 

It’s not in the shops yet but it is already one of the ten most popular songs in the country.

For that reason Sam Sparro gets a big one of these.

[audio:bell.mp3]

Elsewhere…

James Blunt – ‘Carry You Home’
[audio:bell.mp3]

Usher feat Young Jeezy – ‘Love In This Club’ (download only)
[audio:foghorn.mp3]

Britney Spears – ‘Break The Ice’ (download only)
[audio:foghorn.mp3]

Snoop Dogg – Sensual Seduction
[audio:foghorn.mp3]

This is an incredibly boring week for singles. The albums chart is looking more interesting, with the Raconteurs album debuting at Number 27. This is part of their amazing ‘n’ innovative new plan to release albums without letting anybody hear it and go ‘Christ alive this is terrible’ doing any advance marketing. It’s a low new entry for such a big album, but it will be interesting to see how this one plays out over the whole life of the album.

CORRECTION: It will not be at all interesting to see how the Raconteurs album campaign plays out because in spite of people running around banging on about ‘the new model’ and ‘bucking the trend’ and ‘taking back the power from the evil media’ the result will exist in a vacuum and will therefore mean absolutely nothing.

» Madonna‘s going to make her album available early to Vodafone users. (‘On Your Mobile Now, Madonna’s latest album’ – The Times)

»
The lady from Transvision Vamp‘s comeback attempts continue, and continue to be slightly bad. (‘Racine at Escobar, Wakefield’ – The Times)

»
You might be able to listen to everything on iTunes for free if some people say yes to an idea put to them by some other people. (‘Apple mulls unlimited music bundle’ – Financial Times)

»
A piece on American Idol‘s Beatles covers does little to boost the overall hilarity level of American music journalism. (”American Idol’ goes to Beatles for today’s standard’ – NY Daily News)

»
Dan from The Feeling is starting to repeat himself – he’s told The Sun exactly what he told us about his thoughts regarding closeted pop musicians. Shame on you Dan for using the same words in two different interviews. (‘I’m Feeling it’s okay to be gay’ – The Sun)

» James Blunt is pop’s answer to Jeremy Beadle. (But not dead.) (‘Blunt bites back’ – The Independent)

Blimey.

That’s right viewers, Tesco are encouraging us all to have a girls’ night in.

As you can see from this attractive pink (pink = birds, remember) display, there’s a bit of Rod Stewart, some Westlife, a bit of James Blunt, some KT Tunstall…

This is going to be the greatest girls’ night in ever! Let’s make a night of it and get the Ally McBeal box set as well!!!

OH NO! Who invited grumpy-pants?
 

Oh dear, Annie ‘Not Dropped By Her Label’ Lennox is at the door.

“Hi girls, having fun?”

“Hi Annie. Yes thank you.”

“Well I just wanted to tell you about my important ‘n’ serious album ‘Songs Of Mass Destruction’. Songs can be so powerful and in a way they are very like bombs in that respect you see.”

“Annie I don’t think you should come in.”

“Give me five pounds or a child will die of AIDS.”

*Door slams*

So there you go.