Ripping CDs soon to be legal!

Ripping CDs and DVDs for personal use is to be legalised in the UK as part of new government legislation to update copyright law for the digital age. From June 1, those living in the UK will be free to copy music, movies and e-books purchased from one device, for use on another.

However, it will remain illegal to copy content you do not legally own, or make copies for family or friends.
"The changes make small but important reforms to UK copyright law and aim to end the current situation where minor and reasonable acts of copying which benefit consumers, society and the economy are unlawful," said the UK Intellectual Property Office in a statement.

"They also remove a range of unnecessary rules and regulations from the statute book in line with the government's aim to reduce regulation."

Consumer Focus, the government-backed watchdog, called for the law to be changed in 2010, after, surveying 2,000 adults and finding that 17 per cent did not realise that copying CDs onto their computer or iPad was illegal. According to Ofcom, at the time 41 per cent of the adult population - equating to 18 million people - own an MP3 digital music player, such as an iPod.

Jill Johnstone, International Director, Consumer Focus said at the time, "The credibility of UK copyright law has fallen through the floor. Millions of consumers are regularly copying CDs or DVDs and are unaware they are breaching copyright law.

"The world has moved on and reform of copyright law is inevitable, but it's not going to update itself. If the Government wants consumers to respect copyright law they have to stop sitting on their hands and bring the law in line with the real world."

Hope and Pray Cellino Gets The Green Light..

On the eve of the decision that will colour the future of Leeds one way or another, I have come to the conclusion that almost without reservation, I want Massimo Cellino in charge of Leeds.

That’s an about turn I know from someone who was very anti Cellino from that Mad Friday at the end of January until really quite recently. Until this point I haven’t even uttered his name, referring to him only as the Criminal.

Like most fans, I’ve been  watching and listening to Cellino since that day. Not that there have been huge opportunities to do so, despite his perceived persona he hasn't been all over the press but based on what we do know  I say, it’s time to draw a line under things and judge the man on his actions since that outrageous day.

What we have seen is a man with passion. A man who has developed a real love for this club. One willing to put his own money into the club with no guarantee of ever seeing it again (knowing how the club were / are heading to oblivion), a man who has (on a limited basis) engaged with fans. A man who it seems recognises what a shyster David Haigh is, what “scumbags” GFH are, and isn't afraid to say so.

OK we haven’t been short of rent a gob chairmen or owners in the past, nor short of crooks feeding off our dying corpse, but doesn't this one feel different? Didn't you feel that if you ever shook hands with Bates that you might not necessarily get all five fingers back? With Massimo you probably will but those fingers will be covered in hair gel… Yes Massimo has been convicted (and it seems has a few more potential court dates in his diary) but genuinely does that really matter to us? The only difference between him and ‘certain other people’ around our club is that he got caught.

There is no dying corpse here, its dead and most of the meat has been scavenged by GFH. The only bit of meat left is Ross McCormack and Cellino alleges Ross was going after GFH pushed, but he stopped the transfer.. after all as he said, “you don’t sell the fridge to buy the beer! Whilst we might be disappointed in the news that he wanted away a) who could have blamed him on that Mad Friday and b) who could complain about the effort he has put in since, never mind the goals.

El Diablo..

Cellino can now only make any money from Leeds United (and lets be brutally honest here, everyone buys a club to make money) by pumping money into the club, buying the ground – finally - clearing out deadwood. In his WhiteLeedsRadio chat, he is clear on some of the ridiculous wages being paid to players in the worst team he has ever seen. The wage bill at £18m is clearly too high for a club where we are, though I am cautious at Cellinos stated desire to reduce that to £10m. Whether that gives us enough to really go forward is arguable. It certainly would provide one of the lowest ratios of wages to turnover currently in our league. Whether that turnover might reduce short term seems locked in his comments repeated several times that fans are paying too much at Leeds, those wonderful fans pay too much and we ask them in April to pay for next year when so much is not known” This explains the failure of renewal letters going out and is a bold move, once that was at odds with GFH. Its this that prompted the payments by Cellino, to cover this shortfall.

At the risk of repeating oft quoted word, there is huge potential at Elland Road, turn over can very rapidly increase and presumably the ratio to wages within reason. You see as Leeds fans we are often misunderstood and misrepresented, we do not crave success, we crave effort and hard work. We want our players to give there all, and then that bit more. The evidence was there for all to see with hero’s welcome to Elland Road last week of Vinnie Jones. Never the greatest player to wear the shirt, not even in the top  100 probably, but a player who gave heart and soul for the club every time he crossed that line, he lived and breathed blood, he engaged with the fans and immersed himself in us. That should have been his message to players in the dressing room – give everything, and you too can be loved. Yes even you Rudy Austin.

So with the club being devoid of options, and much as I would like to see myself proved wrong I do not believe Farnan and co are any credible answer. Hoping to get the club at a knockdown price – don’t get me wrong I would love to see GFH on the wrong end of a fire sale. They might muster sufficient funds to get the club…but the ground…the players we need.. is there fire in their belly…are they too nice? Are they in bed with David Haigh, god forbid even cuddly Ken. … Heart in right places but deep enough pockets?

But thanks to GFH gross incompetence in handling this takeover, to my mind it verges on bringing football and Leeds United into disrepute, Farnan remains no option. Denying a place at the table when their own dossier highlighted the chances of Cellino failing…is rank stupidity of the highest order. Should the decision go against Massimo tomorrow then where do we go….and who will turn the lights off..

So for all this, still slightly guarded but I hope and pray that Cellino gets the green light…only then can we have some confidence that our club remains, only then can we begin to move forward.

More Acts Added: Bingley Music Live

Jess Glynne, The Selector and The Strypes are amongst seven more acts to join the Bingley Music Live lineup!

Jess Glynne, ska legends The Selecter and The Strypes are among the latest seven acts to be added to the bill for Bingley Music Live.

These additional acts join the tremendous lineup for this year's festival, rapidly gaining the reputation as “The North’s last party of summer, which already boasts The Pet Shop Boys, Example and Shed Seven. An incredible festival at £49 for a three day weekend.

Jess Glynne has already sung on two of the highest selling number one singles of the year and is the first addition - Clean Bandit's dance hit 'Rather Be' and Route 94's 'My Love'. When the latter was premiered as Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest record in the World’, Adele tweeted "TUUUNE" with Lily Allen tweeting that Jess was "slaying the top 3!!!!!!!" as ‘My Love’ hit the top of the charts whilst ‘Rather Be’ held the number three position.

The Selecter formed in Coventry in 1979 will also be performing at Bingley Music Live. They are considered to be one of the most successful ska bands of the 2 Tone era, had a string of hits including 'On My Radio', 'Three Minute Hero' and 'Missing Words'.

Also playing this year's festival are fast rising act The Strypes who count rock legends Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Dave Grohl, Jeff Beck and Roger Daltrey amongst their fans. Miles Kane is also a fan and Sir Elton John liked them so much when he saw them on Youtube that he immediately signed them to his music management company, Rocket Music. 

Other additions are haunting singer/songwriter Emma Garrett, Port Isla and psychedelic indie rock outfit Neon Waltz, currently being pursued chase for their signature by major labels, and Yorkshire outfit The Sherlocks who have fan band Reverend and the Makers amongst their admirers.

This year's event will be held on 29th,30th and 31st August and will be the North's last big party of the summer. The festival is outstanding value for money, as it is over four times cheaper than some of the region's other festivals. Previous acts have included Nile Rodgers and Chic, Primal Scream, Jake Bugg, Calvin Harris, Nero, Editors, Cribs, DJ Fresh and Doves.

www.bingleymusiclive.com/

Book Review (fiction): Run / Blake Crouch - A landscape of American Genocide

Book Review: Run / Blake Crouch

Picture this: A landscape of American genocide...

5 days ago

A rash of bizarre murders swept the country...

Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected.

A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike.

A mass of school shootings.

Prison riots of unprecedented brutality.

Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state.

4 days ago

The murders increased ten-fold...

3  days ago

The President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace...

2  days ago

The killers began to mobilize...

Yesterday

All the power went out...

Tonight

They're reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. You are listening over the battery-powered radio on your kitchen table, and they've just read yours.

Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don't know why, but you don't have time to think about that any more.

You only have time to...

RUN

RUN begins with an unnamed female arriving at an unknown site, a mass grave and we are left wondering what is going on? The book then shifts to Deanna “Dee” Colclough who has a scary encounter with her bit on the side, Kiernan as he asks her to get away from him before anything happens to her, there is a clear threat to her. We are then introduced to her husband Jack Colclough and his and Dee’s family, his teenaged daughter Naomi and his son Cole. Jack is a professor at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and Dee is a physician. They are packing their things and trying to get their bearings as they plan to flee the city when Jack’s name gets called out on the emergency radio. Jack and his family rush out of their house and are brutally attacked  by people who are tracking the people whose names have been announced.

Thus begins their odyssey as they seek travel to the North not knowing who or what awaits them. The events which have caused this meltdown are alluded to and are slightly explained, its in common with the rest of this book which chooses not to go into too much detail, and ultimately it’s up to the reader to decide what triggered this situation. There is much more happening, but to describe them would ruin the story.. The action is shown throughout the lower continental US, Northern Mexico and southern parts of Canada with Jack and Dee’s journey taking them through the western half of the US as they try to avoid the ‘affected’’ and survive along with their children.

The book focuses deeply on the Colclough family, specifically the story of a father striving to do right by his progeny, RUN sees the world (well the United States at least) teetering on the verge of collapse.

Blake Crouch’s fuels this high-strung tale as he showcases a slightly dysfunctional family: Jack, the father struggling to save his family; Dee, the estranged wife who has to choose between her feelings for her lover and her family; and Naomi and Cole, the children who are shockingly thrust into a world where they have no control and no way to adapt... Crouch efficiently showcases the struggle faced by both parents as they try to explain the situation to themselves and their kids, with emotional family moments brilliantly juxtaposed by harrowing action scenes that will have readers turning the pages to see what happens next.

Besides the Colclough family, we also get bits and pieces of information about the environment from other characters we meet during the course of the story, although they are fleeting. The affected people meanwhile, seem sane enough in understanding what they are doing and the author provides clues about their motivations, but nothing is clearly spelt out.  For the affected, think less Shaun of the Dead and more the occasional headline grabber who goes crazy and offloads a shotgun on the high street.

There are very few drawbacks with the book. Readers might get frustrated at the absence of a concrete explanation for what is happening, but like in real life, many things occur which have only theories instead of rational explanations, we only have to examine the recent headlines played out over the missing Malaysian aircraft.  Also certain elements feel rushed one mid way through but more importantly the climax. It’s a common problem I find, the writer is in such a rush to get to the conclusion that the paced logical writing they have been using goes out of the window. There were certain passages in the last but one chapter that I had to re-read to ensure I understood what was going on. Its that inexperience of a relatively young author that detaches a tiny bit of credibility from the tale. Fortunately, the ending is not too over-the-top, (though brief) as to ruin the overall effect.

Summary: RUN is a simple, but effective rollercoaster, page turning tale about survival, the bonds of family, and the endurance of the human spirit. RUN exceeded my expectations and it’s an author and probably a title I will enjoy re-visiting in the future.

Kaiser Chiefs in really rather good new album shocker

Kaiser Chiefs have never again reached the heights of their 2005 debut album Employment save for a flirtation with No.1 for the superior Ruby . In fact, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the career of the Leeds five-piece has been on a downward spiral ever since, with each subsequent release more forgettable than the last. However, while the albums have not lived up to expectations, the Kaiser Chiefs have managed to pull the odd single out of the bag every now and then.

Their second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob had the addictive and aforementioned Ruby and Everything Is Average Nowadays, while even 2008’s Off With Their Heads had UK Top 5 single Never Miss A Beat. It was for perhaps this reason that they took the brave – or as it seems they now feel foolish – decision to give fans the opportunity of picking their 10 favourite tracks from 20 possible songs to create their own version of the band’s fourth album, The Future Is Medieval.

Whether it was an artistic move or something done for purely marketing purposes, the choose-your-own album project didn’t quite reinvigorate their career in the way they probably wanted it to – although it did have the obligatory catchy single in Little Shocks. Two years on from that venture and following the departure of drummer Nick Hodgson, Kaiser Chiefs are back with their fifth record, the snappily titled Education, Education, Education & War.

In many ways, the band’s new record is a case of them going back to basics – with none of the gimmicks of its predecessor – but with lead singer Ricky Wilson now a judge on BBC talent show The Voice, Kaiser Chiefs didn’t need to do anything too drastic to get attention this time around. The music is not a massive departure from what we’ve come to expect, either, as demonstrated by the lead single, Misery Company.

“It’s hard to believe that I smile in my sleep/ cause everyone leaves me/ I’m so hard to keep company,” sings Wilson, over a thumping beat and a gritty guitar hook. While the demonic laughter that punctuates the track is, admittedly, something new for Kaiser Chiefs, the rest of the song falls in line with the sort of spiky, punk pop that created popular anthems such as I Predict A Riot during the first phase of their career.

There are other similarities between Kaiser Chiefs’ fifth album and their Mercury Prize-nominated debut, too. Opener The Factory Gates sets the tone for the record, which sees the band retread Employment thematically, with lyrics about their dissatisfaction with the modern age. Ignoring the sound of seagulls that opens the song, it is actually one of the album’s highlights, with an incredibly infectious chorus.

“You and me on the front line, you and me and every time,” Wilson yells on Bow And Arrows, which continues the combative approach they take on Education, Education, Education & War – a title that takes inspiration from Tony Blair’s famed 1997 speech. Although the political angle is not fully explored in the way the record’s title suggests, six-minute Cannons does deliver an intriguing and rather damning verdict on politicians.
Elsewhere, the problem of delivering an album that is consistently strong from start to finish rears its head again. While tracks such as the anthemic Coming Home and Ruffians On Parade are perfectly serviceable, they are not particularly memorable when compared to the likes Oh My God. The same can be said of Meanwhile Up In Heaven or One More Last Song, with both tracks essentially Kaiser Chiefs in second gear.

That said, Education, Education, Education & War is a vast improvement on its predecessor. It may lack the standout radio hits of the band’s earlier material, but is radio even listening any more. The record does at least have the direction and purpose that has previously been missing. The Chiefs seem invigorated, perhaps Nick leaving gave the band a kick up the arse they needed? Whether Kaiser Chiefs can re-establish themselves as one of Britain’s best is yet to be seen, but this is a really good way to start.

Watch the new single, Coming Home..

Chrissie Hynde to release debut solo album

Pretenders lead and musical icon, Chrissie Hynde will release her first ever solo album 'Stockholm' on June 9.

Recorded at Ingrid Studios in Stockholm with co-writer, guitarist and producer Bjorn Yttling (Peter, Bjorn and John), the album features cameos from Neil Young and tennis legend John McEnroe. The album, 11 tracks in total incudes the first single 'Dark Sunglasses', which will be released  on April 21. 

Summing up her aims with the album, Chrissie told us; "I wanted to make a power pop album you could dance to - Abba meets John Lennon". I think life is serious, and you should take it seriously, but in rock n roll either have a laugh or don't come to the party.so much of rock n roll has become what I would call Glory Rock, with family values. It's the irreverence in rock that was always the turn on". 

 Track listing: 1. You Or No One 2. Dark Sunglasses 3. Like In The Movies 4. Down The Wrong Way 5. You're The One 6. A Plan Too Far 7. In A Miracle 8. House Of Cards 9. Tourniquet (Cynthia Ann) 10. Sweet Nuthin 11. Adding The Blue 'Stockholm' will be available on CD/LP/Digital. Preorder the album here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/stockholm/id839957478 

 A limited edition 7" of 'Dark Sunglasses' / 'Tourniquet (Cynthia Ann)' will be released on Record Store Day, April 19.

 Watch Chrissie perform a six song Pretenders Medley a couple of years ago,

 

Movie Review: Labor Day: Ever so slightly tedious

Labor Day
With one of Kate Winslet's most layered, resonant performances, this film is definitely worth a look, even though the indulgent filmmaking style pushes it perilously close to Nicholas Sparks-style sappiness. Clearly, writer-director Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) is shifting gears as a filmmaker, but the movie is in dire need of just a hint of his usual jagged wit.


It's set in 1980s New Hampshire, as the agoraphobic Adele (Kate Winslet) is struggling to raise her sensitive teen son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) on her own after her husband (Clark Gregg) left. Then one night escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) arrives at their house in need of a place to hide. 

The next day, Frank offers to help with some repairs on the house. He also notices that Henry needs to learn how to throw a baseball. And that Adele needs some affection. So over the long Labor Day Weekend, he becomes the badly needed man of the house. Then when a neighbour (J.K. Simmons) and a cop (James Van Der Beek) start snooping, they make a plan to run for the Canadian border.

Instead of a dark, menacing edge, Reitman washes the film in sun-dappled earnestness, ramping up the soapy emotions rather than the grittier issues these people so badly need to deal with. This reaches a low point when Frank teaches Adele how to bake a peach pie in a scene reminiscent of the lusty pot-spinning sequence in Ghost: laughably ridiculous. Fortunately, Winslet and Brolin generate some uneasy chemistry, and Griffith is a fine young actor in a very difficult role. Together, they pull the film back from the sudsy brink just in time for a genuinely tense final sequence.

But it's not easy, as Reitman throws every schmaltzy trick at them, from Rolfe Kent's mood-signposting score to Eric Steelberg's sunshiny cinematography to Tobey Maguire's crinkly voiceover narration as the adult Henry. All of these things continually remove us from the essentially riveting story of three loners who find an awkward solace together, threatened by the big bad world around them. That story is here, but you have to work to stay in it.

Watch the trailer below