Steve Jobs has just announced a deal that sees The Beatles catalogue become available digitally via iTunes.
After years of speculation and discussion, the agreement between Apple the tech company, EMI and Apple Corps Ltd, The Beatles owned music company, finally sees the mainstay of the The Beatles discography available to purchase legitimately via digital download for the very first time, as whole albums or individual songs.
The group's 13 remastered studio albums will now be available from the UK iTunes store alongside the collected remastered 'red' and 'blue' albums and Past Masters Vol. 1 & 2 at a cost of £10.99 each for single albums or £17.99 for the doubles. There will also be an iTunes exclusive £125.00 digital Beatles Box set which contains all of the studio albums and features the Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964 concert film, which captures the Beatles' very first US concert. Individual tracks are priced at 99 pence.
Commenting on the announcement Sir Paul McCartney said "We're really excited to bring the Beatles' music to iTunes," adding "It's fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around."
"In the joyful spirit of Give Peace A Chance, I think it is so appropriate that we are doing this on John's 70th birthday year," said Yoko Ono Lennon.
Ringo, perhaps sharing the relief felt by many Beatles fans seems equally happy about the decision adding, "I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes", "if you want it-you can get it now - The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo."
Apple CEO Steve Jobs added, "We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes," stating "It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we've had since we launched iTunes ten years ago."
Comparing The Beatles musical accomplishments with Apple Corp's technical innovation EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon said "The Beatles and iTunes have both been true innovators in their fields," "It's a privilege for everybody at EMI to work with Steve Jobs and with Apple Corps' Jeff Jones and their teams in marking a great milestone in the development of digital music."
Paul Simon releases Getting Ready For Christmas Day
by JOE BOSSO
Leave it to a master songwriter like Paul Simon to conjure up a holiday anthem that can summon good cheer but raise social awareness at the same time. Such is the magic of his new composition, Getting Ready For Christmas Day.
Working with his longtime producer Phil Ramone, Simon eschews religious references but lays out a narrative that practically anybody can relate to during this time of year - or any other, for that matter.
The musical bed of the song, driven by an enthusiastically strummed acoustic guitar, hand claps and foot stomps (think Give Peace A Chance for a quick reference), harkens back to the singer-songwriter's South African-based Graceland period. But despite the bouncy, campfire vibe, there's a serious undercurrent, as evidenced in the the opening lyrics:
"So early in November to the last week of December/ I got money matters weighing me down/ Well the music may be merry but it's only temporary/ I know Santa Claus is comin' to town/ In the days I work my day job and in the nights I work my night/ But it all comes down to working man's pay/ Getting ready/ I'm getting ready/ Ready for Christmas Day."
And he's just getting warmed up. Amidst a deceptive, Marvin Gaye-like party atmosphere (which features a 1941 sample of the gospel singer and preacher, the Rev. JM Gates), Simon sings, "I got a nephew in Iraq, it's his third time back / But it's ending up the way it began / With the luck of a beginner / He'll be eating turkey dinner / On some mountaintop in Pakistan."
Most artists who attempt Christmas songs pile on the cliches like so many chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but Paul Simon has created a unique and stirring modern-day classic, one which is devoid of rehashed treacle. Like John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War Is Over), it captures the Yuletide spirit but gives you something to ponder as you open your presents and raise your glass.
The only strange thing (sort of) is that the song will be included on Simon's forthcoming So Beautiful Or So What, which is due out in...May. Oh well, a great track is a great track, no matter what time of year it may be.
Neil Young has blamed a fire at his San Francisco warehouse on a fault in a fuel-efficient car he had been working on.
The music legend lost musical instruments and memorabilia as a result of the fire, which took place on November 9 and resulted in an estimated $850,000-worth (£534,000) of damage, reports BBC News.
He has now said he believes the fire was caused by the charging system he had been using on his so-called LincVolt car – a project for which Young converted a 1959 Lincoln Continental car to run off battery power.
"The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended. A mistake was made. It was not the fault of the car," Young wrote on LincVolt.com.
He vowed to continue with the project, which aims to increase fuel-efficient travel, writing: "Our project is to demonstrate alternative energies for transportation that are clean. We're still in a race against time. On a project like this, setbacks happen for a reason and we can see that very well from here."
The LincVolt was severely damaged as a result of the fire, although Young says he hopes to rebuild it using parts from similar models.
Kings Of Leon are set to play a headline slot at next year's Isle Of Wight Festival - their only UK festival appearance of 2011.
The band will play the Friday night (June 10) of the three-day event, which runs from June 10-12, with festival chief John Giddings saying that it would be their only festival appearance in the country next year.
They are the first act announced to play the event, with more expected to be revealed this week (beginning November 15). Last year Jay-Z, The Strokes and Paul McCartney headlined the festival.
Damon Albarn has said that Blur have discussed doing something "small" as a band together in January.
The frontman is currently on tour with Gorillaz in the UK, but he told Sky News that the four-piece could convene again in the new year.
"We [Blur] did talk about doing something in January," he said. "Something small, no career-based world domination ideas."
Earlier this year Albarn told Uncut's sister site NME that he was planning on releasing further one-off Blur singles after they released a new song, 'Fool's Day', for Record Store Day in April. Last month he said: "I've got a lot of songs that will always only be comfortable in the context of Blur."
The Pogues have announced details of a 2011 tour of the US.
The band will begin the gig run at Chicago's Congress Theatre on March 3 and finish it with three shows at New York's Terminal 5, on March 15, 16 and 17.
Chicago Congress Theatre (March 3)
Detroit Royal Oak Music Theater (4)
Baltimore Rams Head Live (7)
Washington DC 9:30 Club (8, 9)
Boston House Of Blues (11, 12)
New York Terminal 5 (15, 16, 17)
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