In today’s Soundbites, our quick take on news, reviews and tabloid gossip, John Mayer leaves a few million fans disappointed, Jonathan Ross could turn his back on the Brit Awards and we take a look at Manic Street Preachers’ new single. There’s also news of Simon Cowell continuing his tiff with Lou Reed and U2 unveil some new material.
Tragedy strikes Twitter today as US songwriter John Mayer has announced his decision to quit the site, leaving more than 3.7 million followers disappointed. According to Mayer’s manager, the move was taken due to his Battle Studies Tour being “now at a close and a return to the studio planned.” In an e-mail statement, Mayer told fans he would continue to communicate with via his blog, on which he wrote: “Time to disappear for a while. Love you guys. A lot.” All together now, ‘Aww…’
Jonathan Ross will be re-launching his career on ITV soon, but he may reject the opportunity to host next year’s Brit Awards due to it being a ‘poison chalice’. Ross told radio station Talksport: “I might be doing the Brits. They’ve asked me to do that. Not sure if it works because of the dates and also it’s a bit of a poison chalice. I suppose, in a way, the benefit of that is that if you do it and you don’t do that well, you can just say, ‘Well no-one does’.” Russell Brand has experience of hosting The Brits, maybe they could do the gig together.
Manic Street Preachers released ‘(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love‘ this week, the first single to be taken from their new album ‘Postcards From A Young Man‘, which is due for release on September 20th. There’s nothing much new from another catchy, playlist friendly first single by the Welsh band. Read our review of the new single here.
One of the most unlikely arguments in music is rumbling on today, after Simon Cowell appeared to refuse to accept Lou Reed’s insistence that he has no problems with Susan Boyle covering his classic track ‘Perfect Day’, despite reports of him blocking the plans. Speaking on BBC Radio 2, Cowell said: “This is so petty, so pathetic. Loads of people have covered this song. This is a fantastic version. He’s now saying, ‘If I’d have known, I’d have given permission’. Well Lou, if you’re listening, do we have permission to put the song on next week?” The world awaits his response with baited breath.
Bono and The Edge have finally unveiled the first song from their upcoming Spider Man musical, after years of delays and cash problems. “We’ve been on the receiving end of some cynicism from the Broadway media establishment,” The Edge told USA Today. “But really, who can blame them?,” while Bono added that the project simply comes down to “words and melodies. Are they memorable? Is it a fun ride, as well as a profound experience? I believe we are in with a chance.” The opera is due to open on December 21st.
I often checked out Mayers Tweets. Often strange but also funny sometimes. I get his reasons for quitting it though, these social sites suck a lot of my time and I have next to no one following me, he probably spent a lot of time each day checking and updating that stuff.